Eli Crane

Mr. CRANE

Mr. CRANE. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for her leadership, and I thank my colleague from Texas (Mr. Roy) for yielding. Madam Speaker, I agree with Mr. Roy's comments. This continuing resolution extends government funding at the same levels of the lameduck Biden-Pelosi omnibus. To be clear, this funding is going to continue funding Biden's disastrous policies, such as the Biden border crisis, Biden's war on American energy production, and a woke and weaponized bureaucracy. Our Nation owes almost $34 trillion in debt and counting, and the interest the Treasury Department must pay is steadily marching higher and higher. Over the next decade, annual Federal Government deficits are projected to double to nearly $3 trillion, and the cost of our interest on the debt will exceed the Pentagon's budget within the next 10 years. Our Speaker, Mr. Johnson, said he was the most conservative Speaker we have ever had, yet here we are, putting this bill on the floor this afternoon without conservative policy riders. Conservatives don't have the chance to amend it. We are honoring the McCarthy-Schumer side deals from the Fiscal Responsibility Act that led us to vacate Speaker McCarthy in the first place. Talk is cheap, and the American people deserve better. The notion of fiscal discipline itself might as well be put in a time capsule. Congress considers no budgets. Legislation never hits against cost limitations. Every bipartisan disagreement is solved simply by spending more on the pet programs of the opposing party. This continuing resolution is a perfect example of how we have arrived at this unsustainable fiscal situation, and I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation. The last thing I want to say is that I think it is rich to hear some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle discussing the sovereignty of the Ukraine border and how necessary it is to protect their borders while we do nothing to protect our own.

Mr. CRANE

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for allowing me to join tonight to talk about this crisis at our southern border. Mr. Good, when you talk about how many got-aways we have right now in this country, how many individuals on the terror watch list, it is about 300 since Biden took office. To give the American people some context, I know that number under the last administration was under 20. I believe it was about 14 people who were encountered on the southern border that were on the terrorist watch list. That is something that really piques my interest because like a lot of Americans who are still alive today and have jobs, families, who love this country, 9/11 changed my life. I dropped out of school my senior year and joined the Navy the week after 9/11. I remind Americans it only took 19 people to perpetrate those acts on 9/11. When you are talking about this amount of numbers, this invasion--I hate to say it. I hate to sound like an alarmist, but as somebody who considers myself a sheepdog, somebody who considers myself the type of individual who wants to protect other people--and we have other sheepdogs around this Capitol right now. There are some in the balcony. There are some out there. We know what this is going to lead to. I hate to say it, but I am going to say it because Americans need to know. It is not a question of if. It is a question of when. It breaks my heart, but it enrages me at the same time because Americans deserve better. They deserve leadership. They deserve a government that puts their safety and security as a top priority. We are not--I repeat, we are not--doing that. It is one of the reasons right now in the Homeland Security Committee that we are working on impeaching Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. I hope it is something that we are actually able to conclude this time, even though a couple of weeks ago we tried that in this very Chamber, and eight Republicans voted against it. It is imperative that we do that, not because we are going to get a better replacement. It is imperative that we do that because the American people are watching. They are sick and tired of this place. They are sick and tired of the politicians here. One of the biggest reasons they are sick and tired of it is because nobody ever gets held accountable. It has been a long time since a Cabinet Secretary was impeached. I am not sure it has ever even happened. Mr. Biggs, has that ever even happened?

Mr. CRANE. There have been a lot of historic things that have happened in this Congress, Mr. Biggs, and I am hoping that the impeachment of a Cabinet Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, is one of the next things that happens because I want the American people to know that there is not one set of rules for them and one set of rules for the people up there. They know for a fact they could not come up here and do the exact opposite of what their job description was. Look at his job title: Secretary of Homeland Security. I don't know about you. I am not an English major, but that would make me believe, Mr. Perry, that his job might be to protect the homeland. What do you think about that?

Mr. CRANE. But, Congressman Biggs, it is an election year. We couldn't possibly disrupt things because it is an election year, right? That was one of the arguments I heard today why we can't do anything about the border--it is an election year, and there are politics on the line.

Mr. CRANE

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

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my amendment, which reduces Federal education funding by $37,735,000. This amendment maintains fiscal responsibility, protecting Americans' hard-earned tax dollars from going to waste at the Department of Education. According to the Congressional Budget Office's estimation, this amendment would reduce allowances by $38 million and outlays by $30 million for fiscal year 2024. Like many Americans, I don't trust the Biden administration with our tax dollars as they trample on our constitutional protections and allow violations of these protections on college campuses across the U.S. In Arizona, we are seeing the Department of Education impose a record-setting fine of $37,735,000 on Grand Canyon University. Foolishly, this fine is being imposed for something that the university has already been cleared of in a court of law. Adding insult to injury, they are imposing a record fine on GCU that would unjustly impede their ability to operate. As the largest private Christian university in the Nation, GCU's enrollment has grown to an estimated 118,000 students because of their innovative approach to higher education. If GCU is forced to pay this fine, I believe the Department of Education should be defunded by the same amount. We the people are sick and tired of the woke indoctrination of our youth. I find it absurd that the Department of Education would target private Christian schools while ignoring the larger systemic issues within higher education. The cost of college tuition has skyrocketed 175 percent in the last four decades, far exceeding inflation rates. Meanwhile, the values of these degrees have not kept up. Despite the Supreme Court establishing that college and university campuses are not immune from the protections of the First Amendment, we are seeing a suppression of free speech rights on college campuses across the Nation. Mr. Chair, 63 percent of students believe the political and social climate on their campus prevents people from freely expressing their opinions--an increase of almost 10 percent in the past 2 years. The University of Texas at Austin threatened to fire or penalize a professor who exposed the university's plans to ensure that new hires have uniformly leftwing views on cultural issues. Virginia Tech and other universities deploy teams that rely on students to snitch on classmates who express offensive views and then subject those classmates to investigations, reeducation, or even discipline. Following the recent terror attack against Israel, we have seen anti- Semitism skyrocket at universities, especially at Ivy League institutions, who reap the benefits of billions of taxpayer dollars. At Columbia, we saw a tenured professor describe the terrorism inflicted by Hamas upon Israelis as awesome and a stunning victory. We also saw more than 30 student groups at Harvard blame Israel for the terror attacks conducted by Hamas. To combat this infiltration of woke mind rot in our classrooms, Congress needs to pass a substantial funding reduction for the Education Department for fiscal year 2024. My amendment is designed to mitigate and thwart the weaponization of the public education system against Americans. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, this issue has already been settled in Federal court. In January, the 11th Circuit Court found GCU innocent of the charges ED is using to impose this record-setting fine. What right do bureaucrats have to overrule our judicial system? This is a multimillion-dollar fine we are talking about. It is the largest penalty ever handed down by the Education Department. I want to repeat that. This issue has already been settled in Federal Court. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, it is interesting that my colleague on the other side says that Grand Canyon University is ripping people off. If that is the case, then why didn't the 11th Circuit Court find GCU guilty? That is not what happened at all. My colleague on the other side of the aisle is not the judge or jury. As I said, the 11th Circuit Court has already found GCU innocent. My colleague also said that there are only 87,000 students at GCU. There are 118,000 students because of their innovative approach to higher education. We are very proud of this college in Arizona. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE

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

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

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, which utilizes the Holman rule to reduce the salary of the CEQ chair. CEQ, in how it operates and what it prioritizes, is not doing its job properly, especially regarding its implementation of NEPA. The Council only focuses on the negative side effects of certain types of energy production without considering cost-effective energy. The Trump administration introduced reforms to remedy some of the worst elements of this hyperpoliticized regime at CEQ and to facilitate more efficient and timely permitting reviews. Having unwisely reversed those reforms, President Biden and Ms. Mallory are now grappling with regulatory barriers that hinder critical infrastructure. As a result, the public will be deprived of much-needed energy infrastructure. Affordable and abundant energy is essential for a secure and prosperous country. NEPA is now out of sync with current environmental, political, social, and economic realities, with Ms. Mallory spearheading its exacerbation and failures. The average American family is now spending about $2,400 more today than when President Biden took office. I have constituents who can barely pay their energy bills solely because the administration chose to raise their electric rates to pay for its Green New Deal agenda, almost doubling some Arizonans' bills. If Congress doesn't act to reverse Biden's energy crisis now, it may not be long before more Americans can't afford soaring energy costs. Ms. Mallory's incompetence has shown that Congress should reduce her salary. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, the bottom line is that the American people are tired of bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., affecting a policy that is destroying their lives. That is why we are doing this. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, which defunds Public Land Order No. 7923. In June, the Biden administration issued this public land order banning over 300,000 acres of Federal mineral estate surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park for 20 years. This would effectively prevent all private landowners and Navajo allottees from mineral leasing land in this area. The ban will have significant negative economic impacts on both the Navajo Nation and American taxpayers, severely limiting Tribal revenue, economic development, self-sufficiency, and American energy production. Chaco Canyon carries both cultural and historical significance for communities in the region. The development of this land should be determined by those with lawful sovereignty, not out-of-touch Biden administration officials hellbent on imposing their radical agenda on Tribal communities. In July, the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the ban, and we heard from Navajo Nation citizens who expressed disappointment with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and the Bureau of Land Management for stripping away their mineral rights. The government of the Navajo Nation has called on Congress to oppose any buffer zone in the area. The Biden administration's decision to move forward with this ban makes it clear that they only care about Tribal voices so long as they are in line with the approved Biden agenda. Interestingly, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, when serving in Congress, worked on a lease sale that was ultimately deferred. She had complained that the Trump administration failed to fulfill its legal and moral obligation to consult with Native Americans. The Biden administration, of which Secretary Haaland is a part, is now opposing an unprecedented blockade on Native mineral rights and has refused to listen to the Navajo Nation's concerns. Mr. Chair, this administration likes to talk about their supposed support of Tribal communities but has no problem implementing a destructive choke hold on Tribal revenue and economic prosperity. Secretary Haaland and President Biden are throwing the Navajo Nation under the bus, driven by extremists with no concern for Native interests or the energy needs of all Americans. I am proud to stand with the Navajo Nation and offer this amendment that defunds this ban. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I represent the Navajo Nation in my State. The Navajo Nation does support this amendment. One of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talked about protecting the lands. What she didn't talk about, however, was protecting the economy of the Navajo people and how this would impact them, which is, once again, why they support this amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer amendment No. 8 as the designee of Mr. Biggs of Arizona.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer amendment No. 10 as the designee of Mr. Biggs of Arizona.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to speak in support of this amendment that eliminates nearly $39 million in funding for the United States Institute of Peace. This institute funds programs located in several adversarial nations, including China, Pakistan, and Russia. Their mission is to combat violence and promote peace through education. However, the institute covers issue areas such as gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate policy--hardly topics related to peace between nations. The United States Institute of Peace claims to prioritize U.S. national security while using U.S. funds to counsel and mitigate feuds with known enemies of the United States. The expenses of this institute, whose mission would be better accomplished by nonprofits, charities, and religious groups, is an undue burden on the American taxpayer. Mr. Chair, I urge the passage of this amendment to prevent this unnecessary funding, and work toward getting our fiscal house in order. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I rise this morning in support of this amendment, which eliminates nearly $3 million in funding for the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, salaries and expenses. This funding goes towards functions such as gender equality, and there has even been a Gender Action Plan, a Gender Unit in the Secretariat appointed a special representative to the Chairperson-in- Office on gender issues. The work of this Commission would probably be better done by an independent think tank than by a congressionally funded Commission. With the current debt of the U.S. being $33 trillion, we must look for ways to cut unnecessary spending. The work of this Commission is not unique to it and similar consolation, if necessary, could be found in third-party sources that do not affect the already distressed national debt. Mr. Chair, I urge passage of my amendment to prevent this unnecessary funding and work toward getting our fiscal house in order. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I rise this morning to offer my amendment to the State and Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriation Act which would reduce funding for USAID by 50 percent. USAID was established over 60 years ago with the noble intention of fostering the advancement of the developing world, a goal that could benefit the United States by creating new trade partners and stable neighbors. Unfortunately, current budget allocations at USAID indicate a shift toward a social and cultural agenda that caters to the radical priorities of woke global elites. USAID has become a front for unelected bureaucrats to impose woke nonsense and harmful agendas across the globe, all on the U.S. taxpayers' dime. We shouldn't continue to fund this organization that aims to undercut American values and objectives. Cutting USAID's funding by 50 percent would dramatically conserve taxpayer resources otherwise wasted abroad on programs that do little to nothing to advance American interests. In fact, our core interests are instead undermined by these programs that include climate change alarmism and wasting money on ridiculous studies and programs that promote distorted gender ideology. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this amendment to prevent American tax dollars from being wasted on an Agency bent on sabotaging our best efforts around the globe. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz).

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

Mr. CRANE

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

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my colleague's amendment. As my colleague pointed out, we can't afford it. The gentlewoman just said that all the money that we are sending over there is for training and equipment. That is not true. ``60 Minutes'' just discovered the U.S. is financing more than weapons in Ukraine. The government is buying seeds and fertilizer for farmers, paying the salaries of 57,000 first responders, and subsidizing small business. Again, like my colleague said, we are $33 trillion in debt. It is no wonder we are $33 trillion in debt. This is getting out of hand, and we need to stop it.

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