Eli Crane

Mr. CRANE

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer my amendment to the Department of Defense appropriations bill, which would prohibit American troops from being sent to fight on the ground in Ukraine. The United States ought to be encouraging peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, not giving into calls for deadly escalation that could turn nuclear. It is well past time for the United States to disentangle itself from this misguided war effort and start promoting a peaceful resolution to the conflict. To date, we have shipped more than 100 billion American tax dollars to Ukraine, a country not known for its strict commitment to anticorruption measures. Sending money is bad enough. Our men and women being sent to die over this conflict is unthinkable. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this amendment to prevent American lives from being sacrificed. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz).

Mr. CRANE

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the Clemenceau Heritage Museum for their unwavering dedication to preserving the rich history of Arizona's Verde Valley. Originally opened in November 1991 through the efforts of the Verde Historical Society, the museum showcases artifacts and pieces of historical significance that are indicative of the rich heritage of both our district and state. Since 1991, the members of the Verde Historical Society have been committed to ensuring that our community's history is honored and maintained through the museum's educational services to the public. The Verde Historical Society's vision made the museum a reality and their continued faithfulness enables the history of Verde Valley to be appreciated by all residents of the valley today. The countless hours they devote to the upkeep of the museum is commendable, and through their work, the history of the region is kept alive. The Museum's exhibits and displays have blessed our community with a steady reminder of where we came from and the factors, including mining, ranching, and farming, that empowered our society and economy to prosper. I applaud the Verde Historical Society for their commitment to presenting the history of the region and for carrying the torch necessary for current and future generations to enjoy and benefit from our heritage.

Mr. CRANE

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

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of my bill today, which would terminate the 2003 national emergency for Iraq. This legislation serves as a much-needed check on the Biden administration and forces Congress to do its job. The National Emergencies Act was passed in 1976 and was originally enacted in response to Presidents FDR and Truman keeping the country in a perpetual state of emergency as part of their daily governance. Specifically, section 202 requires Congress to vote on any resolution terminating each national emergency every 6 months: ``Not later than 6 months after a national emergency is declared, and not later than the end of each 6-month period thereafter that such emergency continues, each House of Congress shall meet to consider a vote on a joint resolution to determine whether that emergency shall be terminated.'' In other words, the bill requires Congress to rein in emergency declarations. However, despite this requirement, Congress has never reviewed the national emergency related to Iraq. This is recklessly endangering our Republic, our system of checks and balances, and due process, and it undermines we the people. The extended national emergency declaration related to Iraq provides the President with broad statutory powers only meant for times of actual emergency, including the power to draft Americans without consent into Active Duty. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are tasked with reviewing dozens of extended national emergency declarations as required by law every 6 months. It is long past time for Congress to do its job and terminate outdated declarations. I have personally been deployed to Iraq three times as a Navy SEAL. I am not naive. U.S. military overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime within 3 weeks of being there, and we killed Saddam Hussein in 2006. We formally declared the end of the Iraq war an December 15, 2011. We should not leave this national declaration for Iraq in place as a green light for the Biden administration to fuel forever wars. Mr. Speaker, since President Biden has been in office, he is now participating in a new proxy war with Russia in Ukraine and allowed an invasion at our southern border. Spending concerns, constitutional concerns, and concerns regarding the lives of our soldiers are easily and often overlooked by this administration. Two-thirds of veterans and majorities of military families and the public support full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and a vast majority of the general public, 80 percent, believe our military engagement around the world should be reduced or stay about the same size. Only 6 percent believe we should be more engaged. The U.S. has many vital national interests--securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, and achieving energy security and independence. Becoming further entangled in forever wars is not one of them. Just like the Ukraine-Russia war, Americans see no end in sight and no clear strategy to resolve forever wars. This is a clear dereliction of duty, and Congress must act. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, can I amend my comments to people of color?

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris).

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

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, today, I rise before you with a critical amendment that remedies the harm imposed by political and military leaders who emphasize social justice, progressive dogma, and climate issues against the dedicated men and women of our Armed Forces, who joined to defend our country. My amendment specifically prohibits DOD from considering race, gender, religion, or political affiliations, or any other ideological concepts as the sole basis for recruitment, training, education, promotion, or retention decisions. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I think it is interesting that my colleague talks about the divisiveness of this amendment. It is not divisive at all. What is divisive is how the military is becoming a political and social experiment. I don't know how many people over there or how many other people in this Chamber served in the military, but I happened to join the Navy the week after 9/11. I can tell you this, Mr. Chair: I served with all sorts of people from all over the country of multiple colors. Do you know what, Mr. Chair? The people whom I served with were there not because of what race they were. They were there because they passed the standards. They were there because they were the best of the best. Do you know what, Mr. Chair? That made me feel really safe when we were going into the most dangerous parts of the world. That is what we need to continue. We need to have a military that continues to be the strongest military in the world because of standards and because the people whom we have there are the best of the best. The military was never intended to be inclusive. Its strength is not its diversity. Its strength is its standards. Diversity can be a great thing, but that should not be our focus. I can tell you right now that you can keep playing around with these games of diversity, equity, and inclusion, but there are some real threats out there, and if we keep messing around and keep lowering our standards, it is not going to be good. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, that was unbelievably inspiring. My amendment has nothing to do with whether or not * * * Black people or anybody can serve. Okay. It has nothing to do with the color of your skin, any of that stuff. What we want to preserve and maintain is the fact that our military does not become a social experiment. We want the best of the best. We want to have standards that guide who is in what unit, and what they do. And I am going to tell you guys right now the Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians, the North Koreans, they are not doing this because they want the strongest military possible. I hope my colleagues on the other side can understand what we are doing.

Mr. CRANE

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today in support of the rule to consider Representative Boebert's Articles of Impeachment against the President of the United States before the House Homeland Security Committee. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution--the document Joe Biden swore an oath to defend--the President of the United States is charged with serving as the Commander in Chief, defending the Nation against threats, and ensuring the safety and security of all American citizens. Joe Biden has utterly failed to fulfill his responsibility to we the people. Our southern border faces a daily barrage of illegal aliens, human trafficking, and deadly fentanyl. It is an outright invasion, and Joe Biden is not only letting it happen, he is encouraging it. Back in 2019, Joe Biden during his Presidential campaign said this: ``We are a nation that says: `If you want to flee, and you are fleeing oppression, you should come.' '' He invited this invasion by sending up a flare signaling that anyone from anywhere could come exploit and abuse the American homeland. Now, 2\1/2\ years into the Biden regime, we are seeing the effects of his complete dereliction of duty. Since he took office, more than 1.5 million illegal aliens have evaded apprehension. In fiscal year 2022 alone, 150,000 unaccompanied children crossed by themselves. This fiscal year nearly 100 members of the terrorist watch list have been incentivized to cross so far, and I remind the people in this House that it only took 19 individuals to commit the attacks on 9/11. Tons of fentanyl have poured across the border with more than 17,000 pounds coming across since just October 2022.

Mr. CRANE. Joe Biden is the patriarch of a perverted and corrupt political dynasty who is more interested in profiting off his position than protecting our Nation. His time in the Oval Office has been a disgrace, and he deserves to be impeached, which is why I support the passage of this rule.

Mr. CRANE

Mr. CRANE. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. CRANE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chair, I think it is pretty sad that we even have to offer this bill and that I have to offer this amendment, but I think the American public realizes and is completely outraged with what is going on in this country--how they don't feel like they have a voice anymore, how they don't feel like they are being recognized in their rights to be parents and have authority over their own children. It is also very disgusting, quite frankly, what has been going on in our kids' schools. Parents across this country--Democrats, Republicans, Independents, all of us--are furious with what is going on at these schools. That is why we even have to do this. My amendment adds a private right of action for parents to hold schools accountable for not honoring the rights set forth in title I and title II of this bill. It seeks to strengthen enforcement mechanisms within the Parents Bill of Rights Act. My amendment, if passed, would ensure parents can sue if school districts force teachers or students to accommodate critical race theory curriculum, compel students to observe obscene or sexual material without parental consent, use pronoun changes without parental consent, violate student privacy without parental consent, or neglect to report sexual assault or harassment on school property. The bill as it is currently written puts the protection of parental rights in the hands of Department of Education bureaucrats. It is not enough for Congress to leave enforcement to Department of Education bureaucrats or wait for the corrupt Department of Justice to file a lawsuit on a parent's behalf. I don't trust the Biden administration to go after woke school administrators that force dangerous ideologies on innocent children. Parents should have the opportunity to sue these schools. For far too long, the public school system has undermined parental involvement in education decisions. If we want to truly empower parents' rights, we should give parents the tools to enforce those rights through this amendment, not leave it in the hands of bureaucrats. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Mr. CRANE. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.