Lauren Boebert

Mrs. BOEBERT

Mrs. BOEBERT. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mrs. BOEBERT. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. BOEBERT. Madam Chair, I do want to take a few seconds to respond. That was great. We are addressed as MAGA extremists, extreme MAGA Republicans. I will just make a clarification point. It is ultra MAGA. That is what we prefer. But I will say to the ranking member, I am very happy that they have moved on from pronouns to adjectives. When they start acting democratic, I will be sure to call them the Democratic Party. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer).

Mrs. BOEBERT

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I rise in favor of my amendment which will require the CDC to produce a report to Congress on the number of visitors denied entry under the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for all incoming international air travelers and visitors to the United States. This simple, straightforward amendment will provide transparency surrounding this ludicrous and unscientific vaccine mandate put in place by Joe Biden's bureaucrats. This unnecessary CDC rule has made everyday life so much harder for so many people; from tearing apart family reunifications and forcing loved ones to die alone, without their relatives by their side, to punishing companies overseas for doing business with America. Just a few short stories my congressional office has come across include: The mother of a Dutch tourist who died on the Appalachian Trail, was unable to come home to the United States to collect her dead son's body; a woman's fiance who lives in Canada has been unable to visit her on American soil for the past 3 years; a man working for a company in the United Kingdom who is unable to travel to the United States for business meetings; and a family in New Hampshire with Canadian in-laws has been unable to have Canadian family members visit for Christmas in the United States since COVID started. My amendment will require the CDC to account for these stories and countless others who have felt the negative ramifications of this rule. It will also provide transparency and allow congressional oversight of the consequences of this vaccine mandate. Despite Joe Biden stating the pandemic is over, he has refused to lift this mandate. Even Canada has lifted its vaccine mandate for incoming U.S. air travelers. Other than a few countries around the world run by dictators, the United States of America is literally the only country left that is imposing this unscientific and immoral COVID vaccine mandate on our visitors. Of course, if you cross our southern border illegally, there is no such mandate; and we know of about 5 million who have done just that. Simply put, COVID is over. It is time for us to rejoin the free world. I thank my friend and colleague, Representative Thomas Massie, for his work to end yet another vaccine mandate. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation, and I strongly support it. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment and to vote in favor of the underlying bill. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mrs. BOEBERT

Mrs. BOEBERT. What is a new American? A new American is a Coloradan, an immigrant seeking asylum, a refugee, asylee, a DACA recipient, an SIV holder, and all other forms of immigrants seeking safety, opportunity, reunification of family. Chain migration is being encouraged in my State where noncitizens are voting and making a difference in our elections. Now, if there is a better way to do so, then let's let the D.C. Council reevaluate this. That is why we are sending it back to them. I would say that statehood is a matter that Congress has to consider on behalf of the entire Nation and pursue a constitutional amendment if so desired. Congress dealt with this issue in both the 116th and 117th Congresses and rejected the idea. Congress has jurisdiction over D.C., and we need to ensure a vibrant capital city. This act does the opposite. I would again encourage opposition to this bill.

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, I wish to speak in response to some of the opposition that I have heard to this legislation. First of all, we have heard about slave trade multiple times this evening. If we are concerned about slave trade, then let's secure the southern border because that is where the human trafficking is taking place. Millions of people are being trafficked, and women and children are being sexually assaulted and abused. Young girls are taking Plan B pills at the start of their journey because they anticipate being sexually assaulted on their journey. If this is something that you are that concerned about, then let's work together to secure the southern border and stop the human trafficking and the slave trade that is happening there. There is slavery that is taking place in China in the cobalt mines that these climate extremists are pushing. There is child enslaved labor there. That is where we are extracting our rare earth minerals, from China-owned mines in the Congo. So let's talk together about American energy. You say that this is just for local elections. Are there two registries? How is that going to work if there are two registries? I don't think it is going to stop there because every time we give in and give an inch, well, they take 7 miles. The gentleman on the other side of the aisle mentioned that in Colorado illegal aliens are voting. Well, illegal aliens are voting, but no State has actually allowed that since 1926 in America. There are loopholes that are allowing illegals to vote in our elections. This is election interference, allowing noncitizens to vote in our elections. In fact, this is why the crime rate is up in Colorado. We are encouraging illegal aliens to come to Colorado. We are number one in the Nation for bank robberies, number one in the Nation for auto thefts, number two in the Nation for fentanyl poisoning. We have a Department of New Americans. If you go to the Colorado State website, it says, well, what is a new American? A new American is a Coloradan.

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Chairman Comer's resolution. If free flights, free phones, free healthcare, free education, free lawyers, and other freebies being offered to illegal aliens weren't already enough, the D.C. Council decided to now give illegal aliens the right to vote--a right that more than 1.1 million American military servicemembers have given their lives for. Giving this right to illegal aliens is as if our government were ``The Oprah Winfrey Show.'' You get a vote, you get a vote, you get a vote. It makes a mockery of our constitutional Republic that our brave heroes have fought for and died to defend. The right to vote is the most sacred right in our constitutional Republic. Giving the right to vote to noncitizens cheapens this sacred right by discounting the value of citizens' votes. It also cheapens the value of American citizenship and cheapens our standing around the world as we incentivize the invasion of our own country. Under Biden's watch, over 4.6 million illegal aliens--and those are just the ones whom we know of--have already crossed our wide-open southern border that Secretary Mayorkas and Joe Biden refused to secure, and about which Democrats could have done something for the past 2 years when they held all levels of power and refused to do so. By the end of the year, Biden will have let in more illegal aliens than the entire population of my State of Colorado. Instead of trying to secure the border, Democrats are more focused on giving illegal aliens more handouts and privileges, including giving them the right--the sacred right--to vote. These illegal aliens are even treated oftentimes better than our veterans who are struggling to have their healthcare needs met and to get the services that we promised them for their great service, but it is immediately given to those who come across our southern border illegally. Let's put American citizens first and not cheapen their votes. Let's pass this legislation and ensure the voice of the American people is heard without interference from foreign nationals. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the underlying bill.

Mrs. BOEBERT

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, first, I thank my friend, fellow Freedom Caucus colleague, and proven fighter for the Second Amendment, Mr. Clyde, for organizing this Special Order. I thank him for highlighting what is going on here. Mr. Speaker, the ATF's new pistol brace rule violates the separation of powers. Bureaucrats don't create laws; Congress does. This rule functions like a law that Congress never passed. ATF--Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. In western Colorado, we call that a fun weekend, but D.C. bureaucrats have used this agency to infringe on the rights of the American people. When you research how many pistol braces the ATF expects to be registered, the number varies. Some say 10 million, others say 20 million, and it may even be 40 million. Why such disparity? Because the ATF doesn't know how many are out there because law-abiding Americans do not trust them enough to tell them. In fact, there are probably going to be many more boating accidents this spring and summer than we have ever encountered in U.S. history from law-abiding gun owners. We don't trust the ATF because of their overreaching actions, exactly like we are seeing with this rule. There has been a lot of talk about defunding the ATF, even abolishing the agency altogether. I am still waiting to hear a good reason why the ATF should remain an agency at all. I have yet to hear one. Instead of providing regulations that keep our communities safe, this agency has made our communities more dangerous by laundering weapons to the cartels. Operation Fast and Furious exposed the recklessness of the ATF, how little regard they have for the rule of law, and Americans have had a hard time viewing this agency and its rules as legitimate. Think about it. The ATF had about 1,700 firearms that were being tracked. They had tracers on them. They were selling to known criminals during this Operation Fast and Furious. They lost 1,700 traced firearms, and now they expect to go after law-abiding American citizens for firearm accessories? Are they really that competent to go after this many millions of Americans for a firearm accessory, a stabilizing brace, when they had 1,700 tracked firearms in the hands of known criminals that they just lost? I think that alone proves the legitimacy of this agency, and I am very excited to bring them into an Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing so they can speak for themselves as to why they should remain an agency in our Federal Government and not have the appropriate features of their agency put under another, like the FBI, once we clean that out. But other than that, the Second Amendment, it is absolute. All the regulations the bureaucrats make, the laws that bureaucrats are trying to make, the unconstitutional laws that are passed by the Federal Government, the State legislatures, they make our country less safe. Gun-free zones are the most dangerous places in our country. The Second Amendment is absolute, and it is here to stay. A recent report states that Americans own 46 percent of the world's guns. I think we need to get our numbers up, boys and girls. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Clyde for hosting this Special Order. I thank him for bringing us all together on this topic and, hopefully, we can shed some light to the American people and let them know that we are fighting against this agency and their abuse of separation of powers.

Mrs. BOEBERT

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, it has been nearly 3 years since the first national emergency declaration was issued related to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 13, 2020. Since then, the Federal Government has authorized over $6 trillion in response to COVID-19. Our children have suffered severe learning loss due to school closures, and countless small businesses have been forced to permanently close their doors. The Democratic Party has used and abused the national emergency authorization to push their unpopular, radical agenda, like the eviction moratorium, student loan forgiveness, and reckless spending that has led to skyrocketing inflation that is impacting my constituents today--your constituents today. When they go to the grocery store and are paying $9, $10, $11 for 12 eggs, this is a problem. They also put unconstitutional vaccine mandates in place to put healthcare workers and our military servicemembers, serving in all branches of our military, out of work. COVID is over. Yet, nearly 3 years later, more than 35 National Emergencies Acts are still in effect, and the current administration is continuing to abuse more than 120 special statutory powers only meant for times of emergency. Even Joe Biden said the pandemic is over. We agreed with that long before he said it, and we are happy he is finally saying it. It is far past time to put an end to this abuse. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, Representative Gosar, for his strong leadership on this issue. I am proud to be cosponsor of this legislation, and I strongly support it.

Mrs. BOEBERT

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, the pandemic is over. Joe Biden has said so. I don't know why he is waiting until May to do something about it, but the pandemic is over. It is time for the Federal Government to get back to work. It is far past time for the policies of the Federal Government to reflect this reality and the policies of hardworking Americans and for Federal employees to show up and get the job done. In my district, the Bureau of Land Management headquarters was a hot topic of debate because this administration's--one of their first actions, they wanted to take that from my district and move it back to Washington, D.C. Why the haste? Why so fast to do this? No one is going to work. The building is empty. They didn't have anywhere to bring the employees to a new building here. In fact, the employees that they did relocate to Washington, D.C., still only show up to work 1 day a week. According to one disturbing report by the Federal Times, just one in three Federal workers has returned to their full-time job. Equally disturbing, a leaked memo from January 2021 to the then-chief of staff of the Department of Health and Human Services showed that between 20 and 30 percent of the Department's employees did not log in to work on any given day between March and December 2020. This negatively impacts all of our constituents. The VA has been incredibly slow to fulfill records requests so that our veterans can get the care that they need, the care that they deserve. The Social Security Administration faces a massive backlog of appeals. As of last month, the IRS had a backlog of 2.5 million returns from 2022 that are still unprocessed. This Republican-led Congress is moving to end Biden's emergency powers. He won't do it at the executive level. We have created these agencies. We fund these agencies. Now, we are demanding that these Federal employees get back to work. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation, and I strongly support it. I urge adoption.

Mrs. BOEBERT

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I have not literally lit this place on fire. At midnight Tuesday, January 24, 2023, ``Newsmax'' was removed from DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, and U-verse, denying 13 million customers this highly rated news channel. This is not the first time that we have seen this, and I am afraid that it won't be the last time that we are seeing this here in our great country. OAN was deplatformed by DIRECTV in April of 2022. So what is next? FOX News? Will The Weather Channel be canceled next if they refuse to bow to the left's altar of climate change? What about The History Channel? We see on a regular basis the left wants to erase history and deny truth. How about TBN? There has definitely been an increase in disdain and intolerance by many liberals for Christian beliefs, simply by saying we love Jesus. So is TBN next? Americans are tired of cancel culture. Conservatives are not being treated fairly. We are the ones who are censored by Big Tech. We are the ones targeted and called domestic terrorists when moms and dads show up at school board meetings. We are the ones targeted by the IRS because our organizations have the word ``patriot'' in their name. Mr. Speaker, if you are a conservative pastor, the government persecutes you. If you are a liberal pastor, Joe Biden shows up to your church, whether he realizes he is there or not. Yet, now we are faced with Newsmax, a conservative news organization followed and watched, again, by millions of Americans, and it has been removed from DIRECTV. Newsmax is the fourth most watched news channel, but they have been removed for hyperpolitical reasons. What can be done? I have been asked time and time again: What do we do to rein in the censorship and the oppression of conservatives because free and open speech is worth fighting for? The First Amendment in our Constitution defends our freedom of speech. That is something that we will continue to pursue, to preserve, and to never let the left take away from us entirely. So, here is where we will start. AT&T: As long as you continue to censor conservatives and attack the press, I will make it my personal mission to strip the wasteful, ridiculous Federal subsidies you receive. To AT&T, DIRECTV, and all the woke corporations: This isn't a threat. It is absolutely a promise. If you continue to stifle free speech in this great country and muzzle the press corps, Congress will have no choice but to hold you accountable. I promise you that my colleagues and I are happy to take you on to preserve free speech for all Americans. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Buck for organizing this tonight. I thank the gentleman for being a defender of free speech from the censorship that is going on. I thank the gentleman for fighting against that.

Mrs. BOEBERT

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. Rodgers).

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is simple and straightforward. My amendment simply requires the administration to submit their plan to increase oil and gas production on Federal lands to the House Committees on Armed Services, Agriculture, and Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources, as well as the Senate Committees on Energy and Natural Resources, Environment and Public Works, Armed Services, and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. This simple, good-governance amendment allows Congress to take back its Article I authority in our system of checks and balances. Without my amendment, the plan to bolster our domestic energy supply will be filed away and never seen again. This amendment will provide transparency for the administration to carry out its congressionally authorized duty. More than 55 percent of my Congressional District is Federal land and accounts for nearly 44 percent of Colorado's natural gas production. The underlying bill requires the administration to be responsible for their actions. If Joe Biden and Secretary Granholm continue to dip into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, they must have a plan in place to increase oil and gas production on land that has been locked up and overregulated by the Federal Government. That plan should be submitted to the congressional committees of jurisdiction. By requiring the administration to submit its plan to the people's House, we can provide important oversight as to how the administration will carry out this plan and provide feedback. On the Western Slope of Colorado, we have seen firsthand the harm leftist policies have created in our communities, literally regulating our communities into poverty. With the stroke of his pen, Joe Biden unilaterally locked up Federal lands for oil and gas production and development. Colorado's Western Slope used to have a booming energy production economy. We used to have 112 drilling rigs on the Western Slope, and now we have 4. These extreme leftist policies to lock up land have driven away those good-paying jobs and have helped drive up gas prices. Congress needs to take back its power and advocate for the American people they represent. My amendment will ensure those voices do not go unheard and that we will hold the administration accountable for the responsible energy plan required by this bill. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer amendment No. 32.

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

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, this amendment seeks to help provide a voice for local communities who were ignored and cut out of the process in October of last year when the Biden administration unilaterally locked up nearly 300,000 acres in Colorado and in my district through the stroke of a pen. Shamefully, the Biden administration ignored the concerns and opposition of impacted communities so he could appease Green New Deal extremists through this executive overreach. After the proposed land grab was announced, Kathleen Sgamma, president of Western Energy Alliance, stated: ``The White House has initiated a withdrawal for the Thompson Divide while advancing a false narrative that energy development and land protection are mutually exclusive. ``Oil and natural gas activity has taken place in the Thompson Divide area since the 1940s while conserving the land. We can do both: We can develop energy while protecting the land.'' The area remains a vital resource and is located within the second largest potential natural gas reserve in the United States. ``There's no need to lock away public lands and minerals, especially at a time of high energy prices.'' With gas prices skyrocketing again, and today's national average exceeding $3.50 per gallon, it makes even less sense to unilaterally lock up hundreds of thousands of acres from responsible energy production, especially while local stakeholders are ignored and are flatout opposed. After the mineral withdrawal and associated national monument were announced in October, the Ute Indian Tribe of Utah said: ``The White House moved forward with a monument on our homelands without including us. They talk about Tribal consultation, but their actions do not match their words. We cannot support a monument on our homelands that does not include the Tribe. It is a disgrace to our ancestors to exclude the Tribe in the care and protection of these burial sites.'' Garfield County Commissioner Tom Jankovsky sent me an email just this morning stating, ``President Biden unilaterally acted with an end run around Congress. Rather than honoring the 10-year, hard-fought, bipartisan support forged by local interests with Garfield County, the President placed additional restrictions on future leasing in Thompson Divide. This gutted the original bipartisan local support.'' My amendment requires the Secretary, as part of the plan required by this bill, to identify areas for potential responsible energy leasing within the second largest potential natural gas reserve in the United States in an area where responsible oil and gas production has taken place since the 1940s. America produces the cleanest energy in the world. In fact, our natural gas is 42 percent cleaner than Russian gas. American innovation, in particular, fracking, has allowed America to be the global leader in reducing emissions since 2000. America should have never been dependent on Russia for significant quantities of oil and gas. We need to stop begging OPEC, Venezuela, and even Iran, to produce energy for us, and start producing more energy responsibly right here in America, where our guys do it better than anyone else, more responsibly, and cleaner. We have to develop this right here at home, get back to American energy independence, and pursue energy dominance. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk, No. 137.

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. BOEBERT. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Chairman, this shouldn't be a controversial topic and, my hope is that folks on both sides of the aisle will be able to support this commonsense amendment. House Democrats should support this amendment because it provides the White House increased flexibility to tap more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when necessary. House Republicans should support this amendment because this modest 5 percent increase in flexibility for the SPR also allows a modest 5 percent increase to responsibly produce American energy on Federal lands through the plan required by this bill. Having said that, this amendment doesn't mandate increased energy production. It just slightly modifies the cap. If the White House still only wants to utilize 10 percent from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and only wants the increase in Federal energy production on Federal lands to be 10 percent, this amendment still allows that flexibility. It is far past time we stopped begging foreign dictators to produce oil and gas for America. America makes the cleanest energy in the world. In fact, our natural gas is 42 percent cleaner than Russian natural gas. American innovation has allowed America to be the global leader in reducing emissions since the year 2000. We should be producing the energy Americans need right here in the good old U.S. of A. Yet, on President Biden's watch, we have seen a 40 percent increase in gas prices. In order to help combat their significantly flawed energy strategy, the White House raided the Strategic Petroleum Reserves by more than 40 percent. My amendment prevents this type of abuse while slightly increasing the amount of oil that can be drawn from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve during an actual emergency like President Trump did. The root causes of this record-breaking inflation were trillions of dollars of wasteful spending federally and unnecessary attacks on American energy. The Biden administration waged an all-out war on American energy production. Biden shut down the Keystone XL pipeline on day one of his administration, imposed new rules to block pipeline projects, canceled oil and gas leases on millions of acres in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, suspended oil drilling leases in a small sliver of ANWR, even though Congress passed a law for this very purpose. He imposed a moratorium on new Federal oil and gas leases on Federal lands, failed to meet the statutory deadlines for quarterly lease sales, and took countless other anti-energy measures that have contributed to increased gas prices and inflation reaching record levels. The only reason oil and gas permits on Federal lands are being approved at nearly the same rate during the Biden administration as during the Trump administration is because of the permitting reforms put in place by the Trump administration. In essence, they had a head start. This administration also likes to try and take credit for supporting oil and gas production, but the reality is this occurred in spite of them, not because of them. In fact, much of this production has occurred on private lands where producers aren't stifled by Federal policies and moratoriums. In 2020, the National Ocean Industries Association found that Joe Biden's proposal to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in Federal waters would kill approximately 200,000 jobs, cost the Federal Government billions of dollars of revenue, and push production to foreign adversaries. Furthermore, and despite the exaggerations from the administration, domestic production reached its highest point ever in 2020 while President Donald J. Trump was in office with over 13 million barrels of oil produced a day. We all want clean air. We all want clean water. But we also want lower gas prices and good-paying jobs right here in America. We can have it all, as responsible energy production and conservation are not mutually exclusive goals. My amendment strikes the right balance. Again, it allows for responsible emergency use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves while also allowing for responsible American energy production on Federal lands. Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of this amendment, and I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Johnson).

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer amendment No. 33.

Mrs. BOEBERT

Mrs. BOEBERT. Sadly, the FBI and the DOJ, and many other agencies, are violating this contract and working to make the American people subjects rather than free citizens. This committee is essential, and I encourage its creation and the adoption of this resolution.

Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, in response to the blue anon rhetoric, I rise in favor of H. Res. 12 to establish a subcommittee on the weaponization of the Federal Government. The authoritarian left has used the full might and authority of the Federal Government to force its agenda on the American people. The Federal Government has been weaponized to pressure private companies to censor conservatives; target parents as domestic terrorists simply for caring about their children and their education; manipulate the American people by declaring Hunter Biden's laptop as Russian disinformation; even failing to inform American citizens about classified documents that a former Vice President had in his possession; and launch an unwarranted investigation into President Trump's Presidential campaign. Mr. Speaker, our Constitution is a contract with the American people and our government. That contract is designed to produce maximum freedom and minimum tyranny for this great country.