Michael Burgess

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, the Congressional Budget Office did provide to the Budget Committee, of which I am also a member, a list of the top 20 agencies that are overfunded with funds that have been appropriated over the last 2 years. The totality of those 20 accounts is $340 billion. There were moneys available. A lot of things that are in this bill could have been offset if we had simply taken the time to do it. I will say, since I am a member of the authorizing committee, going forward our authorizing committees have to do their work. They have to do the study because we can't expect it to all happen at the Appropriations Committee at the eleventh hour. Madam Speaker, I think it is important that people be able to see where those moneys exist. The results of the study, which was compiled by the Congressional Budget Office, are contained on a spreadsheet and can be found at: https://burgess.house.gov/UploadedFiles/COB- UnspentCOVID.pdf.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Fred Patterson. To those close to Fred, he was known as a man with two careers. While his career as an advertising salesman and publisher paid the bills, he was passionate about impacting his community. It is through his hard work and leadership that Denton transformed into a cosmopolitan competitor with Dallas and Fort Worth. On December 25, 1929, Fred was born in Decatur, Texas not too far from our beloved community of Denton. After graduating from the University of Texas in 1952, he eventually moved to Denton, where he joined the sales service department at Moore Business Forms. In 1958, he began work advertising for the Denton Record-Chronicle and that same year he married the love of his life, Patsy. By 1986, Fred and Patsy were the co-owners of the Record Chronicle. Throughout the 1990s, the Pattersons oversaw the renovation for the Patterson-Appleton Arts Center. Personally, I am grateful for this facility because it provided the space I needed in August of 2009, to hold my largest townhall to-date. Fred very much appreciated the arts and history. So much so that he raised over $500,000 to move and restore the Bayless-Selby house Museum to the Denton County Historical Park he was also instrumental in founding. Beyond his love for the arts and history, Fred loved his community. He served as chair of the committee that established Denton's television Channel 2 and was vice president of the Friends of WRR radio station. Denton was more than where he and Patsy lived and raised their two sons Bill and Riley. It was his home, and service to his community was truly his second career.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the exemplary work of Sergeant Paul Thornton as he retires from a life of public service. He has served the citizens of the State of Texas, in the communities of Houston, Huntsville, and The Colony as a police officer for over 34 years. Sergeant Thornton began his law enforcement career in 1988 when he was hired as a police officer with the University of Houston Central Campus Police Department. He attended the Harris County Sheriff's Office Academy. Between 1988 and 1992, Sergeant Thornton also worked as a police officer with the Sam Houston State University Police Department and the Walker County Sheriffs Office. During this time he also earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University. On September 2, 1992, Sergeant Thornton was hired by The Colony Police Department. Just a year later, he was named The Colony PD's ``Officer of The Year''. In 1995, he became The Colony PD's first and only K9 Officer. He and his K9 colleague, Major, a narcotic detection dog, worked the streets several years combating illegal narcotics. In 1998, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. After his promotion, he served as both a Night Shift and Day Shift Patrol Sergeant. As a Patrol Sergeant, he has been in charge of the Crossing Guards, Bike Patrol Unit, Traffic Enforcement Division and the departments off-duty employment program. He has also served as the department's Criminal Investigations Supervisor and the Internal Affairs Sergeant. In 1999, be met the love of his life and wife, Karen Thornton. Karen is a United States Air Force Veteran and holds a Master's Degree from the University of Texas-Austin. Sergeant Thornton and his wife have three children, Alex, Samantha, and Tyler; and two grandchildren, Clayden and Reagan Thornton. Sergeant Thornton has devoted over 34 years faithfully serving and protecting his community. For more than three decades, he has put strangers' safety above his own, and we are indebted to him. I am deeply grateful for his service to our community and state, and I wish Sergeant Thornton and his family the best in his retirement.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, as you have already heard, today's rule provides for consideration of yet another continuing resolution 5 months into the fiscal year and not a single appropriations bill has been signed into law. This time, the Rules Committee had less than 2 hours' notice before considering the continuing resolution rule in the Rules Committee yesterday leaving no time for Members who might want to offer an amendment or might want to come to the committee to speak on this CR. This is no secret. This has not been an easy year for the American people; crisis after crisis, and this Democratic leadership in this Congress has not really led on those issues. We are still facing a crisis on our southern border. Mr. Speaker, 2 million migrants have crossed without documentation since President Biden took the oath of office. And in response, what did he do? Well, he halted construction on the border wall, and he tried to eliminate the remain in Mexico program except the courts wouldn't let him do that, so now they are slow-walking the enforcement. At the same time, Ukraine is facing down 130,000 Russian troops that look poised to invade, and President Biden just recently used his waiver authority to ease the sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a direct link between Russia and Europe for oil and gas. If we had been given time to consider this CR, we could have revoked this waiver authority and reinstated sanctions on the Nord Stream 2. Another problem exacerbated by this administration is their continued push for vaccine mandates. We see it literally every day on the news. Mandates do nothing but drive unnecessary opposition, and we need to let people make an informed choice for themselves with their doctor. Taxpayer dollars should not be spent on enforcing mandates. Finally, it has been nearly impossible to get a response back from the executive branch agency and the reason is, we have delegated our spending authority. We have delegated our appropriations authority basically to the Speaker's Office, and as a consequence, no Cabinet Secretary feels obligated to answer a phone call from a Member of Congress from either party.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Florida for the recognition. She does a great job for the Congress, and we are all so grateful to have her here. Madam Speaker, this is such an important topic tonight. Ranking Member Katko delineated the number of law enforcement jurisdictions who have seen funding cut and the unfortunate consequences that occurred on the populations that they serve. Did you ever stop to think of what would happen if there were just an absolute defunding of the police department? Well, unfortunately, we only need to look about a hundred years past to see such an example. It happened in Boston, Massachusetts, in September 1919. The police force was unfunded, and the city was unprotected. This was documented in a book by a gentleman named Francis Russell. The book is called ``A City in Terror.'' What was startling to me when I read the book was not that there was a gradual descent into lawlessness, but it happened like turning a switch. Police were not on the job. The city sunk into chaos-- robberies, beatings, assaults, looting. And it went on for several days until the Governor of that State called up the National Guard and reasserted authority. Who was that Governor? It is kind of a rarity to stop and think about it now, but it was a Republican Governor of Massachusetts named Calvin Coolidge. It was that activity of restoring order in the city that catapulted him to fame and caused him to receive the Vice Presidential nomination in the Republican Convention of 1920. And as they say, the rest is history. Please, let us not forget our history. Defunding the police does not lead us to a better place. It does not lead us to a more just and civil society. It invites chaos.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, we had a colleague several years ago, Jim McDermott from Washington State, a Democrat. The Republicans were in the majority. Republicans, during the week of April 15, wanted to put forward a bill on the floor of the House but didn't quite have it together, so they put together a sense of Congress resolution on fundamental tax reform. I will never forget Dr. McDermott in the well of the House, thundering against Republicans: You want tax reform, and this is the best you can do, a sense of Congress resolution? Why don't you just send a get-well card to the IRS? Madam Speaker, let me tell you something: Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee have been agitating, asking, and trying to work with Federal agencies to get answers on the origin of the coronavirus and answers on the origin of the pandemic. So, here we have the China bill before us today, ironically, on Groundhog's Day, but here is the China bill, and by golly, we are going to get to the bottom of the coronavirus pandemic. What do we get? We get section 30219B, ``Report on origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.'' Now, what does the next line say? ``Sense of Congress. It is the sense of Congress that,'' blah, blah, blah. In other words, no force of law, no teeth, no requirement of any Federal agency to do anything, no requirement really for even a real investigation, which is what honestly we need. We are sitting on the eve of Olympic Games that are going to be held in Communist China, and we don't have answers for what caused this pandemic. We are going to have a moment of silence later this week-- appropriately so, another milestone of lives lost--but we don't know about the origins of this virus. Let me tell you something else, Madam Speaker. Last night in the Rules Committee, I tried to get one of Dr. Wenstrup's very thoughtful amendments included. He has an amendment that says that this gain-of- function research that was carried out might be pretty dangerous; we need to think about where it is conducted; and we shouldn't use United States taxpayer dollars to fund this research in countries that are our adversaries. I offered that amendment on behalf of Dr. Wenstrup, and every Democrat member of the Rules Committee said: Oh, it is good with us. You go ahead and send those dollars over there and do this research. We have this new W visa for startups that is language in the bill. There is no language about protecting American jobs, but we are going to give jobs to other people. We are already funding the U.N. Green Climate Fund for $100 million directly to China, and this bill gives them another $8 billion for that same purpose. Madam Speaker, $3 billion for a slush fund for solar manufacturing-- some of us have been in this body long enough to remember some unpleasant activity with that in a stimulus bill in 2009. This bill supposedly provides over $300 billion in new spending. And I say ``supposedly'' because no one knows. No one really knows. We have heard this bill in the Rules Committee, not in the authorization committees, but in the Rules Committee with no CBO score. We are flying blind. We are approving this 3,000-page bill today having had it for a little less than 72 hours. As you can see from the start of this, Madam Speaker, the language is still being hammered out. It wasn't quite right as it came to the floor last night from the Rules Committee. This is a bad idea. We ought to take our time and do it right because this is important, and people do want us to do this right. It does appear that, right now, the Democratic leadership of this House is more concerned with politics than policy, and that is so unfortunate because we have an opportunity here to actually do something right.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the tremendous contributions of Michelle and Brian Cree of Highland Village, Texas. It is my privilege to recognize the philanthropic generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Cree to the people of Denton County over the past twenty-five years. Originally from Amarillo, Michelle graduated from Texas State University with a degree in Social Work. She began her career with Dallas County MHMR, where she worked with adults with disabilities for thirteen years. Afterwards, she served and held leadership positions with various non-profit organizations, including Metrocrest Community Services, 100 Women of Influence, the United Way of Denton County, The Salvation Army of North Texas, and the Lewisville Education Foundation. In addition, Michelle has been active in the PTA in Lewisville ISD schools, earning her the PTA Lifetime Achievement Award for her service. A native of Dallas, Brian learned the value of giving at an early age through the example of his grandparents and parents. His mother, Mary Anne Cree, is a well-known philanthropist for whom the headquarters of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas is named. Under his capable direction, Brian has chaired the Jim Collin/Steve Allen Memorial Golf Event, which since 2017 has successfully raised over $250,000 in scholarship funds to benefit Denton County students. Brian is a respected business professional, currently holding the title of CEO or Chairman of several companies: SWX Global Design & Production, Cree Visual Marketing Company, Cree Strategic Investments, and SWX Global Container Conversions. Through their generous contribution of time, talents, and funding, Mr. and Mrs. Cree's efforts have significantly benefited multiple organizations including the United Way of Denton County, the Lewisville Education Foundation, the Denton Public School Foundation, The Salvation Army of North Texas, and the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. The Crees brokered a crucial partnership between the United Way of Denton County and the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas which allowed the United Way of Denton County to expand fundraising into southern Denton County to better engage local governments, non-profits, and businesses to collectively combat county-wide challenges, such as homelessness and mental health. As well, the couple have contributed over $1.5 million dollars in college scholarships and have pledged $50,000 toward the ``Michelle & Brian Cree SWX Global Design & Production Leadership Giving Circle'', which is designed to increase individual leadership gifts of $1,000 or more for the United Way of Denton County. I am pleased to join the United Way of Denton County in saluting philanthropists Brian and Michelle Cree as they were recently honored by the organization with the 2021 Dr. Betty Myers Humanitarian Award.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the exemplary work of Captain Mark Bergstrom as he retires after a life of service in the United States Marine Corps and as a Police Officer at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. During his over 30 years of service to our nation and the University of North Texas Police Department, he has been a committed leader in his community. Mark started his life of service in the Marine Corps in 1987. He served as Battalion Communications Chief Billet in the 2nd Battalion 14th Marine Regiment. He received numerous awards while serving including the Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, and Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal. He received an honorable discharge in 1993. While completing college classes, Captain Bergstrom joined the UNT Police Department in 1994 as a part-time Community Service Officer. In 1996, he graduated from UNT with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Strategic Management and was hired full-time as a police officer. During his career, Captain Bergstrom has worked and served as a supervisor in every UNT Police Department division. He earned his Master Peace Officer License in 2006. Throughout his career at the UNT Police Department, he bas been recognized numerous times for outstanding service. His awards include Police Commendation, Supervisor of the Year, UNT Staff Contribution Award, and most notably, a Lifesaving Award. On the morning of September 28, 2015, Captain Bergstrom saved a young lady in mental distress from being struck on I-35. He observed her wandering back and forth across the multi-lane highway narrowly missing being hit several times. Several vehicles had to take evasive action at high rates of speed to avoid striking her. Thanks to Mark's quick effective response, he was able to detain her safely and remove her from the roadway with no injuries or accidents. Captain Bergstrom has devoted over 35 years to serving and protecting his country and community. For more than three decades, he has put strangers' safety above his own, and we are indebted to him. I am deeply grateful for his service to our nation and community, and I wish Captain Bergstrom and his family the best in his retirement.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of a great man, Mr. Raymond L. Crawford, Jr. of Denton, Texas who passed away on January 17, 2022. He lived a full life and was a respected business leader, philanthropist and beloved husband and father. Mr. Crawford was born and raised in Lewisville, Texas where he was baptized at the First Presbyterian Church. He attended Lewisville High School and was a four-sport letterman. As President of the Senior Class of 1958, he led a class trip to Washington, D.C., where the group met with their Congressman, Frank Ikard. He furthered his education at North Texas College in Denton. As a student, he was a football player and a member and President of the Geezles fraternity, graduating in 1963 with a BA in Mathematics. He was a life-long financial and insurance services professional, beginning his successful five-decade career with Northwestern Mutual with an on-campus interview at his alma mater. The trade association, Million Dollar Roundtable, recognized him in 2018 with a lifetime membership for having 50 consecutive years meeting the organization's ethical standards and sales requirements. In addition, he was recognized by Northwestern Mutual in 1983 as one of its top 20 salesmen in the nation. He prided himself on doing his best to build client relationships based upon trust and integrity, and advising them with the best investment products to protect and provide for those most important in their lives. R.L.'s love for the University of North Texas manifested in his financial support and volunteer service on many UNT boards, including the UNT Board of Regents from 1989 to 1995 and as chairman and emeritus director of the UNT Foundation Board. He was also a proud member of the Mean Green Club and the UNT Alumni Association. He also actively engaged in his community, serving in leadership roles as the President of the Greater Lewisville Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of Medical City Lewisville, and President of the Lewisville Rotary Club as well as multiple non-profits. He was named Lewisville's 1983 ``Citizen of the Year'', an honorary lifetime board member of the Dallas United Way and a Paul Harris Fellow Rotarian. He was devoted to Brenda, his college sweetheart, and wife of 57 years. Their marriage was blessed with two sons, R.L. ``Trey'' Crawford III, and F. Guy Crawford. Following in the steps of their parents, both men also graduated from the University of North Texas. R.L. Crawford, Jr. was a great personal friend and advisor to me and my wife. We extend heartfelt condolences to R.L.'s family; he will be deeply missed by his friends and family and the North Texas community.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Madam Speaker, this bill we got in short order tonight does not reflect the actual text, and once again, the Rules Committee had very short notice to consider the text without really any chance of being able to read it. Certainly, we are now on the floor with no chance to amend it. It is supposed to be a NASA-focused bill, but it is actually a Trojan horse, a Trojan horse the Democrats are using to drastically change election law and do it without any input from Republicans, no input in the Rules Committee, no input here on the floor, and no chance to amend it in the House Administration Committee. It is a messaging bill from Democrats to get a bill quickly passed in the Senate while they have an agreement. We saw how difficult their chaotic attempts to pass Build Back Better became and how that bill eventually failed. It is ridiculous that such large changes to longstanding law would happen approaching the middle of the night when the American people likely won't realize until after the fact what we have done. And that could be no surprise. Does anybody really think the American people voted for 8 percent inflation, for gas lines, for gas at over $4 a gallon, and for a chaotic foreign policy that has caused the death of many of our allies and many of our servicemen as the exit from Afghanistan showed? No. No one voted for that. Yet we are told that there is no problem, that we will just push ahead and we are going to get this done. We have a lot of issues that we could face, that Americans are facing right now. There is no oversight of the COVID relief bills amid reporting of waste and abuse. Inflation is sky-high; grocery shelves are empty; and the crisis continues on our southern border. Congress has provided over $5 trillion in coronavirus relief funds, but no oversight. Billions of dollars remain unspent, and inflation is at its highest level in decades. Right before Christmas the President said everybody ought to get a COVID test and, by golly, he would make them available. They are not available today. I went online and ordered some because I thought, this may be important. I received them 2\1/2\ weeks later. Of course, I paid for them. These weren't free from the government. But there aren't enough COVID tests, and the hospitals and healthcare facilities are on life support. What is our administration doing? What is our Democratic leadership in Congress doing? Nothing. Our response should not be so uncoordinated and ineffective going into the third year of this pandemic. And let me just point out, we have not had a single hearing in the Energy and Commerce Committee, where we have jurisdiction over this, on this very issue. Another national crisis are the hundreds of thousands of migrants pouring over our southern border since President Biden took office and declared an open border. Our frontline border officials are overwhelmed and under-resourced. The open now sign remains on. And even more concerning, we require our Federal agents to take a vaccine. It is a mandated vaccine. And yet, the people coming in, it is voluntary. We will give them a vaccine if they would like, but of course, they don't have to take it. And I will tell you, being down in El Paso last week, it is all about getting these kids in the ORR facility, getting them pushed through and getting them placed with families. The average length of stay now at Fort Bliss is down to 12 days. That means no background check. What are you going to do when the stories start emerging about how these children have been misplaced and abused in the locations that we now--the government--are sending them? We are providing the last mile to the cartels' business. These crises remain unresolved. Congress could work on these. We are supposed to do that. We are the people's Representatives, and yet we spend our time in the middle of the night doing something that will never become law.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the tremendous contributions of Dr. Kevin Rogers, Superintendent of Schools for the Lewisville Independent School District in Texas. After serving for six years in that position, it is my privilege to recognize Dr. Rogers' distinguished career in education as he enters retirement. Kevin Rogers, was born in Wichita Falls and raised in Andrews, Texas, graduated from Fort Stockton High School and obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of North Texas. He then received his master's degree from Texas Women's University and his doctorate from UNT. Beginning his 36-year long career in education as a Lewisville ISD science teacher, Dr. Rogers was then promoted to a supervisory role as the Assistant Principal of Marcus High School. He then served as the Arbor Creek Middle School Principal, Marcus High School Principal, and Lewisville ISD Chief Operations Officer prior to his appointment as Interim Superintendent, Dr. Rogers' contributions to Lewisville ISD include the introduction of Elementary STEM academies, Pre-kindergarten Discovery Academies, The Colony High School Collegiate Academy, and additional immersive Spanish classes at the middle school level. In order to further bolster the physical well-being of his students, Dr. Rogers also inaugurated Student Assistance Counseling and Behavior Intervention into the register of Lewisville ISD services. Under his diligent stewardship, during the last school year, LISD served over 50,000 students from 13 municipalities on 69 different campuses. His improvements to the school district's operations will benefit future generations of students for years to come. The University of North Texas previously honored Dr. Rogers with the title of UNT Outstanding Doctoral Student in Educational Administration. The Lewisville Parent-Teacher Association also awarded Dr. Rogers with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and The Town of Flower Mound named him Citizen of the Year in 2016. I join the parents, teachers, and students of Lewisville ISD in congratulating Dr. Rogers on a long and successful public service career. In addition, I would like to sincerely thank him for the positive working relationship he fostered with my district office and the hospitality extended by LISD in hosting multiple congressional events. Dr. Rogers has worked closely with my staff since his tenure as Marcus High School's principal and has graciously allowed me to hold numerous Town Halls, Energy Summits, and Emergency Preparedness Summits at Lewisville ISD's facilities. As he concludes almost four decade of tireless service to the young men and women of North Texas, I wish him all the best in his well-earned retirement.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 2 minutes.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Morelle for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this rule provides for consideration of S.J. Res. 33, a bill to raise the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion. The Federal debt limit began over 100 years ago, in 1917, and it has been required to be raised 100 times since then. The problem isn't whether we should increase our debt limit; it is that we have to issue debt at all. Debts are issued to cover the difference between what you make and what you spend. When you spend more than you make, you have to find a way to pay for the spending. We are in the middle of a spending spree. For the last 11 months, well over $1 trillion in taxpayer money was spent largely on partisan priorities, and more likely coming if the Democrats manage to get a final agreement on the Build Back Better Act or perhaps what more aptly might be described as a socialist spending scam. On December 10, the Congressional Budget Office published an estimate of the Build Back Better Act, confirming the bill's true cost to be almost $5 trillion, $4.9 trillion, while adding $3 trillion in new debt. Democrats claim the bill is paid for, but that is simply not true. Now, it is confirmed by independent analysis. Instead of zero dollars, the bill will create a carve-out for deducting State and local taxes that will add almost $250 billion to the deficit. It will protect so-called green companies from a new minimum tax and provide $12,500 tax credits for purchasing an electric vehicle so long as that vehicle is made using union labor. The bill will also provide billions in benefits to the wealthy through the expanded child tax credit that will add over $1.5 trillion to the deficit if this policy is made permanent, and that is, of course, what is being pushed for in the Build Back Better Act. Additionally, the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that the Democrats just ushered into law requires a $118 billion transfer from Treasury to the highway trust fund, which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has stated will occur tomorrow, December 15. Republicans will not support raising the debt limit while Democrats push through trillions of dollars for purely partisan political spending, thereby depleting our Treasury not just for today but for generations to come. Unfortunately, all this spending will only exacerbate the very high rate of inflation, inflation which has been crippling so many Americans and causing so much suffering in the last 11 months. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in November, the Consumer Price Index rose by 0.8 percent, but 6.8 percent over the last 12 months. The most significant increase was in the energy sector, while prices went up for gas, food, shelter, and vehicles, among other things. Here is the real bad news: We have only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to inflation. Likely, the inflation rates by March are going to be absolutely astonishing. And that is what happens when you push so many dollars out into an economy that has no way to absorb them. Sure, 2 years ago we all voted for the CARES Act, a trillion dollars to rescue the country from the coronavirus. And then there was additional coronavirus relief passed in December. And then almost immediately another coronavirus bill in February, and then the transportation bill in September, and now the Build Back Better Act. The economy simply cannot absorb those dollars that the Federal Government is pushing out. They have got no place to go except to create more and more inflation. And who does inflation hurt? It hurts those people at the lower end of the income scale. Despite repeated encouragement from the Committee on the Budget Ranking Member Jason Smith and Senator McConnell, Democrats have refused to raise the debt ceiling through reconciliation, which of course is their right to do. They have majorities in both the House and the Senate. They have had ample time to do this, but they simply would not act. So, instead, a temporary extension that would only last a couple of months happened earlier this year. And now, once again, in the middle of the night, we are having to vote on a bill to increase the national debt in order to pay for Democrats' social spending and infrastructure policies. Democrats claim that raising the debt limit has always been bipartisan. But, you know, here is just a little bit of history: In 1993, the Democrats used reconciliation to raise the debt limit with a party-line vote in the omnibus budget reconciliation bill. In 2010, the Democrats again raised the debt limit by $1.9 trillion with a purely party-line vote. Republicans voted in opposition out of concern for the then-Obama administration's amount of spending that was occurring. A New York Times article reporting on the vote said, ``They wanted to raise the ceiling enough to avoid putting their Members through another such vote before the midterm elections.'' Do you kind of get the sense that history is repeating itself tonight? Financial success and financial longevity begins years before it is realized. We certainly cannot be reckless and feckless with the Nation's future now. Under no argument is this plan fiscally responsible. Under no fantasy is the Build Back Better Act paid for. We have to remember to be beneficial to the American people, we have to be demonstrative of representative government. We should not be raising the debt limit to allow for continuation of partisan social spending. Mr. Speaker, I urge opposition to the rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, Republicans will amend the rule to immediately consider an amendment to the Democrats' fiscal year 2022 budget resolution to replace the socialist $5 trillion tax-and-spend reconciliation instructions with new instructions for authorizing committees to produce legislation to reduce the deficit to combat runaway inflation currently fueling the highest price spike in 40 years and to get Americans back to work. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of this amendment into the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith), the ranking member of the Budget Committee, to explain the amendment.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Fallon).

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, just before I close, I do want to take a moment and acknowledge that it was 1 year ago last night that the FedEx trucks departed from Kalamazoo, Michigan, carrying the very first doses of what we now know as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. And when you stop and reflect upon what was accomplished between the middle of May and the middle of December of 2020, it truly was a startling scientific accomplishment; not one, not two, but three vaccines. We told ourselves at the beginning of the Operation Warp Speed process that if we got 40 to 45 percent effectiveness, it would be a victory, and those vaccines delivered in excess of 90 percent. People might quibble and say, well, you have to get a booster or you have to get an additional shot. We are so fortunate to have those tools to be able to combat this illness. We are by no means through, but then even just last week the additional news that now an oral medication, the so-called Tamiflu for coronavirus, is now available, which I submit is going to change with the application of additional therapeutics, is really going to change the equation, and I just wanted to take a minute and reflect on that. We are, again, just one day past the 1-year anniversary of Kalamazoo, Michigan, delivering that vaccine to the world. Otherwise in closing to this argument, raising the debt ceiling to $2.5 trillion does seem a tad irresponsible in the middle of unprecedented spending by House Democrats. You have got control of the White House, you have got control of the Senate, you have got control of the House, and you haven't passed a single appropriations bill. How are we supposed to run our business if we will not do our normal work and pass a budget and pass the 12 appropriations bills? The Federal Government is currently operating under the second continuing resolution of this fiscal year. One-third of Federal spending is done through discretionary appropriations. When you stop to think about it, that is really not much. That means two-thirds comes through on autopilot. But the amount that we actually tell ourselves we are going to control, the one-third of the Federal budget, we haven't done our work. Now, we are talking about raising the debt limit to pay for trillions of dollars in spending, and the Democrats won't even fund the basic functions of government through regular appropriations. That actually comes at a cost. It is very difficult to get a phone call answered by a Federal agency, by the head of a Federal agency, by a Cabinet Secretary because we no longer make the appropriations. These folks are relatively new on the job, within the last year. They have no history of knowing that they have to come to Congress to get their appropriations bills passed. So as a consequence, they basically ignore the Congress. Democrats are desperate to push through as much social spending as they can because the balance of power, quite likely, is getting ready to change. Why else would they be so reckless in such a short amount of time with Americans' hard-earned taxpayer dollars? We cannot push inflation higher by raising the debt limit to allow for trillions in additional partisan spending. Mr. Speaker, here is the real problem that is going to lead to that balance of power shift. It is inflation that is at levels that have not been seen since the Carter administration. Again, my prediction is, over the next 6 months, this is going to become a great deal worse. It will be unsustainable for most American families who live paycheck to paycheck. Then on top of that, it is a spending level that is driving that inflation level. And we are doing nothing, nothing to put the brakes on that. Mr. Speaker, again, I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question so we can get to the talk for fiscal sanity and ``no'' on the underlying measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, we will immediately consider the Strategic Production Response Act which will require the Secretary of Energy to develop a plan to increase energy production on Federal lands if oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is used without a severe energy supply interruption. In November, the Biden administration announced the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to manipulate the market and address high energy prices that were created by his policies. On his first day in office, President Biden weakened America's energy independence by rejoining the Paris climate agreement, blocking new energy development on Federal lands, and killing the Keystone pipeline. These are just a few examples of how this President's policies have slowed our Nation's economic recovery and will prevent us from reclaiming true energy independence. Releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve without an emergency declaration is unprecedented. No severe supply disruption exists, only a President who seeks to enact radical Green New Deal policies. Low Presidential approval ratings are not the emergency that Congress envisioned when the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was established in 1975. The path to affordable energy is simple: increase supply to meet demand. Congress must reverse the policies that limit production of energy here at home. Clean energy is a priority for all Americans, but hurting domestic producers will only increase our Nation's dependence on dirty energy products from Russia, China, and the Middle East which are inherently less clean than American energy. In conclusion, the Strategic Production Response Act ensures that a plan is in place to increase energy production before any President may use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for purely political purposes. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question so we can consider this amendment.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I do intend to speak on my amendment to H.R. 5314, but I do have to reference the remarks recently made by the Democratic Speaker of the House on her testimony. Look, it is no news flash that Democrats dislike the former President. Democrats dislike President Trump. The news flash is they really fear the former President, and that is what this legislation is all about, because their fear is so intense and so overreaching and so preoccupying in their lives, they can think of nothing else. I do want to thank my friend from Kentucky for including me in this en bloc discussion. I think the amendments that Mr. Comer and I are offering are an important addition to this bill, the so-called Protecting Our Democracy Act. Title II of this bill extends the statute of limitations for offenses allegedly committed by a sitting President or a Vice President for the duration of their tenure and any period of time preceding their tenure in office. While we can agree with the title of the section, ``No President is Above the Law,'' this section further sets our President and Vice President apart. Under current law, elected officials, President and Vice President, may be investigated for alleged commissions of crimes, and any information can then be brought before Congress where Congress can then choose to remove that official from office via impeachment. We know how facile our Democratic majority has been with the tool of impeachment in the past 2 years. If impeached and removed from office, that individual, the President or Vice President, would then be open to prosecution to the fullest extent of the law, well within the statute of limitations, just like every other American. Additionally, Title II is very likely unconstitutional, as the Sixth Amendment's speedy trial clause protects the accused against unreasonable delays between an indictment and a trial. Extending the statute of limitations in Title II of this bill would only further politicize the Presidency and Vice Presidency, further politicize the impeachment process, which the Democrats have elevated to a high art, and make holders of those offices the targets of politically motivated investigations during and after their terms. For those reasons, I urge support of this amendment and support of Mr. Comer's amendment.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, you just have to ask yourself what in the heck is going on here. Doctors across this country, our heroes in the healthcare fight that we have been in the last 2 years, are facing significant cuts in their Medicare reimbursements. Instead of getting a commitment from Congress that we are going to work on solving this problem, what do they get? A gimmicky bill tying a reprieve on the Medicare cuts to the debt limit. That is a dead duck over in the other body. It is not going to pass, and the majority knows it is not going to pass. Why don't we face the facts and get things done correctly from the start? Unfortunately, our authorizing committees, the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means, have not seen fit to hold the hearings that would be necessary to provide a solution to this problem. Our providers need and deserve that certainty. Mr. Speaker, I don't know what it is like in your part of the State, but in my part of the State, we are experiencing a shortage of healthcare workers. We are also seeing hospital consolidation becoming more and more prevalent. The coming Medicare cuts will only worsen these issues. Furthermore, we have not even considered the cuts due to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services clinical labor pricing updates. Some studies are now indicating that these cuts could be as significant as 20 percent for some providers. Many of these same providers serve our seniors. They serve patients in critical care populations, including cancer patients and patients receiving critical surgeries or procedures. Overall, the clinical labor pricing updates will have an extreme impact on health quality, as they will affect our most vulnerable populations. I appreciate the fact that the rebate rule is not included as an offset in this bill. That truly was budgetary smoke and mirrors that had no place in a rational discussion of this. But I do have to ask why we are reluctant to reuse the dollars in the Provider Relief Fund as an offset instead of creating a new Medicare sequester that, oh, yeah, won't start until 10 years from now. Mr. Speaker, we are all familiar here with kicking the can down the road and robbing Peter to pay Paul. We are basically now robbing Peter's grandchildren to pay Paul. The Provider Relief Fund is sitting there waiting to be used. It would provide targeted relief to providers consistent with the original intent of the fund that we all voted for on March 27, 2020. Unfortunately, this bill includes a one-time procedural change to allow the Senate to originate and pass a debt limit increase with only 51 votes. The Medicare issue and the debt limit do not belong in the same room, let alone in the same bill. Protecting patients' access to care and helping healthcare providers during a public health emergency is a bipartisan issue. It deserves sincere congressional action, and it is time we work on meaningful payment reform.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I am on the Energy and Commerce Committee; I am on the Budget Committee; and I am on the Rules Committee. But I am also a co-chair of the House Republican Doctors Caucus, and last week, the Surgeon General of the United States, Vivek Murthy, asked if he could come talk to us. We made that a bipartisan meeting. We included Democrats who are physicians as well in that meeting. Dr. Murthy was concerned primarily about physician burnout, and he has encountered a lot of it since he has reassumed his role as the Surgeon General, the Nation's top doctor. We shared with the Surgeon General one of the principal drivers. Yes, the pandemic has been a problem. Yes, cutting down elective surgeries early in the pandemic and clobbering the cash flow in offices was a problem. But one of the real drivers of physician burnout today is constant, constant haggling and no solution over these cuts. A year ago, we were here on this floor talking about a 9.4 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement rates. Now, at the last minute, God came out of the machine and saved the Nation's doctors, but here we are again. The thing is, we all knew this was coming. It wasn't a mystery. We could have had hearings, as Ranking Member Brady has pointed out. We could have had hearings in our committee, but we chose not to. We chose to squander that time, and now the Surgeon General is concerned about burnout in the Nation's physician corps. Here is the problem: They are burned out because we won't answer their calls. We won't solve their problems. We had an opportunity to do it. I asked in the Rules Committee for an amendment to divide the question. We don't have to do the debt limit and the doc fix at the same blow. Let's divide the question. Let Members have the freedom to vote on this issue and vote their conscience, and let doctors all over this country know who stands with them and who is against them.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commending the leadership of Dan Finch, Texas Medical Association Vice President of Advocacy, upon his retirement after 39 years of exemplary work on behalf of patient care and the physician practice of medicine. Daniel ``Dan'' Thomas Finch was born on November 16, 1952, reared on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., the eldest of seven children, and the son of a Navy veteran. He moved to Texas in 1982, to work for the Harris County Medical Society before heading to Austin in 2006 to join the public affairs advocacy team of the Texas Medical Association. Dan's commitment to hard work and serving others began early in life in Catholic school as an altar boy and later with his first job out of University of North Carolina as a bus driver. These early life experiences molded Dan's leadership, communication, and navigation skills which serendipitously led him into a medical association communications position with the North Carolina Medical Society, and then a brief stint with the American Medical Association in Chicago, before heading to Houston where he began a 24-year stint with the Harris County Medical Society, and eventually to Austin where he has served the past 15 years with the Texas Medical Association. Dan's rapid trajectory and success professionally in the field of medical association communications and advocacy was matched only by his private life as a Renaissance man who developed keen interests as a guitarist, singer, photographer, golfer, motorcycle enthusiast, world traveler, cigar afficionado, Astros baseball fan, home gardener, and outdoor grill master. Dan has been equally well grounded as a dedicated husband to his loving wife, Becky, for the past 41 years, as a caring father to their daughter, Liz, and son, Nate, and as the loving ``Pops'' to all of his grandchildren. He has offered his many talents to the community, including being a member of his church band in Houston which performed every Sunday in their Hawaiian shirts. His respect among his working peers, his dedicated service to the more than 53,000 member physicians in the Texas Medical Association, and his public affairs accomplishments in both the Texas Legislature and in Congress led to his ascension as Vice President of Advocacy for the Texas Medical Association. Texas is a better and healthier State in part to Dan's steadfast commitment to the highest standards and quality of patient care in Texas, protections for physician autonomy in caring for their patients, common sense health insurance reforms which put patients before insurance profits, and medical liability protections which prevent lawsuit abuse. Dan's most memorable advice to his younger colleagues was, ``A doctor long ago told me if we do what's right for patients, we'll do what's right for physicians, and that's always been my guiding light.'' Dan and Becky are now replacing the rolling Texas Hill Country of Austin with a retirement home closer to their grandkids in the rolling hills of Manhattan, Kansas (which is much preferable to that other Manhattan). I ask that my fellow Members join me in saluting the life, work, and accomplishments of Daniel ``Dan'' Thomas Finch, on behalf of the Texas Medical Association, for a healthier Nation. I am humbled to formally declare Dan a ``great American'' who has earned his retirement spurs and a ``great Texan'' (even if he's not in Texas anymore).

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Assistant Chief of Police William Christopher Chandler and his exemplary public service to the City of The Colony, Texas. After over 31 years as a Texas Police Officer, he is retiring as a respected law enforcement professional and community leader. In high school, Chief Chandler met a fellow student and the love of his life, Olga. Chief Chandler and Olga married after high school in January 1986, and he started working at Houston Lighting and Power Company as a Power Plant Manintenance Mechanic. Olga attended the University of Houston on a full scholarship, and the couple intended that Chief Chandler would enroll in college after she graduated. Life got in the way, and while Olga was attending college, they added to their family with the births of two sons. Following in the footsteps of his father, a police officer, Chief Chandler began his law enforcement career in December 1989, joining his cousin as a fellow officer at the Jacinto City Police Department. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1993 by Chief Joe Clark. In 1996, Chief Clark was hired as Chief of The Colony Police Department, and he hired Chief Chandler away to serve as his Lieutenant and second-in-command. May 28, 1996 marked the first day of Chief Chandler's career at The Colony Police Department. Chief Chandler was promoted to the rank of Captain in October 1998 and Assistant Chief in March 2012. Chief Chandler worked in the Operations Division overseeing Patrol, SWAT, Crossing Guards, and Bike Patrol. In January 2016, he took over the Support Services Division and oversaw the Criminal Investigations Division, School Resource Officers, Jail Operations, Communications, and Records. He has been a committed life-long learner. He earned his Associates Degree in Criminal Justice from Collin County Community College, followed by a Bachelors of Applied Arts and Sciences Degree in 2021 from the University of North Texas. He is a graduate of the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas Leadership Command College at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. He also graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, Session No. 275, at Quantico, Virginia. Chief Chandler holds a Master Peace Officer License through the Texas Commission of Law Enforcement (TCOLE) and has compiled more than 5,890 hours of training since beginning his career. He and Olga are the proud parent of three boys, each who have followed their father into law enforcement and are serving as officers in the cities of Frisco, Plano, and Carrollton. For more than three decades, he has been devoted to protecting the citizens of the communities he has served, putting strangers' safety above his own. I am deeply grateful for his public service to the City of The Colony and North Texas, and I wish Chief Chandler and his family the best in his retirement.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is the longest recorded vote in the House in the past has been 2 hours and 50 minutes. This motion has been open a similar amount of time. May I ask how long you intend to keep the House suspended with this vote?