Jodey Arrington

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, just a note on cost: When the Democrats controlled Congress and the White House, they spent a record $12 trillion. Now, $5 trillion of that is because of the record interest rate hikes that were associated with an almost half-century high inflation. Combined, we are talking about, again, almost $12 trillion. Mr. Speaker, what did we get for that? What did the American people, the shareholders, get for that? What return did our citizens get for that ``investment''? They got green energy subsidies to corporations, which were a disaster for our energy economy. It made the prices of gas and electricity for our consumers skyrocket. The American people got tens of thousands of IRS agents. They expanded the IRS by $80 billion because that is what they thought the American people needed after a 22-percent increase in prices. They bailed out student loan programs, schools that wouldn't open, and the union pension fund. It was one bailout after another. It is hard to keep up with it. If you go back and look at the executive order from President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the time, they actually provided healthcare at the cost of taxpayers to people in this country illegally, and we wonder why we had record numbers of illegal immigrants pouring into this country. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan), my friend from the Buckeye State and the House's chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let's play back the tape: 4 years, wide-open border flooding the zone, and by the zone I mean the entire country, crime, criminals, drugs, record number of people on the terrorist watch list, record number of people from countries of interest, record number of illegal immigrants dying in the desert, record number of humans trafficked to this country; record, record, record, open border, disaster. Now, after this mess, when we have to get the brave men and women to go clean up the streets from the criminals that roam in the great cities of this country and threaten our citizens, they want to call them what I heard in Rules Committee, masked thugs. That is what they are calling our law enforcement officers. I guess we shouldn't be too surprised because that is the party that wanted to defund the police. That is the party with the battle cry, ``Defund ICE.'' That is the party which, at the top of their ticket in the last Presidential election, had a Presidential nominee who compared ICE to the KKK, and her Vice President compared them to the gestapo. No, no, sir, Mr. Speaker, I am not surprised, not surprised that now that they created this self-inflicted disaster and mess, and our brave ICE officers are trying to clean it up, that they would want to impede them and insult them, but they only insult law-abiding American citizens, I assure you that. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McDowell), my dear friend from the Tar Heel State and a member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 20 seconds to the gentleman from Utah.

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, instead of the absurd demands of asking for judicial warrants after immigration judges have ruled that these criminal aliens are not with cause, for heaven's sakes, in our country, we included body cameras, millions of dollars. The President reviewed protocols included and strengthened training programs. Here is the root cause of what people saw on their TV sets at night when they saw the mayhem and they saw the chaos: It was lawless sanctuary cities, rogue leaders who incited violence against our law enforcement officers while they were doing a dangerous job to rid our country of criminal aliens. Mr. Speaker, how in the world do we expect them to do this job when we have State and local leaders who refuse to cooperate, who thumb their noses at the rule of law, and who make things not only more difficult but more dangerous for the men and women in uniform who courageously protect us every day? Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Utah (Mr. Moore).

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately and conveniently, some of my Democrat friends have had a bad case of amnesia. I am going to remind the American people that when Joe Biden and the Democrats had control of this town, this Chamber, Congress, and the White House, they took inflation from 1.4 percent all the way past 9 percent. We had a 22-percent increase cumulative of prices of everyday goods that Americans depend on. It was Joe Biden and the Democrats who lit the fuse on the inflationary firestorm that the American people, especially working Americans, suffered. The average inflation rate during the Joe Biden- Kamala Harris era was 5 percent. Inflation is down. The average inflation under this President, President Trump, is 2.7 percent. Wages are up. Business investment is up, growth and GDP are up, and there is money in people's pockets, because had we relied on the Democrats, then we would have seen a $1,700-a-month tax hike on the American people. However, we said no tax on tips, no more tax on working people with respect to overtime or seniors on a fixed income. I am very proud of what we did as one strategy to provide much-needed relief after the cost-of-living crisis that was caused by the unbridled spending and failed economic policies of my Democratic colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I would like to introduce the American people to a great man and patriot. Lloyd Smucker is a dear friend and the vice chairman of the Budget Committee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker).

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we are here because my Democrat colleagues have shut the United States Government down, the Department of Homeland Security, for now 74 days. They have held the American people hostage and have imperiled the safety of every citizen of this country for their ridiculous and even dangerous demands. They are not serious. We had a four-corners agreement between Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate. They reneged. If it weren't for President Trump's intervention, we would have the hardworking public servants at the Department of Homeland Security going 100 days without pay. Ask me, Mr. Speaker, how many days my Democrat colleagues have gone without pay or how long they would tolerate going without pay. Mr. Speaker, this isn't just about the inconvenience of long lines at airports. This is an unprecedented national security and public safety crisis. This is the moment we take the keys from the kids, we say no more of this nonsense, we open up the people's government, and we restore the safety and the security of the American people. Now, you will hear my colleagues, no doubt, say: If we could just agree on some commonsense reforms, we would have opened up the Department of Homeland Security. We would have been glad to work with you. But let's think about these commonsense reforms. To require this administration to get a judicial warrant to expel criminal aliens from our country, there is not a Democrat or Republican former Commander in Chief who would ever find that acceptable. In fact, these criminal aliens have had their day in immigration court, and they have their orders to be expelled because they are not here with cause. They are here with threat to my family and to my community and to my great State of Texas and to this beloved country of ours. It is unacceptable. They would effectively stop all deportations. But we had an election after 4 years of lawlessness and chaos at the southern border, crime, criminals, and all kinds of criminal elements and drugs that killed more people than the entire Vietnam war in 1 year. This President was elected to restore law and order. Rule of law in this great civil society of ours has been an embarrassment for those 4 years. He has done it, and that is what the people sent us here to do. That is the mandate they gave us, along with unified Republican leadership. There has been one wall of obstruction after another for this President and this administration. That is one example of their ridiculous, absurd, and unserious demands. The other one is--I heard this at the Rules Committee, and I couldn't believe my ears. They called our law enforcement agents, who risk their lives to keep us safe--their families pray and wait for their mom or dad to come home, wondering if something goes wrong and the bad guys win that day, and they never see their family member again. Yet, my Democrat colleague repeatedly referred to our honorable ICE and CBP agents as masked thugs. When evil is called good, and good is called evil--do you remember that quote? Do you remember that admonition? These are the days. Mr. Speaker, we have given 16 chances and all opportunities to vote to turn this government of the people back on and support our ICE and CBP agents, to protect our ports by funding our guardsmen, to protect the CISA agents to protect our critical infrastructure while cyberattacks are on the rise, and to resource our FEMA agency to be ready to respond to our citizens in a natural disaster. They said no 16 times. No. Here we are, demasking our agents and calling them masked thugs. There is an 8,000-percent increase, Mr. Speaker, in death threats to these gentlemen and gentlewomen who wear the badge, who wear the uniform, and who protect the thin blue line, a 1,300-percent increase in assaults, and a 3,200-percent increase in vehicular assaults. We know who they are. We have made great efforts to identify each agent so they would be held accountable if they did anything illegal or inappropriate. We have cartel members who have bounties of tens of thousands of dollars on their heads. We have masked, leftist, radical, violent folks who are assaulting them in the streets while they are trying to do their dangerous jobs. You want to know why we are here, Mr. Speaker? Do you want to know why we are here, American people? That is why we are here. We say enough is enough. Today, we put forward this budget resolution with reconciliation instructions to fund the people's homeland security, to protect our citizens, and to do right by these hard-working, God-fearing public servants who go to work every day not knowing if they are going to come home. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. Con. Res 33 currently under consideration.

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1224, I call up the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 33) setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2026 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2027 through 2035, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, they had the requisite applications to have an Article V convention of the States, to rein in us, the knuckleheads that refuse to accept that it is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem. It is an institutional problem that persists and will destroy the greatest Nation in human history. Let's look to the States, and let's call that convention like we should have done in the 1970s and 1980s. Let's let them rein us in, restore fiscal sanity in their Nation's Capital, and reverse the curse that looms large over this country.

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and classmate from Arizona for yielding. Mr. Speaker, let's pause for a brief moment of intellectual honesty. Both parties have failed. This institution has failed. We have failed our country. We have jeopardized our economy, our security, and our leadership in the world. Worst of all, we have compromised on our children's future and the blessing of their inheritance of freedom and opportunity. We have failed. That is why we are talking about a constitutional amendment to impose fiscal responsibility on a body politic that has not done that, that has not mustered the political will to do that. We have a national debt per GDP that exceeds World War II levels of debt, an annual deficit that is larger than both the defense and nondefense discretionary budgets, with 50 cents or greater on every dollar that we borrow up to $2 trillion going to service our interest payments. Half of what we borrow, a trillion dollars, is more than what we spend on defense. Then, there is this ominous forecast by CBO that even at $39 trillion today, where we are teetering on a potential sovereign debt crisis, we will add $180 trillion to the national debt in the 30- year out. If that is not unacceptable to everybody, I don't know what is. If we can't concede to the fact that this body politic does not have the political will to address it, to rein in the spending that is driving this unsustainable debt trajectory that will bankrupt our country and our children's future, then we must support this forcing mechanism. Force us to do what the American people have to do. Force us to do what State and local governments do. Here is another stunning, and startling for some, but for all a sobering fact: We won't even get a simple majority vote today. What shall we do? We should look to Article V of the Constitution, where the sovereign States and we the people can petition their government for another path to amend the Constitution. Guess what. They have done that.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend from Wisconsin for yielding time. Mr. Speaker, there is not a better example of political expediency than my Democrat colleagues opposing a voter ID law on the grounds of States' rights. First, the Constitution is clear. Rules for running elections have been delegated to the States. But in that same provision, the Constitution says Congress may at any time alter the process. I certainly think our Founding Fathers would support strengthening the integrity of our elections. Democrats know this, Mr. Speaker. They must think the American people, though, have forgotten about their for the politicians act in the 117th Congress, where they basically codified a COVID-era and fraud-ridden election law. They included, ironically, prohibiting voter ID essentially. It also included ballot harvesting, promoting mass voting by mail, and taking taxpayer dollars to fund political campaigns. Let's be clear. Democrats believe Congress has the power to ban voter ID but not the power to require it. This shouldn't be controversial. Requiring proof of citizenship to register and a valid voter ID is as common sense as it gets. Mr. Speaker, American elections are for American citizens. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the SAVE America Act.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, the Democrats fought Republicans to require voter ID to protect the integrity of our elections, the cornerstone of our democratic Republic. Now they stand here today on the floor of the people's house, fighting the President in his effort to protect the lives of the American people against what is the most imminent threat and the number one cause of accidental deaths and drug overdoses. We know where the drugs are coming from, pouring into our country and our communities, killing our friends, killing our families. I can't think of a greater security concern than this. The President has effectively and appropriately promoted and defended America's economic and security interests by the use of tariffs. Today, Mr. Speaker, as a result, we have a lower trade deficit than we have had since 2009. By the way, the top 20 economies in the world that we do business with had twice the tariffs on our products, three times the tariffs when you measure agriculture products, and the deficit is going down. We have quadrupled revenue to strengthen America's balance sheet and pay down the tax on our children, which is the deficit. We have gone from 6.3 percent to 5.9, and exports are at an all-time high. Now, what is the issue here? It is not about 301, unfair trade practices, although there are plenty of grievances against our northern neighbor in that regard. This isn't about USMCA. The USMCA products flowing from Canada to the United States are exempt. Eighty-five percent of the products, we are not talking about that. It is not about 232. This is about one particular authority that this Congress empowered our commander-in-chief with to deal with unusual threats outside of the U.S. that would impact our national security, our foreign policy, and our economy. Now, I can't think of anything more unusual, and I can't think of a bigger threat than a chemical warfare waged against the United States of America. Any President worth his salt, any commander-in-chief, would be derelict in their duty if they didn't use every tool at their disposal to stop it. For my President to expect our neighbor from the north to have the same vigilance and the same urgency as he has because of the American people's mandate to stop this madness and protect our children, God bless him. God bless him. For my colleagues to run to the floor, to raise their hands, and to scream foul that this President is somehow using tariffs in a way that has nothing to do with our interest, to talk about food security, we could go down the list. We wouldn't have food insecurity if we didn't have a cost of living crisis where the fuse was lit by unbridled spending. We could go down the list. Yes, we are doing something about that. We are bringing interest rates down. We are bringing real wages up. We are also preserving food stamps so they are not being defrauded or being spent on people here illegally. Mr. Chairman, I would love to keep debating all day long. God bless America, and go West Texas.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Well, first of all, Mr. Speaker, my Democratic colleagues--maybe not all of them, but what I just heard--gave a complete mischaracterization of the program integrity measures that Republicans put in the big, beautiful bill. While the fraud, waste, and abuse is on display for all Americans, not only in Minnesota, but all across this country, we find it unacceptable. We believe that one of our first responsibilities here in the people's House is to steward the people's sacred treasure. We put financial controls, anti-fraud measures, and, again, program integrity reforms so that people who need these safety net programs can avail themselves. They will not be drained anymore by people who are illegally in this country, ineligible, or who are able-bodied adults who just simply refuse to work. That is all. I mean, I think that is, as we say, an 80-20 issue in this country. No, people aren't starving and being thrown into the streets with no support who need it. We are protecting and preserving not only the tax dollar, but these important critical safety net services for the American people who are eligible. I am grateful for that leadership from the President and from my Republican colleagues. I can't imagine that most Democrats throughout this country actually support us protecting their tax dollars, too.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a true west Texas giant and American hero, Mr. J.L. Stevens of Big Spring, USA, a World War II veteran who just turned 100 years old this past week. He is a living monument to the grit, courage, quiet humility, and service that define both west Texas and America's Greatest Generation. In 1943, at just 17 years old, Mr. Speaker, this gentleman enlisted in the United States Navy, serving as a gunner's mate aboard the USS Hambleton, where he directly engaged the enemy on D-day while supporting the Allied invasion of Normandy. Despite suffering combat injuries in Europe, Mr. Stevens continued his service, which concluded in 1945 in the Pacific theater, where he personally witnessed the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender in Tokyo Harbor, bringing World War II to its official end. After the war, Mr. Stevens returned to his home in west Texas, where he worked as a carpenter, helping to build the firehouse there in Big Spring and the city's original VA hospital. Mr. Speaker, Mr. J.L. Stevens represents the very best of west Texas in his heroic service to our country and a lifetime of hard work, faith, and devotion to his family, his community, and this great country of ours. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing him a happy 100th birthday and thanking him for a legacy of service that will long endure. Mr. Stevens, here is to many more. God bless you, and God bless America.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, my friend from Massachusetts talked about not seeing the Republican bill. There was a bipartisan provision in there that would lower premiums by 11 percent per the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan budget office. This is a provision that the Democrats all supported. They know we have to make the ObamaCare market work. It doesn't work today. The facts belie that: double premiums, double deductibles, one out of five claims rejected, limited choice. It has failed. That experiment has failed. The only game in town that has actually lowered costs of healthcare, reduced premiums is what Republicans passed out of the House. There was not a single Democrat vote to join us. Here is what I can't understand for the life of me, and I have some good friends over there, and I am not mad. I am miffed that Democrats would all talk about affordability in healthcare and bring to this Chamber the idea, the notion that Congress take a COVID-era program that Democrats all designed to expire when COVID was over, that every watchdog group has said is loaded with fraud and waste--as the chairman said, Social Security numbers from tens of thousands of dead people--it is siphoning money out of the taxpayers' pockets, away from the vulnerable, and enriching insurance companies. There are millions of ineligible people, billions of dollars of fraud, and people are watching what is going on in the country, especially in Minnesota. How could my colleagues across the aisle, in good faith, call this affordable healthcare and stewardship of the sacred treasure of our fellow Americans? Republicans have a plan. It works. It is not perfect. There are some things Congress could work together on. But for the love of God and country, please, it is intellectually dishonest to tell the American people that this COVID-era, fraud-ridden program is somehow going to make healthcare affordable any more than the underlying bill itself, ObamaCare, which everyone knows hasn't. I said it the last time, I will say it again: Ronald Reagan was spot on. Government isn't the solution. Government is the problem. This is a case study for that. America needs less mandates, less taxes, less regulations, and people need more freedom, more choices, more competition. Republicans are willing to work with Democrats, but this is beyond the pale, and it is audacious to call it affordable healthcare. I am amazed. I am surprised. I encourage my colleagues to roundly, soundly stand firm and reject it, and no Republican should ever support this. They didn't support ObamaCare when it was designed. They shouldn't support doubling down on a failed policy, and I encourage them to not begin now.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, let me simplify the debate today for the American people. Republicans are bringing forward reforms that will actually lower the cost of care. According to CBO, which is the gold standard for my Democratic colleagues, it will reduce premiums by 11 percent. Mr. Speaker, the only other time premiums have gone down since ObamaCare was enacted was when Republicans actually advanced reforms in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act; namely, rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. That lowered the cost of care. We continue to bail out the unaffordable care act and actually make it more affordable, along with other policies that provide the Federal assistance to the people, not insurance agencies, and give the private market more competition and transparency so that people have more choice. That is our plan, and it lowers costs for everybody. The Democrats are trying to put forward an extension of a COVID-era, fraud-ridden subsidy that has proven time and again--GAO, CBO, all the watchdogs say it is fraught with tens of billions of dollars of fraud. Tens of thousands of Social Security numbers from dead people have been used to siphon money away from this program. Millions of people, according to CBO, are ineligibly on the program, and the answer from the Democrats is to perpetuate this fraud bag, which is a completely egregious and reckless thing to do as stewards of tax dollars. This is not to mention that it is propping up the underlying program that, year after year, has raised premiums and deductibles two times--it has doubled premiums and deductibles since ObamaCare has been enacted. We have fewer choices. Things are worse. As Ronald Reagan said so beautifully, so aptly, in this moment, I can't think of any better words: ``Government is not the solution . . .'' here. Democrats all have proven that. ``Government is the problem,'' and we have the solution that actually delivers the affordability to the American people. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, as we say in west Texas: ``Sun's up. Guns up.'' Our Texas Tech Red Raiders have gone through this football season, guns ablazing, and have taken the Big 12 by storm. They posted a historic 11-win regular season with an average victory margin of more than 35 points and their best year since 2008. Now, after securing their outright Big 12 championship, the Red Raiders are knocking on the door of their first-ever national championship. I congratulate Coach Joey McGuire, his tremendous staff, and the outstanding student athletes at Texas Tech, all of whom represent the spirit of west Texas: tenacious, relentless, and 100 percent class and character. Mr. Speaker, Texas Tech, I would argue, is America's team. It is a Main Street university in middle America made up of mostly kids from working families. It is a heartland culture that reflects our Nation's traditional faith and family values. Like our pioneering fathers who braved the harsh elements to settle the Great Plains of west Texas, Red Raiders know how to work, how to fight, and never quit. They don't expect anybody to give them anything. They don't waste time complaining about being underrated or underestimated. They know that respect is earned and not given. They know it is not about pleasing the crowd or the pundits. It is about giving their best to each other, to themselves, and to their university that they love. I am proud to be a Red Raider. I am honored to represent Texas Tech in Congress. I am fired up for the country to know more about west Texas, the food, fuel, fiber, and football capital of the world. Mr. Speaker, as for me and my house, we will be in Miami on New Year's Day with a lot of proud and rowdy Red Raiders cheering on America's team to win it all. Guns up. Go, Red Raiders. Let's win that national championship.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, what a joy and honor it is to hear the voice of my older brother leading the people's House in prayer this morning, continuing the sacred tradition since 1789 of calling on Almighty God to consecrate our service for the good of the American people. Dr. Yancey Cook Arrington is an eighth-generation Texan who, for over 25 years, has served as the teaching pastor at Clear Creek Community Church in the bay area of Houston. He is joined today in the Chamber gallery by his lovely wife, Jennefer. They are proud parents of my three nephews, Thatcher, Haddon, and Beckett. Mr. Speaker, I am eternally grateful for my brother's spiritual influence over the years and have always been inspired by his unwavering devotion to God's Word, to God's people, and to God's only begotten Son, Jesus, our Lord. Thanks be to God for men like Yancey, pastors and preachers throughout these United States, who have dedicated their lives to reminding us that America is great because God is good, and only--and only--if we continue to trust in Him, the sovereign and eternal source of that goodness, will America continue to be great.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, as I listened to the ranking member talk about China's need for U.S. energy, thank God it is that way and not the other way around. If we followed the green new manifesto, with the regulatory assault on U.S. energy, and kept throwing hundreds of billions of dollars in distorting Green New Deal energy subsidies, that is exactly what would happen, we would wake up and be dependent on China for yet one more critical product. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand alongside Chairman Guthrie and my fellow west Texan, August Pfluger, in support of the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act. America is the world's top exporter of LNG, a vital pillar of both our economic strength and national security. In an effort to placate the radical left, which I think was primarily the motivation, the Biden administration, with its whole-of-government assault on American energy, froze new LNG export permits with no economic, environmental, or national security justification. That reckless decision threatened billions of U.S. investments, undermined our allies, and harmed energy-producing regions like west Texas. Thankfully, we now have a President in the White House who is committed to doing the right thing for the country, for our producers and consumers, and committed to making American energy great again, not weaponizing this authority for purely ideological purposes. This bill removes politics from the export permit process and secures America's position as the world's energy superpower. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and prevent future administrations from threatening America's energy dominance. I thank the chairman again for his leadership.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, the Democrats rejecting a clean CR, shutting the government down, creating all of the havoc, the pain and suffering for our fellow Americans is so obviously disingenuous. They never vote against clean CRs. For 4 years under Biden, you all didn't reject one clean CR. Chuck Schumer in 44 years never rejected a clean CR. Mr. Speaker, what is it about? They say policy. They put forward a proposal, Mr. Chairman. They said it is about healthcare, healthcare for illegals. They repeal work requirements for able-bodied adults. That is an 80/20 issue in this country. They put forward a spending bill of $1.5 trillion. That is twice the discretionary budget. Mr. Chairman, they are spending more money than we have ever spent outside of COVID. That is their counterproposal. It is not only disingenuous. It is unserious. What is it about? It is about politics. It is about resisting and fighting and undermining Donald Trump. Here is the deal: They are not fighting and resisting Donald Trump. They are undermining the will of the American people that gave Trump the Presidency.

Mr. ARRINGTON. They undermine the will of the people who overwhelmingly elected President Trump and gave him the mandate of the America First agenda. They are not resisting us. They are posturing and placating the radical left. They are holding back what the American people wanted and that was a new direction for this country.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor and delight to hear the familiar voice of my pastor, Elliott Powell, opening up the people's House with prayer, a tradition that began at the very first Congress in 1789. Reverend Powell is the pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lubbock, Texas, USA. He is joined today in the Chamber gallery by his wife, Shannon Aycock Powell, and their three children: Lila, Karissa,

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and commend Mr. Cole for his commitment to controlling costs in the stewardship of taxpayers' hard-earned treasure. Meanwhile, my Democratic colleagues are demanding an audacious $1.4 trillion in new spending or they will shut the people's government down. We should let the people know what that $1.4 trillion includes. It would extend a failed and what they called temporary COVID tax credit that went to people making $600,000 because there was no income limit. CBO said there were 4.5 million phantom enrollees. That is fraud in Plainview, Texas. CMS said 2.3 million ineligible people received this temporary COVID tax credit, tens of billions of dollars in waste and fraud, and this is what they demand or they will shut the government down. They also want to remove safeguards that we recently put in important safety net programs, safeguards against what? The safeguards keep ineligible people from receiving these social services, people who are in this country illegally from receiving taxpayer-funded services, and people who are able to work but refuse to work. That is the sum of the people who should not receive the hard-earned, taxpayer-funded services, and those are the measures to root out waste, fraud, and abuse that they want to rip away so that we waste more of our tax dollars and continue on this slippery slope of bankrupting our country. Mr. Speaker, this is the party whose failed policies of tax, regulation, borrowing, and unbridled spending gave us the worst cost- of-living crisis in the last half century. I urge my colleagues to reject their demands and support Chairman Cole and the appropriators in this CR so we can work responsibly to fund the people's government and avoid a costly and disruptive shutdown.

Mr. ARRINGTON

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of my dear friend and brother in Christ, Dr. John Thomas, a devoted husband, father, and community leader, who dedicated his life to serving his neighbors in west Texas and those around the world. Dr. Thomas was a skilled surgeon, but his true calling was healing hearts and lifting souls. In 1999, he founded Operation HOPE, a nonprofit that deployed teams of healthcare professionals to underserved areas across the globe. His faith was his compass, Mr. Speaker, as he lived the words of Jesus to love thy neighbor and to do unto the least of these through his tireless medical missions, disaster relief efforts, and unwavering advocacy for the sanctity of life. For Keri and Andrew and the entire Thomas family, our hearts and prayers are with them. I can assure you that Dr. Thomas' light will continue to shine through the countless lives he touched and especially and most of all in his wife, Keri, and in his beloved son, Andrew. May God comfort them.