[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H666-H671]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HOUSE REPUBLICANS DELIVERING RESULTS FOR AMERICAN PEOPLE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2025, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore) is recognized for
60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
General Leave
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special
Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, the 119th Congress has been off to
a great start with House Republicans delivering results for the
American people.
This week, we are continuing our efforts to reverse the Biden
administration's harmful policies and further protect our country from
a dangerous, illegal border invasion.
Today, we passed Congressman Biggs' Midnight Rules Relief Act to
amend the Congressional Review Act to allow Congress to disapprove of
multiple rules through one joint resolution if rules were issued during
the last year of a President's term in office.
House Republicans will also vote on Congressman Ciscomani's Agent
Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act, which holds accountable illegal
immigrants who break our laws and engage in dangerous high-speed chases
in our border communities.
I am grateful to my colleagues for joining me this evening to discuss
these necessary pieces of legislation.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr.
LaMalfa).
stopping regulators from taking away america's energy independence
Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Moore for yielding. I
appreciate his leadership in putting the spotlight on the important
issues and important legislation that will help us to better serve the
American public with what they have asked for.
On the whole concept of government overreach and last-minute
declarations that have really put a kink in Federal land use, which is
important for people, for energy production, and for being able to
utilize and enjoy them, what have you, it was very dramatic and very
aggressive at the end of the Biden administration.
[[Page H667]]
Madam Speaker, 674 million acres of U.S. lands and waters were cut
off right at the end of the Biden administration from good uses.
The U.S. Forest Service signs at least used to say: ``Land of Many
Uses.'' Now, they seem to be restricted down to just whatever a handful
in government or environmental organizations want.
We have seen Antiquities Act abuse under President Biden. The
Antiquities Act was used to set aside 6 million acres of national land
as national monuments. Some of the big examples include, once again,
the Bears Ears National Monument at 1.63 million acres, the Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah at 1.9 million acres, and
the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in New Mexico at 242,000
acres.
A total of 15 national monuments were either created, expanded, or
re-created after they had been rightsized in the previous Trump
administration. They cover 9 million acres, including also the
Chuckwalla and Sattitla Highlands National Monuments at 848,000 acres.
These are dramatic stretches of land that are basically being cut off
from human use or usage of the resources, in some cases even the
ability to effectively fight or prevent fire.
Madam Speaker, you have the Moab to Mojave Conservation Corridor, for
example, covering 18 million acres across California, Nevada, Utah, and
Arizona. They say they are protecting these lands. You would have to
ask the question: Protecting from what?
Any type of operation you seek to do out there, whether it is going
to be mineral extraction, energy, oil and gas, or timber, they all
require permits. When they eventually are successful, these permits and
processes can be extremely lengthy. It can take many years in some
cases to get them. Still, we keep plowing on.
The 100 million acres of Federal lands that have been cut off through
executive orders without approval from Congress also include, in
Alaska, ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which was expanded,
limiting even more energy exploration. In Arizona, the Sonoran Desert
National Monument, at 496,000 acres, is restricting activities like
ranching and energy development.
Other concerns for rural areas include restrictions on land use for
industries, as I mentioned, logging, ranching, and energy production.
They have hurt rural economies. Montana has dramatic limits on timber
and grazing. Wyoming has increased regulatory hurdles for energy
development.
What are the economic drivers and especially the inflation drivers of
this in this country? High energy costs are a big part of that.
President Trump wants to turn that back around, and I hope we can be
successful soon.
Idaho, again, has diminished access to public lands for ranching and
timber.
There are impacts on wildfire management as more lands are being
designated as national monuments, like the new chunk up in my district
that is protected, as they call it, under Federal rules. It makes it
harder to manage forests and wildfires and access them with the fire
equipment we need to get out there. When they take away the roads and
make them roadless areas, we have that much less ability to be able to
properly put people and equipment out there where they can be effective
at firefighting.
It does worsen wildfire risks. In my home State of California, in my
own district, a couple of years ago, we had a 1 million-acre fire. Year
after year, there are six-digit fires.
Again, another 28 million acres in Alaska were limited, so it just
makes energy production that much harder.
Then, the oceans, with the coastline marine conservation aspect of
it, here is the big number: 625 million acres of U.S. ocean were
withdrawn from future conversation about future oil and gas leasing,
restricting, once again, energy development, which would help so much
with our economy and lowering inflation.
Madam Speaker, 625 million acres translate into 1 million square
miles--rounded off, 1 million. If you want a further illustration, that
would be a 1,000- by 1,000-mile square--1,000 miles this way, this way,
this way, and this way. It is a 1,000-mile square that Biden, by the
whim and stroke of a pen, says no more.
The efforts we are making in Congress this week with the Midnight
Rules Relief Act, and also through the ability to use the Congressional
Review Act, are very important to stop out-of-control regulators from
taking away the ability for us to produce in a way that is going to
have America be energy independent and energy dominant and to have our
economy be strong once again.
That is why we are fighting back on this. We can still do things very
ecologically soundly. We want to take care of the environment, as well,
but these things have been weaponized against the types of things
Americans need and stand for, for the strength of our economy and for
our independence.
I appreciate the opportunities and the good work my colleagues are
doing on advancing this legislation.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from
California's persistence and willingness to be down here to help share
the message.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Haridopolos), who is a new Member from Florida. I have on good
authority from his freshman colleagues that he isn't a huge fan of the
cold we are experiencing here in Washington, D.C.
Restoring Congressional Oversight of CFPB
Mr. HARIDOPOLOS. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak
on a very important issue that is facing more and more communities as
they are faced with pressure from the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau, commonly known as the CFPB.
What was created under the guise of consumer protection has instead
become a regulatory juggernaut, unaccountable and insulated from the
very people it claims to serve, the consumers.
From the beginning, the CFPB was designed to operate outside the
bounds of congressional oversight. It was built to be an agency that
answers to no one, making sweeping financial regulations without the
scrutiny that our Constitution demands.
Its most recent Director turned his bureaucratic machine into a
weapon against economic growth, limiting access to credit and
strangling the very small businesses and community banks that form the
backbone of our economy.
{time} 1745
The problem is clear. First and foremost, a lack of accountability.
The CFPB functions without proper congressional oversight, wielding
immense power without the input of elected Representatives. No agency
should have the ability to dictate financial policy without being held
accountable by the people.
Second, funding without oversight. Unlike nearly every other Federal
agency, the CFPB is funded directly by the Federal Reserve, rather than
through the regular congressional appropriation process. This structure
allows it to bypass the checks and balances system that protects
taxpayers from runaway regulatory excess.
Third, a constitutional violation. The power to tax and spend belongs
to Congress. That is not a tradition. That is the law. The CFPB
structure is a direct affront to the principle, undermining the
separation of powers that defines our democracy.
The consequences have been devastating. The CFPB's heavyhanded
regulations are cutting off access to credit for those who need it
most. Small businesses are struggling to secure the loans necessary to
grow and create jobs. Entrepreneurs, working families, and farmers are
finding it harder to get the capital that they need to succeed. The
community banks that support Main Street are drowning under the weight
of this unnecessary and costly compliance burden.
Madam Speaker, this is not how government by the people and for the
people should function.
The solution is simple: Congress must reassert its constitutional
authority. We must bring the CFPB under the regular appropriations
process, ensuring that no agency operates without unchecked power.
Regulatory agencies must answer to the people, not operate as
independent kingdoms making rules without congressional oversight.
[[Page H668]]
Madam Speaker, we stand at a crossroads. We cannot allow an
unaccountable bureaucracy to continue restricting access to capital,
hindering small businesses, and suffocating economic opportunity. We
must restore the balance of power and ensure transparency and put the
authority back where it belongs: with the American people through its
elected Representatives.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join Chairman French Hill and
my colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee in finally
reining in the CFPB, restoring congressional oversight, and reaffirming
our commitment to the principles of accountability and economic
freedom. The future of small businesses, entrepreneurs, and hardworking
families depends on it.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Haridopolos) for being part of our Special Order tonight.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Luttrell).
Holding Traffickers and Illegal Immigrants Accountable
Mr. LUTTRELL. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Madam Speaker, the Biden administration's open-border policies turned
our border into a gateway for cartels, human traffickers, and
criminals, putting American lives at risk and endangering innocent
children.
That is why I introduced legislation to hold DHS and HHS accountable
for properly vetting and tracking unaccompanied migrant children.
Under the Biden administration, HHS lost contact with over 300,000
children. Under the Biden administration, 300,000 children were lost.
Let that sink in. That is not just incompetence. It is an absolute
tragedy.
We must hold traffickers accountable and ensure that illegal
immigrants who break our laws face real consequences. Our border must
be secured, and those who exploit our system, whether criminals or
failed bureaucrats, must answer for their failures. The American people
deserve law and order.
Thankfully, Republicans and the Trump administration are quickly
cleaning up the mess that Joe Biden left us.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Luttrell) for his comments.
A lot of times, with policies and things that go on back here, there
are variations moving to rightwing policies and leftwing policies.
There is not a more stark difference between what President Biden was
doing at the border and allowing to have happen to what we are seeing
now and the changes we are making. That highlights the simplicity of
our messages.
We have to protect people's lives, and we are finally starting to do
it, and it feels great. I think the American people are seeing that.
I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Luttrell) again for his
comments.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the great Commonwealth
of Virginia (Mrs. Kiggans), my good friend.
Celebrating the 100th Birthday of Felix ``Mo'' Maurizio
Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to wish a happy
100th birthday to a very important resident of Hampton Roads, U.S. Navy
veteran Mo Maurizio.
This American hero has experienced more of the history of our great
Nation than most people can even dream of.
Born on February 21, 1925, he grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts,
before enlisting in the Navy in August of 1943 at the age of 18. After
completing basic training in New York, he transferred to Hampton Roads,
Virginia, to complete additional training at Little Creek in
preparation for the invasion of Normandy.
On June 6, 1944, as Allied Forces launched the largest amphibious
invasion in history, Mo was a part of the first wave of troops to hit
the beaches on D-day.
After surviving this important first step on the path to liberate
Europe, he then deployed to the Pacific theater.
On February 19, 1945, he was aboard a ship that took part in the
battle for Iwo Jima, shelling the island ahead of American forces
making their landing.
Mo didn't spend his 20th birthday celebrating. He was instead serving
our Nation by landing troops and supplies during one of the worst
battles of the entire war. In total, nearly 6,000 brave marines lost
their lives to take this strategic island that day, and it is only 8
square miles.
In April, Mo continued his service, this time assisting with the
deployment of marines on Okinawa Island. Months later, when Japan was
set to surrender, Mo was among the crew of one of the first ships
carrying U.S. troops to mainland Japan.
On September 2, aboard the USS Talladega, he was only a small
distance away from history being made on the USS Missouri as the
Japanese formally surrendered, officially marking the end of World War
II.
Following the conclusion of the war, he continued serving in the
Navy, both back in Massachusetts and in Virginia. Along the way, he met
his late wife, Laura. Together, they had a set of twins, Bill and
Stella.
One of my favorite stories of Moe's life is when, in 2014, his two
children took him to his first-ever Army-Navy football game. As any
good Navy fan would agree, he was hoping to watch the Navy midshipmen,
and I quote, ``beat the snot out of the Army.'' Luckily enough, Navy
won that year with a score of 17-10.
Mo retired from the Navy on June 6, 1966, exactly 22 years after he
participated in the invasion of Normandy, but he did not retire from
public service.
After the Navy, he joined the post office in Hampton Roads, where he
worked on behalf of our community for nearly 40 years before retiring
at the age of 80 on June 6, 2005, exactly 61 years to the day after D-
Day.
This past June, at the age of 99, Mo had the opportunity to return to
the Normandy beaches to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day
invasion with his fellow World War II veterans.
I had the honor of meeting Mo with a group of his biggest fans last
June at the Norfolk International Airport as he returned home from his
trip.
Our world is free today because of the heroic actions made by these
members of our Greatest Generation, like Mo, on that fateful day.
Since World War II, Mo and his family have called Hampton Roads their
home.
Sadly, on December 7, 2024, the anniversary of the attack on Pearl
Harbor, his loving wife, Laura, passed away after 73 years of marriage.
Her memory lives on through Mo and their two wonderful children.
For 100 years, Mo Maurizio has embodied what it means to be an
American hero. From the beaches of Normandy, to the islands of the
Pacific, to our local community in Hampton Roads, Virginia, Mo has
lived through truly foundational moments in our Nation's history. We
will be forever grateful for all that he has done for our great Nation,
the United States of America.
Happy 100th birthday to Mo.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from the
great Commonwealth of Virginia (Mrs. Kiggans).
Madam Speaker, I yield to the new Member from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Mackenzie).
Economic State and Safety in Local Communities
Mr. MACKENZIE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Madam Speaker, two of the most important issues confronting our
citizens today are the state of our economy and also the safety in our
local communities. My focus while serving as an elected Member of
Congress will be to address those two issues and the mess that we have
been handed over the past 4 years from the Biden administration.
Over those last 4 years and preceding that, there were decisions made
by State and local elected officials which have made our country less
safe and our communities at home in a vulnerable situation.
Madam Speaker, I rise today as a member of the Homeland Security
Committee to speak about the safety of our Lehigh Valley community and
how the actions of one local elected official, Northampton's county
executive, exemplified the negative impact that radical policy
decisions can have on the safety of our law enforcement officers and
the safety of our entire community.
In March 2020, 5 years ago, the Northampton County executive issued
an order prohibiting county law enforcement from cooperating with ICE
unless
[[Page H669]]
ICE acquired arrest warrants before working to capture criminal illegal
immigrants.
Recently, the dangerous results of this policy were put on clear
display in our local community and placed law enforcement and the
general public in greater danger.
Over the last 4 years, our Nation has witnessed an unprecedented
surge of illegal immigration. Under Joe Biden's administration, over 2
million illegal immigrants crossed the border each year, burdening
communities nationwide. As of July 21, 2024, ICE reported that there
were over 100,000 nondetained illegal immigrants with convictions,
including homicide, assault, rape, and robbery.
In Pennsylvania alone, illegal immigration is costing taxpayers over
$300 million for police and corrections, but this isn't just a
statistical problem.
In our community of Lehigh Valley, 2 weeks ago, ICE agents arrested
Luis Gualdron-Gualdron outside of the Northampton County Prison, which
is situated within the Seventh District of Pennsylvania, which I have
been elected to represent.
According to ICE, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested Gualdron near
Brownsville, Texas, in December of 2023 for illegally entering the
United States. He was served the next day with a notice to appear
before an immigration judge. He made his way all the way to our local
community 5 months later, and he was arrested in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, on charges of indecent assault against a minor.
In cases where individuals have entered our country illegally and
then broken an additional law, the public has a right to expect that
our local officials will cooperate fully with the Federal authorities.
Unfortunately, that was not the case in this situation.
The county executive's order caused ICE to be forced to arrest this
dangerous predator outside of the prison. There was no ability for a
proper hand off to take place.
There is no need to just take my word that this was a dangerous
situation. My office has spoken to ICE, and they explained that
allowing this predator to leave the prison, rather than be arrested
while already detained, greatly increased the possibility for escape
from capture as this prisoner would have been free on the streets.
It also increases the danger to those law enforcement individuals who
have to make an arrest in an uncontrolled environment, and it puts the
public in greater danger as this predator has a greater chance of
escaping justice.
Thankfully, ICE officers were successful in staking out the prison
and arresting Gualdron, but that took them off of the streets, took
away valuable law enforcement time, put them in greater jeopardy, and
put our community in greater jeopardy. They shouldn't have been put in
that situation but for that executive order from the Northampton County
executive back in 2020.
Madam Speaker, this is simply unacceptable. At a time when our
country is reeling from the consequences of 4 years of open borders, we
also have to deal with these situations in our local communities.
We are making ICE jump through hoops to deport criminals who assault
children, and it definitely shouldn't be happening right here in a
community that is flagged as a trafficking hub. We know the problems.
We are aware of the problems. We should be working with our Federal law
enforcement agencies to make sure that these predators are off the
streets.
The law-abiding residents of the Lehigh Valley and our entire country
and community should never have to wonder whether criminal illegal
immigrants will escape justice due to the challenges that have been
created by our own elected officials.
The American people have made their position crystal clear on this.
Madam Speaker, 80 percent of Americans oppose the concept of sanctuary
cities, and 83 percent support deporting illegal immigrants who have
committed violent crimes.
Let me repeat that. There are 83 percent of individuals who support
deporting illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes.
{time} 1800
At the same time, we have a local elected official following through
on the executive order that he signed back in 2020, making it such that
our Federal law enforcement agents can't do their job and deport this
violent criminal who has made his way all the way to Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania.
Madam Speaker, this is simply unacceptable, and it is time for a
change. I am calling on the leaders of our local communities and this
Northampton County executive to fully rescind that executive order,
which is standing in the way of law enforcement doing their job.
Anything less is an admission on his part that he is going to stand
with violent criminals and against our law enforcement. That is what it
is. The public has spoken, and 83 percent of people want these violent
criminals deported; yet, we have one person in Northampton County
standing in their way.
I encourage that individual to change his mind, rescind that
executive order which is inhibiting our law enforcement from doing
their jobs, which is leaving them less safe and leaving our community
more vulnerable, and ultimately leaving our country in a disastrous
position. This is the very least that we can do to ensure the safety of
our residents.
As the elected Congressman from Pennsylvania's Seventh Congressional
District, I am going to continue to fight for all of our residents,
every single one of them, to make sure that they are safe every single
day of the week.
Madam Speaker, I appreciate and thank, again, the gentleman from Utah
for this opportunity to address the Chamber this evening.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Pennsylvania for his remarks. It is great to have a new group, and
Pennsylvania is well represented.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Dakota (Mrs.
Fedorchak), the new and improved Representative.
Mrs. FEDORCHAK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in
saying it is past time to reduce the regulatory state in this Nation.
We are crippling our businesses. We are smothering new ideas before
they can even take flight. We are stifling innovation.
These regulations are coming from a runaway executive branch agencies
filled with unaccountable staff who have never experienced the
realities of turning a wrench, tilling a field, or turning a profit.
As a former energy regulator, I know the value of smart, efficient
regulation.
For example, in North Dakota, electric utilities are required to
follow least-cost planning. This ensures high reliability of our power
systems at the lowest possible cost to customers. This is smart
regulation.
In Washington, we have had just the opposite. We had the Biden
administration setting the staffing requirements for nurses in every
nursing home in North Dakota. Rather than improving care, this, like
many other last-minute Biden regulations, will make it harder, if not
impossible, for North Dakota organizations and businesses to do their
jobs.
The rule and regulation mania of the last administration was
historic.
According to a study by the National Association of Manufacturing,
the total cost of Federal regulations in 2022 was more than $3
trillion, roughly 12 percent of the U.S. GDP.
Make no mistake, businesses don't just take on these costs.
Hardworking American families pay for these rules and regulations in
the price of anything they buy.
What is worse, these regulations burden small businesses the most,
including North Dakota farmers, ranchers, energy producers,
manufacturers, and Main Street businesses. I heard this loud and clear
from North Dakotans in every corner of the State.
That is why my first official action as a Member of Congress was to
send a letter to President Trump and then-Governor Burgum that
identified 20 burdensome energy regulations. These regulations were
created by Federal agencies--not Congress, the elected Representatives
of the people--and they pose a major threat to American energy
producers and energy workers.
The Trump administration is already taking bold action to repeal
these regulations, and they have stepped on the gas even further by
requiring agencies to identify 10 regulations to repeal for every new
one issued.
[[Page H670]]
For North Dakota businesses, workers, and families, this is certainly
welcome news.
Today, the House passed the Midnight Rules Relief Act, which I was
very proud to support. This legislation will allow Congress to rescind
multiple agency rules simultaneously under the Congressional Review Act
authority if they have been issued during the final year of a
President's term.
Why is this needed? The Biden administration issued a staggering
1,400 regulations during the 60-day CRA lookback window.
Several of these regulations have significant impacts on North
Dakota. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management finalized its
sweeping new resource management plan for North Dakota the very last
week of the Biden administration.
This plan will shut down leasing on millions of acres of Federal land
in North Dakota, including 99 percent of the Federal coal acreage and
44 percent of federally owned oil and gas mineral acres.
Due to the nature of mining, this rule would make a majority of North
Dakota's coal reserves uneconomic to mine.
North Dakota isn't alone in this, however, as the BLM finalized a
separate resource management plan to effectively end all future coal
leasing in the Powder River Basin, affecting Montana and Wyoming.
If these two plans are equally bad, why shouldn't we be able to use
the CRA process to repeal them together instead of doing it one by one.
I am working with my Senate colleagues from North Dakota in beginning
the CRA process to repeal the North Dakota plan and will support
efforts of other States to do the same with their midnight rules that
are strangling their businesses.
As demand for energy reaches record highs, we should be unleashing
American energy production, not shutting it down.
Doing so will help reduce America's debt, lower energy prices for
hardworking families, reduce global emissions, and bolster our national
security. We must start reining in bureaucratic overreach and putting
power back where it belongs, with the American people.
Madam Speaker, I look forward to continuing to work with my
colleagues in Congress and the Trump administration to rein in the
administrative state and help make life better for American workers and
families.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North
Dakota. She has an authentic and sincere voice with actual expertise on
all matters of energy. It is awesome to have the State very well
represented.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill),
which apparently has an improved basketball team down there now. He is
also somebody that is well deserved to be the new chairman of the
Financial Services Committee.
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend from the
First District of Utah for yielding.
His magnificent career before he came to Congress in business and in
national security make us all proud. We are so grateful that he is our
vice chair of the Conference, and that he leads us in bringing the good
work of Republicans to the House floor every week so the American
citizens see what we are doing and hear from us directly.
Aside from his beautiful family, the best thing about him is that he
is an Eagle Scout. People are still talking about his Eagle Scout
project in Utah. I thank him for letting me share some time with him.
Madam Speaker, I come to the House floor tonight to also express my
deep dismay for the plethora of midnight rulemakings that we saw at the
end of the Biden-Harris administration.
Last December, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott and I were
clear when we sent letters to outgoing Biden-Harris regulators and
department heads urging them to put their pens down. Don't issue any
more rulemakings or guidance. Don't sue anybody. Their time has come to
an end.
What did we see in response? We saw an avalanche of relentless
rulemakings, one after another after another.
Madam Speaker, the worst offender was former head of the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra.
Madam Speaker, I think he became the poster child of midnight
rulemaking renegades. Chopra never put his pen down. Under his
leadership, the CFPB went full steam ahead with their reckless
rulemakings. They capped fees on overdraft services, which is just
another form of price control that harms customers who deserve access
to financial choices and financial options when it comes to managing
their household budgets.
He issued a rule to hide medical debt owed from credit reports, which
will drive up the costs of all Americans' access to credit and to
seeking healthcare. It will have a devastating long-term impact on
consumers.
Mr. Chopra initiated lawsuits one after another before he left
office.
Mark my words, Madam Speaker, we are going to fight to overturn these
erroneous actions. The House passed my colleague Representative Andy
Biggs of Arizona's bill today that ensures Congress can exercise
appropriate oversight of these kinds of executive rulemakings.
It would allow multiple agency rules to be considered en bloc, that
is in a group, as a single Congressional Review Act resolution if the
rulings took place at the end of a Presidential term. I think this is a
terrific idea from our friend and colleague Representative Andy
Biggs.
It is an important step in fighting back to rectify the misguided
rulemakings at the end of the Biden-Harris administration, and I thank
him for leading this effort.
As the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, I am
committed to my work with Chairman Tim Scott across the Capitol in the
Senate, as well as the Trump administration, to rightsize the
regulatory burden facing America's financial providers.
When we do that, we will preserve safety and soundness absolutely,
but we will also increase the access to capital to our families, to our
businesses that need it. Together, we will facilitate faster and
stronger economic growth in the years ahead.
Madam Speaker, I appreciate my friend from Utah and I thank him for
the time.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Arkansas, and I appreciate his leadership.
I thank my colleagues, again, tonight for being here and for taking
time to speak on these important pieces of legislation.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, Federal agencies expanded
their power at an alarming rate, undermining the legislative authority
granted to Congress by the Constitution.
I think if people truly understood how much of that was done during
the Biden administration, there would be more appreciation--and it will
take some time to understand what is going on, I know, but there will
be more appreciation for trying to rightsize this, and that is a
significant effort from the Trump administration.
I think it is important to see what had taken place, and I think from
my perspective that you don't get anywhere else by being, you know, a
Member of Congress, being involved in these issues on a day-to-day
basis, you don't see the amount of rulemaking that is going on. You
don't see the amount of expansion of the Federal Government.
People are lobbing that complaint or that criticism over to the Trump
administration right now, and I get it because there is a lot of action
and activity being done from the executive level, so the criticism can
cut both ways, but the entire effort is to reduce the size of what
Biden had expanded all this to. I just don't think people understand
that nuance enough. That is why this process has to take place.
The Congressional Review Act of 1996 requires Congress to pass a
separate joint resolution for each agency rule it seeks to disapprove,
slowing Congress' ability to hold the administrative state accountable
and block burdensome regulations.
That is the whole premise of why House Republicans just passed
Congressman Biggs' Midnight Rules Relief Act to empower Congress to
review and potentially disapprove of several regulations that Federal
agencies may attempt to implement in the last days of an
administration.
[[Page H671]]
Again, we passed this, this actually affects a Republican
administration, as well. This becomes law to try to hold the
administration, regardless of the party, accountable.
This bill will equip Congress with the tools we need to reject the
Biden-Harris administration's last-minute regulations, hold our
government accountable, and protect our Nation's democratic values.
This bill reins in bureaucratic overreach, protects Americans from
burdensome regulations, gives power back to the legislative branch, and
ensures transparency in the legislative process.
We are also continuing our efforts to secure our borders and protect
our communities.
Tomorrow, House Republicans will vote on the Agent Raul Gonzalez
Officer Safety Act, introduced by Congressman Juan Ciscomani from
Arizona. This bill will create new criminal offenses for operating a
vehicle within 100 miles of the southern border while fleeing from
Border Patrol agents or any law enforcement officer assisting the U.S.
Border Patrol. This includes serious jail time and prohibition from
ever receiving legal status in the United States.
{time} 1815
This bill is in honor of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent
Raul Gonzalez, who, in 2022, died from injuries sustained in a crash
while pursuing migrants who illegally crossed the Texas border.
This bill sends a message to traffickers, cartels, and other illegal
immigrants that if they risk the lives of American citizens, we will
hold them to the full extent of the law. House Republicans will not
allow more Americans to die at the hands of illegal immigrants, and we
are committed to ensuring the safety of our communities.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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