by the black an brown people who want to know their children will have safety and shelter because you represent us too. on january 3, we stood together and swore our oath of office to the constitution and swore to defend it against all enemies foreign and domestic. well it was attacked by a domestic enemy called white supremacy and we must stand together now, today, to uphold that oath and hold every single person who helped incite it accountable. thank youened ayield back. ms. ocasio-cortez: thank you for your comments today and how you carry yourself in this chamber every day, they're just a powerful demonstration of why so maybe people are inspired by your example. thank you. madam speaker, how much time is remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman has 4 1/2 minutes remaining. ms. ocasio-cortez: thank you so much. lastly, i'd like to close speaking to the individuals, some of the individuals that have already been mentioned.

and some of the folks that have already been mentioned in prior remarks. our staff, our capitol police, our house clerks. we thank you. we know how many of you were put in the line of danger because of the job that you have. we know and felt how many staffers were willing to put themselves on the line in order to protect the members of -- they serve alongside. and that is a weight that no one should have to carry. and so we thank you to our health clerks, we thank you. to every single staff member of the united states congress, we thank you. to our food service workers, we thank you. to our custodial workers,

sweeping up the glass on the floor shattered by white supremacists, cleaning up after their mess, there is not enough ways to say thank you. we thank you. to our capitol police who are willing to defend us, we thank you. and again, to our staffers, we thank you. i would be remiss if i did not specifically thank my staffer right here to my left. who was with me on the day of the attack and who did everything he could to protect me. i want his community to know that he is a hero. i want his parents and his family to know that he's a hero. our staff already know that he's a hero. i believe he's a hero too. and i know it's not just him. he'll be the first one to say that. it's to every one of our house

clerks, we thank you. to our capitol police, we thank you. to our food service workers, our custodial workers, every person here that was standing to fight for our democracy, we thank you. and with that, madam speaker, i yield my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2019, -- under the speaker's announced policy of january 4, 2021, the gentleman from washington, mr. newhouse, is recognized for 60 minutes as designee of the minority leader. mr. newhouse: thank you, madam speaker. good evening. before i begin, i'd like to ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of my special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so moved. mr. newhouse: thank you very much. madam speaker, in the first days of his administration, president

biden has taken a record breaking number of executive actions and he has signed more executive orders than any president in recent history. i'm very proud this evening to be joined by some of my colleagues from the congressional western caucus. as a group we represent constituents across the country who have been negatively impacted by these actions of president biden. on his very first day in office, the president signed an executive order to revoke the presidential permit for the keystone x.l. pipeline. this innovative, first of its kind energy project has been in the works for years, with local

communities, numerous states and even our neighbor to the north, canada, investing heavily in its creation. also, on day one, president biden directed his acting secretary of the interior to issue a 60-day moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands. and then if that weren't enough, to complete the one-two punch, a week later he extended that moratorium indefinitely. madam speaker, and i'm confident my colleagues will echo this sentiment, it is unconscionable that president biden would, during a global pandemic, eliminate thousands of jobs and prevent the creation of thousands more with one flick of his pen. as you will hear from my

colleagues, this action was thoughtless and devastating to the hundreds of communities and the millions of americans who rely on the oil and gas industry . from labor unions, local small businesses, to rural school districts, conservationists, people all over the country. now, his long-term goals may very well be well-intentioned. but, madam speaker, right now in communities across the country, jobs, revenue and investment are lost, just disappeared. madam speaker, what does president biden propose to do in the meantime? this truly can be described as an attack on american energy and

american workers. over the last four years, the trump administration -- the united states has made huge strides towards energy independence. becoming the largest net exporter of energy in the world. president biden's actions will unilaterally undo this progress. it will threaten our energy security and leave thousands of hardworking american men and women without a job. president biden has acted without any input or meaningful debate from the members of this congress who represent those people that are most affected by his orders. president biden -- madam speaker, tonight we are here to make our voices and their voices heard. i'm proud to be joined, as i said, with many of the outstanding members of the western caucus, and we have a

lot of them that have a lot of great things to say. and my first guest is a member of the -- a new member of our executive committee, he comes from the state of minnesota where at least 50,000 jobs are supported by mining in his home state. a tremendous amount of economic activity. so i'm very pleased to yield to the congressman from minnesota, mr. pete stauber. mr. stauber: thank you very much for this opportunity. i rise with my colleagues today out of serious concern for well-being of america's workers and american energy independence. under the trump administration, america came first. the priority was lowering energy costs for americans and ending

our supply chain dependency along with supporting high-wage jobs in the energy industry. sadly, within just two weeks, joe biden has started destroying much of that progress and setting our nation back. president biden's executive orders have ended high-wage pipeline jobs on keystone x.l. he has banned oil and gas development on federal lands and forced america to rejoin the unfair paris climate agreement. which gives a free pass to polluters like india and communist china. his actions have serious consequences for my rural district and districts like mine. in my district, gas prices have started to dramatically increase , as joe biden keeps punishing american families with executive

order after executive order. in fact, since november 30, gas prices have already risen 32 cents and counting. a 60-mile round trip for work is not uncommon in northern minnesota. already that is a $244 a year increase per driver. imagine what it will be like for middle class families if these increases continue. furthermore, joe biden's executive order canceling critical projects like the kia stone x.l. pipeline -- keystone x.l. pipeline sends a chilling message to union members nationwide, including in my district, where many are currently working to replace the lines 3 pipeline. many workers are asking

themselves, will joe biden cancel their job next? and what about those individuals who were employed with a good paying, high-quality job, working on pipelines or oil fields on our federal lands? because of joe biden's anti-jobs agenda, these individuals are not only being denied a living wage, but the dignity of work. meanwhile, they will still need to put gas in their vehicles. prices will keep rising and the gas they use won't be produced by hardworking americans any longer. instead, they will be purchasing gas for their trucks from hostile countries like russia, venezuela and china. all of which have signed the paris climate agreement, but not one of these countries has met their obligation.

madam speaker, joe biden's unilateral executive orders are harmful. it may not be understood here in the beltway, but my constituents know that these executive orders mean job loss and higher energy costs for the american family. it's been less than a month and joe biden has already made his agenda very, very clear. american jobs, american families and american energy independence are no longer first. at this time of economic uncertainty, i urge the biden administration to change their reckless course. i urge the biden administration to abandon the failed obama-era

policies and support an all-of-the-above energy strategy that will create jobs, keep energy costs low, and maintain our energy independence, which will enhance our national security. and by working together to support energy jobs and reduce dependence on foreign nations, we have the chance to create a tomorrow with unimaginable potential. and i yield back. mr. newhouse: thank you, congressman stauber, for helping to put a human face on to the issue that we're speaking about, and the real costs to american citizens. the loss of jobs cannot be understated. and the impact our communities and families across this

country. so thank you. you know, madam speaker, a lot of states will be impacted. the whole country will be. but i want to turn to someone from the great state of texas that you probably know this already, that this ban from president biden will eliminate two million jobs in the oil and gas industry in texas. alone. in one state. representing i think probably the epicenter of petroleum refining in this country, brian babin from the houston area, another fine member of our western caucus, congressman babin, thank you for participating tonight. mr. babin: thank you for having this, my good friend from washington state, and a classmate. good to be here. i stand here today as a proud representative of houston, texas. the epicenter of american energy and the catalyst for this country's pursuit of energy independence. but unfortunately our economic

bedrock of oil and gas is under attack, severe attack, by an administration that is eliminating millions of jobs and leaving our national security wide open to the threats from adversaries. an oil and gas moratorium on federal lands is projected to cost america one million jobs, revoking the keystone x.l. pipeline permit will cost us 11,000 jobs in 2021 alone. and account for the loss of $1.6 billion in gross wages. . rejoining the paris climate accord, original -- originally poorly negotiated by president obama, is expected to cost us 400,000 jobs and is a bad deal for the american people and a good deal for the world's biggest polluter, communist china. what happened to this new administration's promise to stand up for all americans?

from gas and electric builds to new highways an bridges to taxes to putting food on the table, what happens to the oil and gas industry affects all americans and killing these jobs will have a ripple effect that will be felt in every home in the nation. additionally if we destroy oil and natural gas here and force adherence through wildly burdensome read tape we will have to import oil and natural gas from oversees and -- overseas and burn much fuel to get it here. that means paying more for energy that was processed not using the same stringent, clean, environmental regulations we have here in america, no. if we want to stand here and talk about cleaner energy solutions, we have to acknowledge the fact that pipelines are by far the safest and most environmentally friendly way to transport

energy. in fact, pipelines have a 99.9% safety record. when we kill energy jobs here in the united states, we are in turn killing clean energy jobs locally. i yield back. thank you. mr. new ho -- mr. newhouse: thank you very much, conman babin. thank you for explaining to us the pipeline industry what it does for our country, as far as safety and care for the requirement as well. absolutely. next i'd like to turn from one of our newest members, new to our caucus, knew to the house of representatives, a young lady if the state of new mexico, yvette harold -- harel has done a great job so far.

if you want a state reliant on oil and gas look no further than new mexico. at least 134,000 jobs are supported by that industry. it's a huge part of your state. ms. herrell: thank you, chairman newhouse and thank you for your leadingship holding this special order. with the stroke of a pen, president biden threatened economies and public education systems of new mexico, seven other western state, four gulf states and alaska. to put it simply the executive actions he took on behalf of radical environmentalists to stop new oil and gas leases on federal land is nothing short of disaster. in new mexico, over half the oil production and 2/3 of the natural gas production occurs on federal land. production employees nearly

120,000 people statewide and estimate shows a ban on new oil an gas leases could cost the state over 60,000 jobs by the end of 2022. royalty pames and tacks from oil and gas industry contribute more than over one third of our state's general fund. the loss in revenue will have the greatest impact on children as over $1 billion from the oil and gas industry goes to new mexico public schools every year. before the ban was announced i sent to new mexico governor michelle lujan grisham asking how she'd make up the lost revenue. i've yet to receive a reply. after the announcement i introduced the power act along with 40 of my republican colleague. this bill would prevent the president from having new oil and gas leasing and critical mineral leasing on federal lands without consent of congress. for too long, congress has ceded

authority over our public hands to the executive branch. this will enable congress to take back control and stand up for the people we represent. just yesterday, i also introduced the protecting new mexico's job and public education system act which would exempt new mexico if the current ban on new oil and gas leasing. my state would be the most negatively affected in the nation by leasing bans, more than half of theoff shore oil -- on shore oil produced in the u.s. is produced in new mexico. i must point out madam speaker that the oil and gas industry is not just about fueling our cars and our homes, petroleum based products are part of our everyday lives. they include medical products and even sporting equipment. in response to concerns we raised in regards to loss of oil and gas jobs, the biden

administration said people can just find work in the renewable energy secondor. statistics show that workest involved in oil and gas make an average of $48. how do i tell my constituents to earn much less than that in other industries. in a time when our economy has been weakened by this covid-19 pandemic and many constituents are out of work we should be focused on protecting good-paying jobs, not eliminating them i have look forward to working with my western caucus colleagues over the coming weeks and to give a voice tour constituents who -- who will be harmed by the executive actions of the biden administration. i want to thank chairman newhouse again for hosting this special order and i yield back. mr. newhouse: thank you very much, congresswoman herrell, preesh you helping us understand the impact of the state of new mexico not just jobs but schools as well. a billion dollar cost to school

districts of your state. i can't imagine the long-term detrimental impacts that will bring. speaking of that, i would like to turn to another gentleman from the state of texas. someone i got to know very well on the rules committee. michael burgess represents his district in texas and similar to what we just heard from new mexico, i believe texas school districts also through property taxes on oil and gas production, on pipelines on gas ewe tillties, receive at least $1 billion a year as well. dr. burgess, thank you so much for being here this evening and helping tell the american people the real impacts of these decisions. mr. burgess: thank you, chairman. con garagelations to you for your chairmanship of the western caucus. i appreciate you including me in this discussion this evening on the way to get ready to come over here, here's a bit of breaking news, politico in tear

online newsletter, 6:30 tonight, headline, biden's plans for economic recovery imperiled by swelling ranks of long-term jobless. millions of americans are staring at the reality of long-term unemployment, a precarious an worsening situation that threatens to drag on the economic recovery after the pandemic ends. you know what? i remember when democrats used to be for the working class but long-term unemployment is so damaging to people's families and people's lives. suspending the production on federal lands, texas doesn't have the amount of federal lands some of the other states do, but it still affects us. todd staples, our former agriculture commissioner in the state of texas, now head of the

texas oil and gas association, writes in january, banning energy development on federal lands and offshore waters not only threatens thousands of the best paid jobs but needlessly erases much needed revenue that helps pay for schools an other essential services. so said todd staples, president of texas oil an gas association. going on, american oil and gas is safe, clean, abundant and misguided policies will only stifle our nation's energy and environmental progress. a million jobs across the country. 120,000 of those in the state of texas alone. as we heard from our colleague, it does affect tax revenues for local activities, our schools, building our highways. the oil -- todd staples when on to say, the oil industry is producing oil and natural gas in

cleaner, more efficient ways than 10 or 15 years ago, all the while producing energy to power our daily lives. look, everybody talks about building electric cars. where is the electricity coming from? some of it is going to come from natural gas, natural gas fired power plants. i do remember when the democratic party used to be the party of the working man and woman. i question why president biden has strayed so far from that. a little over two weeks ago he said on the western steps of the capitol building that his number one priority was going to be american jobs and then he immediately, he immediately causes immeasurable harm to millions of americans. dan, i want to thank you for leading this hour, thank you for letting me participate, i yield

back. mr. newhouse: thank you very much. i appreciate that very much. madam speaker, you're starting to get the message that it's clear, this is going to impact every citizen of this country. these wrongheaded decisions are impacting our way of life, our cost of living, in so many different ways. i don't know what the next speaker will talk about for sure but i'm guessing, i'll make a guess, that bruce westerman, the new ranking member of the natural resources committee, hailing from the state of arkansas, may talk about a treaty, i'm not sure about that. but certainly the natural resources impacts here are going to be real. people may not understand that but we are -- we're very -- we passed a huge bill last congress. i'm sure you remember the land and water conservation fund, part of a bigger piece of legislation. guess where a lot of money comes from to make that happen?

it's from oil and gas leases. i think the great state of arkansas is set to get a lot of money in 2021 from that fund. this is going to have an impact there. bruce westerman, thank you so much not only for your partnership, your activity, your work on western caucus but also your work on the natural resources committee. mr. westerman: i thank the gentleman from washington an commend him for the great work he's done in the western conference. here in congress to be a voice for rural america an for these areas like my district that depend on natural resources. madam speaker, our country is at a cross roads on the environment. one read leads to a vibrant, all of the above energy approach where we combine state of the art technology with hardworking american ingenuity and work ethic to incentivize smart environmental solutions. the other road leads to a top

down regulatory approach in which those in power ban, tax, and prohibit energy access resulting in economic ruin and environmental degradation. it's clear which path president biden has chosen. with the stroke of a pen, he eliminated thousands of american jobs, put many more into jeopardy, defunned bipartisan conservation programs an eliminated some of the safest, most reliable forms of energy production and transportation we have. let's not confuse action with progress. the data is very clear. america leads the world in environmental standards. if our goal is actually a cleaner, safer, and healthier environment, an i hope it is, then we can continue modeling these standards for the rest of the world to follow while developing the technology of the future. however, through his sweeping bans that dilled the keystone

pipeline an shut down new energy leases on federal lands an water, president biden is merely shifting our curn demands for energy overseas. let me make that clear. much as my democratic colleagues might pretend otherwise, america's demand for oil and natural gas will not go away overnight. it cannot. our infrastructure depends on it. shutting down one of our main domestic supplies, our supply will shift overseas where we have no control over their environmental standards. put simply, president biden's orders will hurt our environment in the long run and devastate our economy in the meantime. so what's our alternative? how about allowing the free market to work like it always has. we have an innovative, pragmatic plan in place. unlike the democrats' happen ha czar shooting from the hip approach. it's why i've introduced

pro-growth solutions like the trillion tree tag. madam speaker, we don't need to make political points with no substance an no hope for success. we need an energy plan that looks to the future while taking care of the needs of today. democrats went democrats want to make us choose between a healthy environment and a strong economy. i'm here to tell you that we can have both. actually, if we want a cleaner, safer, healthier environment, then we must have a strong economy. they go hand in hand. i hope president biden reverses this ban and puts our environment and america's economy first. with that, i yield back. mr. newhouse: thank you, bruce. congressman westerman, i appreciate that very much. and thank you for getting in that word treaty. i appreciate that very much. really helping us understand the true impacts not only to our economy, but to our environment, of these kinds of decisions.

from another w state, which we kind of have to stick together, congressman tom tiffany, another strong member of the western caucus, and comes from a state that also is set to receive a tremendous amount of funding through the land and water conservation fund, which again is financed through oil and gas leases. so, congressman tiffany, thank you very much for participating this evening. appreciate you being here. tiff tiff i thank the gentleman for -- mr. tiffany: i thank the gentleman for yielding me some time. madam speaker, while america and congress' attention has been diverted from the real issues, we have seen something over the last couple weeks that is going to compromise american security in three ways. one is national security -- one, its national security. two, our economic security. and most important for millions of americans, their job security.

first came the white house decision to shred the keystone pipeline permit, a slap in the face to our friends in canada and a pink slip for countless americans who rely on the strategic energy security project for their livelihoods. but you know what may have happened most importantly? with the stroke of a pen, a contract was eliminated. can other countries trust america anymore? can americans trust our president and our executive branch when at a stroke of a pen, the uni-- they unilaterally say that contract is null and void? then came the moratorium on federal oil and gas leases, the prospect of a long-term drilling ban on public lands, and even steps to halt energy projects on private land. the white house has also pushed the u.s. back into the u.n.'s paris climate treaty, subjecting american interests to the whim of international bureaucrats. and by the way, the english were

smart enough to get out of one of those agreements. they called it brexit. these things will kill family-wage american jobs that can't be outsourced, raising prices at the pump, and draining trillions of dollars from the u.s. economy. all this was done with the stroke of a pen. and without approval from congress. and the ramifications will be disastrous. madam speaker, when it comes to national security, it is no coincidence that we have seen peace break out in the middle east over the last few years. the diplomatic achievements of the trump administration in that troubled region are a result in part of policies that have made american energy dominance a reality. we gained the upper hand on producing -- when we began producing more petroleum and we became energy independence in america. -- energyment in in america. by turning back -- energyment in

-- energy independent in america. by turning back the clock, we are putting lives at risk. the cancellation of the keystone pipeline and new energy restrictions have put wisconsin jobs on the chopping block, including more than 2,000 jobs at michael's and precision pipeline, two fine american companies and wisconsin companies. and these companies will not be the only ones victims of the biden administration's great leap backward. thousands of down stream companies provide support services to these pipeline firms, businesses like part suppliers, steel workers, frack sand mine operators, even restaurants, taverns and other main street businesses who count energy industry workers among their customers. all of these businesses are now in the cross hairs for another economic -- crosshairs for another economic hit. this one inflicted by their own government in washington, not a pandemic in wuhan. even more golf balling was the

administration's -- galing was the administration's glib response that these hardworking americans should simply suck it up and find better jobs. is this what unity looks like, madam speaker? by taking aim at americans who work in oil and gas, the biden administration will cripple a key stream of revenues for state and local governments, funding that they rely on to pay for schools, road repairs, first responders and public health services. in wisconsin alone, the loss of revenue associated with the cancellation of keystone is estimated to hit $3 billion. and i'd like to emphasize, while we're here with the chair of the western caucus and we're hearing from members from the west side of mississippi, wisconsin is on the east side of the mississippi, and it is eastern states that are going to be hit with this equally as hard. including states in ohio and pennsylvania. while people in our communities are struggling to pay their bills and find work, this administration is killing jobs

and making their lives more expensive. while those on the other side are pushing a $350 billion state bailout, the white house is choking off their revenues. and while our nation faces rising threats from foreign adversaries, the other side is taking active steps that will make america less safe, less secure, and less self-reliant. i only need a few more seconds, mr. chairman. american workers are tired of being lectured about carbon emissions by people who fly around the world on private jets. like president biden's climate czar, who admitted that even if u.s. emissions dropped to zero, it would make no difference because 90% of co-2 comes from other countries. in fact, 1/3 of the total globe emissions come from china. the bottom line is that access to affordable, abundant and reliable energy is essential to a dynamic economy, supporting

millions of good, made in the u.s.a. jobs in american manufacturing. madam speaker, when the white house attacks homegrown energy jobs for purely political gain, china wins and america loses. thank you. mr. newhouse: thank you, congressman tiffany. well spoken. the economy, jobs, the environment, schools, national security, the impacts of these decisions are far and wide across this country. you know, one of the great things about a citizen legislative body is that we are made up of individuals from all walks of life. and i'm very proud that we have on the western caucus a new member to the caucus, and also a new member of our executive committee, but also someone whose family is one of these people that we're talking about, whose jobs will be impacted by

these decisions. so i'm anxious to hear from our new member from colorado, lauren boebert. thank you very much for being part of this discussion. coming from a state that thousands, tens of thousands of jobs rely on in this industry, madam, the floor is yours. mrs. boebert: thank you so much to the gentleman from washington, and thank you to my chairman of the western caucus. it's an honor to serve with you, especially in a time like this where our energy needs are so dramatically threatened. madam speaker, i rise today as the proud representative of colorado's third congressional district. one of the most beautiful districts in the entire nation. where waters like the colorado, the arkansas and the annamis river flow. and snow falling along the rocky mountains provide outdoor recreation in towns like

durango, telluride, as pen and steamboat springs. colorado's third district is also home to some of the nation's most abundant energy resources. we all win when american energy workers develop our resources responsibly at home. yet this administration is laser focused on eliminating fossil fuels and the majority of jobs in the energy industry. it's not complicated. we are stronger and safer as a country when we remain energy independent and dictators across the world can no longer fund their deadly terrorist activities on the backs of our energy needs. madam speaker, there is no reason the u.s. should be dependent on volatile foreign sources from countries like russia, iraq and saudi arabia. when we can safely produce these resources right here in america.

creating american jobs. american ingenuity and innovation have resulted in the u.s. becoming a global leader in carbon emissions reductions. protecting our environment, while safely producing american energy is not mutually exclusive goals. advancements associated with fracking and horizontal drilling are the main reasons the u.s. is has become a world leader in protect -- has become a world leader in protecting the earth. you heard me. fracking. demonized by the left, without any merit, has proven to be one of the best energy solutions for our environment. i think it's becoming very clear that my colleagues on the left have become fracking liars. but these facts don't matter to the biden administration. all they seem to care about is appeasing extremists, environmentalists -- extremist environmentalists in order to

get more campaign donations. with a stroke of his pen that sometimes takes him a while to find, president joe biden has unilaterally imposed job-killing executive orders and overreaching energy mandates that are going to crush my district and the people that live within it. from rejoining the paris agreement without asking the senate to ratify this treaty, to unilaterally eliminating the keystone x.l. pipeline, to banning all new federal oil and gas leases. the biden administration has already taken actions that will eliminate thousands of colorado's jobs. just as the gentleman mentioned. and send my people, the people i was sent to represent in my district, to the unemployment line. madam speaker, i have met with my constituents. they don't understand why this administration is targeting their livelihoods and telling them that they can simply find other jobs. the energy workers in colorado's third district like their jobs. they're good at them.

they're the best at extracting these resources responsibly. they don't want to be unemployed during a pandemic. and worried about how they're going to put food on the table or make ends meet for their family. just last week president biden unveiled a green new deal-like environmental plan. while the price tag is astronomical, and its goals unrealistic, the real tragedy associated with this $2 trillion charade will be the number of men and women in my district who have to come home and tell a spouse and their children that they were laid off and are unable to provide for their family. it's not big oil that's the going to close their doors -- that's going to close their doors as a result of biden's executive orders, it's the little guys in small, rural communities that will be hit hardest by this administration's actions, that seek to eliminate all coal, oil and natural gas. -- gas as its electricity sources by 2035. joe biden's team learned nothing

from the american energy renaissance we saw under the trump administration. low gas prices, the lowest average unemployment rate ever until covid. and the greatest economy the world has ever seen. madam speaker, energy dominance and america-first policies have been replaced by climate change overkill and people like john kerry flying around the world in their private jets telling hardworking americans to make better choices. we are the land of the free and we'll always be. i will never allow my four boys to live in a socialist nation. for all the people in the third district that i so proudly represent, i will proudly fight the green new deal policies joe biden's job-killing executive orders with everything that i have. i will support freedom and prosperity at every opportunity. and i will oppose any effort

that seeks to take the god-given freedom and rights away from the american people. and with that, i yield back my time. mr. newhouse: thank you, congresswoman boebert. appreciate very much your strong voice on behalf of not only the people you represent, but the people all over the country. so thank you. thank you for those very valuable comments. madam speaker, as you can already tell, we have a very strong class of new members this year. i'd like to turn to another that comes from the state of utah. a state that -- i don't think it's the highest with federal landownership, but pretty darn close. 63%, i understand, of the land in blake moore's state is under federal ownership. i know mr. moore has a great perspective on this issue and i'm very anxious to welcome him and give him the floor so that he can share with us his thoughts. mr. moore: thank you, chairman. appreciate it.

when you say perspective, the part i'd like to highlight is it's about balance. i'm going to speak to that a little bit. but before my comments get drowned out in some of the prepared statements, making sure there's balance benefits all. that's something i'm really passionate about and utahans are passionate about. madam speaker, i rise today to call on the biden administration to reverse its unilateral orders, including executive order 14008, secretarial order 3395, and executive order 13990, revoking the keystone x.l. pipeline permit. utah, as you mentioned, has the second highest percentage of federally owned land at around 65%. approximately 10,000 utahans rely on the oil and these orders will result in utah families losing their jobs and reduce crucial funding for conservation programs that protect the natural wonders of my home state and our great

country. they will make our country more reliant on imported energy from other countries with lower environmental standards than our own and weaken our national security footholds. restricting extraction has real costs for our schools, first responders an public servants. -- public services. the keystone pipeline' m.o.u. with north american building trade unions will provide 10 million jobs in renewable energy and invest a total of $1.7 billion in remuble energy infrastructure, proving that a productive balance of development and conservation can be achieved. rushed executive actions do not allow for collaboration with people directly impacted by these decisions. utahans will feel the negative effects of these orders an i encourage the administration to reverse these actions and work with a bipartisan group of

legislators to -- on solutions that protect and develop our cherished lands. i ran on a sincere desire to promote productivity other partisanship and i stand by that commitment today. i yield back. thank you. mr. newhouse: thank you, congressman moore. continuing the theme of our strong freshman class aye like to turn to the yell from dans, i didn't realize that kansas was such a major producer of energy. i think of kansas as wheat and corn but energy is part of your economy, an important part, and i don't think a lot of americans understand truly the impact of these decisions in other states. it is with great pleasure i turn to congressman tracyman of kansas. thank you for participating tonight. mr.man: kansas has a lot of oil and gas and ethanol production

as well. very important for the energy, the back stop for the country. i rise today to discuss president biden's recent actions. kansas is one of the most productive agriculture areas in the country and is home to a flourishing energy industry. communities shrink and grow with oil and gas prices. my district is the 11th largest in the country and has more than 883,000 miles of roads. we are out every day to trapt our kruks -- product arn the world. whether it be diesel for a tractor, keeping our homes an families warm or filling up a gas tank to drive our kids 30 miles each way to school, our district needs energy. i'm gravely concerned that president bide 's mandates on

oil and gas. in my first two weeks in congress, president biden issued 25 executive orders in his first 10 days as president, mmp the last seven presidents combined in their first 10 days. president biden delivered mixed messages claiming to support fossil fuels and american jobs and then issued a -- an executive order dismantleling the keystone x.l. pipe line. we cannot sit idle and watch executive orders take over the direction of the country with no input from congress. the executive branch was not created to legislate. congress was. this week i introduced the more accountability as necessary now act. six pieces of legislation promoting accountable and transparency to the administration's future executived offers. they require the executive branch to notify the american

public an congress of its intent to issue -- pertain to six specific too muchics including energy antesite. we must hold elected leaders accountable for the pipeline worker and the plant manager. for the millions of lives depending on agriculture an energy every day and for the better. of our democracy. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: thank you very much. appreciate that. thank you for your involvement in the western caucus, too. the voices we have are strong and we will continue to speak loud an clearly about the impact of some of these decisions. since you've probably guessed, if you're listening, the state of texas is impacted by these decision, we have chip roy who i

know can speak firsthand about the oil and gas investor and the impact to our economy. mr. roy, thank you for being here. mr. roy: thank you for putting together this time lead theveringt. it's critically important. obviously to my great and home state of texas but also to so many tates, particularly out west but let's be honest, to all 50 states of the union. this is so fundamental to who we are as americans. unfortunately, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are attacking the very natural resources, the very great strength that the united states of america has to set us apart from the west of the world to be independent. we were blessed by the good world be abadundance of natural resources that we can use for jobs, for affordable energy, for prosperity. and to lead the world doing that. unfortunately we're seeing a massive attack, literally in the

first few weeks of the new administration, 28 executive orders, a huge number of which were obviously targeted at oil and natural gas. targeted to the life blood of our energy in this country. if row look at what we've been able to to thoich -- able to do with clean-burning natural gas, we have co-2 lev levels that are down to 1990 levels. we have vast lie exceeded what my leftist friends on the other side of the aisle want to follow the leftist socialist europeans, they fly on their expensive jets to go preach to the world about global warming. spare me your preaching as you're riding around in these jets spewing out co-2 when we, through innovation, in the great

state of texas and in our country, are creating clean burning natural gas, creating jobs, powering the world and now the democrat administration wants to come in and destroy jobs, destroy our leadership in the world, turn us other to russia and iran and oh by the way empower china to roll right over us while they spew out whatever they want to spew out because darn if they're going to actually do anything like agree to whatever is in the paris agraeme. it is an absolute joke. it's a laughing stock what the democratic party is doing, saying they're standing up for the little guy in this country when you're going to drive up the price of energy, increase co-2, empower china, empower iran, empower russia and harp jobs. you're going to kill hundreds of thousands of jobs in this country even as we're coming out of the negative effect of the pandemic. we have an expression in texas, come and take it. goes back to our history, our

founding as a republic in texas, in gonzalez. when santa ana wanted his cannon back and we said come and take it. my message to my democratic colleagues, we're going to drill, we're going to frack, texas will continue to lead the world and my democratic colleagues, come and take it. we're going to stand up for this world being able to flourish, not just america, not just texas, the world. we're exporting lick fied natural gas around the world, making the world better. if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are concerned abco-2 why would you undermine the very energy policies giving us the ability to drive those co-2 levels down? it makes absolutely no sense. so i would just say to the gentleman, i greatly appreciate you giving us the time here to highlight this but this is just the beginning to my friends on the other side of the aisle.

you all in here, with the new administration, roll in here thinking we're going to fundamentally alter our entire economy through executive order? we're going to say no. we're going to say come and take it. that's what we're doing. that's what i'm here to say. i appreciate the gentleman. mr. newhouse: thank you, mr. roy. appreciate your strong voice, your leadership on the republican conference and appreciate you very much you being part of this evening's discussion. words couldn't be truer. madam speaker, i want to thank you for your attention in listening to the message that we have. let me ask you a question. could you imagine if former president trump had signed an executive order during the middle of a pandemic to unilaterally kill thousands of jobs? what would you say would happen? it would be a nationalout rage,

right? well president biden's reckless executive actions are a national outrage. americans, as you've heard, in rural communities across the country, in fact in urban areas too, every american will suffer because of this ban. western caucus advocates for responsible land and resource management. i can assure you we will continue to be a strong voice for rural america. we will do everything in our power to fight for their livelihoods in the face of these devastating decisions by president biden. so we, i tonight, call on president bide ton please, revoke and reverse these actions. thank you, madam speaker. appreciate your attention and the opportunity to express our

views on this very important issue. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. under the speaker's announced policy of january 4, 2021, the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida, mr. soto, for 30 minutes. mr. soto: thank you, madam speaker. in honor of black history month, i would like to honor eloise abraham. eloise abraham is an r.n., d.s., l.n.h.a., she's -- with over 35 years of experience in health care ms. habe am -- ms. abraham's knew working with seniors was her passion. championed as the first african-american director of

clinical services, an first african-american licensed nursing home operator in volusia county, she received an excellence award for exemplary service in rehabilitation care and services. eloise takes pride in mentoring students, inspiring them to become licensed nursing home ad mrtors. she receives numerous accolades for her stellar leadership including state and national awards for exemplary care. she was honored question bi"onyx" magazine as a woman on the move. she plays an active role in her church and is a member of the zeta phi beta sorority she is currently president of the central florida black nurses association of orlando inc. leading her team through one of the most challenging years in

l.p.c. history duh to covid-19 was support from the g.c. board of directors anacinnery health care management. she continues to have a deep passion for providing the highest quality of care. she's deeply passionate about the quality of health care directed toward seniors and those less fortunate and demonstrated continuous commitment to this cause. in addition to being involved in her work and her community she was very family oriented and understands the need to balance her life. she spends quality time with her beautiful plended -- blended family and her husband of 29 years. for that and for more, eloise abraham, we honor now. in honor of black history month, i would like to honor gloria r. e-- emanuel. she's currently the senior accountant for reporting for the city of claud. she's responsible for debt

obligations and monitoring splines of debt cove innocents -- covenants. she assists the finance director in the refinancing of existing debt and handles issuance of new debt and works to ensure the timely pame of debt service for all bonds for the city of st. cloud. further, tpwhrora analyzes an records transactions for the pension trust fund for both general and police and firefighters plans. glory also holds responsibility for preparing several local financial reports including the state annual local government financial report, a mmbing l, the police an gloria has been employed for over 32 years, progressing from the position of senior account clerk to her present position of senior accountant financial reporting. she has had exposure to all phases and the city's financial

workings and grant accounting and budgeting. demror yeah has served as the pressurer of campaigns including the naacp and legitimated city campaign. she received a bachelors' of arts from the university of north florida in jacksonville and officer in 2012. currently demror yeah is a member of the soirks and it's local chapters as the florida governor's association. she has been married for 31 years and proud parent of two children. for that and more, ms. demror yeah emmanuel, we honor you. in honor of plaque history month, i would like to honor

alison kirby. she has been the principal. she is an english teacher and librarian that sl helped her become a strong leader. her dream was to create an environment and adequately prepared to attack will adult hood, her passion comes from her grandmother who served as a high school english teacher. her passion helped instill a devotion of education. in early years, the only public high school for african-americans, the high school is now open to all students and the environment is more inclusive. in her efforts to promote

educational opportunities, she has led the school in becoming a partnership school, revamping the magna program to license principal call nurses. ask anyone at jones high and they are history in the making. outside of her work, miss kish by lives in downtown orlando with her husband and daughter. with that and more, we honor you. in honor of black history month, i would like to honor joshua myers. he has 14 years of marketing communications rnings and sales management experience. through his career, he has been featured as a commentator for

print radio television. through his work, joshua is connecting people through health that improve their lives through those affected by health diss parties. he serves as the development and communications director and medical clinic with operations throughout florida. he holds a bash lore degree from the college of brock popt a master's in media from the rochester institute and from the university of buffalo sunni and he was a fellow. he resides in florida and enjoys reading and cooking. for that and more, mr. myers, we honor you.

in honor of plaque history month, i would like to recognize andla eddie. she is a lifelong resident and spansing and bringing higher paying jobs. in addition to serving as a former commissioner. she has for nearly 30 years has experience in the health industry where she works for a pharmaceutical distributor. she has been on the osceola foundation and the local chapter of the naa crmp p. angela serves in various organizes as a board in the osyole a community vision and

osceola county of the naacp and osceola of the democratic executive committee. she continues to assist combat homelessness and she has received awards for service including the naa crmp p, the national congress of plaque woman, city of cyst imey and the delta omega chapter. it has been a will bridge the community. she believes in equality of fall all. angela is the 10th of 12 children and mother of one beautiful daughter and two precious granddaughters.

angela has been in public service for most of her adult life and has built a better community in the great city of kiss i'm and we honor you. >> in honoring r honor of black history months i would like to honor dr. karanasiasa nelson james. she joined central james in december of 2019. she obtained her medical degree at nova in fort lauderdale, florida. her training was at north broward hospitals, broward general medical center. along with being a member of the team for over 14 years. she is an associate clinical professor at nova southeastern

college of medicine. dr. nelson james continues to provide care at the community health center two days a week. she has been instrumental in working with day air care through the florida state university. and she is an advocate for clinical education tore for students and residents. during this challenging covid-19 pandemic, drr nelson james has provided testing for thousands of patients and vaccines to 65 and over in h.c.w. she is passionate about everyone having access to health care. she has committed herself to empowering her patients. she will always find a way to say yes to programs and and she

is married with four children and lives in winter haven florida and she likes dr. karanasiasa nelson james, we honor you. in honor of plaque history month, we recognize dr. karanasias line pass, her leadership stands more than 35 years serving as president of the minority pre-professional association at the university of florida where she earned her b.s. in micro biology. she was a meantey in the late senator edward contendy's office. she searched as president and regional council member of the medical association. in the final year of her master's program.

and being inducted into the iron arrow society. dr. pass' began in 2001 and she opened her primary care practice in lake wales, florida. she suffered from congestive heart failure and recoupe rated for 18 months after giving birth to her third child. her dedication continued to flourish. on this staff she served on every committee and has been elected three times as chairman of medicine. she is serving as the first plaque female chief of staff. dr. pass' specialty is wound care and her passions are her

three lovely children. for that and more, drr pass, we honor you. in honor of black history month, i would like to recognize dr. vintent miller. dr. vintent miller serves as the secondary math teacher and honored as the first plaque male polk county teacher of the year. he is a new author with one of the top selling books, 21st century education in the lens of covid-19. 10 years he has had many administrative rules to have his bloff back in the classroom. include decreasing academic

rates, establishing academic programs to energize offerings. he holds a dr. in education in education of leadership, a masters of business administration from webster university a bachelor of university from south and vocal performance from the university of south florida. dr. miller is known for his community work through his nonprofit filling the lane. it is to bridge the gap between education, sports, arts and community for at-risk youth and known for performing internationally in shows as the broadway production. he is very excited to be honored here today in the words of disney, it is fun to do the impossible, unquote.

for that, dr. vincent m. miller the 1 we honor you. i would like to recognize jacqueline bird who is the superintendent of polk county of public schools, educator and mother of jason bird junior and jailen. first african-american superintendent. improving education for all students has become a role model for all students and advocating all students creating services to address remeeting their needs. jacqueline can be found visiting schools talking to students and attending events and advocating on behalf of her students. she loves spending time with her husband and family even though

many of these evenings are spent at school events. she is the youngest of six children of gwen and eugene hodges. she should have been the oldest, unquote. she would face challenges as an african-american women. but her integrity were important. she has passed these life lessons. jack line is a member of a sore yot and serves on board of directors within her community and state. as part of her service she served as a spokes person for the national bone marrow program. in december of 2005, she donated bone marrow to a five-year-old girl. she advocates for unselfless acts. for that and more, jacqueline bird, we honor you.

>> in honor of black history month, i would like to recognize joseph foon howard as part of her life legacy. she has been achieving goals teaching, learning and positively impacting lives and metropolitanoring and inspiring the lives of adults and the elderly. she grew up mentoring and tutoring her five siblings. she graduated from douglas high school with high honors through louddown with a bachelors degree in education and began her career. . . 4 she went back to college and earned her master's of education, magna consume laudy,

from the university of central florida and an education specialist degree, assume consume laud, at nova southeastern university. thus dedicating 38 years of service to education, including 20 years as a principal. josephine is a servant leader, lifetime member of the naacp, has served as a member of the horizon board as treasurer, is the former c.e.o. of howard's apparel, former chaplain of the north carolina 100 b.w., board of trustees of heart of florida hospital, head start policy council and who's who among professional women. she continues to serve as the first present deaconess at a church. she's actively involved in first christian education directress appointed, praise minister, mass choir, sunday school teaching and more. her community service and

leadership education have earned her numerous recognitions, honors and media coverage. she received the dr. martin luther king jr. lifetime achievement award, teacher of the year and distinguished volunteer service award. josephine is married to her husband, phillip, of 52 years, and has two children, juanita and phillip ii, and three grandchildren, phillips and twins, phillip iii and kennedy. for this and more, josephine and howard, we honor you. -- josephine ann howard, we honor you. madam speaker, i'd like to take a few minutes to talk about my personal account, like so many other members have, on the day of january 6. i do so in a poetic, artistic form, with a poem, a bird's eye view to insurrection. the day started with the humdrum

noises of a mundane process. mo hogny boxes were presented, papers shuffled and gavels knocked. but the process of the day was everything. the hearing of voices, the counting of votes, the sum of democracy. i had a bird's eye view from the gallery and on that day, we were in the final steps, the certification, we were electing a president. meanwhile, at base camp, another scene ensued. the president spewed hateful lies. violence was incited. and a fuse was lit. alabama, alaska, arizona, stop. objections were raised. debates began. and passions heated. a text reads, capitol complex

breached. i rest assured. i am in the safest place on earth. for the people's house has never fallen. i call my wife to tell her we are safe. no thought of danger permeates. i am convinced my own safety. and i listen to my speeches. a text reads, capitol dome breached. pence and pelosi, hoyer and mccarthy, one by one, they were escorted out. the debate continued. the people's representatives continued. and jim mcgovern presided. debate yields to a prayer by the chaplain. i am uneasy. fear is in the air. and the members evacuate the house floor. we dozen or so remain in the gallery, stranded. banging, banging, banging on the doors. the insurrectionists are at the

chamber. gas masks are deployed. we are surrounded. welch and gomez, crow and delauro, himes and costa, johnson and i. together we flee, over chairs and under railings to the door. we are trapped. bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. get down. the orders rang. guns, flash bombs, tear gas. which sounds these were, i do not know. as capitol police stood as sentinels to protect us. get down, get down again. so we did. i lie flat behind flimsy plastic seat coverings, no match for bullets. contemplating my mortality. i realize finally and truly in this moment, i could die.

army rangers arise, we lawyers take cover, and old souls sit relaxed waiting peacefully perhaps for the inevitable. i am cerebral and imagining. i do not even hear the gunshot mortally wounded a terrorist at the very door behind me and the chamber finally defended with urgency. meanwhile, the senate chamber falls without a shot fired. police bang the doors. the doors bang back. who lurks on the outside? confusion changes to clarity. and now there's one and only one way out. up we go. out the door. terrorists lay flat with guns drawn upon them as they look at us with killers' eyes. democrat and i may die -- democracy and i may die, but not today.

down, down, down the stairs we go. cell phones light up and the world sees proof of my life as i flee live on pbs. this is absurd. fantastical, yet nonetheless very much happening. down into the tunnels we go. flanked by guardians, we keep moving. demings made it out too. and we rejoiced. up, up, up the stairs we go. we are in a room now. they describe it as safe. and we congregate in herds like cattle. i feel part relieved, and uneasy. instigaters, masked and maskless, members and staff, we wait together. a community prayer ensues. i call my wife, i have made it. at least i am mostly sure. covid-19 lurks as a silent killer in the room. partisan clicks form.

realizations begin and awkward casualness attempts to take hold. guilt, blame, excuses and outrage begin to form. because of the -- because of course we told you so. of course dangerous rhetoric turns to violence. as the seeds of despicable lies finally grow to insurrection. i start to contemplate. i am hungry. i am thirsty. and i am suspicious of certain colleagues. gomez and i leave the safe room for our offices, on gut feelings alone. i am vaccinated. i am eventually vindicated. as days later some colleagues are sick with covid-19. other colleagues gave it to them, maskless and without remorse. i return to our rayburn sanctuary. i am greeted with anxious smiles. my staff is safe. we share the events of the great happening, the terrible. we watch the news, we see the mob in all its horror, and the asailing of the capitol walls.

we are in disbelief. capitol police fight hand to hand combat, they are outnumbered and beaten by flags that say maga, trump and back the blue. there is a vicious irony. now hunger mines us, snacks are procured, we ate creatively in fellowship. the hours go by in frightful minutes as our eyes remain glued to the television. brave cooks open the cafeteria, police keep their posts and my staff remains safe in the capitol offices with me. we finally have a real meal. the decision has been made. we will return to the chamber and we will do our duty. arizona receives its objection and it goes down. arkansas, california, colorado go by as pence picks up momentum. we have a standoff on pennsylvania. debates ensue. liars are called out in anger. a second fight almost happens.

but no one really wants to take on nfl linebacker collin allred. midnight passes us as we wait. i venture forth, i return to the scene of the crimes and again i watch the final mahogany boxes in motion. west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming. pence begins to conclude his remarks. there's a slight mix of anger and disappointment and resoluteness in his face. pence fulfills his constitutional duty. speaker pelosi smiles slightly, she is graceful and makes -- and marks the seriousness of the day's events. a domestic terrorist plot has been foiled. i am alive. the congress is alive. and thank god almighty, democracy is alive. america must remember this day. learn from it. left we repeat it -- lest we

repeat it. thank you, madam speaker. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. under the speaker's announced policy of january 4, 2021, the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. grothman, for 30 minutes. mr. grothman: thank you. before we deal with the purpose of this speech, i'd like to make some observations about changes that have been made the last few weeks in other rapidly changing aspects of american life. one of the few positive observations i made since i was a congressman is the freedom people have normally had to see their congressman. eccentric people can stand at the base of the capitol steps a few yards away and hand out their pamphlets, nice and free. easy to meet their congressman for those of us who like to walk outside and not use the tunnel.

now a chain link fence stands around the capitol with razor wire on top. let's be honest. after about midnight on january 7, i think most of us felt pretty safe. now we're almost a month later and we still have national guard folks in full combat ready to protect us. we have the wire on top of the walls, as well as constitution and independence avenues shut down. i feel like i'm in east germany in 1970's. i'm not sure exactly what east germany was like, but that's what i kind of visualize it, around maybe their parliament or whatever. fencing, police, always afraid of the people. it's a fitting background for our brave new world order in which our high-tech oligarchs are censoring ideas.

perhaps that's -- that is this background to the new sensor regime, seems almost appropriate. -- censor regime, seems almost appropriate. our high-tech oligarchs are censoring ideas which are unpopular with the realityy and powerful in our country. -- wealthy and powerful in our country. eventually we'll need legislation to open up twitter and allow american citizens to hear all points of view, including points of view that the great and powerful of our country do not want to have heard. i would like to thank the german, mexican and french governments for their support as americans try to regain their roots as a country with a free flow of ideas. in the meantime, my plea to the speaker and majority leader is please tear down the walls around this capitol and begin to undo the damage done to our freedoms.

now back to the purpose of the speech. one more time last week i returned to our southern border. and already we are seeing the results of i think reckless comments made by our chief executive. we are getting to the point where we have had 300 unaccompanied minors a day crossing our southwest border. that is because we have had a president who has made comments that indicate that the united states is not sincere in protecting our southern border. it does result in more money and more presence for drug cartels at the southern border. so people understand, people do not just walk across the border. but mexicans are charged $3,000 a person. central americans, $5,000 a person. brazilians, $9,000 a person. and asians, $20,000 a person to cross the border.

and when statements are made indicating that we will no longer be forcing the border, those statements are conveyed by the cartels to people who they believe will pay to get across. we are therefore seeing the increase of people at the border, including unaccompanied minors that are supposedly people we want to protect. . last week on a sunday, monday and tuesday, just in a section alone, there were 120, unaccompanied juveniles, given that they have to deal with the cartels to get across the border, it certainly is not a good influence on them. while i was down there, in the tucson sector and seven or eight

sectors, well over 100 people were found dehydrated to death. this is the result of the current system which we do not secure our border. unform, despite the verbage that we will be less stringent, we are going to stop building the wall. first of all, you are throwing away about 5,000 jobs right away and supposed high we are supposed to be looking for new jobs, but when you end these contracts, you you wind up paying for companies, pay them to undo or fill in holes which have been placed there in anticipation of a whole wall, pay them to undo the damage to roads and roads are part of the roads' system that is going to

be biment down there. as the result, we are spending a lot of money which could be used to put in more wall and is not. i should point out when you put up on wall, it saves money as far as the amount of border patrol agents. if you put up a wall, with the wall, it's one eeth for every two miles. another benefit for having a wall, but above all, the idea of paying money to wrap up the project is a waste of money and a real problem, another thing i found out with the wall, with the wall, less injuries to border patrol agents. one of the reasons, i have yet to find a border principal agent or deputy who is not in favor of

the wall. we are going to wind up losing money as we care for money, losing money to our society as we have more drugs coming across the southern border and as marijuana becomes legal and more drugs are fentanyl, are meth, are heroin, resulting in more deaths all around the country, another reason why we hub taking our southern border seriously. i encourage my colleagues as we look at future appropriation bills to pay attention to the border. we cannot go back to the days of completely anybody can come across there, because like i said, you will wind up with more people dying in the desert and

more unaccompanied minors who will be in the drug cartels which control all the illegal immigration across the southern border. so, please, i ask my colleagues, do iowa i did, go down to arizona, go down to texas, see the situation we have. see whether anybody could possible apply think going back to the old system is humane. it is not humane to minors or to the people who are guided by the cartels and not humane to the people who are crossing the border and dehydrating across our southern edge. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman yield?

mr. grothman: i yield. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced poll si of january 4, 2021, the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. ms. stevens: thank you for your dedication to this body and your joifer sight and thank you to all the very hard wosming professionals who run the floor of the house i'm pleased to be back on the house of house of representatives this day, february 4. some on the outside project fair criticism and question demand want of us and some of us look at us with a frustrating or loathe eye and we here the

statistic how popular congress is, what pours in ear through money outside influence, the money that circles around this building and when we walk on to this floor on the house of representatives, we are all about just members. we are representatives of our constituents, caring of voting cards, carrying a voice, the wishes and wants of our district. and forced to come together to make a determination. and we ask ourselves, what do we demand of this institution. i had the privilege of being here this evening as we have seen a long debate, a long time of special hours ensue, those

who reflected the events of january 6, and the horrible of insurrection and the this pride and joy of the united states of america, both the house and senate momentarily taken over and i join my colleagues in those reflections. we saw the other side of the aisle reflect on energy resource needs and saw some contributions made to constituents back at home. tonight, as you look out to the capitol and we know it is not a full chamber and there are different times, madam speaker, we don't have many outside guests walking through the congress due to the pandemic, but everyone is allowed to see the lantern and the statue of

frime, that supports lady freedom. that lantern is lit right now. what is it saying? that democracy leans out. that freedom rings out. that our future is still within our grasp. i'm proud to be here tonight, madam speaker and grateful for the time. i know that the time is not always a given. we certain recognize that in the midst of this pandemic. we reflect just a month into this 117th session of congress. i'm very excited about this 117th session of congress because it is new, it is a new session and what do we get with

new? a month ago, january 4, the day after the swearing-in of the new congress, we passed a rules package and had procedural votes and i introduced my first bill of the congress, the resilient maffering task-fork act focused on our domestic smy chain needs to withstand future disruptions, that we can continue to our system and bring the best and brightest of america to get in front of challenges and create jobs and continue to create jobs. i come from michigan. and i'm really proud from coming from michigan and i'm proud of what michigan's story is, particularly coming out of the

year 2020. and what that means with regard to the first bill i introduced in the 117 tf congress. on manufacturing economy economy. we continue to monitor this economy. we see some growth in areas that we weren't expecting. some job loss. michigan is 7.5% unemployment and we will get people back to work with good wages and good benefits and when you see that in manufacturing when people work with their hands, when they produce. when they are part of an outcome and productivity. and it's really very exciting to see that michigan will continue to be a leader. it must be recognize, our

leadership. because when the diss supply chain hits a year ago and saw the p.p.e. shortages in our hospitals and in our health care system for the individual american who was going to the grocery store who was looking for hand sanitizer or a roll of paper towel and it was the michigan manufacturers who stood up immediately to rework the supply chain and rework the channels, from the big three, from the ford,-chrysler, g m., it was absolutely amazing and union workers to boot and yet, the great innovation of america, the story that will will be

heralded in coming out of this pandemic was the creation of a proven and tested vaccine that re-invested immediately. our colleagues and i will reflect on that with the first thing that we did as a body together. all of congress, everyone who gets to stand in this body, voted to fund the research for a vaccine. the very beginning of march. and we talked about that vaccine and got placed in portage, michigan. the trucks filled with that vaccine and it started to get in the arms of people who were counting on it. absolutely the rest of it.

i'm so privileged to call home. as we reflected in 2019 and the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. the question is what is our moon shot in the next 50 years and we certainly met it in the year 2020 and yet we haven't stopped to continue to innovate or keep our eyes on our future that we inheriting that our next generation is inheriting. i'm optimistic about our next generation and optimistic of what they represent and my opportunity to engage with the next stunes of america and it is why i proudly sit on the education and labor committee.

john kennedy, president john kennedy, said to govern is to choose. and we make those choices. i don't get to issue proclamations instead. i come down yes or no. which way do we decide to come down as a nation? are we going to agree as a people with one another every step of the way? absolutely not. no union is perfect in that regard. but what makes and builds towards a more perfect union, as our founders empowered is the constant dedication to doing the work, to standing up for people, to calling out truth and what is right.

i certainly am not shy of doing that, madam speaker. and i know that that was important for us at the beginning of the pandemic to listen to the science, to recognize the threat and to take it seriously and i see the resilience around my district, madam speaker. . . and i continue to be compelled by the falling covid rates in michigan. we continue to pay tribute and to recognize those who are suffering, those who are struggling. from covid-19. families who are separated from one another. as an individual is getting their treatment. we hold them in our hearts. we think about them. and we remain dedicated to the prevention and the cure and the

effort to end this pandemic. i am so excited to welcome joe biden, president joe biden, to the white house. we were here for his inauguration. we were here to hear his remarks . his invitation for unity. and unity by way of delivering. unity by way of delivering for the american people. the buy american provisions that will continue to invest in american manufacturers and using our federal dollars to identify new supply chain opportunities for us. i see this all over my district, from northville up to troy and

auburn hills, what people are working on. and how we can help them to continue to do that. and with that, madam speaker, i thank you for the time tonight and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. pursuant to section 5-a-1-b of house resolution 8, the house stands adjourned until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.

congress in session, we are taking preorders for the congressional directive -- directory. every purchase helps support c-span. shop today at c-spanshop.org. >> the house is out for the night, but earlier today, members approved a resolution removing