[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H2319-H2321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PRICES IN CALIFORNIA ARE TOO HIGH
(Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Kiley
of California was recognized for 30 minutes.)
Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, over the last month, gas prices
in California have risen by about 40 cents. This is very different from
what is going on elsewhere in the country.
In fact, right now, gas prices in California average $4.63 where the
national average is $2.97. California's gas prices are by far the
highest in the country.
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They are 23 cents higher than the next highest State, Hawaii, which, of
course, is an island State.
Lest you think this is strictly a matter of red States versus blue
States or Democrat versus Republican policies, take a look at what
folks not far from here in Maryland are paying for gas.
In Maryland, the State average is actually $2.98, $1.65 cents cheaper
than in California. Here are examples of a gas station in California
and a gas station in Maryland.
Now, Maryland is actually a bluer State than California is, and so
the reason our citizens in California have to pay so much is because of
the uniquely bad policies that we have in California, such as the
highest in the Nation gas tax, the so-called cap-and-trade program, and
regulations around the fuel mix that make it incredibly difficult to
source.
All of this has caused two refineries to now leave our State, which
is going to spike gas prices even more. Indeed, it has recently been
reported that California is now importing gasoline from The Bahamas, in
addition to many other places overseas. By the way, this gasoline comes
in on tankers that run on petroleum. The policies of California's
politicians have somehow given us the Nation's most expensive gas and
its most environmentally unfriendly gas.
Mr. Speaker, on top of all of that, while all of these taxes are
supposed to be going toward our roads, we are routinely rated as having
among the very worst roads in the entire country. This is the
extraordinary price that Californians pay for political failure.
Mr. Speaker, to try to provide at least some relief, I have
introduced the Gas Tax Reduction Act here in the House, which would
place a national cap on how much a State can tax its own citizens for
gasoline. This would save Californians at least 21 cents a gallon right
off the bat.
Unsurprisingly, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has come
out against it. I am hopeful that we can get bipartisan support for
this commonsense, much-needed proposition in this House, get
Californians a modicum of relief, and ultimately change the disastrous
policies that have produced this reality for our citizens.
Serial Child Molester Released Early in California
Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the
alarming news that in California a serial child molester by the name of
David Funston has been granted early release.
The parole board has granted parole to Mr. Funston, a serial child
molester, who, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office,
used candy and toys to lure children 7 years old and younger. He was
convicted of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation. According
to the sheriff, multiple young children were victimized, some as young
as 4 years old.
He was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison, along with three
additional consecutive sentences of 25 years to life, with the judge
describing him as ``the monster parents fear the most.'' Yet the parole
board has now released him or has recommended his release pursuant to a
program known as the Elderly Parole Program that grants eligibility of
parole to individuals over the age of 50.
Now, when this program was expanded to include anyone over 50, even
for these most heinous and vile of crimes, I was a member of the
legislature and voted against it. It, in fact, received broad
bipartisan opposition, yet Governor Gavin Newsom nevertheless signed
that bill into law, putting many Californians and many young
Californians at risk.
Mr. Speaker, this is the outrageous consequence of reckless criminal
laws in California that have removed consequences for criminal activity
and provided for the early release of tens of thousands of serious,
hardened criminals.
We have made some progress in California through a voter initiative
to make crime illegal again, passed overwhelmingly by California voters
in 2024, but we have a long way to go to reverse the reckless laws that
remain on the books and protect Californians from the most heinous of
offenders.
Cost of Living
Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, it is undeniably true that many
Americans continue to struggle with the cost of living in this country,
but what is also true is that those struggles are not felt uniformly
throughout the country, that prices are much higher in certain places
than others.
In my own State of California, we have the highest cost of living in
the country and our Governor, Gavin Newsom, was asked about this
recently on CNN. Why does California have the highest cost of living in
the country?
The Governor had no answer, but the answer is obvious. It is the
State's failed policies that have--through this laboratory of democracy
experiment we have in this country where you can compare the results of
different policies side by side, State by State--driven up the price of
just about everything in California.
We have the highest gas prices in the country, the highest
electricity prices in the country, the second or third highest water
bills in the country, the second or third highest grocery prices in the
country, the highest taxes in the country, and the highest housing
costs in all of the continental United States.
The list goes on, which is why when you look at the Census Bureau's
measure of the real poverty rate, which accounts for the cost of
living, California has the highest poverty rate in the entire country.
By the way, we also have the highest unemployment rate and among the
lowest rates of wage growth, so not only are our residents forced to
pay the highest prices but they are experiencing the smallest boost in
their earning capacity and paychecks.
Now, the policies that have created this unfortunate reality are not
difficult to identify. California taxes its citizens more than any
State. It regulates its businesses more than any State. It has the
worst litigation environment of any State. It has the most onerous
regulations on gas, electricity and energy. It has failed to build
adequate water storage in many decades, although we are, thankfully,
changing that. It places tremendous restrictions and frivolous
litigation on building housing and imposes fees that make it cost tens
of thousands of dollars before you even break ground, which is why
Gavin Newsom claimed he was going to build 3.5 million new homes when
he came into office and has produced less than 20 percent of that
number.
Mr. Speaker, there is a lesson to be learned here. When we talk about
an affordability agenda that we can pursue here in the House to lower
costs and improve the quality of life for folks all across the country,
it is to do the opposite of what States like California have done. It
is to do the opposite of overregulating each and every sector.
Instead, we should look to unleash the extraordinary capacity of the
people of this country to build, to start businesses, to build housing,
to remove the barriers, to be on the side of those who are creating and
making life and providing more opportunities to folks all across this
country.
We passed some measures that are important steps in that direction,
but we certainly have more to do. We should bear in mind the example of
California as we move forward with that agenda and seek to raise the
quality of life for folks across the country.
{time} 1250
No Path Forward for California High-Speed Rail
Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, the CEO of the California High-
Speed Rail Authority was recently arrested and placed on leave, so the
Rail Authority is now on its sixth CEO. That means there have been six
more CEOs than there have been passengers because, of course, there
haven't been any passengers, despite spending $17 million over 17
years. There has been no track laid.
Nevertheless, the Governor recently, with quite a bit of hoopla, held
an event in Kern County to celebrate the fact that a single railhead
has now been completed. The Governor that crowed they are now entering
the track-laying phase, whatever that might mean.
Mr. Speaker, it is time for the Governor to acknowledge what the U.S.
Department of Transportation did in a recent compliance review. This
project has no viable path forward.
Thankfully, in the House of Representatives, following a bill I
introduced to this effect, there was a bipartisan vote to cut off all
further Federal funding for high-speed rail. There is no
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viable path forward for the project. I do believe when we have a new
Governor in the State, the project will finally be wound down.
Taxpayers also deserve answers on where all of this money has gone.
Curiously, as we are seeing new scrutiny to answer that question as to
where the money is going, the Governor is pushing a bill in the
legislature to keep records of the project secret and to create new
exceptions to our public records laws that specifically apply to high-
speed rail. That raises the question: I wonder what he doesn't want the
public to see.
Mr. Speaker, I will continue to fight to assure that our share of
Federal tax dollars goes toward projects like our roads that will
actually benefit Californians, now that we have cut off funding for
high-speed rail, and in encouraging leadership at the State level to
wind this project down immediately so we don't continue to throw good
money after bad.
Audit of Next Generation 911 System
Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to hear that
there is going to be an investigation, an audit, of the so-called Next
Generation 911 system in California by the nonpartisan State auditor.
At least this is being requested.
For several years, since 2019, Californians were charged extra fees
on their phone bills. This was to build a Next Generation 911 system.
The fees were paid by the taxpayers, and they went into a pot of money
to build out this system. The Newsom administration ultimately spent
$450 million building this new 911 system, which is needed. Our system
is outdated in California.
Yet the Newsom administration has just announced it is scrapping the
entire project because the technology doesn't work. How does that
happen, Mr. Speaker? This is California, by the way. Silicon Valley is
a stone's throw away from the Governor's office. How do we charge
Californians fees for years on their phone bills, spend $450 million,
and get absolutely nothing for it because the technology doesn't work?
Now our taxpayers have lost that money, and we still don't have an
upgraded 911 system. We are looking at ways we can bring some scrutiny
at the Federal level, as well; but we need to get answers why, once
again, Californians have been forced to sacrifice and gotten absolutely
nothing in return.
Wealth Tax Causing California's Mass Exodus
Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, the so-called wealth tax being
proposed in California has now caused individuals worth a combined $1
trillion, by some estimates, to leave the State. The latest are Mark
Zuckerberg and Steven Spielberg. Others include Larry Ellison and the
founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, among many others.
The wealth tax would confiscate 5 percent of an individual's net
worth if they are worth more than $1 billion. What is worse is it would
actually go after people who have already left the State if they had
been in California within a year of the measure's enactment.
That is why you are seeing this exodus simply based on the wealth tax
being proposed. If you stick around too long before it goes into
effect, if you miss the deadline, then they will come after you and
seize your assets wherever you might be. I could not think of a more
self-defeating proposition.
Let's start with the fact that a lot of individuals with a high net
worth don't necessarily have 5 percent of their assets that are liquid.
They will be forced to unwind their companies. When they are leaving
the State, they are taking their businesses and investments with them.
They are taking their income taxes with them.
That is why any country that has tried any such wealth tax has
actually repealed it because it has had the opposite of the intended
effect.
I have introduced the Keep Jobs in California Act to preempt the most
blatantly unconstitutional provision of this measure, the one that
would tax former residents. My measure simply says that a State cannot
seize the assets of former residents.
Mr. Speaker, this is a straightforward proposition. If this goes into
effect, then it will stop this mass exodus because people will not need
to leave California simply based on the threat that this could
eventually go into effect.
Shutting Down Illegal Biolabs
Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I have joined with several of
my colleagues, including the cosponsor of legislation I have
introduced, Representative Costa, in calling for immediate
consideration of our bill to find, detect, and shut down illegal
biolabs operating throughout the United States.
A couple of weeks ago, a second illegal biolab run by Chinese
nationals was discovered in Las Vegas. This follows the lab that was
found in Reedley, California, a couple of years ago. It was run by the
same international fugitive with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
While the samples are being tested now, it looks very similar to what
was found in Reedley, where some of the world's most dangerous
pathogens were being held, pathogens like E. coli, like malaria, like
HIV, like COVID, like AIDS in this facility that no one knew was even
there. They also had genetically modified transgenic mice in this
facility in Reedley.
By the way, they had a freezer that was labeled ``Ebola'' at that
Reedley facility. It should be noted that Ebola has a 50 percent
fatality rate--a 50 percent fatality rate. While it is not especially
transmissible, we know based upon our experience with COVID that in the
Wuhan lab, they conduct gain-of-function research.
Imagine if they produced a strain of Ebola with its 50 percent
fatality rate but at a higher level of transmissibility. I could not
think of a more jarring threat to public health in the United States.
Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Congress needs to act with urgency in
considering and passing this legislation that we have introduced. After
the first lab was discovered, I said that we don't know how many others
are out there. That concern was echoed by a report by the House Select
Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
We now know that at least one other lab was out there. The question
still remains: How many others are there? We need to get answers to
that very quickly, and we need to make sure we are doing everything we
possibly can to find and shut down any other labs that are indeed out
there.
Congratulating PRIDE Industries' 60 Years of Service
Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate
and recognize PRIDE Industries on reaching their 60-year anniversary
milestone.
In 1966, PRIDE Industries was founded in the basement of a church in
Auburn, California, by a group of parents of young adults with
developmental disabilities. These parents shared a simple, yet
powerful, goal: To ensure their grown children had purpose and the
opportunity to participate in the workforce.
Now, 60 years later, still based in Placer County, they are the
leading employer in the Nation of people with disabilities. PRIDE has
operations that span across 15 different States, as well as here in
Washington, D.C.
Throughout the past six decades, PRIDE Industries has remained
committed to making direct investments in breaking down barriers to
employment, strengthening our local workforce, driving economic growth,
and delivering a lasting and meaningful social impact.
It is an honor to represent exemplary organizations like Pride
Industries in Congress. As such, I commend Pride Industries for their
ongoing dedication to helping people with disabilities to realize their
full potential and maximize their participation in the workforce.
Therefore, on behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I
join Pride Industries in celebrating 60 years of service, and I look
forward to seeing all that they will continue to accomplish in the
years to come.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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