Michael Burgess

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 45 seconds just to answer some of the charges flung against me. The gentleman said he wants solutions. There are solutions. The solutions are to undo the executive order the President put in place in his first 5 minutes in office, end catch and release, cease the exploitation of parole authority, reinstate remain in Mexico, expand expedited removal authority, and renew the building of a wall. Mr. Speaker, it is sheer fantasy that $106 billion will fix this problem. Of course, it won't. The gentleman knows it won't. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I am ready to close.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, the bill being considered over in the Senate is a bill that sets a floor, not a ceiling, a bill that guarantees 2 million people illegally come into this country every year. Mr. Speaker, that is on top of the 1.2 million people that are admitted legally every year--and not to mention the people who come in under the radar. Yes, I am going to be against that bill, and I will be happy to join my friend from Massachusetts in a bipartisan fashion and vote against that legislation because it is bad legislation; not because someone else told me it is bad, but because I know it is bad, and my constituents know it is bad. When we were down in Eagle Pass, Texas, a few weeks ago with the Speaker of the House, the deputy chief of the Border Patrol spoke to us the first evening down there, and he said, we are faced with a raging flood. And when you are faced with that, it is not that I need bigger buckets, I need someone to turn the water off. So is there a way to turn the water off? And he told us there was. Simply reinstituting the remain in Mexico policy, the Migrant Protection Protocols that President Biden undid with an executive order on his first day in office, would reduce the flow by 70 percent and would allow our very beleaguered Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement the ability to actually maneuver and do what their job calls for; that is, to protect American citizens. As it stands right now with the massive ingress of people, all they can do is process people. It becomes a question of throughput. So that is not an answer, and don't pretend that it is because the American people see through that. I will just address one other thing. I am not running for reelection. I am bulletproof. You can't hurt me. But I support the former President and his approach to border control because I saw it work for the 4 years he was in office. He was the best President of the 21st century, and, yes, I would like to see him back in office; not because someone told me, but my constituents support the type of leadership that he provided for those 4 years. Mr. Speaker, in closing, this country is being invaded at the southern border--invaded to the extent that Governor Greg Abbott in my home State of Texas has officially declared an invasion. This administration has done nothing to help, nothing to help Texas, and has, instead, decided to take Texas to court to sue Texas just for trying to get the smallest bit of relief for its citizens and for its law enforcement officers. The Republican majority has, once again, demonstrated that our agenda will be devoted to improving the lives of American citizens. Our governing majority will continue to focus on the issues that matter most to the American people: rising energy costs, sky-high inflation, rampant crime, and, yes, fixing our porous southern border. These are issues that the American voters rightfully demand their elected Representatives to address. The Republican majority is committed to solving the many crises that this President and the minority have inflicted on our Nation. Today, we begin the most basic duties of stopping and punishing criminals who come across our southern border illegally. I would like to thank Representative Juan Ciscomani from Arizona; Representative Tom McClintock from California, with whom I serve on the Budget Committee; and Representative Barry Moore from Alabama, for their leadership on these important pieces of legislation. I, again, stand in strong support of the rule and the underlying bills, and I urge my fellow Members to support the rule.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, last night, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 980, providing for consideration of four measures: H.R. 5585, H.R. 6678, H.R. 6679, and H.R. 6976. The rule provides for consideration of all four measures under structured rules with 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee of jurisdiction, or their designee. The rule provides one motion to recommit for each measure. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the rule and support of the underlying bills. Today, we are here to address an ongoing crisis, not a new concept to this body. The word ``crisis'' has been a hard one for my friends on the other side of the aisle to absorb when it comes to our current situation on the southern border. Let's just put a few things into perspective: In 2023, Customs and Border Protection encountered over 2\1/2\ million illegal migrants attempting to cross the southern U.S. border. In December alone, Customs and Border Protection encountered 302,000 illegal migrants--that is just in the month of December--attempting to cross the U.S. southern border, the highest number of unlawful migrant crossings in a single month in recorded history. In 2023, Customs and Border Protection confiscated almost 230,000 pounds of drugs, including 22,000 pounds of illicit fentanyl, being smuggled across the southern border. If this doesn't sound like a crisis to you, I don't know what would. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month, I was at the southern border to witness firsthand the challenges faced by Texans and to hear directly from Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officers who are on the front lines of this crisis. Magically, either by order of President Biden or by order of the cartels, the Eagle Pass area was completely cleared out that day. If that is possible when Members of Congress are visiting on a certain day, it is possible every single day. Mr. Speaker, the President has every tool that he needs right now to stop the overwhelming flow of migrants to the border. The proof of this is that immediately upon taking office, President Biden dismantled the immigration policies that were put in place by the Trump administration. He did that by executive order. He can undo them by executive order. President Biden halted the construction of the border wall, ended Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the remain in Mexico program, and restarted the dangerous catch and release program with the simple stroke of a pen. Now the consequences have been stark: record numbers of migrants crossing the border and increasing each month; record numbers of illegal migrants being released into the United States; an open season for drug smugglers, human traffickers, and Mexican cartels; and social support systems stretched to the breaking point, not only in my home State of Texas, but places across the country like New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Denver. Mr. Speaker, this is not an immigration problem; it is a national security problem. We have a responsibility to make certain that the laws of this land protect Americans and ensure their safety. Earlier this Congress, we passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, to combat illegal migration and ensure operational control over the southern border, but the Senate has refused to even debate or have a vote on the bill. Today, we take up four additional bills that will help undo the chaos caused by this administration to ensure that law enforcement, particularly the agents of Customs and Border Protection, Federal agents are supported in their mission to keep our communities safe. This means closing loopholes that allow illicit behavior to go without punishment, which is exactly what the following four measures will do. Last year, Customs and Border Patrol Agent Raul Gonzalez was tragically killed in pursuit of illegal migrants fleeing law enforcement in a motor vehicle. High-speed chases started by those breaking our laws are not uncommon. In fact, any of us who have been down and visited the border, whether it was several years ago or recently, have been shown the films, the dash cam videos collected by Customs and Border Protection of these very high-risk, high-velocity chases which frequently end up with a crash, with people hurt, or people simply bailing out on the highway and running away. Currently, fleeing law enforcement in a motor vehicle does not carry immigration consequences for the perpetrators, even in situations that result in the death of an officer, like the one involving Agent Gonzalez. H.R. 5585, the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act will change that by adding specific criminal and immigration consequences for individuals who operate motor vehicles while fleeing Border Patrol and law enforcement agents. The penalties instituted by this bill include prison time and ensure that perpetrators can be deemed inadmissible to this country and deported from the United States. Preventing deadly accidents that endanger lives is also the focus of H.R. 6976, the Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act. With a simple turn of a key, an intoxicated driver commits a crime and illegal migrants are no different. Tragically, many of these incidents involve individuals who should not be in the country at all. Illegal migrants who have committed this offense are evaluated under the crimes involving moral turpitude standard, a difficult and complex legal analysis that results in long delays and lengthy legal proceedings. H.R. 6976 will change this and provide immigration consequences for driving under the influence, rendering illegal migrants who have committed this offense inadmissible to this country and deportable without a lengthy process. In a similar vein, with identification and fraud on the rise, H.R. 6678, the Consequences for Social Security Fraud Act will ensure that criminal or illegal migrants who commit Social Security and ID fraud can be removed and barred from this country. Finally, we will take up H.R. 6679, the No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act. In October, the world watched in horror as Hamas, a designated terror organization, committed a vicious and evil attack on Israel. Twelve hundred Israelis, including American citizens, were murdered. Another 240 were taken back to Gaza as hostages where many remain today. Terrorists who participated in, planned, or otherwise supported the October 7 attacks should not be admissible to the United States, full stop. There is no reason for a member of Hamas to ever be admitted into the United States. H.R. 6679 will make that a reality and ensure that we can prevent these deadly and evil people from ever entering our country, thereby protecting our citizens. Taken together, eradicating these gaps in our legal recourse will deter criminal activity and ensure that bad actors face appropriate punishment for their crimes. Mr. Speaker, Republicans have demonstrated that we are committed to governing for the American people and that the American people have spoken. Their message to their elected Representatives is: ``Enough.'' Enough with sending their tax dollars to process migrants that should not be in this country in the first place instead of enforcing the law; enough with putting law enforcement both at the border and across America in harm's way; enough with the fearmongering and lies. Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of the rule and the underlying bills. I urge my fellow Members to support the rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 980 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford) for his comments.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Murphy for bringing us together tonight. I am here tonight not just because I am a Member of Congress from the 26th Congressional District, but I am also a doc. I practiced for 25 years back home. I am a Medicare patient. I know firsthand how hard it can be to find a doctor that still accepts Medicare. I will tell you, there is nothing more injurious to our medical system here in this country than the repetitive cuts that this administration has delivered to the doctors of this country. In November, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized a 3.5 percent cut in physician payments for this year, 2024, a decision that took place on January 1 of this year, a blow to the very backbone of our healthcare. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, we had an actual historic event last month. We marked up a doc fix and a budget neutrality bill. The GOP Doctors Caucus and the Energy and Commerce Committee took action to address the challenges by passing H.R. 6545, which was the Physician Fee Schedule Update and Improvements Act. That bill includes a conversion factor update as well as provisions from H.R. 6371, the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act, also led by the GOP Doctors Caucus. These provisions make needed changes to the budget neutrality requirement, allowing for long-term sustainability within the physician fee schedule. These are significant steps, and the urgency cannot be overstated. On January 1, those lower rates went into effect. CMS has said they are going to hold payments until Congress acts, but if we don't act pretty darn quick, they will have to remit at the lower level. The doctors can never go back and recoup the money that they should have been paid. This is a crisis that is not necessary. We can fix this. We can fix this in the CR. Unfortunately, congressional Democrats, the minority leader on the House side, and the Finance Committee chairman on the Senate side are blocking this very simple fix from occurring. It is wrong. It needs to change. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for holding this Special Order hour.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the Congresswoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, last night the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 864, providing for consideration of H.R. 5894. The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 5894 under a structured rule with 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their designee. The rule further makes in order 146 amendments. The rule also provides that the chair and the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, or their respective designees, may offer up to 10 pro forma amendments each at any point for the purpose of debate. Finally, the rule additionally provides for one motion to recommit. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the underlying bill, H.R. 5894, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2024. Mr. Speaker, the Republican majority is committed to fulfilling their promises to the American people by ensuring that we pass H.R. 5894 to fund our government and its crucial public health, education, and labor programs. This bill is a significant accomplishment and the most recent step House Republicans are taking to restore fiscal responsibility to the Federal budget after years of overspending. It is a fact that our Federal spending is out of control, and H.R. 5894 is a step in the right direction, encouraging responsibility and restoring accountability. H.R. 5894 provides $147 billion for vital programs at the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education while still reducing total Federal spending by over $60 billion. The bill eliminates 61 programs, 50 of which are currently not authorized. It reduces funding for an additional 54 other programs and prohibits funds from unnecessary regulations and partisan executive orders. This Congress should aim to prioritize funding programs that can have positive outcomes and deliver results for the American people. Inflated spending for duplicative programs is a sure way to fuel the economic situation in which we now find ourselves. H.R. 5894 funds key priorities, including maintaining funding for essential education, public health, substance abuse and mental health, and veterans job training programs. Republicans have fought to ensure that funding is prioritized to help all school districts safely educate children, including children with special needs. H.R. 5894 also contains provisions to support funding for charter schools, Pell grants, and local career and technical training programs for those students who are not seeking a college degree to ensure that our next generation is given opportunity and access to essential education programs. Especially important to many districts around the country, including mine, this bill maintains vital funding for the Impact Aid Program, which supports school districts affected by a Federal presence such as a military base. H.R. 5894 promotes American values of freedom, faith, and family by prohibiting the executive order requiring biological boys to be allowed to compete in girls' and women's sports, protecting religious freedom for students on college campuses, and strengthening parental rights for children in school. Republicans understand that our country is facing a mental health crisis, along with record-breaking rates of substance abuse in the United States; therefore, this bill has designated funding for programs that combat opioid abuse in urban and rural communities. These crucial programs allow Americans to access the proper care that they need, including vital telehealth and response resources. Democrats seem to disregard the value of the taxpayer dollar. They have continuously proven that they prioritize additional spending, progressive initiatives, and push through woke policies that will have negative consequences on the health and well-being of the American people. When they were in the majority, congressional Democrats took drastic steps to push through legislation, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, saying that it would lower healthcare costs for America's seniors. In fact, we have already seen that this legislation has resulted in a halt to innovation and disincentivized investment into high-stakes research, such as rare diseases. This bill, H.R. 5894, contains provisions that fund and support biomedical research programs that work to examine the cures for cancer, Alzheimer's disease, chronic conditions, and rare diseases. Under Republican leadership, the United States will continue to remain a leader in healthcare innovation, while peeling back the partisan politics that would limit access to lifesaving medicines. The bill also maintains longstanding provisions of the Hyde amendment, bipartisan protections which have been in place since 1976. These pro-life policy protections prohibit Federal funds from being used for abortion while also including essential protections for healthcare providers who refuse to provide abortions. Under the leadership of Democrats, the right for America's medical professionals to operate under their own autonomy and authority was under constant attack. Future medical professionals are being forced to practice medicine outside their own standards or to not practice at all. Protections placed in this bill ensure that any medical professional who does not wish to perform procedures that are against their religious or moral standards simply do not have to. The Republican Party continues to fight to maintain the balance between the professional practice of medicine and individual values. Additionally, H.R. 5894 prohibits funding from being used to promote gain-of-function research or from any funding going to EcoHealth Alliance, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or any other lab located in the People's Republic of China, Cuba, Iran, or Russia. Americans deserve transparency for the years lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ability to perform biomedical research is a privilege and should not be abused. It is our responsibility to ensure that American dollars do not go toward dangerous research in adversarial countries. Mr. Speaker, the United States is facing a significant healthcare workforce shortage. The government continues to have a role in deciding what is best for American doctors and their patients. This is, in fact, unacceptable. The combination of low reimbursement rates in the physician fee schedule, the burdensome compliance requirements through the No Surprises Act, and the enforcement of unnecessary vaccine mandates on healthcare workers has only fueled this ongoing shortage. This bill prohibits the enforcement of regulations by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to force a vaccine mandate on healthcare workers. Healthcare providers should not be forced to comply with these mandates that infringe upon their individual freedom of choice. We must come together and pass this bill and continue our commitment to the health and well-being of our people. The United States is facing record-breaking inflation, government spending is at an all-time high, and our communities continue to face barriers to education, healthcare, and recent partisan policies that stifle healthcare innovation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 864 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. Mr. Speaker, I am sorry, last year when the Democrats were in charge of the United States House of Representatives, I do not recall the Labor-HHS bill being on the floor as an individual bill. In fact, it was not. Everything was grouped together in a large omnibus bill literally a year ago, last December. Here is the problem: We all recognize, both Republicans and Democrats, additional spending was necessary during the pandemic to protect Americans and get us through this unprecedented crisis. However, last year, when everyone acknowledged that the effects of the coronavirus were on the wane, discretionary spending increased by 15 percent. Mr. Speaker, my constituents do not understand that. They do not understand why that was necessary. The people struggling to buy gas and groceries for sure don't understand why that was done to light the fires of inflation. I encourage Members on my side of the aisle to remember, if you do not want a December omnibus, then vote for this bill today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. If anyone is just tuning in, the bill we have before us today is a bill to fund the Federal agencies of Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, and Department of Education. It is not to provide public funding to Planned Parenthood. That funding should come from someplace else, but not the pockets of the American taxpayers. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Again, I remind colleagues on my side of the aisle that if they do not want a December omnibus, a giant Christmas tree with all sorts of things hung upon it like they saw last year, then they should understand that we need to pass individual appropriations bills. Colleagues on my side of the aisle should carefully look at this bill and vote in favor of passing the rule and the underlying bill. There are over 60 programs that are currently being funded that are not authorized. Well, that is on us as authorizers in the authorizing committees, to be sure. However, at the same time, we cannot continue to write checks, to send money to programs that no one has bothered to authorize. If these are important programs that need to continue, then we on the authorizing committees should do the work, dig into the details of the program, bring in the witnesses, take the testimony, and do the appropriate authorization. The fact that that has not happened in so many programs for so long indicates how broken the process is. We need to reverse that, reverse that curse, reverse that inexorable spending that results if you just simply fund the government at a 15 percent greater level than you did last year before going back to basics and seeing if the program was even necessary. Mr. Speaker, this legislation has many conservative policies that deliver results to the American people. H.R. 5894, the underlying appropriations bill, works to reverse the harmful effects of controversial executive orders and the woke politics that have really damaged our country. Republicans seek to protect life, promote American values in the classroom, prioritize safe medical research, and combat the opioid epidemic, all while reining in unnecessary spending and promoting oversight and accountability. That is why I support the rule. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the rule. I support the underlying bill and urge my colleagues to support the underlying bill.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment that would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from utilizing a title 42 special pay authority. There is no rationale for this authority to exist. It is time that the authorizers in Congress stand up for their prerogatives and act as a check on the executive branch when it invents claims to new powers to which it has no right. Mr. Chair, this is not just my sentiment. In 2012, the Government Accountability Office conducted a study on the EPA's use of title 42 special pay authority. In that study, multiple instances of irregularities were found, entry-level scientists were hired at much higher than what would be the expected GS pay level. Why would we allow the EPA to continue to use a program when it has clearly and repeatedly demonstrated that it is a poor steward of American tax dollars? Mr. Chair, not only has there been a report that highlights the abuse of the program, but a subsequent study was undertaken by the EPA's Office of Inspector General that found that the EPA did not demonstrate a need to use this special pay authority. In fact, there was no shortage of qualified applicants for those positions. Even more alarming, the inspector general found that the EPA did not provide any convincing justification for its continued use. Recent college graduates with a chemistry degree have been hired on to the staff of the EPA at rates higher, much higher than the GS level would indicate. This is not for what the program was intended. It is time for Congress to exercise the proper authority and not allow agencies to ignore congressional intent. It is time for Congress to exercise the proper authority and not allow agencies to ignore congressional intent. That is why this amendment should be adopted, Mr. Chair. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment and show the American people that its Representatives here in the people's House will properly require accountability of agencies, particularly when they overstep the bounds of congressional intent. Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Chair, I will simply underscore the fact that entry- level chemists at the EPA are hired at much higher than the GSA rate. These are not highly sought-after scientists. These are entry-level applicants, and there is no shortage of applicants for those positions. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.