Rick Crawford

Mr. CRAWFORD

Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I claim the time in opposition to this en bloc of amendments. Again, this bill is nothing more than a partisan exercise, and this en bloc just throws together, again, a bunch of bad ideas with little opportunity for input or debate. Nothing further proves that point than the disproportionate amount of Democrat amendments we will be considering today, many of which will not be subjected to the scrutiny of standalone votes or debate. Over 100 Democrat amendments have been approved by the Rules Committee while less than 30 Republican amendments have been made in order. Unfortunately, this is not just about the terrible legislative process--it is also about the policy which moves forward with no pay- for in sight. This is completely unacceptable. Members should not be forced to choose between voting on a bill that just burdens future generations of Americans with more debt and greater dependence on China or passing another short-term surface extension. But those are the two options presented to us by the majority here today. What we are looking at is a bill with policies that prevent rural communities from growing and that raises inflation so average Americans will continue to see rising prices in everyday products like milk and gas. I had hoped we wouldn't make this bad bill even worse, but this en bloc only adds more spending and more bad policies. This bill is over 1,600 pages and over 230 amendments were filed by Members on both sides. But we are going to spend less than 12 hours working through amendments and debate to rush to an inevitable partisan vote. This is not a process anyone should be proud of and very indicative of how we got here today: just a one-sided, my-way-or-the-highway approach. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this en bloc amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Again, just as a reminder for the many of the tens of people who are watching at home, this en bloc amendment contains 38 Democrat amendments. In contrast to the en bloc No. 3 that we just considered that contained all of the Republican amendments, only 19 were considered there. So that represents, again, 8 percent of the total number of amendments that were made in order. And there are a good number of these amendments, by the way, that are offered by Members on the committee. In fact, I mean, there are an awful lot of them. And it just underscores how this process has been so flawed and so ill-conceived. Back in the not-too-distant past--I have been on this committee now for 11 years--we would bring a bill to committee to mark up, and it was agreed upon by the four principals of the committee. And the amendments would be agreed upon by the four principals of the committee, and that is how we achieved bipartisanship. Those days, apparently, are gone. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the remaining time?

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

Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. American demand for high-speed rail is low; and Federal money for transportation must be spent on projects and infrastructure that Americans need and use. The issue is not whether America must lead the world in high-speed rail, but whether Americans actually want high-speed rail. In California, the high-speed rail project launched in 2008 has been continually plagued by cost increases and delays. According to the L.A. Times, costs have gone from $33 billion to over $100 billion, and it is at least 12 years behind schedule. These projects inevitably result in environmental and endangered species concerns, eminent domain fights, potential displacement of families and businesses, including in low-income communities, and highly questionable demand that will leave these railroads dependent on government subsidies forever. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

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

Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I will try to only use 6 of those 7 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This bill contains--tons of money just won't matter if we fail to support programs for roads and bridges. The huge funding levels aren't what they appear to be because the bill spreads the dollars thin over 41 new programs; adds many new burdensome mandates to programs that States rely on; doesn't include meaningful regulatory reforms so dollars are used more effectively. Instead of getting money to States quickly so they can use it how they need, the majority adds new restrictions, like prohibiting new highway capacity that would hamper States' ability to build the projects that their communities need. Really, this is the wrong time for this big, drastic change. This bill wants to force Americans off the roads and into transit and passenger rail. But the central planning push couldn't come at a worse time because of the pandemic-related uncertainty and ongoing changes in transportation, work, and living patterns that will last for years to come. Even before the pandemic, 85 percent of Americans traveled to work in a car, truck, or van, and only 5 percent used public transportation. But the majority chose to bankrupt the programs the overwhelming majority of Americans rely on. As employers are becoming more flexible with teleworking, the majority believes we should be less flexible with our State and local partners. We should focus on core infrastructure and proven programs that provide for flexibility instead of dictating a one-size-fits-all progressive idea of what transportation should look like. The majority calls this is a transformative bill. Well, the American people can be assured they will see the price of gas and goods transform upwards with the increasing inflation this unpaid-for bill will drive. We just heard 38 amendments and not a single reference to how any of those would be paid for. In fact, there is not any pay-for in this entire bill. Any argument that we don't want to work with the majority is just simply false. In addition to the strong resiliency title in Republican bill STARTER Act 2.0, I frequently said I was willing to work with the majority. And the ranking member said that he wanted to work with the majority on their priority of reducing transportation's impact on the environment, but that we also needed to work to address Republican priorities like streamlining. They simply refused. In committee, we proposed compromises that would include both climate and streamlining provisions and offered a ``Buy American'' amendment to ensure we weren't sending U.S. dollars for electric vehicle infrastructure to support the Chinese Government's slave labor and environmental destruction. The majority rejected those proposals. Instead, House Democrats are willing to sell out to China to claim they are reaching their climate goals. Republican Members are not willing to ignore the fact that relying on China, the worst polluter in the world, will absolutely increase global emissions. Furthermore, we have to remember this is a transportation bill, first and foremost. Spending $1 out of every $2 on meeting Green New Deal objectives begs the question: Is this bill still a transportation bill? Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this en bloc amendment, I urge a ``no'' vote on the underlying bill, and I yield the balance of my time.

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

Mr. CRAWFORD

Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I rise to inform the House I hereby remove my name as a cosponsor of H.R. 2091.

Mr. CRAWFORD

Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to call up H.R. 682, the Reopen Schools Act, to get our kids out from behind screens and back in the classroom.

Mr. CRAWFORD

Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to call up H.R. 8265 to extend the Paycheck Protection Program to keep millions of employees on the payroll of America's small businesses.

Mr. CRAWFORD

Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Cadet Laityn Tippy from Westside High School and the Air Force JROTC, Unit No. AR20061, in Jonesboro, AR, as the Overall AFJROTC and AFA Cadet Leadership Award Winner for 2019- 2020. Cadet Tippy was selected from 890 AFJROTC Units and over 125,000 AFJROTC cadets in the United States and on military installations overseas. The selection process started with each unit nominating their top cadet for the award. From there, 48 state winners were selected, followed by eight regional winners and then finally, one national winner, recognizing the most outstanding AFJROTC cadet in the world. Cadet Tippy has a 4.0 GPA, putting her at the top of her graduating class going into her senior year, despite a demanding schedule with college level courses and an extracurricular schedule that includes National Honor Society, Student Council, Track, and Cross Country. She holds the unit record in every category of the AFJROTC Physical Fitness Test, including the mile run, push-ups, and crunches. She finished first, from over 100 female competitors, in two local physical fitness competitions with other JROTC units from Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri and Mississippi. Earlier in the school year, Cadet Tippy was one of only 200 AFJROTC cadets, from over 3,000 applicants, to be selected to attend the AFJROTC Flight Academy, a summer scholarship program valued at over $25,000, which allows cadets to earn their private pilot license during a 10-week course at a college or university. Because of COVID-19, this course has been postponed until the summer of 2021. She is in the process of applying for the Air Force Academy and plans to be an Air Force officer and pilot. It is obvious to all that read her accolades that Cadet Tippy is more than deserving of this achievement. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing Cadet Tippy a congratulations.

Mr. CRAWFORD

Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Davis family for being named Greene County's Farm Family of the Year for 2020. All winners of the Farm family of the Year program are judged on their farm production, efficiency, management, family life and their rural and community involvement. Farm families work tirelessly to provide for themselves and for the American people, and the impact they have on their communities, on the state of Arkansas in its entirety, and on the economy is immeasurable. The Davis family has worked tirelessly to deserve this honor. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing them a congratulations

Mr. CRAWFORD

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

Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I am opposed to the bill in its current form.

Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, this amendment will not kill the bill, but will instead ensure that the Democrats' partisan wish list does not result in a windfall for the Chinese state-owned enterprises. This amendment would prevent companies owned or controlled by the Chinese regime or the Chinese Communist Party from participating in any project or receiving any fund authorized by this bill. This is particularly important given the hundreds of billions of dollars for programs like power grid transmission and distribution projects and broadband infrastructure investment. We can't afford to allow the Chinese Government to take control of our power grid or broadband system, and we all know that allowing Chinese companies to compete for these projects often opens the door to Chinese Government control. Time and time again, China has demonstrated its hostility to America's interests and international standards of transparency and accountability, while violating basic human morality. China's industrial plan makes their goal clear: Dominate global innovation and manufacturing by any means necessary. China is buying and stealing American technology explicitly to overtake our semiconductor, robotic, and electric vehicle industries. Already, China owns a majority of the world's lithium-ion battery production, more than 60 percent. And the Chinese Government is continually investing to increase that capacity. Already, China exports the most lithium-ion batteries and components of any other country, more than 6 times what the United States exports. And Chinese Government subsidies are slated to expand their battery production more than 2\1/2\ times by 2026. We have seen what happens when Chinese-Government sponsored companies like Huawei gain a foothold with telecom products, we succumb to state- directed domination of a U.S. industry, and we leave ourselves vulnerable to national security threats, espionage, and IP theft. Without ensuring that this bill's $1.5 trillion spending spree on electric vehicles and other technologies are manufactured by American companies or countries that play by the rules, we will simply be aiding China in achieving its goals. The issue of protecting our critical infrastructure is a goal many of us share. In fact, the White House has already taken action to prevent foreign infiltration of our power grid through an executive order on bulk power systems earlier this year, and is working with industry to phase out the use of technology produced in China. However, I make this motion not just because of China's economic policies. The Chinese Government is responsible for: government censorship of publications, media, and social media; The blatant theft of American intellectual property; Refusal to abide by World Trade Organization rules; Choosing not to report the coronavirus outbreak for months; and Frequent mistreatment of minority ethic groups within its borders. Just this week, Madam Speaker, we learned that in addition to the many atrocities China has committed against the Uighur people, it is now committing genocide. Hundreds of thousands of women are being subjected to nonconsensual implantation of birth control, forced sterilization, and even forced abortion of their unborn children. We have a moral obligation to ensure that no government treats its citizens this way, and none of its state-sponsored companies that help them do it benefit from the majority's spending spree. But that is what we are doing if we pass this massive spending bill that encourages purchasing products mined and manufactured in China. We invest in their companies and sponsor their tyranny rather than supporting American workers and families. Madam Speaker, a Democrat amendment applying these restrictions to a portion of the bill already passed 62 to 1 during the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee markup. In an otherwise hyper-partisan markup, where Democrats refused to accept many Republican-led amendments, it was perhaps the most bipartisan moment--the ``where's the meatloaf,'' mute violation notwithstanding--supported by Chairman DeFazio. We can do that again here, Madam Speaker. Adopting this amendment will not kill the bill and not stop the majority from sending its wish list on to the Senate with no plan to pay for it. But the bare minimum we can do is come together to say that as we build American infrastructure we also build up America, not China. During the markup of H.R. 2, the chairman said he didn't care if China was listening in on our discussions, so let's send a clear message to China now. Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of the motion to recommit. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, is it appropriate for the gentleman to make comments about the President of the United States on the floor as he did?

Mr. CRAWFORD

Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, a well-crafted infrastructure bill could put millions of Americans back to work and reinvigorate the American economy. Unfortunately, today, we are not here to debate a well-crafted infrastructure bill. This is a radical departure from MAP-21 and the FAST Act, both in terms of content and process. This bill ignores the economic realities of COVID-19, embraces environmental radicalism, and weaves Green New Deal mandates throughout its core programs. In fact, approximately 40 percent of this bill's allocation will be spent on Green New Deal programs. When the GOP controlled the majority, we consulted the minority on both MAP-21 and the FAST Act. We, in this effort, were ignored in the name of climate, despite the Senate having a bipartisan climate title in their bill. To quantify how starkly partisan this bill is, the FAST Act had 115 amendments; this bill, 388. While we know this bill stands no chance of being enacted, the rail title will be disastrous if it was. Despite spending $60 billion over 5 years on rail--none of which is paid for, by the way--no one in the rail industry supports any provisions in this rail title. At a time when demand for all modes of public transportation is in doubt, this bill increases funding to Amtrak. It spends 13 times what FAST Act allocated to the Northeast Corridor. It spends 160 times what FAST Act allocated to Amtrak's national network. This bill guts programs to help our regional and short-line railways to give more money to--you guessed it--Amtrak. Mr. Speaker, our intermodal freight system saved this country from the worst of COVID-19, and this bill aims to drive that system to the ground in the name of environmental extremism. This is the first surface reauthorization I will be voting against, and that is a sad decision I have to make with a heavy heart. I am glad that some of my bipartisan Buy American amendments made it into this bill in markup, and that offers a glimpse of what could have been if the majority had come to us and we had worked together to create a serious bill.

Mr. CRAWFORD

Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Mrs. Lucille Jane Soltysik. On the morning of Sunday, April 19, 2020, Lucille of Mountain Home, Arkansas passed away at the age of 70 years old. She was born on May 20, 1949 in Joliet, Illinois. She was married to Roger Soltysik. She moved from Illinois to Arkansas in 1998. She served on the Oakland-Promise Land Volunteer Fire Department from 2000-2019, where she served as the Fire Chief. She also served her community by being on the Baxter County Quorum Court Justice of the Peace from 2012 through 2020. She was Past President of the Baxter County Women Republican Committee and also a long time member of the Baxter County Republican Committee. She was devoted to her community by volunteering at Hospice, Meals on Wheels, PLACO, and she taught food preservation. She was an avid gardener, cook and mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was a hard worker and nobody would out work her. Arkansas is better because of people like Lucille. I ask my colleagues to keep Lucille's friends and family in their prayers.