Matt Gaetz

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mrs. Roslyn Chatman as the 2022-2023 Walton County Educational Support Professional of the Year. Since 2008, Mrs. Chatman has served the Walton County School District with exceptional passion and an unwavering commitment to serving others. In Northwest Florida, we are fortunate to have some of the best educational support professionals in the Nation. It is recognized that the position of Paraprofessional can be taxing but can also be so rewarding. Mrs. Chatman has performed her many duties without question or hesitation and does so with an encouraging smile towards all those she encounters. Mrs. Chatman is revered by her principal and colleagues for her positive attitude and willingness to go above and beyond the scope of her job duties. She selflessly considers the needs of both students and staff because of the immense pride she has for her school. Her support and outreach extend far beyond the hearts and minds of her own students through her willingness to help wherever assistance is needed. Mrs. Chatman has displayed dedicated teamwork by assisting with after-school events, including Title I Nights, carnivals, and tutoring. I commend her for her steadfast willingness to serve as an example for those that matter most, the students and youth of our Nation. For all of these admirable contributions, I am truly proud to have Mrs. Chatman as a constituent in Florida's First Congressional District. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to recognize Mrs. Roslyn Chatman for her accomplishments and her commitment to excellence, professionalism, and innovation in the Walton County School District. I thank her for her service and wish her all the best for continued success.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Captain Allen C. Brady, United States Navy, Retired, on the selfless life he has led during some of the most historical and pivotal moments of the past century. He has engaged in and witnessed events that have shaped our country, and his sacrifices in defense of our Nation and our freedoms cannot be overstated. His willingness to stand ready through nearly 30 years of service, his resolve during 2,237 days of captivity and torture in North Vietnam, and his selflessness in continuing his leadership and passing on his experience to junior ranks following his release, is nothing short of exemplary. On behalf of the entire Northwest Florida community and a grateful Nation, I would like to thank Captain Brady for his years of faithful service, devotion to duty, and commitment to excellence. His journey is one that will resound for years on what makes this country great. For all he did for his country, I am truly proud to have Captain Brady as a constituent in Florida's First Congressional District. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to recognize Captain Allen C. Brady for his accomplishments and commitment to this country. I thank him for his service and offer my warmest regards and best wishes to him and his family.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Ms. Shelly Hinojosa as the 2022-2023 Walton County Teacher of the Year. For nine years, Ms. Hinojosa has served the Walton County School District with exceptional passion and an unwavering commitment to serving others. In Northwest Florida, we are fortunate to have some of the best teachers in the Nation. Teaching is one of the most difficult yet rewarding professions in existence. Ms. Hinojosa has excelled in teaching her students, while also striving to be an active and supportive member of her community. Ms. Hinojosa is revered by her principal and colleagues for her willingness to always lend a helping hand. From her fresh ideas and innovative problem-solving skills, her school and students have greatly benefitted from her hard work. Her support and outreach extend far beyond the walls of her classroom through her involvement as Yearbook Sponsor, College & Career Advisor, School Improvement Team member and School Digital Contact Lead. Moreover, Ms. Hinojosa shows her students each and every day that it is okay to have fun and still demand excellence from yourself. I commend her steadfast willingness to serve those that matter most, the students and youth of our Nation. For all her admirable contributions, I am truly proud to have Ms. Hinojosa as a constituent in Florida's First Congressional District. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to recognize Ms. Shelly Hinojosa for her accomplishments and her commitment to excellence, professionalism and innovation in the Walton County School District. I thank her for her service and wish her all the best for continued success.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Madam Speaker, how much more for Ukraine? Is there any limit? Which billionth dollar really kicks in the door? Which redline that we set will we not later cross? China reminds us that we have real issues. China began its offensive against our homeland by infiltrating our universities, stealing our innovations, buying off our politicians, and surveilling our citizens, all the while capturing the loyalty of America's most powerful corporations. China's influence is overtaking ours, even in our own hemisphere. Our conflict with China may turn very hot very soon. Many believe we are currently in the window of a possible invasion of Taiwan. If not deterred, such an invasion would immediately make life worse for virtually every American. Tomorrow, President Biden will tell us how much more we must do for Ukraine. Look around your house. How much stuff is made in Ukraine or even Russia, for that matter? Next, do China. If you are watching this speech on a smartphone, you are likely using Taiwanese technology. So why Ukraine, a country that just rounded up dozens of senior leaders in its government over overt corruption? Perhaps the answer is as simple as the Hunter Biden life motto: a grifter's gotta grift. The amount of money we now pour into Ukraine makes Burisma's wildest dreams of wealth through Biden family influence seem meek by comparison. Defense contractors need there to be a war going on somewhere, whether the arms end up in the hands of ISIS, the Taliban, the Azov battalion, or on the black market. They get rich in the business of weapons supply, but only when there is weapons demand. A serious nation would never let foreign interests abroad or special interests here at home dictate its foreign policy. The interests of our countrymen must morally compel our greater attention. As the war slogs on in Ukraine, the benefits to Americans are unclear. Bandits in the Sinaloa mountains hurt more Americans than the men in Crimea, but foreigners come to Washington to lecture us about spending our constituents' money on a conflict thousands of miles away, and my colleagues are eager to oblige. On this floor, Zelenskyy's demands got bipartisan standing ovations-- from most. Stingers, HIMARS, tanks, at first, we said no to all of these things. President Biden even said that some of these things might lead to world war III, yet we sent all of them. F-16s are likely still. Lockheed Martin sure is confident that Ukraine will get F-16s. They told the Financial Times recently that they are already ramping up production. Create the demand; provide the supply. This is escalating. We are placing trust in leaders who do not deserve trust. John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman who assured us the Afghan military would withstand the Taliban offensive, now says that there is no risk that Putin will go nuclear. The risk of miscalculation in Ukraine is much, much higher than getting it wrong in Afghanistan. A nuclear war between Russia and the United States would end human life as we know it. Yet, President Biden is doing everything possible to provoke such a disaster. And for what? The actions we are taking are not going to end the war in Ukraine. In fact, we are probably prolonging the killing. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians will die this year because Congress feels good when it sends instruments of death and billions in cash. Many dollars meant for the war in Afghanistan ended up in bank accounts in Switzerland and Dubai. To where will we trace the bounty of the Ukrainian grift? This war could end tomorrow if we pursue negotiation, but Biden refuses. Not only do we arm the Ukrainian military, we pay their politicians' salaries. The $113 billion in aid included funding of the Ukrainian Government. We can and must push for peace. You don't really hear that from many people these days with the exception of President Trump. Trump is right to recognize that we are on the brink of world war III and that immediate action for peace is necessary to stop disaster. Unfortunately, there is a bipartisan coalition working to continue the war. When Elon Musk proposed a peace plan, Nikki Haley attacked him saying that we ``shouldn't push our weight on them.'' This is, of course, nonsense. We have pushed billions of dollars on them. We can simultaneously pressure North Korea and China from supplying Russia, and we ought to do so.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership and for yielding. The ATF's new rule criminalizing pistol braces is a brazen and unlawful attempt to usurp congressional authority. This pistol brace rule will fail for the same reason the bump stock rule failed: The ATF does not have the authority to create Federal law. Nobody voted for the ATF, though I know a lot of people who would vote against them if they could. This new rule will ban pistol braces on certain firearms, forcing users to jump through numerous hoops to comply with this new decree or risk becoming a felon. Disabled veterans and others have used these braces for years to help them fire pistols, and the ATF has unilaterally decided that this is no longer acceptable. Now, otherwise law-abiding Americans will either have to destroy their newly illegal firearms, or figure out how to comply with an arbitrary and confusing regulatory scheme outlined in the National Firearms Act. The ATF cannot be trusted to protect our rights to keep and bear arms. There is no timeline in which the ATF, under any administration, would become an ally. It needs to go. We need to abolish the ATF before they abolish our Second Amendment rights. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be the name of a chain of convenience stores in Florida, not a Federal agency. I urge every red-blooded American and every conservative in this Congress to stand with Representative Clyde on his legislation, and to stand with me and cosponsor my bill, the Abolish the ATF Act of 2023. Let's get rid of this unlawful agency once and for all, and let this Special Order be considered a shot across the bow.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mrs. Shawna Crist as the Okaloosa County Education Support Employee of the Year. Plew Elementary School is lucky to have someone like Mrs. Crist who serves the school with passion and an unwavering commitment to its success. Mrs. Crist spent 13 years as an excellent teacher before working in education support. Her accomplishments include being selected as the Baker School Teacher of the Year in 1990 and the Teacher of the Year for Bluewater Elementary and Okaloosa County in 1994. After her teaching career, she became a full-time volunteer at Plew Elementary where she received the 2012 Senior Adult Volunteer of the Year Award. Mrs. Crist is currently the Media Assistant for Plew Elementary, where she enjoys working to share ideas with others throughout Okaloosa County that promote the school and its students. She constantly strives to be the best and provide the best as well. I applaud her for her unwavering commitment to serving the students of Okaloosa County. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to recognize Mrs. Crist for her many accomplishments and her commitment to excellence and professionalism in the Okaloosa County School District. I thank her for her service and wish her all the best for her continued success.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Royal Preston as the Okaloosa County Teacher of the Year. For several years, Mr. Preston has served Okaloosa Technical College with talent, passion, and an unwavering commitment to good education. Northwest Florida is fortunate to have some of the best teachers in the country. The teaching profession is one of the most challenging yet rewarding professions in existence. Mr. Preston has performed his teaching duties exceptionally while also being an active and supportive member of his community. Mr. Preston's support and outreach extend far beyond the walls of his classroom through his active involvement in his school and community. Mr. Preston worked as a building contractor, building over 200 houses and commercial projects. While Teaching Building Trades and Carpentry for 29 years, he is passionate about sharing his craft and skills with his students. I commend him for his steadfast willingness to serve those that matter most--the students and the next generation of Americans. I am truly proud to have Mr. Preston as a constituent in Florida's First Congressional District. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to recognize Mr. Preston for his many accomplishments and his commitment to excellence, professionalism, and innovation in the Okaloosa County School District. I thank him for his service and wish him all the best for his continued success.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, does it feel sometimes like we are living in a crazy sci-fi movie where powerful entities and interests are trying to control what we see and what we hear and what we read? Because they ultimately want to dominate what we think and how we behave. My fellow Americans, there is a broad effort underway to deplatform, demonetize, and destroy anyone who has a conservative America First perspective. We have seen this with ``Newsmax,'' with ``One America News.'' We saw Google work to demonetize ``The Federalist'' and my question is this: When did we become so frail as a country? When did we take the position that if we saw something we didn't agree with that somehow that would dehumanize us and limit our ability to participate in meaningful dialogue? I think we became that frail when the left started to say that words were violence, which they are not. Speech is what liberates us from violence. It gives us an alternative path, but people get frustrated and concerned when they see that the choices that they want to make in telecommunications or the digital world are deemed unacceptable by the powers that be. When did this realignment happen? I remember when I was in school, it was always the liberals, the classical liberals that wanted this robust marketplace of ideas, and it was a few conservatives who didn't want you to see certain things or look at certain things or read certain things. Now it has like totally flipped the script because they have such a low view of our fellow Americans. So what are we going to do about it? The Energy and Commerce Committee should be holding hearings on this. The Department of Justice antitrust entities should be looking into whether or not this is too much of a concentration of power in entities like AT&T and DIRECTV that are stifling ``Newsmax'' and ``One America News'' and even Google's terrible work to try to demonetize ``The Federalist.'' I also believe that in the House Judiciary Committee we should ask these questions seriously and encourage the Department of Justice to take action. By the way, if you are a shareholder out there in AT&T, I would encourage you to pursue a derivative suit. Why is it that some of these woketopians that sit on these boards in these senior leadership positions are devaluing the stock you own, limiting access to popular channels because they don't like the viewpoint? They don't like you, and they don't care about an America where the values that undergird the Constitution are more important than the terms of service that we see at Big Tech companies. I thank my colleague, Ken Buck, for having led on these issues for many years. There is much work ahead for the Biden administration, for Article III courts, and for this very Congress.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Chair, I rise at the urging of Republicans in the Florida delegation who are overwhelmingly supportive of the underlying legislation but who seek to make it a little better by ensconcing some of the policy articulations of the Trump administration regarding where drilling can and cannot occur offshore into the body of the bill. There is no denying that since President Trump left office, Joe Biden has overseen a collapse of U.S. energy dominance. This legislation is a great first step to fulfill the Republican commitment to attack inflation and rising gas prices, and that begins by stopping playing politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. On September 8, 2020, President Trump issued a memo indicating that there would be certain areas off the shore of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina that would not be available for drilling leases. Offshore drilling is broadly opposed in coastal communities in these areas by local governments, many of which had submitted to President Trump previously, and to congressional offices, resolutions indicating their opposition to offshore oil drilling. They largely cite two reasons: environmental policy and the impact on property values in coastal communities. I will speak to the impact of offshore oil drilling on the military mission in these areas. In the Gulf of Mexico test range, in the 10 years preceding my time in Congress, there were about 60 test sorties that the Air Force would run off the coast of Florida. Already scheduled for 2024, there will be over 240 of those test sorties, and that does not include the tremendous amount of testing that also occurs as a consequence of actions from the U.S. Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and other private-sector partners. Moreover, just 6 years ago, off the coast of Florida, one could only take a 100-mile shot in air-to-air training, research, development, test, and evaluation. Due to the investment we have been able to make in the Gulf test range in telemetry systems and radar systems, we can now take a 425-mile shot. That is important because we need the capability to test component parts of hypersonic weapons systems and supersonic weapons systems so that America always holds the high ground. There is no other place in the world where we do this testing. There is exquisite connectivity between offshore test ranges and onshore land ranges where we are able to launch missiles and munitions over the sea and land them on land. There is nowhere else in the world we have the opportunity to do that. It is odd that I have to continue to say this on the floor of the House, but it is a terrible idea to launch experimental missiles over oil rigs and the various ships that traverse back and forth to shore for the personnel and for the maintenance that is required to maintain those rigs. There are a lot of great places where we can unlock the potential of our country to ensure that we have a sufficient Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is the essence of the bill. This amendment gives my colleagues in Florida great comfort that none of the treatment of existing moratoriums would in any way harm coastal Florida, coastal Georgia, or coastal South Carolina. Mr. Chair, I urge the adoption of the amendment, and I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. Rodgers).

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

Mr. GAETZ. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. GAETZ. Is the gentleman concerned about the impact of some of those wind farms on migratory bird populations?

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, last night, Florida's First Congressional District lost an American hero who endured the tragedy of Pearl Harbor--Chief Warrant Officer Frank Emond. In 1938, Frank enlisted in the Navy as a French horn player where he went on to become band director. On December 7, 1941, Frank was preparing to play ``Morning Colors'' on the USS Pennsylvania when at 7:55 a.m., a line of Japanese planes came from the east with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Frank boldly walked to the conductor stand, picked up his baton, and proceeded to direct the band in ``The Stars and Stripes Forever.'' Frank Emond was a true patriot who deeply impacted the lives that he touched doing what he loved to do: music. Frank led the Pensacola Civic Band, the U.S. Air Force Band's Airmen of Note, and currently holds the Guinness World Record as the world's oldest conductor. My greatest condolences to Frank Emond's family. Thank you, Frank, for being an American hero. Your legacy is woven into the history of this country and this Congress.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. My friends, when Donald Trump was President, taxes were cut, regulations were slashed, energy was abundant, wages were rising, capital was returning from overseas to fund the dreams and ambitions of our fellow Americans, and the economy was roaring. What a contrast to what we have seen from this administration now. I rise to nominate Donald Trump for the position of Speaker of the House. For all of the vitriol that we hear from the media and at times the left, there were great moments of bipartisanship under the Trump Presidency. The Democrat nominee for Speaker knows that well because he led valiantly on the efforts for criminal justice reform, and I was honored to join him. I know no matter who is sitting in that Speaker chair, we have got a lot of work to do on that very issue. We took a first step, but there is a second step and a third step to take. I am glad that we were able to work with President Trump, with Republicans, and with Democrats to provide real outcomes for Americans to create greater prosperity and more opportunity. I also care deeply about President Trump's focus on our Nation's veterans. It seems for far too long on the campaign trail, veterans were disregarded, forgotten about. When we would get elected to office, their issues would not always rise and get center stage, but we were able to pass veterans' accountability measures. We were able to actually get people fired at the VA who weren't doing their job. What a great thing that would be to extend, to continue, and to continue to nourish. President Trump oriented our views on trade so that we actually put the American people first, not foreign interests abroad or special interests here at home. President Trump knew that we had to confront China, that China had already engaged in a trade war against us, but it was a war that we were surrendering, and so we started to fight back. He stood with our farmers. On foreign policy, we stopped trying to find a new Jeffersonian democracy to build out of sand and blood and Arab militias in the Middle East. As a matter of fact, President Trump, I believe, is the first President in my lifetime who didn't start any new wars. This is an issue that I know unites some elements of the right and left for the benefit of our communities. This government for far too long has been deeply corrupt. This town has been deeply corrupt. The way people get leadership positions and chairmanships and opportunities to be able to morally preen has been by accepting lobbyist and special interest money and redistributing that money as currency for favors. That is not a criticism of either political party. It is a criticism of what we have allowed to happen in this place. If we just go next man up on our side of the aisle, we will reify that corrupt system, and we will abandon the people who are expecting us to fight for them. I have heard from my colleagues about all the important work we have to do, and it is my sincere fear that if we were to allow Mr. McCarthy to assume the Speakership, that would not get done, that it would be business as usual, and the very same things that have paralyzed progress for both parties would continue to shackle us to never-ending failure. We can be better than that. We can raise our gaze, indeed. We also have to restore to the Speaker's office an actual person that ought to be in the Speaker's office, not the squatter who is currently there. If the Architect of the Capitol is listening, I have sent a letter. I would like to know what the basis is to allow somebody to occupy the Speaker's office who comes in second place 10 straight times. Is there some basis in law or rule or precedent for that? I nominate President Trump because we must make our country great again, and he can start by making the House of Representatives great again.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago today, a Saudi Air Force officer with ties to al-Qaida attacked Naval Air Station Pensacola resulting in the deaths of Ensign Joshua Kaleb, Airman Apprentice Cameron Walters, and Airman Mohammed Haitham; this also included the injury of eight others, including brave sheriff's deputies and sailors. Saudi Arabia had the responsibility to screen and monitor their officers, and they failed. The family members who lost their loved ones live with this pain every day, and the Saudi Government's initial promise made directly to me that they would compensate the grieving families has resulted in nothing. For this reason, I am introducing the Saudi Arabia December 6, 2019, Anti-Terror and Accountability Act. This bill would prohibit the DOD from funding any Saudi-led proxy wars and would end the export of weapons and logistical services to Saudi Arabia. This legislation would halt the military officer exchange programs with Saudi Arabia. It would also set aside $10 million within the state-sponsored terrorism fund so that the victims would be able to be compensated. The legislation is budget neutral as it draws from a reallocation from funds that would otherwise go to a war in Ukraine. It is time that we demonstrate national solidarity on the anniversary of this terrorist attack. We should send Saudi Arabia a message, not more weapons.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Madam Speaker, I want to honor the legacy of Michael Beedie, who has recently announced his departure as Fort Walton Beach, Florida's City Manager. Michael has been serving Fort Walton Beach--the city he was born and raised in--since 2005, when he started as City Engineer. As a licensed engineer in the State of Florida with a background in Civil Engineering, Michael is a perfect example of the exceptional value someone brings to the community through dedicated service. After four years of service as the City Engineer, Michael became the Engineering & Utility Services Director, overseeing city employees spanning the areas of code enforcement, construction services, facilities maintenance, engineering, and more. Michael possesses exceptional vigor, dedication, and successful management skills that resulted in his promotion to City Manager in 2012. Since then, he has served his community for more than ten years. His work to improve the city's recreational facilities, expand development, promote efficiency, and responsibly manage the city's budget is exemplary. While he will not be in City Hall to oversee the completion of his latest work, Fort Walton Beach is destined for success in the many years ahead. I am proud to have worked with Michael for many years in many roles. He has the heart of a servant and the brain of a curious innovator. I am as proud to wish him well as I have been to call him a neighbor and friend.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, it is head-spinning that House Democrats either want to defund the police, as Judiciary member Cori Bush does, or they want to Federalize the police, as Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler does. I am against both, here is why. In my community, the voters in one of the reddest counties in Florida voted to raise their own taxes to fund school resource officers. Protecting our schools was that important, and we understood that that was the responsibility of our community. Now, as places like Detroit, Chicago, almost every major metropolitan area in California, defund their police as some virtue signal, as some way to sacrifice the safety of their constituents on the altar of wokeism, now they want my Florida constituents to subsidize the bad decisions that they make at the State and local level, both constitutionally and practically. The police power is not a power of the Federal Government, it is a power of our State and local governments. When we excessively entangle ourselves in that, we do to law enforcement what we shamefully did to education. In our schools all across this land there was innovation, creativity, school projects, different ways to learn. Then the Republicans and Democrats joined with President Bush in passing the No Child Left Behind Act, and we got Common Core, in this theory that we had to have every kid on the same page, in the same book, on the same day, and we lost what was so special about it. We don't want to do that now to law enforcement. You see, this entire package of legislation today is intended to do just that. They don't want to fund the police. They want to edict the police to the Federal dollar. That comes with a more efficient way to ensure centralized decisionmaking, not the localized decisionmaking that our Constitution promises, and that has offered great promise to this country for generations. Do not buy this theory that this legislation is intended to help law enforcement. The best thing we could do for law enforcement is get out of their way, have their back, and call out the politicians like those in Congress who keep trying to defund the police and devalue the commitment they make to our communities.

Mr. GAETZ

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

Mr. GAETZ

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

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Madam Speaker, my first vote on September 13, 2022, was not cast because of a proxy vote communications error. Further, my letter sent to the Clerk of the U S. House of Representatives on September 13, 2022, altered my proxy designation before Role Call No. 421, which was received and verified pursuant to H. Res. 8. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 421.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the life and accomplishments of Vincent Ungro. With his passing on September 5, 2022, America lost a true patriot. Vincent, also known as Vinny to friends and family, was a proud American from Staten Island. He had a heart of gold and a head for politics. Vinny was never afraid to voice his opinions and beliefs, regardless of what others might think. He ran the popular `Conservative Dad' Facebook page, where he advocated for conservatism and capitalism. Family and friends will remember Vinny for fighting for what he believed in. His passion for politics is only matched by his love for the New York Islanders and Metallica. In addition to being a 2020 National Pulse Writing Fellow, Vinny was a member and supporter of the New York Young Republican Club. He also cared deeply for animals and loved working for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). As much as Vinny loved politics, family mattered most to him. He cherished his parents, Stephen and Jean; his wife, Judith; his children, Steve, Nicholas, Gabriella, and Mia; and grandkids, Madison, Gabriella, Natalie, and Oliver. Vinny was an extraordinary individual, and he will be missed by all. Madam Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I recognize the remarkable life lived by Vincent Ungro today. I thank him for all he did for his community and country.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Chair, I was unable to make it to the floor in time for the first vote today for the purpose of constituent outreach. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 379. Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress Auchincloss (Beyer) Barragan (Beyer) Bowman (Neguse) Boyle, Brendan F. (Beyer) Carter (TX) (Weber (TX)) Correa (Beyer) Crist (Wasserman Schultz) Demings (Kelly (IL)) Escobar (Garcia (TX)) Foster (Spanberger) Gallego (Soto) Gosar (Weber (TX)) Houlahan (Spanberger) Kahele (Kelly (IL)) Katko (Joyce (OH)) Keating (Beyer) Kirkpatrick (Pallone) Lawson (FL) (Evans) Leger Fernandez (Kuster) Meng (Kuster) Moore (WI) (Beyer) Newman (Beyer) Palazzo (Fleischmann) Pingree (Kuster) Porter (Neguse) Salazar (Kim (CA)) San Nicolas (Takano) Sires (Pallone) Smucker (Keller) Stevens (Kuster) Taylor (Weber (TX)) Thompson (MS) (Bishop (GA)) Walorski (Fleischmann) Williams (GA) (Neguse) Wilson (SC) (Norman) Amendment No. 137 Offered by Ms. Tlaib

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, maybe someone should have sent an active shooter alert to police in Uvalde. Wait. They had the alert. They were in a school building with an active shooter and didn't take action. America is at her best when she encourages her citizens to have safe, responsible gun ownership. But under Democrats, instead, we have a government that instead wants to stigmatize and scare people about guns. Mr. Speaker, imagine you are at a concert with 5,000 people and everyone gets an alert on their phone ``active shooter'' because six blocks away there was a gunfire that went off. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it was a tragedy. Would that make the circumstance safer? Of course not. It would lead to stampede, tragedy, hysteria, mistake, perhaps even more death. This bill is like yelling ``fire'' in a movie theater, except the fire is in another movie theater across the street. The bill makes no mention of distance requirements. Will we be notified of any active shootings within 1 mile, 5 miles, 10 miles? What is an active shooter? A drive-by in an inner city? A spousal murder in a suburb? If you live in or near Democrat-run cities, it sounds like your phone will be buzzing off the hook. Some of our cities have shootings every day where multiple people are injured, and often this happens in the jurisdictions with the most intense and liberty-depriving gun control. The bill states that an active shooter is defined as an individual ``determined to pose an active, imminent threat to people in a populated area.'' That sounds like a sizable amount of the people walking around the south side of Chicago every day. Who is making this determination? Is it in a millisecond? By the time the alerts go out, it may be far too late to do any good. This bill is useless and foolish. Working on police response times is, of course, a worthy goal, a worthy goal for the States where the Constitution resides the police power. But alerting thousands of people to what may or may not have happened 30 minutes ago or 30 blocks away is, in fact, dangerous. So one has to ask: What is the true purpose of this bill? Why do the Democrats want to use the power of government to bombard your cellphone with active shooter alerts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? It is because they want you to be afraid of the Second Amendment. It is because they want you to be afraid of responsible gun ownership. They hope that if they program you and bombard you long enough, that you will hate your own Second Amendment rights, or you may tattle on your neighbor who is lawfully and rightfully exercising theirs. The American people should not fall for this.

Mr. GAETZ

Mr. GAETZ. Madam Speaker, I hereby remove my name as cosponsor of H.R. 2107.