Robert Aderholt

Mr. ADERHOLT

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. ADERHOLT

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. today.

Mr. ADERHOLT

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. ADERHOLT

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield 3 minutes to gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris), the chair of Subcommittee on Agricultural and also a member of our Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 864, I offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I thank Mr. Ciscomani for his comments. As we move forward with this bill, I look forward to working with him, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Ciscomani), a member of our Appropriations Committee that has been very helpful on this bill that is before us today.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Steube).

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of these remarks from my friend and colleague from Alabama (Mr. Carl). Hospitals in Alabama and, really, across the Nation are facing financial pressure because of healthcare disparities created by a specific Medicare regulation called the Medicare area wage index, as Mr. Carl just mentioned. The wage index system is broken. It is punishing cost-effective hospitals in so many rural areas. Despite increases in labor costs, the wage index in these States consistently decreases over the years, and the decline is projected to continue. I thank the gentleman from Alabama for raising this issue here today. Although this is primarily under the jurisdiction of the authorizing committees, I am proud that this bill includes provisions drawing attention to this very important issue. I hope that, moving forward, Congress can work to address this long- broken system, which is continuing to create serious challenges for our rural hospitals and their communities. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Carl).

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, I rise in support this morning of H.R. 5894, the FY 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies bill. This is my first year as chair of this very important subcommittee, and I am proud to be able to support programs that touch the lives of literally every American in one form or fashion. Our Nation remains mired in high inflation, which was only worsened by the massive infusion of government spending, both during and immediately after the COVID pandemic. I have said on numerous occasions that inflation is a tax on every single American. Moreover, it is a tax borne disproportionately by low-income Americans. We cannot continue to make our constituents pay for our reckless D.C. beltway spending. At some point, we must stop the out-of-control spending spree that we have seen over the past 2 years. This bill that is before the House this morning represents a clear first step toward returning to fiscal responsibility while at the same time ensuring that funding for critical and high-priority functions are maintained. Yes, the bill before us today reflects the challenges in achieving deficit reduction solely through reductions in discretionary spending. To be honest, a $60 billion cut to social spending programs in this bill requires scrutiny and priority setting. Over 50 programs are proposed for reduction and another 60 programs are eliminated. Most of those that are eliminated are unauthorized or they have expired authorizations. Title I grants to States are cut by almost 80 percent, or more than $14 billion. While title I grants do support school districts everywhere, including rural districts and the districts back in Alabama that I represent, these funds disproportionately support big city public schools, those same public schools that failed to educate the most vulnerable children that were entrusted to them by closing their doors for almost 2 years during the pandemic. It is estimated that over $20 billion in unspent funding still remains available from those funds that were provided during the pandemic to these schools. Until this funding--over $21 billion--is drawn down and used responsibly, the Federal Government should not continue to make further investments in these failing schools. At the same time, the priorities of this bill are biodefense, programs that support rural America, targeted education programs, including those for children with special needs and congressional oversight responsibilities. The bill also maintains support for Pell grants and language to ensure borrowers can quickly resume payments of their student loans following the recent Supreme Court decision. Other programs for certain vulnerable populations, such as Americans with disabilities, older Americans, and foster children, are maintained at current levels. Childcare block grants, which provide vouchers for families to choose childcare settings of their choice, are maintained at $8 billion. In response to this administration's executive branch overreach, this bill prohibits funding for programs focused solely on diversity, equity, and inclusion. It eliminates funding for Planned Parenthood and other controversial grantees. It also protects religious freedom and values by stopping the administration's regulations that would require schools to allow biological boys to compete against girls in women's sports programs and prohibiting any Federal funding from going toward enforcing gender identity politics or social, hormonal, or surgical interventions to look like the opposite sex. The bill prohibits funding for controversial ideologies like critical race theory. These radical views do not belong in public schools. Schools should be teaching our children how to think, not what to think. The bill maintains the longstanding Hyde amendment to ensure that taxpayer funds are not used for abortion on demand and that no one is forced to participate in an abortion or refer for one under any Federal program. The bill also makes sure that taxpayer funds are not used to circumvent State laws restricting abortion and also ensures that Federal research funds are not used on human fetal tissue obtained from an elective abortion. Furthermore, the bill before us also includes provisions preventing this administration from moving forward with job-killing regulations that relate to independent contractors, joint employer status, and federally forced wage rates for agricultural workers. The administration's regulatory agenda is stifling small businesses, which should be an incubator for innovation. To protect against man-made pandemics, the bill prohibits any funding from going to EcoHealth Alliance, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or any lab located in Russia or China. The bill also prohibits funding from being used for any gain-of-function research, which was being used on bat coronavirus prior to the COVID pandemic, and it prohibits enforcement of the CMS COVID vaccine mandate on healthcare workers. In closing, Mr. Chairman, in addition to thanking everybody that has had a part in this, I want to say a special thanks to the chair of our committee, Chairwoman Granger, and also my fellow subcommittee members and their staff. I certainly also thank the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee staff on both the Democrat and the Republican side, as we have had to work through this bill over the last several months. I just appreciate everyone's hard work and input as we have moved forward on this. Mr. Chairman, I look forward to the debate today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 5894, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. ADERHOLT

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for the time to speak on this. Mr. Chair, I do rise in opposition to the amendment. I thank my colleague, Mr. Diaz-Balart, for his leadership on this bill. While certainly I don't think any of us want to send American dollars to terrorists, I do think this amendment would effectively prohibit financial assistance that is key to protecting religious minorities in Iraq. The United States has long been committed to the principle of promoting religious freedom around the world, and our support for Iraq for this purpose is no exception. As drafted, the amendment before us would eliminate critical assistance to religious and ethnic minorities, including the Christian Chaldeans, and Assyrians, who have been victims of ISIS extremism and genocide. These people have suffered unspeakable harm in the name of their religious beliefs and, quite honestly, their Christian beliefs, and they need our assistance. Mr. Chair, I would encourage my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

Mr. ADERHOLT

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I am in strong support of H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which I am proud to cosponsor. I thank the Congressman from Florida, Mr. Steube, for his leadership on this effort. Over 50 years ago, Title IX was enacted to level the playing field, and ensure that women and girls were given fair opportunities to participate, perform, and achieve in education. One of the primary areas that has been impacted by this law is in the area of women's sports. Since then, female participation in sports has increased by 1,057 percent at the high school level, and 614 percent at the postsecondary level. Women and girls deserve the confidence of stepping up to the plate, onto a field, into a court, or on a track, knowing that the competition will be rule-bound and fair and that their safety has been prioritized. They deserve to have confidence that they are fairly competing against another biological woman. And most of all, they deserve the chance to be champions. The actions of the Biden Administration have entirely sacrificed equality in the service of their political agenda; and today I hope my colleagues will join me in voting in favor of this legislation, and restoring the soul of Title IX, that has given so many women and girls life-changing opportunities.

Mr. ADERHOLT

Mr. ADERHOLT. Madam Chair, when a mother or a father drops their child off at school in the morning, they should not have to wonder what that child will hear, read, see, or learn that day. Families should feel confident in the American education system, and when they sense that there is a problem, they deserve the right to have a voice, and for that voice to be heard. Parents deserve the right to know what is being taught. There are too many classrooms in America that take time away from reading, science, mathematics, and arts; and give that time to inappropriate, age- inappropriate explicit sexual education, historically inaccurate critical race theory, and fluid gender ideology. Parents are the ones most invested in their child's education--you will not find someone with more stake in--or more long-term influence on--the success of a child, and research continually shows that parental involvement yields measurable and consistent success. Furthermore, it is our most vulnerable students who often suffer the most when schools focus on agendas other than academic success. Minority and lower income children are too often trapped in under- performing schools, vulnerable to the ideological agenda of the left infiltrating their curriculum and falling victim to the education establishment's monopoly system. This important legislation directly identifies and protects the rights that parents inherently hold. As Chair of the House Values Action Team, as a Representative for the Fourth Congressional District of Alabama, and most importantly, as a father of two, I support the Parents Bill of Rights and urge its passage. This legislation matters, because children matter, and parents matter.