Michelle Fischbach

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to honor two men who have given a combined 74 years of service to the House of Representatives, Wade Ballou and Ralph Seep. Both of these gentlemen are retiring and have made important contributions in the way that the House functions. In November, Wade Ballou retired after 41 years of service in the Office of Legislative Counsel, including the past years as head of OLC. Over his years, he provided clear, coherent, and high-quality legal analysis and built a reputation for being warm, engaging, and attentive to the needs of Members of Congress and staff. No matter how complicated or time-sensitive the project was, Wade was warm, engaging, and attentive to the needs of the Members of Congress and our staff. We are all grateful for his care and his work. Ralph Seep spent the past 33 years in the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, including the past 13 years as head of the office. After a long career of helping to oversee and maintain the publication of the United States Code, Wade retired on October 1. While the Members of Congress write the laws, Ralph was the one who ensured that they were literally published in black and white and placed into the United States Code. Ralph's leadership, high standards of excellence, calm demeanor, and generous spirit have made him a trusted leader and colleague and earned him the respect of his staff and colleagues. On behalf of the entire House of Representatives, I thank Wade and Ralph for their service to this Chamber, and we wish them both the best in their next stages of life.

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank Mrs. Lesko for her service. I have been honored to serve with Debbie. She mentioned we met before I was elected, but I have to admit, it was in a nail salon the first time we met. Nobody else here can say that. I know that so many of the speakers have talked about Debbie's service. It has been incredible. They have really honored you with that and talked about that. I want to say, one of the things I just love about Debbie is I have never seen her in a bad mood--never seen her in a bad mood. I was her whip representative, so I had to come and ask her how she was voting. She always has a smile on her face. I congratulate you on your new role in Arizona. I think that the people of Arizona and you county are going to be so incredibly well- served. You will do a wonderful job for them. I thank her for her service in Congress and thank her for her friendship and her kindness. I have been so grateful for the guidance you gave me as a freshman, and I am sure so many others, because that is the kind of person you are. I think she is especially happy that I was elected because I took her spot on the Rules Committee. I am incredibly grateful that I have been able to call her a friend for the last 4 years. I have no doubt that she is going to continue to do incredible things in her public service. I know you are excited about this new chapter. You are going to be missed here. Come and visit occasionally. God bless, and all the best in the world to you.

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I am here to stand in support of my bill, H.R. 8841, to rename the post office in Roseau, Minnesota, in honor of Mr. Floyd B. Olson, who faithfully served as postmaster for the community for 25 years. Floyd was a staple in his community. Born in Roseau on November 9, 1931, to a proud Swedish family, Floyd was named after Minnesota's Scandinavian Governor. He served 2 years in the U.S. Army and married Marjorie in 1954. The two would go on to have three children together, Jeff, Sarajane, and Lisa. In addition to serving in the post office for nearly 30 years, he was a member of the Rose Free Lutheran Church, where he was an active participant on the board and a charter member of the Rose Church Men's Club. He served as vice president of the Roseau County Historical Society board for several years, and he served on the Roseau County Fair board for 25 years. He looked forward to his Thursday morning coffee crew. He loved the great outdoors and anytime he could get out into nature. He took special pride in his six grandchildren and three great-granddaughters. Sadly, Mr. Olson passed away on December 26, 2017. He is remembered so fondly by his family and the Roseau community. A man of faith, a family man, a true public servant, I can think of no better person to dedicate this post office to than Mr. Olson. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to introduce this legislation in his honor and look forward to voting on it on the floor.

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1576 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. 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

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

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we are here to debate the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 9495 and H.R. 1449. The rule provides for H.R. 1449 to be considered under a structured rule. It provides for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and by the ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources, or their designees. The rule further provides for H.R. 9495 to be considered under a closed rule, providing for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means, or their designees. The rule provides for a motion to recommit for each bill. Mr. Speaker, we have had our eyes opened to a lot in the wake of last year's horrifying October 7 attack in Israel. We have been reminded of how much anti-Semitism still somehow exists in our own country. As we saw American citizens taken hostage by Hamas, we were also sadly reminded of the many Americans who have been taken hostage or illegally detained across the world. H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act is twofold. First, it directs the IRS to disregard the time during which a person being held hostage for purposes of when that person filed their tax returns, paid income taxes, or filed a claim. This will also be true for their spouses. This is a small thing, given the circumstances they have endured, but an obvious one. It is so obvious that it sounds silly to say it out loud that someone should not have to worry about missing the deadline to file their taxes because they were being held hostage. This bill also addresses abuses within the nonprofit sector that support terrorism by prohibiting these organizations from maintaining their tax-exempt status if they are found to have provided material support or resources to a terrorist or terrorist-supporting organization. After October 7 and the anti-Semitism that spread rapidly across campuses, the House Ways and Means Committee began investigating tax- exempt organizations to make sure they were not making contributions that would benefit terrorists. It seems fairly obvious that if your organization is supporting terrorist activity in any way, shape, or form, you should at a minimum lose your tax-exempt status. This bill is so sensible it should have been able to pass under suspension, and yet, somehow the Democrats still did not understand the wish of the American people. Americans want to protect their citizens and not support terrorism. It is that simple. I cannot understand how many of my colleagues voted against this bill last week, but I will be proud to vote for it again. This rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 1449, the Committing Leases for Energy Access Now Act, or the CLEAN Act, which will provide certainty for U.S. geothermal energy projects. Right now, the Department of the Interior is required to have a competitive lease sale every 2 years. However, some States have not had a lease sale for much longer than that. Under this legislation, the Secretary of the Interior must hold these sales annually and must respond to the permit applications within 30 days of receipt to let the applicant know if their application is complete. If it is, the Secretary has 30 days to issue a final decision. Geothermal energy is clean and renewable, making it a great way to expand America's energy portfolio and meet our growing demand domestically rather than relying on other Nations. I look forward to supporting these two bills. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. My Democrat colleagues continue over and over and over to try to demonize and vilify President-elect Trump. They just spent months trying to turn him into the boogieman who is going to destroy this country and create chaos. Voters flatly rejected this attempt by Democrats to paint President-elect Trump as a fascist or dictator, all kinds of names they came up with. Instead, they sent him back to the White House and gave him a majority in the Senate and a majority in the House. Yet, here my Democrat colleagues are again trying to use Donald Trump to scare their voters. The truth is, under President Trump's previous administration, we had terrorists on the run, and Americans at home and abroad were safer than they have ever been under this administration. While my Democrat colleagues are desperately trying to find a way to justify allowing American nonprofits to send money to terrorists, House Republicans stand ready to defund terrorism and make America safe again. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I do think it is rich that the Democrats are talking about President Trump going after these groups because the Democrats, both under President Obama and under President Biden, have gone after conservative groups trying to make them look like terrorists and trying to call them terrorists. I think the bill simply wants to stop real terrorists and stop those groups from receiving favored tax status under our tax laws and making sure that we are addressing terrorism in the United States and abroad. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, again, my colleague can't move on from the tired old lines. It is the same rhetoric we have heard for the last 4 years. Throughout the election, we have heard it and heard it, but I want to say that the election is over. I urge the Democrats to please stop telling the American people what they voted for or what they should think and start listening to the American people. The House Republicans are committed to the security and prosperity of the American people, and the two bills before us are further evidence of that. The CLEAN Act supports domestic geothermal drilling, expanding our energy portfolio, and bringing more safe and efficient energy jobs to our country. It also ensures a timely application process through the Department of the Interior. The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act takes away a small part of the burden for those who return to our country after experiencing the horrors of being held hostage, and it ensures that nonprofits that are receiving favored tax status are not contributing to the terrorist organizations in any way. These are straightforward pieces of legislation that are good for the American people. Mr. Speaker, I support the rule and the underlying legislation.

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

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5717, the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act. I do have to comment that the ranking member and I sit on the Rules Committee, and the ranking member and I were there last night, and we are here again on the floor together today, and all I hear is complaining. I don't hear alternatives. I hear about how bad the amendment process is, that their amendments aren't made in order, but I haven't heard them really talk about the alternatives. What are they proposing? Are there alternatives to what we are doing? What would they do differently? Instead, we hear complaining. I do want to talk about H.R. 5717. This bill prohibits funds to any sanctuary State or sanctuary city if those funds are being used to benefit illegal immigrants. That seems like common sense to me and to my constituents. We should not spend American tax dollars to help States and cities that are violating U.S. law so they can turn around and dole out those dollars to illegal immigrants; sometimes those benefits are even more generous than those our own citizens receive. I do want to correct something that Ranking Member Nadler said last night in the Rules Committee. He said that this bill could prohibit Federal funds like COPS grants and Byrne-JAG Grants from going to law enforcement officers. I want to state this clearly. That is just not true. Not only are police departments not qualifying jurisdictions under this bill, but the bill applies only to funds being used to provide benefits to illegal immigrants. Let me tell you. Using funds to arrest and detain illegal immigrants is not to their benefit, nor is it part of this bill. This is just an attempt to distract from the fact that the Biden- Harris administration has created chaos in communities across this country. Yet, rather than help hardworking Americans, they want to take your tax dollars to pay for free flights, free cell phones, and free hotel stays. This bill puts an end to this waste of our taxpayer dollars.

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for yielding me some time on this issue. Less than 2 weeks ago, Donald Trump, a former President and Presidential candidate, was inches away from being assassinated. Thousands at his rally were put at risk. As my colleagues from Pennsylvania mentioned, two people were injured, and Corey Comperatore was tragically killed while protecting his family. All this happened because of a catastrophic failure on the part of government security forces. The resignation of Secret Service Director Cheatle is the first step toward holding failures accountable, but there is so much work to be done. We need to get to the bottom of this failure, and we need to do it now. Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. We must get answers to the American people.

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, in listening to the ranking member, I think we got way, way off topic. In some cases, people just tuning in may actually think it is a campaign rally. Here to refocus us on what is actually in this bill and what we are talking about is our colleague from Texas--excuse me--our colleague from Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford).

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1370 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. 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

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

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we are here to debate the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 8997 and H.R. 8998. The rule provides for both bills to be considered under structured rules, each with 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their designees, and provides for one motion to recommit for each. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this rule and am in support of the underlying legislation. I hear time and time again that Congress needs to get serious about addressing our debt. This rule provides for consideration of two measures that cut wasteful and unnecessary spending. They responsibly fund the Federal Government, and they support American production, pushing back on the ridiculous Green New Deal agenda under the Biden- Harris administration. H.R. 8997 refocuses spending on things that matter. It eliminates wasteful spending on unnecessary and redundant climate change programs, reins in the out-of-control regulation being implemented by the executive branch, and prohibits funding from being used to promote DEI and CRT initiatives. I don't think I need to go into all the ways misguided DEI efforts are failing. It removes the Department of Energy's role in the LNG export application review process, something that has bipartisan support, and this legislation counters the very real Chinese and Russian threat by investing in national security and American energy production. It should come as no shock to anyone that the Biden-Harris administration has been attacking American energy production at every opportunity, giving up power to adversaries like China and Russia in the process. H.R. 8997 counters these national threats, investing in U.S. energy security and strengthening our economic competitiveness. It funds key nuclear programs to regain America's leadership in the global market, and it safeguards our energy and technology assets from foreign threats. H.R. 8998 right-sizes Federal Government spending, limiting burdensome and unnecessary regulations, respecting taxpayer dollars, and eliminating government waste. It strengthens our national security by encouraging domestic energy production, requiring the government to resume oil and gas leasing and expanding critical mineral access on public lands like those in northern Minnesota. It respects the taxpayer by cutting government waste, including a 20 percent reduction in the EPA, reducing the Council of Environmental Equality to its authorized levels. It removes the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List, an issue that hits home with so many people across this country dealing with the menace of wolves, including in my home State of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, the Biden-Harris agenda does not achieve their stated goals. What it does do is it hurts our domestic producers and gives Russia and China a competitive edge. This legislation takes a serious step to address our debt, strengthen national security, and focus funding where the American people need it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We are doing what the American people sent us to do. We are doing the work. We are introducing appropriations bills, hearing them in committee, sending them through the process in transparency. We are doing that. We have actually passed four appropriations bills off the floor, and that represents the majority of spending. We are moving forward. We are doing the work. If we want to look at who is not doing their work, that may be the Senate Democrats. We have sent bills over, and they just refuse to do anything. What have they been doing with appropriations bills? We have been passing these and sending them there. They have chosen to do nothing. We can just take a look at the tax bill, a negotiated tax bill that had bipartisan support out of the Ways and Means Committee. We passed it off the floor, and they have done nothing, even though that was negotiated. They didn't even live up to the negotiations, the agreements. If we need to look at who is not doing their work, let's look at the Senate Democrats because we absolutely are passing bills, and we are doing our work in transparent ways through the committee process and on the floor. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Weber).

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the left have accused Republicans of wasting time, and I take serious issue with that. Republicans are going through the proper and transparent process to pass these appropriations bills. We are doing serious work. I applaud my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee for the work they have done and for listening to the needs of the American people. The Biden-Harris administration is hell-bent on imposing the radical far-left Green New Deal agenda, and they do not care how much damage they do to the country or to the economy or to the American people in the process. The legislation under the rule today reins in reckless government spending, cuts harmful regulation, and restores independence putting us back in competition on the world stage. As an example, the EPA spends too much of its time and resources creating new regulations to stifle the U.S. economy. When I go home to Minnesota--and I know many of the other Members hear this when they go home--I constantly hear about concerns with regulations largely due to EPA rulemaking. This includes regulations on light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles, electric power plants, and the abuse of the Endangered Species Act. All of these burden businesses and consumers. H.R. 8998 will make significant cuts to these regulations and take meaningful strides toward rightsizing our government. I encourage my Democratic colleagues, particularly those in the Senate, to recognize that this legislation is the will of the people. My colleagues should take it seriously to responsibly fund our government, defend American producers, and address our Nation's debt. My colleagues like to make it sound like Republicans are blindly hacking away at government programs. I, for one, applaud the Appropriations Committee for taking such a thoughtful look at where we can responsibly cut spending. The fact is that we are trillions of dollars in debt, and Americans are facing the highest inflation rates in over 40 years. Families across this country are being forced to tighten their belts. For their sake, it is time for the Federal Government to do the same. We must put a stop to reckless government spending. My Democratic colleagues are not willing to do it and were not willing to do it when the minority was in control, but we are. I call upon the other side to help us get the debt under control. Mr. Speaker, I support the rule and the underlying legislation.

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

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Williams for putting together this Special Order this evening, and I thank Cait Hoosock for being here today. I am so deeply sorry for your loss and the loss of Officer Jensen. Every day, our law enforcement officers leave for work, and their families can never be certain if they will return home. Know that I am grieving with you and praying for you and your family. The increase in violence we have seen against law enforcement in recent years is unacceptable. As Mr. Stauber mentioned, this year in Minnesota, two officers and a firefighter were killed when a man they were negotiating with opened fire without warning. Last year, in my district, Deputy Josh Owen was killed when responding to a domestic violence call. His name will be added to the memorial next week. Mr. Speaker, the attack on law enforcement must stop. All of these officers gave their lives protecting their communities. Every time we hear another story like this, our hearts break all over again. Our law enforcement deserves our gratitude and our respect. I am so disappointed to see many people, including some in this Chamber, trying to make our brave officers into villains. I stand in support of law enforcement, and my Republican colleagues, like you have seen this evening, are doing everything we can to pass legislation to protect and thank our officers. I know that, because of this disgusting movement of hatred toward our officers, we must, but our voices need to be strong. We must support law enforcement. I have introduced legislation to encourage the recruitment of the next generation of law enforcement through a grant program. I have supported legislation to empower officers to do their jobs effectively, and I have asked the Judiciary Committee to investigate the weaponization of government against law enforcement. I will continue to do everything in my power to support our police officers because they support all of us. God bless all of our law enforcement officers, and I thank them for the job that they do.