to incentivize the sale of zero emission zekes. specifically, we must ensure that 100% of new light duty vehicle sales are zero emissions by 2035. as envisioned under the zero emission vehicles act that i introduced last congress with senator jeff america lee. moreover the build utah of zero emission vehicle fueling and charging infrastructure must go hand in hand with the deployment of vehicles themselves. which is why i strongly support the president's vision for 500,000 new charging stations across the country. the american jobs plan provides a pathway to finally achieve these goals and to lead the world when it comes to vehicle electrify case. so without these key climate provisions it's hard to imagine support anything package that comes before the chamber for consideration. i'm eager to help advance a strong american jobs plan that employ ours community, follows climate science an matches the scale of the challenge we face.

i know my colleagues here feel the same. . now is our opportunity to get this done. it is an opportunity we must seize. with that, i'm happy to yield back to my good friend from the state of illinois, mr. casten. mr. casten: it is now my pleasure to yield to my good friend from ohio, ms. kaptur. who i'm delighted was able to make time in a busy appropriations season to come down and join us today. ms. kaptur: i thank my very able colleague, congressman casten, for the opportunity to join you and congresswoman castor, the leaders of this marvelous committee on climate change. thank you so very much for leading our country and world in this regard. my goal, as chair of the house energy and water subcommittee, is to help them and help our

generation embrace a better future for those that will follow. we must sustain life on earth. let us all help our country and world meet the challenges as we face the dawn of this new climate change era. the clean energy future of our nation and our ability to reboot and re-energize the domestic manufacturing economy depends on climate-related infrastructure programs for inventing that new future. addressing climate change will create an even -- and even bring back good-paying jobs right here at home. addressing climate change is our portal to sustained life on earth for generations to come. headlines coast-to-coast, as others have referenced, tell part of the story. yes, the earth is warming. the rate of increase for damaging weather events is unrelenting. each of us in each of our

districts have personally experienced the impacts of this historic change. if we fail to address the hastening crisis, it is to our collective peril. as a small first step, i would urge every american who may be listening to plant trees. yes, everyone can do something. a first simple step is to plant a tree, to capture the carbon that's already in the air, and the tree will produce oxygen. to help you breathe -- oxygen to help you breathe and to help your children breathe. and your neighbors. it's amazing what happens. cleveland, ohio, used to be known as forest city. we have a big job to do in replanting many of the trees that have aged out over the years and making cleveland and places like it a much more oxygen-rich community.

addressing climate change will help human health. as america stands at a crossroads in this new energy age, we must ensure that infrastructure includes strategic investments in energy, clean energy, climate and water resource innovation. technologies and innovation driven by the department of energy are already helping to address climate change. they already have marketedly driven down the cost of wind, solar, energy storage, and efficient light bulbs by 60% to 95%, just since 2008 and we're not done yet. they've led to widespread deployment and consumer savings. new innovations will lead to new opportunities. in my own home region, i was very pleased to be at the birth of a company called first solar, now the largest in the nation, invented locally using a

technology, and now just recently in the past month, first solar has announced the hiringing of an additional -- hiring of an additional 500 new employees in good jobs to match the thousands they already employ to meet an unmet market demand. reversing the impacts of climate change will create good-paying jobs like these across every state in our country. already there are more americans working in energy efficiency and energy production than as waiters and waitresses. think about that. that's in a very short time and more jobs to come. we must continue to innovate and lead in these areas so our nation is not left behind. as people in communities succeed so will america. as someone said to me, marcy, what america makes makes america. my gosh, do i agree with that. the biden administration has been clear from day one about the need to urgently address the

climate crisis and i'm excited that the president's american jobs plan will create new jobs by reinvesting in areas and workers too often left behind and they'll help save our planet and sustain all of us and those who will follow us. we cannot lose sight of the importance of including climate-related and job-creating proposals in any infrastructure package. in fact, any package that aims to build back better must do that. climate change can be addressed by every community across our country. innovation, intelligence, and environmental patriotism should drive this new national imperative. and as we watch president joe biden in his first foreign trip meet with the leaders of democracies across europe this week, we watch america lead

these democracies of the world in protecting mother earth for those who will follow us. it really is a daunting time, but it's also an inspiring time and any time america has ever set a goal, it has always achieved it. thank you very much for allowing me to participate this evening and i would yield back. mr. casten: thank you. i'd like to take some time now to rise to talk about something that i've talked some would say too much on this floor, to yet again talk about the massive threat and opportunity that is the climate crisis. even as we talk right now about the necessity, the necessity of limiting global warming to less than 1 1/2 degrees celsius, let's follow the math, the planet has already warmed by one degree. we only have a half a degree to go. the last seven years were the hottest ever on record, even in spite of the pandemic, global levels of carbon dioxide have

hit record levels. in fact, the last time co-2 levels were as high as they are right now was four million years ago. sea levels were 50 feet higher. that is the reality of what happens when heat melts ice, ice dumps water. this is the reality we have made. if we are to be judged by our works and we do nothing more in this moment, that judgment will not be pretty. that is our challenge and it is our opportunity. but this change in co-2 levels this didn't happen over a million years or a thousand years or a hundred years. half of all the co-2 we have ever emitted as a species, since that first fire that some hominid built in a cave a million years ago, half of the co-2 we have ever emitted was since 1990. that is within my lifetime. it is within the lifetime of almost all of the members of this body.

that's nearly a century after the greenhouse effect was discovered, since the science was basically settled. and more than a decade after the fossil fuel companies knew about climate change and decided to promote misinformation instead of acting. 1989, when the u.n. formed the ipcc. when ronald reagan's e.p.a. said we need to create a global cap and trade program to reduce a global pollutant, to protect the ozone. when that same e.p.a. and the subsequent george bush, both republican presidents, i would add, when they said, let's take that same model and apply it to a domestic pollutant, as i had rain forming compounds -- acid rain forming compounds, we have a shrinking ozone hole because of their leadership. when they did that at the end of the 1980's, we were on the right track. that was 30 years ago.

what do we have to do now to turn this ship around? the heck of it is we know what we haved to to reduce our emissions and we know how to do it. clean infrastructure, creating solar panel, building big things is what america is good at. we don't need to be constrained by our ambition. my goodness. when the new deal was passed, we electrified 80% of rural america in just 15 years. i'd like to think our capabilities are even greater now. let's embrace that opportunity. the hard questions in this line of work are the zero-sum ones. how do you allocate winds to sun parties when they apply a loss to one another? that's not climate. the hard questions in clean energy policy are not how we allocate the pains of the transition, they are how we allocate the gains of this transition. clean energy is cheap energy. if you don't believe me, ask anyone with a solar panel on

their roof how much they paid for electricity yesterday. ask anybody with a coal plant, they know that number. the clean energy transition means it's a win for the folks who get to go to work building more efficient buildings and wind turbines seend lar panels. it's a win for every american. i've polled this. 100% of americans like to pay less for energy. they will all win. 100% of americans like cleaner air. they will all win. 100% of americans do not want to live on a coast that's flooding. or forests that are on fire. our obligation is to seize this chance and to make sure, this is a hard problem, but it's a good problem, to make sure that those gains are equitably distributed through our society. the president's infrastructure proposal is just that. it isn't just the chance for clean energy. it's a make or break opportunity to finally do what's scientifically necessary before it's too late. proposals like a clean energy standard, a build out of

electrical transition lines or purchases of clean energy will help send our emissions from the electric sector to zero, will be a bedrock of a new clean economy. cutting some or all of the 650 -- $650 billion a year that the i.m.f. has said we currently subsidize the fossil fuel industry will finally give us efficient markets in our energy sector. $650 billion. that's about how much we spend on medicaid. subsidizing an energy that apparently can't compete under a free market. so help make lives better for hundreds of millions of american, both now and in the decades to come. 12 years ago when waxman markey was the debate de jure, we let an opportunity to act on the climate crisis pass ustby. since that time we've kept emitting and temperatures have kept rising. i told you i've given this speech a few too many times. i don't want to be giving this speech a year from now, or particularly tomorrow. i certainly don't want to be

giving it 12 years from now. we have a chance now to act while our planet can still afford it. and we can embrace that because our wallets are going to love it. before i took this job, when i was running a clean energy company, i had a board member who gave me a piece of advice that's always stuck with me. he said, in the end, the only thing that really matters in this life is whether your grandchildren can say they were proud of you. let's be clear. our grandchildren are not going to be proud of us. they're not going to pat us on the back for doing only what was politically possible. they don't care. what matters is did we do what was scientifically necessary? i got a lot of colleagues on both sides of the aisle, both sides of this building, who will say, you're naive, casten. what's necessary is so far in exs of what's politically possible, we just can't could

that. -- do that. if that's your approach to this moment, the only thing i know for certain is you are not cut out for leadership. our moment, our challenge this moment is to make what is necessary possible. that's all that matters. because while the best chance for climate action was 30 years ago, our last chance is now. i'd like to now yield to my friend, mr. snyder -- schneider from illinois. mr. schneider: thank you. and to my colleague, my neighbor from illinois, mr. casten, thank you for your leadership on this issue. thank you for your experience in sharing your perspective and your call to action. mr. speaker, i rise to continue the rise -- the raise -- to raise the alarm about the rapidly accelerating

consequences of the climate crisis. mr. casten, 30 years ago, a little longer, 1989, i married the love of my life. when we got married we looked to the future. we thought about having a family. we have two sons. today 28 and 26. we still look to the future and hope they will have a chance to raise a family. but that is in doubt because we face a climate crisis. the climate crisis is the most pressing threat to our children's future and our grandchildrens' future. it's a threat to our nation, to everything we hold dear. it is an existential threat it is an exiss ten rble threat to our way of life. we have to take action now. we are already seeing the consequence of climate change. throughout the country and our local communities, whether it's the case of more intense forest fires starting earlier in the year, rainstorms, 00-year

rainstorms that cause floods not every 100 year bus every other year. more intense hurricanes. but also drought. devastating much of our west. these are the consequences we're facing today and they are putting our nation at risk. we have to do everything we can to protect our community, to protect our nation, to protect our world, protect our children's future. that's why it's so important that we pass the president's american jobs plan. that we invest in infrastructure. that we do it in a way that builds resiliency against the changing climate, but plans for a future to protect and address our climate. there are many sources to the greenhouse gases causing global warming. everything from industry to

industrial and commercial buildings, residences, but of course transportation is the greatest source. and among that is air travel. airline travel is a growing part of our future but it is contributing up to 2.5% of our total emissions of carbon. air travel has changed the world. brought us closer together. it is necessary for us to continue to have the hope for 21st century global economy. but it's imperative that we work to address the impact. and that's why among as many other -- among the many other bills i have helped work for and support in this congress to address climate change, i'm proud to have introduced the sustainable skies act. legislation that will cut the carbon -- the greenhouse gas emissions of airline fuels by as much or more than 50%.

it will boost the use of sustainable aviation fuel. makes airline travel something that will be part of a sustainable future. this legislation, the single most important step in the aviation industry that they can take to lower carbon emissions and fight climate change theafment same time, sustainable aviation fuel will enable more travel and commerce. it is, mr. casten, as you said, a win-win. it is good for everybody. it is good for our present. it is good for our future. it is good for our children. the facts could not be clearer. climate change is a serious threat to our economy. our national security, and the planet. the future that we pass to our children. we must take action before it's too late. with that, i want to yield back to my colleague, mr. casten. mr. casten: thank you, mr. schneider. i now yield to the newest member of our caucus from the great

state of new mexico, whose reputation has preceded her in her short tenure, ms. stansbury of new mexico. ms. stansbury: thank you, mr. chairman, thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today on this historic day in which we passed and sent to the president's desk the juneteenth national independence day act and it seems appropriate that we should also take a moment now to talk about climate justice as we are also talking about racial justice in our country. because the science is clear. we must urgently address the issues of climate change now. we must address the causes of climate change and our greenhouse gas footprint. we must mitigate the impacts of climate change and lift up and support our communities and we must build a world that is more just, more equitable and more climate resilient and to do so

we must do that by investing in our communities, investing in their future, and investing in critical infrastructure that will make that possible. the time is now to be decisive, to be brave in our policymaking. to be bold in our investment. and to lean into the science. this is especially critical for new mexico, my home state, where we are already experiencing the impacts of extreme drought, catastrophic fires, and an uncertain future. i have spent my career working on these issues and i know that we must invest in infrastructure like our electric grid, broadband infrastructure, drinking water, irrigation an green infrastructure, oso that our communities can remain resilient as we are going through this change. and to ensure that we are taking

full advantage and leaning in to our clean energy future. and we must do all of this through lens of social, racial, and economic justice. by investing in good-paying jobs, in the livelihoods and well being of our communities and our people, and that is why we need the american jobs plan now, and the investments that are not only going to be shovel ready but as a friend of mine said also shovel worthy. but the time is now to take action on climate change and to ensure that we are investing in the infrastructure that will make it possible for future generations to live resiliently on this planet. and with that, i gratefully, mr. speaker, yield back to chairman casten. thank you. mr. casten: i now yield again to the chair of the climate committee, ms. castor of florida. ms. castor: thank you, representative casten.

you know, hearing my colleagues speak with such passion and such intellect, it does give you hope, doesn't it? that we have the tools necessary to tackle the climate crisis. but i think -- we also need to think about climate, don't you think, as a climate opportunity. and there are a few of these. congresswoman, our newest colleague, congresswoman stansbury from new mexico, kind of hit on it. it goes back to, i want to thank you last year, before the pandemic hit, you were kind enough to -- to invite me to chicago where we heard from environmental justice leaders. i also had the opportunity to travel to detroit. i've listened to folks who are demanding greater equity all across america. back home in tampa, florida, i see it. i understand that now the

climate crisis presents us with a generational opportunity to rebuild our country. and the -- our infrastructure. so we're not leaving communities behind. we're not leaving any american behind. we can do -- we can -- we can hammer out investments that will help us rebuild the economy. look at, and i bet you, you know these examples quite well. decades ago, unfortunately, the federal government put interstate highways right through the center of many communities. the harm, the pollution still lingers today. that -- in fact black americans are exposed to 21% more fine particulate matter pollution than the average american. i just don't think we can pass an infrastructure package that ignores these injustices. we're going to have to create these new opportunities for

solving the climate crisis, creating good-paying jobs but also lifting up americans and american communities that have carried the burden of pollution. mr. casten: i'm reminded, listening to you speak, i know our whip likes to quote george sanayana, those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it. we are at the cusp, probably already started, the third great energy transition we have had as a species. the first one was when we transitioned from depending on muscle power to mechanical power. the second was when we transi igs -- transitioned from mechanical power to electric power. this transition from dirty energy to clean energy. every one of those transitions has been a massive boon in labor productivity. takes a lot fewer people to run a steam shovel than it doeson henrys to dig a hole in the ground. and it takes a lot fewer people

when you can electrify the country to build all the industries we've grown accustomed to than it does when you have to live within a pulley's length of the water wheel. and with those opportunities have come all that we think of as great and truly american. we've freed up people's time to invest in whole new ideas and take away the drudgery of work. but the history we have to acknowledge is that every one of those transitions has been extremely disruptive for the people involved. and i -- i like to tell folks back home that only a luddite would say we never should have invented the steam shovel but you have to be deeply evil not to empathize with john henry. as we go through this transition that we're in right now, we're going to create a tremendous amount of wealth because we are going to grow labor productivity again. we're going to have the opportunity as many people already do to generate

electricity without depending on coal mines and coal railroad lines and natural gas pipelines. we'll be able to do this on your roof, from the sun, from the wind, more efficiency, from geothermal. that's going to free up a lot of time to do a whole lot of innovative things. but it's going to be disruptive for a lot of communities. there's no doubt that there is a rising tide of wealth that is already upon us. there's also no doubt that not all rising tides lift all boats. tsunamis swamp them out sometimes. and the tsunami of wealth creation that's coming down, let's make sure we look out for the least among us. ms. castor: the reasons why president biden's american jobs plan targets 40% of the benefits of clean energy and clean infrastructure investments to disadvantaged communities, i think that is smart policy. and i think you're right. there are going to be, right

now, as we move into our clean energy future, president biden has a goal of really helping communities that need revitalization. and when you think about the hard work in a coal mine, or out in the field, we owe such a debt of gratitude to our coal miners and the energy workers who have powered america, they have made it what it is over the last century. they ushered in the economic progress that we enjoy today. but we now know, according to the science, that our overdependence on coal and fossil fuels and fracked gas, has led to a crisis that now threatens our way of life. i wish it weren't so. but we have to now, at this fork in the road, decide that our

moral obligation to future generations comes first. and with all of the opportunities that clean energy and greater, stronger, healthier communities can provide, we have got to ham they are out through the american jobs plan and make sure that we protect our economy. we protect our national security. our health. our beautiful natural resources from sea to shining sea. the air that we breathe. but we have some choices to make. we can either double down on the status quo, even as these cly montana math-fueled disasters claim more lives and they hurt the pocketbooks of folks, i think of my neighbors back home in florida now, the so-called sunshine state, boy, we have a lot of work to do to capture the power of the sun through solar energy. but we're paying more now, representative casten, because

we have longer, hotter summers. a.c. bills are going up. we have these intense flood events, so we're pay manager in flood insurance and storm water costs. meanwhile, a lot of these energy exens have gotten off the hook over time, haven't they? what do you say about that? mr. casten: you know, the -- i think there's a refreshing change coming in our energy structure, primarily because all of those old power plants, some of your utilities in florida were fighting because they still had all that capital they wanted. those plants are getting old. they're making the decisions that intelligence businesses always make. i'm going to invest in the stuff that's clean an yen rates a high return. your utility, florida power and light, has been a leader in deploying wind energy. took a while to do it in their own district but they did it all over the country because they knew it was a gad place to put their investors' money to work. we've seen that throughout the

business sector in this country. there's a reason why we're creating so many more solar jobs. so many more wind jobs. so many more jobs in the energy commishtcy secondor. i think that was the largest add of new labor. i don't think that absolves us as regulators. remembering when you and i formed what i think we thought was going to be a rather small delegation -- delegation to madrid a little over a year ago. we had our pins that said, we're still in. because we knew the prior administration pulled out of the paris accord. i still have a picture i carry around and show to people of the two empty seats in front they have u.s. delegation, every other country in the world was there. i wish i could remember, there was a european parliamentarian who came up to me and said, you know, we know from experience that when the united states doesn't lead, bad things happen. and i said, we thought we were alone out there. but remember when we got there, there were a lot of businesses there. there were a lot of cities

there. spent a long time at a lot of university booths. we were still in because we were still in not just because it was a slowdown. because all those companies that made zero carbon commitments and are committing to it because their shareholders are demanding it. one third of all the assets under 1/3 are in e.s.g. funds. people care. they don't -- whether they care for moral reasons, whether they care because they're greedy, it doesn't matter. they care. we've had over 1,200 state and local officials have called on congress to pass the american jobs plan because they care. environmental and labor organizations across the country have pushed for us to act now because they care. i'm reading in your own "tampa bay times" recently. a doctor says, everyone who stands for fair union jobs and climate action can come together . in this plan, pro workers and

pro environment voices can sing in unison. we know that's true. the challenge, you started asking about the energy sector. what we all know if we're really honest in this line of work that we're in, is that losers always cry louder than winners cheer. people who have a lot of investment in this space know exactly what they have to lose. future generations aren't here yet. our job, our job here today is to look around the room and see who is not in the room and make sure we advocate for them. the rest of them are doing a pretty good job on their owners i think. >> what's been so fascinating is there are so many people in the room because they understand the opportunities, the job-creating opportunities through the american jobs plan. here we go. the american jobs plan will create $2 -- 2.7 million new jobs. ms. castor: so let's talk about some of those new jobs.

i think about some of our colleagues that represent communities that have seen jobs go overseas over time. our industrial base. we know what president biden has proposed will help revitalize those communities, plug those abandoned coal mines, plug the abandoned wells, just plain plug the leaks of methane gas that are so -- that's so damaging to the climate. we think we can create millions of -- millions of jobs through a conservation -- through a new c.c.c., a conservation corps, a climate conservation corps. we can strengthen our communities at home. i know we've got a lot of sea walls that need repair. a lot of replanting of trees and mangroves to help protect us from these very costly events. we know we need to modernize the

electric grid across america. representative casten, that's going to create an enormous amount of jobs in the midwest. because a lot of the renewable resources, your solar power, wind power, it's largely in the midwest, we've got to build the modern electric grid. look at this horrendous can taftny texas. just a -- catastrophe in texas just a few months ago because the electric grid there was not connected, it wasn't modernized, it wasn't resilient. people lost their lives because of the strange climate-fueled winter storm in texas. we're going to create a lot of jobs just modernizing and making the grid more resilient. and i haven't even gotten to the wind power, offshore wind, wind in the midwest. this is our future. this is why i like to think of it not just in the terms of a climate crisis, but a climate opportunity. and i think that's why president biden, every time he says, when

he hears people talk climate, he hears jobs, jobs, jobs. mr. casten: when we deregulated our power industry in 1992 with the energy policy act, the -- that was never presented as far as i can remember as being an environmental bill. it was designed to encourage people to build cheaper power. what did they build? the nuclear industry went from running 60% at the time to running 90%. we started building a whole lot of wind and solar. we basically stopped building inefficient gas plants and the only new gas plants we built were combined cycle plants that were almost twice as efficient. since that bill was passed, the co-2 emissions in our power sector from fallen and the price of power has fallen by 6%. there are those who say that's because of the fracking revelation -- revolution and there are whose -- people who say a lot of things, i guess. it happened because economics drives clean energy. you know what people didn't build since 1992?

coal. it's a really lousy investment. in just those 10 years after 1992 we built 200,000 megawatts of new gas turbine capacity. 20% of the entire u.s. power grid, which was twice as efficient as -- efficient as what it displaced, was built in response to economic signals. that's a start. for us to do what we have to do from this point going forward, we have to electrify everything. we have to figure out how to electrify our transportation fleet, electrify the way our factors heat us, make goods and services, how our homes keep us warm. in order to do that we need to build at least 1,000 giga watts -- gigawatts. whatever unit you would like of new generation. that's about as much generation as we already have in this country. we're then going to need to build the wires to connect that up to all the new loads. and as our -- i think as we heard at a climate hearing,

that's going to take at least $350 billion of investment. those investments are going to make money. because people are now connecting up a cheaper energy source that's giving people what they really want, which isn't electricity. what people really want is a hot shower and a cold beer. it's going to give them that cheaper. it's going to help us build out electric vehicle charging stations. we are talking about massive amounts of public and private sector investments. that is not only going to put people to work, it's not only going to give us a more sustainable economy, it's going to leave more money in people's wallets. the single best thing we can do to disadvantaged communities is cut their energy bill. that's what we're going to do. all we need is the ambition and i'm so glad that we are in this moment and with this president and this congress that is rising to that challenge. ms. castor: you're right. listing off all the job opportunities, the transportation sector, you're right. and this is a global

competitiveness issue. we have got to win this race. with china and the europeans. they are building those electric vehicles. but how exciting was it to see the announcements from ford and g.m., i can't wait to see this electrified f-150 truck, the lightning. this is an enormous opportunity, especially in the industrial midwest that has really seen a lot of job loss over the years to china. we are going to get back on this and the only way we can do it is through making these targeted investments. we want to build the electric vehicles that the world drives. we want to make sure that that charging infrastructure is -- goes coast-to-coast in every community. but it's going to take the focus of america and the good news is

all americans, i don't care if you're democrat or republican or independent or what, they understand that clean energy is the future. and that if we do it right, we can lift communities that need it and we can create millions and millions of jobs. now, i started with the science. and we heard from some outstanding colleagues and we are going to hear a lot more from them in the coming weeks as we hammer out the american jobs plan. but there was one witness at one of our early hearings,, an expert who has been focused on climate for many years, and want to just remind you what he said. he said, the limited actions to address this climate crisis have resulted in lost opportunity and have produced a challenge that is even greater than it was even a few years ago. with political and societal will and with strategic and scientifically informed action that considers all of the

dimensions of climate change. the dangerous trajectory we are on can be altered such that our generation's story can be one of success. and not failure. mr. casten: thank you so much. i'd like to close as i often do by observing that there's only really three things we have to do as a country. the first thing we have to do is cut the energy -- we double the efficiency with which we convert energy into economic activity. if we were to cut our energy use per dollar of g.d.p. in half, we would almost be at the level that switzerland has already achieved. i think we're better than switzerland, personally. but let's at least aspire to be as good as switzerland. double our efficiency. second thing we have to do is do the research and development to figure out how to decarbonize industries like steel and cement making because we don't know how to make silicon or steel or cement or fertilizer without fossil fuels today. that's an r&d challenge we have to figure out.

and then we have to get to zero co-2 emissions. not by 2050. not by 2030. by 1990. we have to get back to 350 parts per million in the atmosphere. because that is the point that we can say to our children, we are leaving you a better planet than the one we inherit. where wildfires are not the norm. where droughts are not the norm. is it going to be easy? nope. but we know how to do it. first thing we have to do is take our hand off the emergency break -- brake. stop subsidizing yesterday's technology, embrace markets, embrace innovation, embrace all that makes us american. stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry by $650 billion a year. unleash the power of our innovators. unleash the power of our entrepreneurs. unleash the power and the innovation of all our great universities and national labs who will figure out how to do these hard things. and then, yes, even after we do all that, make significant

federal investments in the things that the private sector is not very good at. like transmission. like coast-to-coast broadband. like charging stations. we've done it before. it's how we built the railroads and electrified the country. it's not going to be easy. but it will be necessary. it will be inspiring. and it will be the story that we tell our grandchildren about. because we'll be able to tell them that we were there in this moment. we saw what was necessary and we made it possible. i think that's something worth doing. it's our opportunity. it's our moment. thank you and i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. under the speaker's announced policy of january 4, 2021, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. johnson, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the

minority leader. mr. johnson: well, thank you, mr. speaker. the other gentleman from louisiana, congratulations. is this your first time in the chair? we're delighted to have you. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. during our time tonight, my colleagues and i will address the major crises happening here at home, happening close to home, and now happening abroad. our message tonight will cover many topics, but the theme is consistent. these crises are self-inflicted. they are the direct results of disastrous policy decisions from the biden administration. we have a large number of members who want to participate tonight so i will begin immediately by yielding to my first colleague, my good friend, the gentlelady from central pennsylvania, its 13th congressional district, john joyce, m.d. mr. joyce: i thank the gentleman

for yielding. under the leadership of the biden administration, americans are facing escalating challenges to our economy, to our national security, and ultimately to our way of life. as we have heard many times, our nation continues to jump from crisis to crisis. on this floor i have often raised concerns about the border crisis. and it continues to spiral out of control as we record an increasing number of migrants crossing the southern border, along with gang violence, human trafficking, and deadly elicit drugs. border agents -- illicit drugs. border agents seized fentanyl at our border. today we're witnessing an escalating crisis and unlike our vice president, the american people aren't laughing. more than 80 days ago president biden tasked vice president

harris with addressing the border crisis. months later she has yet to visit the border and witness the devastation firsthand. how many days will it take? 100? 200? a year? if vice president harris needs encouragement to get to the southwest border, then congress can provide an incentive. i'm proud to support congresswoman ashley hinson's see the crisis act, which would defund vice president harris' international travel until she visits america's southwest border. . it's simple. if the vice president wants to go to europe she must go to the border first. this is no laughing matter. at home in pennsylvania, the border crisis is a matter of life and death. lives are depending on border security. and the truth is clear. we can't afford the biden border

crisis. we can't afford the border -- the biden economic crisis. we can't afford the biden national security crisis. and we can't afford the biden energy crisis. this pattern is rooted in the biden administration's broken policies. under president biden's watch, we are a nation in crisis. the american people are paying attention. and they are counting on us to stop this alarming trend and restore our nation's path to recovery. thank you and i yield. mr. johnson: the american people are counting on us and deserve a president who will ensure their safety and security and freedom both here at home and abroad. mr. speaker, i'm delighted to yield next to the gentleman from florida's 15th district, mr. frankel. >> i rise tonight because the

united states is facing a growing crisis. with his massive programs, president biden has mortgaged our economic security. long after this current administration has skipped town, future generations of hardworking americans will be stuck holding the bill. it's human nature to like free stuff, i suppose. as long as uncle sam is willing to dole out money to every and everything in sight, it's easy to understand why people are happily lining up for their fair share. mr. franklin: it's also a universal truth that there's no such thing as a free lunch. unchecked spending doesn't just hurt us in the in the future it's also destructive in the near term. they've tried to convince the american people that it's only the rich that will play pais for reckless spending policies but americans know better. americans across the country are starting to feel the pinch of the unbridled spening. they're noting it back in my home state of florida where drivers are paying more for gas than they have in nearly a decade.

they see it at the grocery store where prices on everything from a jar of peanut butter to a gallon of milk have spiked sharply. they're feeling the pain on everything they buy with the costs rising to the highest in year. president biden created an immediate tax on workers, causing each hard-earned dollar to be worth less than it was before. the skyrocketing cost of materials are making it harder for small business own to reopen. with high unemployment, record job openings and spiraling inflation it's time for the biden administration to acknowledge that their bad medicine is hurting the patient. congress has the authority and the responsibility to rein in the reckless spending and the time to act is now. i yield back. mr. johnson: i thank my friend. the people do know better and the pain americans are feeling is very real. i'd like to yield next to the gentleman from pennsylvania's ninth district, mr. mousser.

mr. meuser: in less than six months, the biden administration's policies have disrupted the fundaments of our economy and caused significant inflation. in march, congressional democrats pushed through the $1.9 trillion american rescue plan, some thought after the recovery began, in a highly partisan process without one republican vote. this level of spending was unwarranted. even many liberal-minded economists felt it was bigger than needed and warned of inflationary pressures not seen in a generation as a result. inflation ocurse when too many dollars chase too few goods. this influx of spending resulted in prices increasing in april, 4.2% and 5% last month. the reality is that inflation is a tax on every american family who is now paying more for essential goods such as food and

gasoline and many others and whose savings are now worth less. again, even liberal economists called this the least responsible fiscal policy of the last 40 years. at the same time, businesses are struggling to compete with federal unemployment benefits. in one month, four million americans walked off their job and last month there were a record 9.3 million open jobs. a level not seen since the beginning of world war ii when americans were leaving to go fight the war. the biden administration denies the correlation between open jobs and excessive untargeted unemployment benefited. -- benefits. undeterred by day tark the biden administration shows no sign of letting up, proposing a $6 trillion budget to put our country on a path to record debt and reports show will disrupt economic growth. the biden administration is persistent in its charade that inflation is not occur, unemployment benefits won't

deter work and their policies won't disrupt our country's economic strength and growth. the biden agenda only grows government not the private sector economy. this could be a great american decade if we unleash the power of american entrepreneurs we can't do that under the yolk of spending. we must grow opportunity in america, which creates the american dream. government should only serve its purpose. i yield back. mr. johnson: so well said, my friend. this administration either doesn't understand those fundamentals of the economy or doesn't care. it's very perplexing. mr. speaker, i'm delighted to yield next to the gentleman from indiana's fourth district, mr. baird. mr. baird: i want to thank my colleague from louisiana for his allowing me the opportunity to be here and speak on this issue. and today i rise, mr. speaker, because our country is in crisis.

despite promises to the contrary, president biden's policies are crushing small businesses, and they're hurting hardworking americans. the simple fact is that we should be cruising into an economic recovery. thanks to the trump administration's advancement. but instead we're drowning in democrat's reckless spending packages that have led to a greater increase in inflation rate than we've seen since the 2008 economic crisis. as a result, americans are paying more for everything. gas lean is over 50% more expensive today than it was 12 minnesotas ago. transportation service are up 11%. since last may. and food and energy prices have seen a combined price increase of nearly 4%. a dramatic increase that we haven't seen since 1992.

the average american simply cannot afford this. and it's time that we prioritize american paychecks over wasteful government spending. i yield back. mr. johnson: i thank my friend. reck sless a friend we hear over and over tonight. as we talk to our states. because there's no bettered were to describe what's happening with this administration. mr. speaker, i'm deliked to yield next to the gentleman from florida's 26th district, former mayor of miami, mr. jimenez. mr. him men nezz: i thank the gentleman from louisiana. mr. speaker, many of my colleagues tonight have been sounding the alarm on the crisis our country faces at the hands of the most radical progressive fringes of our politics. institutionally, we're facing a great danger here in congress with a sitting member of congress choosing to continue her anti-semitic and anti-american rhetoric from the halls of our government. when a member of congress who describes themselves as a start

over fires fuels anti-semitic violence against jewish communities by advancing false stereotype, accuses members of congress of not constitutionally pledging allegiance to a foreign sovereign because of the u.s.-israel partnership, whitewashes the attacks that resulted in the death of over 3,000 innocent americans, callest give lens between the united states and criminal organizations such as hamas and the taliban both of which have been deemed by the department of state as terrorist organizations, it is the absolute responsibility of speaker pelosi and democrat leadership to hold their mens accountable. unfortunately, speaker pelosi lacked the back bone to act and cowers in terror as members of her party shred america apart from its podium. they may call themselveses a fire starter but i built my career as a firefighter. i cannot and will not allow this behavior to go unnoticed and be

swept under the rug. these comments and policy stances undermine the interests of the united states abroad and weaken the effectiveness of our foreign policy, sending a dangerous signal to our allies and our adversaries alike that the united states tl rates anti-semitism and we no longer believe in the long-term meigs of supporting free peoples and free markets, and that we no longer are main committed to combating acts of terror against the united states and our allies while we were encouraged as several of my threes across the aisle have posted a strong rebuse of -- rebuke of these stances the only rebuke that will have meaningful impact is the one by the speaker and the majority of the house of representatives. to turn a blind eye on this would be a cowardly refusal as speaker pelosi characterizes it, to hold members on your side of the aisle accountable and a dereliction of your role as leader of rainshower party and speaker of the house of

representatives. an institution that we all so proudly and honorably serve. anti-americans have no right to threaten our country without retribution. america deserves better. i yield back. mr. johnson: i thank you for those comments. you're exactly right, that language is dangerous. the colleague you referenced is contributing to the foreign policy crisises that have dwpped raptly over the last few months. i am happy to yield next to the gentlelady from arizona, mrs. lesko. mrs. lesko: thank you, mr. johnson, mr. speaker. there is growing evidence that covid-19 originated in a lab in wuhan, china. which is the -- which the liberal media and big tech dismissed as a conspiracy theory. time and time again the chinese communist party has lied and covered up the origins of

covid-19. republicans have repeatedly called for a full, thorough investigation into this virus, but these calls have fallen on deaf ears. it is unclear why my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have refused to hold communist china accountable. they refuse toall kate any resources to support a full investigation or even hold a hearing. they are allowing china to get away with its deadly lies. over 600,000 americans have died from covid-19. it's time to stop pushing the america last agenda that prioritizes the chinese communist party over giving the american people the answers they

deserve. and i yield back. mr. johnson: i thank my friend from arizona. you're exactly right. this crisis with china and the chinese communist party is perhaps the greatest threat we face as a people today. and we need the white house to stand strong. i'm so grateful you brought that good word. i'm mape to yield next to the gentleman from pennsylvania's 12th district mr. keller. mr. keller: thank you, mr. speaker. when i was a kid my brother and i would help our dad make ends meet by collecting aluminum cans on the side of the road. we didn't make much. but what we made we used to buy food. and very early we learned the value of a dollar. today the value of that same dollar has plummeted because of wasteful, big government spending like the kind president biden has embraced with his disastrous economic policy. one of president biden's core campaign promises was that he wull not raise taxes on any

americans making less than $400,000 a year. what he failed to mention was the hidden tax brought on by his inflationary spending. in may, the consumer price index jumped to 5% the fastest rate in 2008. every american is feeling the strain from this administration's reckless spending spree from the gas pump and the supermarket to the clothing store and the car dealership. americans are spending more and getting less. while the current administration shovels trillions of taxpayer dollars into the furnace of a runaway train it's clear that joe biden is intent on saddling our kids an grandkids with insurmountable debt. it is time for joe biden to stop playing politics with taxpayers' money and start doing what's right for our country. let's get americans back to work, get the government out of the way, and allow tax pays to keep more of their money. after all, they've earned it. thank you, and i yield back. mr. johnson: you're right.

when we were kids they taught us the value of the dollar and that's not what our democratic colleagues are teaching anymore. now they're subscribing to what we call fantasy economics, modern monetary theory and all the rest. you're so right and i'm grateful you brought that up tonight. i yield next to the gentleman from the i thank my good friend from louisiana. i have one question forl president biden. what will it take for 2021 and illegal aliens are crossing our southern border. finally, this administration chokes out the border crisis and knee are exploited and murdered. they are fully in control and on

both sides of the border and not stopping there. they are getting into every community. not swruss in our community state. every state is a border state. meth and fent nil are are killing kem americans. there has been over 300 fentanyl that has been seized and christopher wray said there is no that is spilling over in the united states and the bidequen is silent. and 3 days since inspect is the border czar and when she was

asked to and laugh. and any american, it would be fired. clearly this administration is all about abandoned our communities and it's american citizens. what a slap in the face in the rule of law and biden told them to and encouraged them. what will it take. how much does it need to get before president biden to defend and secure the homeland and protect us. how many more children need to be to abandon and die. and young boys and depirls. how many more will need to die and find an i will israel alien.

and those wanting to come here and want to do so in a legal way. i'm speaking as a tax paying citizen and do not have the and lastly, i'm speaking as an american enough to die for it. president biden, do your job, protect this great nation and the oath i swore to uphold. and i yield back. mr. johnson: you have seen it and there is zero by the president or the border czar. when kamala harris if she was

visiting the border, she laughed at it. and thank you. mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield to the good friend. >> mr. speaker, the evidence of the chinese communist denal and from its beginning to the president pri day. in january 2020, if the chinese communist party knew it was dealing with it but rejected in favor of a campaign. from manipulated statistics and to ousted generalists and they

are countless how the c.c.p. lied to the rest of the world lied to the world. and they have raced concerns and c.d.c. director says it's possible covid could have leegged from a lab. three researchers from china's became ill consistent with coast 19 and in november of 2019 on top of that, china has not been forthright in sharing earl information. the dishonesty of china's leadership regarding the pandemic has led to hundreds of

americans of degs. mill i don't know, sir of sick americans and damage to our country. in the face of this mounting evidence. i urge to investigate the organizationins of 019. the biden administration cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the behavior. we must hold the crmpt c.p. legally and financial for the rm enough is enough. i yield back. >> is the evidence is mounting that china is responsible acknowledge we must hold them

accountable. john: i would like to recognize mr. higgins. mr. higgins: my he forefathers and was born a poor and indetention turd servitude and after scrapping enough money on a vessel to carrying cargoo and he are your sived it. he came to this lapped seeking freedom. he found it and pros period and through the generations the higgins' family plird as a solid

american family and construction and ferm and after my father passedm my mother and her sister took it upon themselves to help search the tree and i'm shareing with it this is before internet, and worked in arclifes and one of the things they discovered was a heather describing the conditions on a vessel. sleeping berkt measured 2-2-5. i think about that. as i served within this body.

i recognize the pain that our forefathers endured to have this greatness from the and there isn't a moment that our nation was perfect. we have always known that we are imperfect known driven by imperfect kept where a man can breathe three. the requires action from this body and from executive, our current executive to animate the sovereignty of our nation at the southern body. it is threatened by the policies and action and refusal, refusal

to act in response to 1.1 million crossings year to date. the very freedom that our forefathers and information mothers came to this country to embrace and life and limb that have preserved america. america itself is imper will within. and it is the sworn oath to ring our voices across the land that we will not allow america to fall into decline and we will not be judicious managers. we will stand and we will fight and will make noise and we will

be heard. i thank my colleague to speak on behalf of the citizens we love and the future that we will not allow to demise. thank you, mr. speaker. and i thank my colleague. mr. johnson: thank you, captain and one of those things that is uncon sonnable. we could solve it. all the white house is to the disprougs and we can do that but they won't. but i yield to the georgia's first district, buddy carter. mr. carter: i rise to discuss

the failures president biden putting our country at risk. when they invited to come to our border and south construction. the buden border crisis could be fixed if think would visit the border. president biden has been apologetic and refused for months to that it was manmade in. he sealensed those who spoke out despite the emails. and now president biden wants to hand it over to china free of charge.

they recognize the this. and and american innovators. and the administration and our colleagues won't condemn members. to conflailt with hamas and iran is disgust ing and wrong and it who still defend our country. time for president biden to put america first. president trump did. now it is time for to president biden to stand up. you work for americans. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. mr. johnson: that is a great

reminder and he doesn't understand these basic truths. and i yield to mr. the ell the gentleman from tennessee. >> one year ago, the average cost of gas was thrrs the.16 and a 4 % inchrist and cost for many goods and prices. the consumer price index jumped 5% in may. this inflation is the ultimate cost of president's biden big government spending spree. the federal depoft is putting money decreasing the purchasinging powers.

businesses can't get folks to work. and lately in tennessee and they can't find enough workers to keep up with nand. my good friend and can't get folks to come back to work. he hasn't been open for months. mike chase owns a world p famous chain in the area and in tennessee had to close doub in our community that is helpful populated by well himpe healeded tourists and had to close down. another frind at the isa palace, mr. speaker, i would literally cross magnolia and he is not going there.

he is not and haven't pen able to have full shift. stories like that are not unique. this is happening all businesses are raising their prices to stay alive and those costs are pass aid long to the american consumers. president biden promised there would be no tax increase on working americans but inflation sure as heck is leaving -- isn't leaving any money in the pockets of our middle class, mr. speaker. his outrageous spend something causing long-term economic damage and saddling future generations with debt. if president biden isn't stopped in this venture, future generations will inherit a worthless american dollar, mr. speaker. he want to thank you for this time and i yield back the balance of my time. mr. johnson: you covered a lot there and you're exactly right. this crisis we have, the jobs and the economy, was so preventable. mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield next to the gentleman from south carolina, one of my heroes in the congress, mr. wilson.

mr. wilson: thank you, mr. speaker, for your leadership, and thank you indeed, chairman mike johnson, for your leadership, for promoting the truth tonight. it's been so refreshing to hear our colleagues and bring facts to the american people, they need to know. and thanks to the leadership of vice president mike pence through operation warp speed, to develop the wuhan virus vaccine, america's been able to get back to work with jobs being available. in may of this year, the centers for disease control released updated guidance saying they fully vaccine -- that fully vaccinated people no longer needed to wear a mask or social distance in most cases. america should be completely open for business, to create jobs. we saw, as president trump created, creating jobs, under his leadership we had the record low unemployment for african-americans, for asian americans, for hispanics.

we had record employment. the most number of jobs ever for youth and women in the united states. by cutting taxes, not raising the taxes either directly or by inflation, as mr. biden is doing. unfortunately the biden administration does not agree with science. even with this huge win for the american people, the administration and democrats want to continue to have unemployed americans be dependent on the government. by incentivizing them to remain unemployed with increased benefits that pay more than a small business can provide, destroying jocks. i commend governor henry macmaster for ending these increased benefits and getting south carolina back to work. congress should follow suit, creating jobs. i'm grateful to be a keystone x.l. sponsor of h.r. -- a co-sponsor of h.r. 3104, the get americans back to work act, sponsored by congressman dusty johnson. this will remove the sunl mental federal self-destructive benefits by june 30 of this year. i encourage my colleagues to pass this legislation.

we must not continue to indebt future generations with reckless spending or create inflation, which destroys the savings and retirement savings of our senior citizens, and equally is crippling to small businesses that are the backbone of this country. jobs are uplifting, fulfilling, and meaningful for a productive life. i yield back. mr. johnson: thank you, my good friend from south carolina, and you're exactly right. the biden administration, democrats, they continue to push policies that pay people more to stay at home than go back to work. so the results are not surprising at all. mr. speaker, i'm delighted to yield next to the gentleman from pennsylvania's 10th district, mr. perry. mr. perry: i thank my good friend, mr. johnson, for this special order, talking unfortunately about the things that make us sad to see happening in our country. i was here before, they were talking about the climate crisis. we sure do have a climate crisis. we have a climate of unbridled spending happening in this

country, without any eye toward the consequences. of course we have a border crisis. we have a law and order crisis going on. we have a leadership crisis in this country where we're ceding the leadership of the united states of america to thugs in russia and china and iran. we have a political crisis where everything is politicized. we can't even get together on things we agree on here because the other side forces you to take votes that, you know, potentially destroy the fabric of our country, our neighborhoods, the things that we agree on. we can't even do that here because there's got to be a political price to pay for everything. for everything. and of course the financial crisis. ladies and gentlemen, inflation is here. and it's here to stay. in may the prices -- consumer prices spiked 5% from the previous year. you know, that's the biggest spike since august of 2008. 2008. remember that? the beginning of the great

recession? we don't have to be doing this. but i think we're going to do it again. overall prices jumped at a shock 9.7% -- shocking 9.7% annualized rate from march through may. that's 10%. oh, by the way, that coincides with the time that the biden policies, fiscal policies started coming into play. they're beginning to devastate the economy like we knew they would. in real terms. if you're driving, paying 40% more today than you did at the start of the year. and it's artificial. right? we closed the keystone pipeline down. we let russia have their pipeline but we closed ours down. do you think the gas isn't coming, ladies and gentlemen? it's still coming. we're just paying a lot more for it because we have to put it on a truck or a train, because heaven forbid it can't go through the keystone pipeline. we can't have that. guess who pays? every single one of us. but who does it hurt the most? do you remember the days when you were growing up and you couldn't afford to fill up your

gas tank? you put $5 and you prayed you got to the end of the week -- in and you prayed you got to the end of the week? that's who it's hurting again. food prices up. the transport cost of food up 25%. who does it hurt the most? meanwhile, the may job report shows 9.3 million job openings in the u.s. nearly a million increase over the numbers for april. ladies and gentlemen, that's the largest increase ever since the bureau of labor statistics began counting. these are indicators of bad things happening. they're also indicators and a manifestation of bad policy when we, as the government, pay more for people to stay home than if they go to work. and who can blame them? they're looking out for their economic best interest. if they can make more staying home, god bless them, they have to, because they have to pay the higher prices from all this inflation that's not happening. i say that tongue in cheek because that's what the president has told us.

that's what janet yellen told us. we might have been born at night, mr. johnson, but it wasn't last night. we know it is happening and this is obvious to any economics 101 student. the biden administration and democrats in congress have extended these benefits through september. so guess what? it's just going to keep going. it's just going to keep going. labor's going to cost more and everything associated with labor is going to cost more and who is it going to hurt the most? the people working the hardest at the bottom, trying to make their way out. families can't afford. it you know who else can't afford it -- afford it. you know who else can't afford it, mr. johnson? i have a friend at home, started a business 51 years ago. came home from fighting for his country in vietnam, started a business from scratch. 51 years ago. hired hundreds of people. was known around the world for his product. guess what just happened this month? got to shut her down, man. got to shut her down. the policies affect people's

lives. like i said, the president and secretary yellen said that inflation wasn't real just a few months ago. now they're saying it won't be permanent. if you believe what had they said a couple months ago, you might as well believe that. while they're pursuing another $6 trillion in spending, we can't go to the bank, we're just going to print it, guess what's going to happen? there's going to be runaway inflation and it's actually going to threaten the continuation of this very republic. and that's on top of spending an additional $2.1 trillion in the deficit for the first eight months of this fiscal year, the largest on record, which just follows $3 trillion last year, which was another record. just simply can't afford these reckless policies. we love our country. we want to work with the other side. this isn't working. it's not working for the american people. it's not working for any of us. we are at the tipping point in a lot of ways in this country. one of them's economic. we can do something about it.

but we need the president to have some fiscal restraint. we need the people in this body to have some fiscal restrainlt. i thank the gentleman. -- restrainlt. i thank the gentleman for offering this testimony -- restraint. i thank the gentleman for offering this time tonight. we don't need to kneel at the altar of the green crazy people that want to drive the agenda. we have a great country and we can save it, we don't have to let china open a coal plant, one every week, while we hobble ourselves. shut ourselves out of the great resources that we have in this country. we don't have to do it. thank you. i yield back to the gentleman. mr. johnson: very grateful for those comments and you are exactly right. and you mentioned economics 101. some of our colleagues would do well to go take a refresher course. mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield next to the gentleman from georgia's ninth district, mr. clyde. mr. clyde: mr. speaker, i rise

today on behalf of the people of georgia's ninth district, to bring attention to two major issues plaguing our country. as we speak, the economic crisis and the biden border crisis, both will effect our country for years to come. inflationary pressures are crippling consumer purchasing power. at record rates -- power at record rates and our national debt is on the rise. my constituents are eager to course correct our nation's fiss cal -- fiscal ship so we can guarantee the american dream is attainable for future generations of americans. unfortunately the biden administration shows no signs of curtailing its spending habit necessary time soon. as democrats are teeing up a plan to shoehorn through congress the progressive american jobs and family plans, which combined total $4 trillion in deficit spending. folks, the debt is already at $28.4 trillion. and the white house has announced a budget that will leave the american people holding a stunning $39 trillion

in debt by 2031. and what's truly scary, the interest payments on the debt are on track to eclipse our nation's defense spending in just 10 years. and as a military officer, that doesn't sit well with me. the looming debt spiral will quite literally be the death of the american dream as we know it, if we don't act now. it's clear the biden administration has no regard for americans' pocketbooks, nor does it show any remorse for the future generations who will be left to bear the brunt of democrat-controlled spending. if that wasn't enough of a crisis, it has been 84 days since vice president harris was tapped as the border czar. yet she still has not made a trip to the u.s.-mexico border. i have traveled to the border twice and have personally witnessed the escalation of the crisis. why has the vice president not gone? the department of homeland security published shocking

statistics that paint a very clear picture of how the biden administration policies are creating a devastating crisis on the border. last month encounters at the border exceeded 180,000. this level of apprehensions has not been seen in over 21 years. and is up 675% when compared to may of last year. dangerous human trafficers, gang members and other -- trafficers, gang members and other dange -- human traffickers, gang members and other dangerous criminals are refueling the opioid crisis, the very crisis former president trump successfully subdued. when we look at fentanyl seizures alone, customs and border protection has seized almost double the amount of fentanyl in the first eight months of fiscal year 2021 than it did in all 12 months of fiscal year 2020. the numbers will only continue to rise as more illicit substances come across the

border through september, especially as biden continues reversing trump's successful border policies. enough is enough. we must put country over progressive politics and i look forward to standing with my republican colleagues to do so. i yield back. mr. johnson: thank you, my friend. and thank you for your service. mr. speaker, may i inquire how much time is left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 13 minutes remaining. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. i am really happy to yield next to the gentleman from texas' first district, my neighboring district, right over the border, mr. gohmert. mr. gohmert: thank you to my friend from louisiana. mr. speaker, emails, as this headline says, from wendell, emails show anthony fauci scrambled at the beginning of the pandemic to determine

potential u.s. role in funding coronavirus research abroad. and that was because he provided money to a firm that provided money to the wuhan lab. as this points out after fauci made that comment, the man response i will for steering u.s. government funding to the wuhan funding, thanked dr. fauci for publicly dismissing the theory crires may have leaked for that lab. here is a story. anthony fauci said, drug store

masks are not effective. he told us, we need to be taking a mask and everybody should be wearing a mask and that was only after he had been against it before he was before it. and just being one of the biggest hypocrites and lied to the american people >> he says i do not recommend you wear a mask. and money is spent on diagnose no, sir particulars and vaccines. as his email they knew that they geared only days before insisting that the virus was

natural. and that is another one of the that represent tiffer greene the fire fauci act and covid 2 geared, he he limb natured his twitter account and that article is june 7 and we find out that boosted of patients by 200%. we have had hundreds of thousands of americans who have died while fouchy and others be littled and the good that it could do and the dep it has done for most of those who have taken it. we know in the 190e.

president eisenhower we have no flights going over the soviet union and he said i'm sorry, i lied and i'm sorry i thought i was doing it right. in the 1960's, president kennedy and went on television and said i'm sorry in the bay of pigs invasion, who is going to say. it's not going to be fauci or president biden but someone owes it to the american people. mr. johnson: the scop of that. mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield next to the the gentleman from

west virginia. >> i rise today to issue a great importance their economicic. and only six months since. under president trump we saw unparalleled deproth. under pptpidequen, fewer and fewer people going pack to work and inflation. you can see here. .%. and by the end of 2020, the economy was resurgent and since it was crippled. there had pen an improvement until this imple spring. after 11 months, the

unemployment rate increased this past april. more americans are getting vaccinated and getting lifted. this should be a time when it reachts new heights. 9.3 job openings in april and more than any other time in the last year pu those jobs may not get tue to president imple biden decisions to continue an unsustainable level of benefits and some can make it before going back to work. if you pay people not to work, they will take you up on it. and working if they can make

more money staying home. the failure of the administration has forced gfers to act on their own. they are winding the $300 been fits. governor jim justice will join that group. governors must step up and make the best decisions. west virginia has had a problem. our state director of the national businesses and the worker shortages and he said that is not a myth. i think there is a common theme that finding workers is finding workers. the has ing that small business

is need is a worker sthortage to meet the nands. president's biden's problem is more spending. but with our budget erm deficit, more spending will bring about more problems and $28 trillion and our deficit has deprone larger. and yet, president biden is spending $4 trillion and and electric irl buildings and make them greener.

president biden and left wing of his party would get rid of fossil fuels and his administration is shaping up to be the most liberal. we should not keep borrowing money from china. this is a simple solution and unwind the programs and continue opening up the economy and have people earn a hiffing. i would like to make a few comments. i would like to address the crisis at the southern border. and children being dropped over the border fence and and trying to cross. dumb ming chin and that is child abuse. it is an outrage.

the border crisis is a humanitarian crisis and the president of depaut maula plamed the administration calling it confusing and said it increases the number of people and coyotes and cartels. and it has stopped over 180 hourks,000 and the highest in 20 years and this is a crisis ladies and gentlemen. time for earl ca malla harris to address the humanitarian crisis at the border and protect the lives. and i yield back. mr. johnson: how much time

remains? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has a little less than three minutes. mr. johnson: i sfeed to summarize and so many of my colleagues to send the alarms and intorm the american people. we have a crisis at home and on the southern border and you heard the board spectrum, whether our concern about jobs and the economy and humanitarian crisis with young children and whether which are talking about this administration and summarize it all tonight pi the gentleman from mr. perry, he said we have a leadership crisis and we do. but i tell you, all these issues can and should be addressed. all of us on this side of the

aisle we are anxious and want americans do to get back to work and we should want to achieve peace and it's time for president biden time for our colleagues to work with the republicans. i yield back the balance of our time and i thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. under the speaker's announced policy of swran, 202 rk the gentleman from the gentleman is recognized mr. case, half of the time which is 2 and-a-half -- 9 and-a-half minutes. scace case i ask unanimous consent that we have all members

to include. mr. speaker, i rise today with my colleagues for so many to recognize and honor a stamp just should with the stunning impolicity that honors one of the most stories in the history. a and that is american that depose to our essence that offers the. and that is the point of this stamp that we never deporget of the japanese-american stories and go for broke. for many of us and instruggetted and for a growing number it is not. and permit me to preef

reteeling. americans of japanese ancestry and in substantial communities and were marginalized and constituted of our populations and working on small businesses. from washington to oregon to san diego. war with japan and they were hargely denied and south to prove themselves through service in the depaurd. pearl harbor. over 00,000 were intender and stain on our fab brick and pushing too allow to provide and they relented with the 442nd and

the military service and the 13th engineer. and they say it is legend. and fought their way through sicily and it alley for their length of service. we honored them in 200 with our congressional gold medal. what is all remembered. the women in california who had been carsed. fought not and fought a 16-year effort to depain approval of this beautiful stamp of the u.s. service. and it was issued just weeks ago. it was taken from the 1944 photo and and born and raced in the

plantation village. a fitting tribute. to look spoo his eyes, you see commitment and you see perseverance through adversity through a better place. . i'm so honored to stand with my colleagues to honor the issuance of this stamp in memory of the japanese american soldiers of world war ii. i'm honored to be joined by my colleagues here today who will speak also, many of whom labored long and hard with the rest of us towards the issuance of this stamp. first i yield three minutes to my colleague, mark takano of california, the second vice chair of the congressional asian-pacific american caucus and chair of the house veterans committee.

mr. takano: i say maholo to my colleague for yielding and for organizing this special order hour to commemorate the release of an historic stamp that honors the bravery and service of the combat team, got for broke american soldiers of world war ii forever stamp. i am a proud japanese american, the son of a mother and father who were young children when executive -- executive order 9066 was signed by president roosevelt which forced them and the rest of my family into internment camps on american soil. executive order 9066 labeled japanese americans as enemy aliens. it scapegoated an entire community of americans and questioned their loyalty. it was misguided. it was based on lies and it was rooted in racism and fear. during this time, 120,000 japanese americans were unjustly imprisoned. mass blamed for atrocities they did not commit. their rights were trampled, their freedoms were curtailed

and their humanity was ignored. while our own government was carrying out the unthinkable against its own people while fighting for the ideals of liberty and freedom abroad, young japanese american men stepped up to serve under our flag, even when our country did not want them to. following the attack on pearl harbor, japanese american men of draft age were excluded from military service. they were considered enemy aliens, unfit to serve, unfit to fight for their own country. yet in spite of this, a highly motivated group of japanese americans eager to prove their allegiance and their patriotism, petitioned the u.s. government for their right to serve. president roosevelt relented, allowing these men to form the 442nd regmental combat team of the united states army. a legendary segregated japanese american fighting unit that was sent to the front lines of world war ii, even as their families were in internment camps. among these men were three of my great uncles, including my great uncle monso, and -- who is

pictured right beside me. my great uncle gave his life for our country in italy just a few weekser about before -- before d-day. he was -- weeks before d-day. he was 26 years old. i rewatched the testimony of his brother, my other great-uncle, who recounted the story of that day he learned his brother had died in battle and what he called the final push of the war. mon and so many others shoulders never had the opportunity -- soldiers never had the opportunity torrellish the victory they helped to secure but -- to relish the victory they helped to secure. my great-uncle also share what had it was like to serve in the rescue of the lost battalion. the rescue of the lost battalion took place in the mountains in france in october of 1944. 800 men in the 442nd lost their lives in combat to rescue 211 men in the 141st texas regiment.

he told a story of bloodshed and of carnage that he witnessed there. he described the nauseating terrible feeling after seeing dead bodies of american and german soldiers and helmets all around him. the fighters believed in the promise of america. these men were betting on america. and they bet that america could be a more perfect, free and more equal union and in the case of my great-uncle, he bet his life. in spite -- i just want to say that the motto of this unit was go for broke, which means to go all-in. to bet everything. and this group of men bet on -- not on the reality of america, the reality then was an america that let japanese americans down, that stripped them of their rights and interned them without reason. these men were in a humiliating place to have to prove their patriotism and they had something to prove and they did prove it. so i tell the story of my great-uncles and the 442nd with

great pride and a strong brief belief that if it wasn't for him, i wouldn't be a member of congress today. they won their bet. i stand as evidence that they did. thank you. and i yield. mr. case: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time to representative kahele of hawaii. mr. kahele: thank you to representative case for yielding me his time so i may speak on the merits of all japanese americans who served during world war ii. a recognition of the united states postal service captured with the recent issuance of its 2021 go for broke japanese american soldiers of world war ii commemorative stamp. go for broke, the motto of the brave 442nd regmental combat team, which means give it your all, speaks to the spirit of courage, of patriotism, and sacrifice, as well as their fight for equality for all people. the 442nd almost entirely composed of second-generation japanese americans was the most

decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of the united states. 80 years ago these brave americans were filled with dreams, aspirations and hope. only to be faced with harsh discrimination and assaults on their character and loyalty to america. the go for broke japanese american soldiers of world war ii stamps are forever stamps and symbolize these men and women's undying devotion to their country. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. under the speaker's announced policy of january 4, 2021, the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona, mr. schweikert, until 10:00 p.m. mr. schweikert: thank you, mr. speaker. i know we're all up against the clock as my wife would say, the tyranny of the clock, so i had all sorts of boards and information i was going to drive -- information, i was going to drive the poor stenographer nuts

because sometimes i talk a little fast. i will try to slow down. i apologize. i've had a lot of caffeine. but i have a simple theme i want to try to walk through. and that is this place isn't dealing with the actual crisis that's about to crush this country. and it is debt, but it's also opportunity. it's opportunity for our underserved populations, those who have been crushed by covid and when you look at why, i think we have a solution. but we have to think differently in this place. so, first, let's do the global problem. the honest truth about what's about to crush us as a people is debt. take a look at this chart next to me. over the next 30 years, and this is in adjusted dollars, so this is in today's dollars, $101 trillion of debt. in today's dollars. i don't think we ever get close

to that. to being able to finance that type of debt. but if you look at the chart, 67% of it is just medicare. the rest here is social security. the little green part of that 101 -- $101 trillion, only about $3 trillion of it is the rest of government. it's medicare and social security. if you believe like i do that we have a moral obligation to keep our promises on social security and medicare, we need to step up and deal with the reality of the math. hiding it. so think about the debates going on here, we're talking about spending $4 trillion here, $4 trillion for this. this is the sword hanging over our head and the economic violence, the evil we will do to seniors and this government when this blows up on us is terrifying. so i want to walk through some basics. as i juggle these boards, really

interesting number here. and this one's really important. if you can take a look at this top line, this is what needs to bounce off here. of that functionally, i think $68 trillion of debt, that's driven just by medicare, over the next 30 years, 31% of it is diabetes. if you look at the health outcomes from covid, from my tribal communities in the southwest, for urban populations that have lots of diabetes issues, take a look at what a crappy year they had dying. from covid. if we don't change this policy of saying, well, we're going to to spend money putting up more medical clinics and doing this and doing, that we're going to spend money to help people live with their misery? is that really what we're about? how about doing something bold. we're going to do operation warp

speed to cure diabetes and yes, it's going to be hard. there's some incredible science coming on, type one, because that's auto immune. type two, a lot tougher because a lot of it is lifestyle and we're going to have to deal with government policy on how we do farm policy and nutrition support. but maybe we can come together here and say, we're going to stop financing misery. the diabetes that is rampant through our society, and oh, by the way, at the same time it's the single biggest impact you can have on the debt bomb that's hanging over our society. we have to work through some of the crazy policy proposals here that sound great and you work through and all they're going to do is bring more misery to our society. how many of you have actually read h.r. 3? that's the democrats' bill on trying to deal with prescription drug costs. and i understand, we need to do

something about prescription drug costs. but what it does is it uses reference pricing, which means we're going to go to great britain here and take what they allow for a year, so a single quality year of life, and if the drug costs more than $37, you don't get it. -- $37,000, you don't get it. so the new alzheimer's drug that was finally approved last week, you don't get it. because it doesn't give you -- it costs more than $37,000. that's the price mechanism that makes h.r. 3 work. that's cruel. but we also on the conservative side, we got to get our math right. we tell people price transparency. price transparency does a good thing. it makes a difference. but it only makes a fractional difference. the best research we've been able to find, it's .1 to .-- .1% to .7% change in health care

costs. so here's the point i'm trying to get through. obamacare, the a.c.a., the republican alternative, they were financing bills. it's who had to pay, who got subsidized. we need to start having a debate here on what we pay and how we crash the price of health care. mr. speaker, how much time do i have left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has under three minutes. mr. schweikert: ok. in that case i'm going to talk faster. i'm going to make an argument that there's a technology disruption here that -- disruption here that can help us change what we pay. the single thing we can do immediately to have the most impact is if we can get our brothers and sisters to take their hypertension medicines, to take their pills, that's 16% of all health care costs, a half a trillion a year is just from people misusing or not taking their pharmaceuticals. there's technology now on the

pill cap, the dispenser, to help grandma, to help me, to help all of us take our pharmaceuticals when we need. it but the other thing, this -- need it. but the other thing, this can be in your medicine cabinet. we have the technology that you blow into that tells if you have a virus or cancer or what you have. it's time for the technology disruption and it's time this body start to legalize that technology to help us disrupt the price of health care. we can do something and the beauty of it is by doing the right thing, it effects the debt crush that's coming to our society, but also we start helping our brothers and sisters not have to live with the misery. so in operation warp speed for diabetes, republicans and democrats, we can get on that, there may be some who want to do it because of debt, some want to do it for a humanitarian cause. it's the right thing to do. and then let's legalize the technology that helps us change

what we pay instead of having the crazy debate we have here of how we pay. the time for the revolution. adopt the technology. let's change the price of health care. mr. speaker, thank you for your patience. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 11-b of house resolution 188, the house stands adjourned until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.

>> for use of military force against iraq. presidents have been using that authorization for military conflict in other countries. will have live coverage on c-span.

>> [speaking foreign language]

>> [speaking foreign language] >> mr. president of the russian federation, mr. president of the

united states of america, on behalf of the swiss government, i would like to welcome you to geneva, the city of peace. it is an honor and a pleasure for switzerland to host you for the summit. in accordance with tradition, promote dialogue and mutual understanding. i wish you both presidents a fruitful dialogue in the interest of your two countries and the world. best wishes and goodbye. >> how will you pressure putin today? will you find common ground? >> the two leaders, president biden and russian president putin, held a formal meeting behind closed doors but at one point, they allowed journalists in to take fisher's of both