Marjorie Greene

Ms. GREENE of Georgia

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Madam Chair, actually, there should be no funds allocated to remove any monument, and there is no necessary reason to remove the monuments. This is the Democrats' and the Biden administration's effort to erase our history just as they have done to the statue of Robert E. Lee. This is an outrage. This is exactly what they do in communist countries. The Democrats want to accuse us of book burning while we try to get pornography books out of our children's schools. The Democrats will do nothing to stop their attempts to destroy our Nation's history, and we must protect it. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote for my amendment, and I urge its passage. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am here to inform the House of Representatives that the Committee on Oversight and Accountability has indeed brought forward the receipts in our impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden. Through our investigation, we have uncovered a check to Joe Biden for $200,000. This comes from foreign funds from a country in the Middle East through a struggling company. You can see the check is directly made to Joe Biden. This is what money laundering looks like. We have also uncovered and released today another check to Joseph R. Biden for $40,000. This $40,000 is a check written to him by his brother and sister-in-law, James and Sara Biden, and this check comes from funds directly through money laundering through the CCP. No President of the United States, no Vice President, or no officeholder should ever engage in money laundering, receiving money, selling out their office, selling out their power, and getting paid from foreign countries. We must continue our impeachment inquiry.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of the House and offer the resolution that was previously noticed.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I seek recognition to give notice of my intention to raise a question of the privileges of the House. The form of the resolution is as follows: A resolution censuring Representative Rashida Tlaib for anti-Semitic activity, sympathizing with terrorist organizations, and leading an insurrection at the United States Capitol complex. Whereas, in May 2019, Rashida Tlaib said that she celebrated the Holocaust and felt a ``calming feeling'' when thinking about the genocide of millions of Jews; Whereas, in 2020, Rashida Tlaib retweeted an illustration with the caption, ``From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,'' and this Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, slogan has been adopted by Hamas and calls for the elimination of Israel and death to all Jews; Whereas, in September 2022, Rashida Tlaib, as a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, displayed her disdain for Israel, saying: ``You cannot claim to hold progressive values yet back Israel's apartheid government''; Whereas, instead of denouncing the horrors of Hamas slaughtering Israelis and demanding the release of all hostages held by Hamas, Rashida Tlaib stated on October 8, 2023: ``The path to the future must include lifting the blockade, ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance''; Whereas, Rashida Tlaib exhibited her hatred for America by reposting a message on October 12, 2023, blaming America for allowing the deaths of Palestinian babies at the hands of Israel; Whereas, Rashida Tlaib led an insurrection at the United States Capitol complex on October 18, 2023, which put Members of Congress, their staffs, and Capitol visitors in danger by shutting down elevators, stairwells, and points of egress, while obstructing official business in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, including a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing; Whereas, the insurrection led by Rashida Tlaib was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, which the Anti-Defamation League calls ``a radical anti-Israel activist group that advocates for a complete economic, cultural, and academic boycott of the State of Israel'' and that believes ``Israeli policies and actions are motivated by deeply rooted Jewish racial chauvinism and religious supremacism''; Whereas, members of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a far-left nonprofit organization, were present at the insurrection at the Capitol on October 18, 2023; Whereas, several insurrectionists at the Capitol belong to a group messaging chat called ``Global Intifada,'' which is the Arabic word for ``rebellion'' or ``uprising,'' and refers to a series of protests and violent riots carried out by Palestinians in Israel during the last century; Whereas, by leading an anti-American and anti-Semitic insurrection on October 18, 2023, Rashida Tlaib followed Hezbollah's orders to carry out a ``day of unprecedented anger'' following an explosion at a Gazan hospital, lying about Israel's responsibility for the attack, which United States intelligence agencies said was not perpetrated by Israel; and Whereas, Members of Congress who denounce the United States while praising terrorist organizations are unfit to hold office: Now, therefore, be it resolved that Representative Rashida Tlaib be censured; Representative Rashida Tlaib forthwith present herself in the well of the House of Representatives for the pronouncement of censure; and Representative Rashida Tlaib be censured with the public reading of this resolution by the Speaker.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, my amendment is number 42. I ask unanimous consent to withdraw amendment No. 41.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, my amendment would prohibit funds from being provided to assist Ukraine. Over 1\1/2\ years ago, Russia invaded Ukraine, but now the United States has basically taken over Ukraine and is fighting a proxy war in Ukraine that we never voted for. We are funding their government. We are paying for their small businesses. We are paying their farmers. We are handing military equipment and weapons over to Ukraine and paying for their war. According to the Congressional Research Service, in 2022, the United States provided $113 billion in total assistance to Ukraine. Every single year, the United States spends billions of dollars on foreign aid, much more than any other country. Ukraine has now taken the top spot. The $50 billion State and Foreign Operations bill includes an unspecified funding amount for Ukraine. Section 7046(b)(2) would make funds available for Ukraine to support the ability of the Government of Ukraine to defend their sovereignty and withstand the impacts of Russia's invasion, combat corruption, and promote transparency and democracy. This is nothing more than a blank check for Ukraine that Joe Biden's State Department will get to write. Even more dangerously, they get to waive oversight, claiming national security. All this will do is fuel another never-ending war and push the United States even closer to the brink of nuclear Holocaust. After Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars, haven't we had enough of taxpayer-funded State and foreign operations. They tell us we have to fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here, but paying for wars in foreign countries will eventually have consequences on our country. We will bring the war to America, and we will end up fighting them here when countries have had enough of the United States. After 1\1/2\ years of being engaged in this conflict, the American people no longer support the additional assistance to Ukraine. My amendment will help stop this brutal war and help push for peace in Ukraine, which should be our ultimate goal. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller), my friend.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, it needs to be recognized that we represent the American people, and the polling shows very clearly, the American people do not support continuing to fund a war in a foreign country when our own country has been having a war waged on us by the Mexican cartels. Fifty-five percent of Americans say the U.S. Congress should not authorize additional funding to Ukraine. Fifty-one percent say the U.S. has already done enough to help Ukraine. Americans demand their hard-earned tax dollars be used to secure our own southern border and stop the Mexican cartels' war on America that is killing 300 Americans every single day. Speaking of human trafficking and sex trafficking, we should care about the women and children who are being trafficked at our own southern border, not pay to defend another foreign country and worry about another country which, by the way, is not the 51st State. We only have 50 States in the United States of America, and our tax dollars should pay to defend our States here. Mr. Chair, I urge the House to adopt my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, my amendment would prohibit the Secretary of State from using funds to initiate a drawdown and delivery of defense articles and services from the Department of Defense stocks to Ukraine. Those stockpiles of our equipment and weapons are for the United States of America and should not be sent to Ukraine. I will reiterate and remind everyone: Ukraine is not the 51st State. Just this past weekend when we were sent home, I had an emergency townhall in my district, and many of my constituents showed up. Most of them were veterans, and they made it very clear to me that they would rather fight a war at our southern border against the Mexican cartels that are leading an invasion into our country, thousands and thousands every single day smuggling deadly fentanyl across our border, and many other drugs, killing 300 Americans every single day, than they would ever support a single penny of their hard-earned dollars to go fight a war in Ukraine. Our veterans are fed up, and there are 22 million of them in this country. They want our border defended. The Secretary of State plays a central role in the initiation and coordination of these drawdowns, and they put Ukraine first. Since August 2021, the Secretary has exercised authority delegated by the President to direct 44 drawdowns of defense articles and services from the United States Department of Defense to Ukraine, which, by the way, is not the 51st State. As our southern border is being invaded every day, Joe Biden and Antony Blinken are shipping all of our weapons and equipment to Ukraine. Nearly a week ago, President Biden announced that the Department of Defense is sending an additional security assistance package valued up to $325 million more American hard-earned tax dollars, which would include AIM-9M missiles for air defense; additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems; Avenger air defense systems; 50- caliber machine guns to counter unmanned aerial systems; 155-millimeter artillery rounds; 105-millimeter artillery rounds; tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; over 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition; 59 light tactical vehicles; demolition munitions for obstacle clearing; and spare parts, maintenance, and other field equipment. By the way, that also goes for our paying farmers in Ukraine while our farmers are going broke and paying small businesses in Ukraine while our small businesses are going out of business under Biden's ridiculous inflation. This is America last across the board. This security assistance package will utilize assistance previously authorized under Presidential drawdown authority for Ukraine. This is utterly disgraceful. This administration will continue to deplete our military readiness and strength in favor of fueling another forever war in Ukraine that the American people no longer support. While our own country is weakened and destabilized by the daily invasion of our border at the southern border and the northern border, and while we go even further in debt fighting Russia in Ukraine, not even defending our own border, China is getting stronger. They are beating us economically. They are growing their military, growing their equipment. They are not wasting it on some other country defending their border. They are saving it up to fight us. I am sick and tired of hearing we have to fight Ukraine in order to stop China from invading Taiwan. That is the biggest lie that is being told to the American people. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz).

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Madam Chair, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden), who has also proudly served in the United States military.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Madam Chair, today I will introduce an amendment that uses the Holman rule to slash the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's salary to no more than $1, and $1 is too much money. Let's talk about the job description of the Secretary of Defense. That role oversees the Defense Department and acts as the principal defense policymaker and adviser to the President of the United States. The Department of Defense's mission statement states: ``With our military tracing its roots back to pre-Revolutionary times, the Department has grown and evolved with our Nation. Our mission is to provide the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our Nation's security.'' Secretary Austin has not fulfilled his job duties. As matter of fact, he is destroying our military. During Secretary Austin's tenure, military recruitment has reached crisis levels of low recruitment. The numbers show that the Army expects to fall 15,000 recruits short of its annual recruiting goal this year. The Navy is expecting to be short 10,000 recruits. The Air Force is down another 3,000. This cannot stand, especially with our government funding and fueling a war in Ukraine that is leading us undoubtedly to world war III. Secretary Lloyd Austin failed America with his withdrawal from Afghanistan, making American forces leave in retreat and feeling like a failure. Secretary Austin also forced more than 8,000 troops to be kicked out of the military for refusing the COVID vaccine. My amendment is a strong amendment, and many Americans agree. We do not want the United States military led by failure causing us to be weak. We need to pass my amendment. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Madam Chair, there is no excuse. You can't blame President Trump for the failure in Afghanistan. That failure lies on Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joe Biden, the President of the United States, and his administration. President Trump would have never led our troops to failure in Afghanistan. He would have never abandoned $7 billion worth of military equipment. President Trump would have never left the Afghan people in complete ruin to be controlled by a terrorist government, the Taliban. That is a complete excuse. Democrats need to stop blaming President Trump and his administration for Joe Biden's failures. I urge the House to adopt my amendment, Madam Chair, to take Secretary Lloyd Austin's salary using the Holman rule, which is a rule that allows us to fire failures that are serving our government and serving our country. Lloyd Austin is not serving the United States military. Lloyd Austin is leading the United States into failure. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, my amendment uses the Holman rule, which is different from other amendments that have been introduced. This uses the Holman rule to reduce the salary of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to $1, and $1 is too much money. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has aided and abetted the complete invasion of our country by deliberately flooding our Nation with drugs, terrorists, and illegals from over 160 countries from around the world. The mission of the Department of Homeland Security States right here: ``With honor and integrity, we will safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.'' Being that Secretary Mayorkas has direction, authority, and control over the entire Department, he has failed in his duties to safeguard the American people and our homeland, and he deserves to be fired and impeached. His job is to protect our homeland and strengthen the national security of our country. Yet, his policies, directives, and statements have created a national security crisis, and has tragically resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans each year. Since assuming office, he has allowed approximately 7.5 million illegal encounters at our border; over 250 people on the terrorist watch list to be caught crossing our border, and those are the ones we know of, approximately 1.6 million known got-aways to evade U.S. authorities. Imagine how many we don't even know about. Just this fiscal year alone, Border Patrol arrested over 32,000 illegals with criminal convictions and over 167 MS-13 gang members. Remember, there are 1.6 million that got away. Are these terrorists? Are these gang members? I am sure they are. How many of them have criminal records? Secretary Mayorkas has allowed fentanyl, the number one killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45, to overwhelmingly flood into our country and kill around 300 Americans every single day. This fiscal year alone Border Patrol has seized approximately 24 pounds of fentanyl attempting to be smuggled into the United States. That is enough fentanyl to kill every single American 15 times over, but the fentanyl keeps coming because 300 Americans are dying every single day. His open border policies have allowed unaccompanied children to be exploited, and now over 85,000 of them are unaccounted for. Where are these children? Tens of thousands of other children have been forced into slave labor, and that is according to The New York Times. He has provided copious amounts of baby formula to illegal aliens at one of the largest processing centers in the country, while American mothers and infants were intensely suffering from severe shortages and couldn't find baby formula on the grocery store shelves. He flooded hospital maternity units with illegal aliens, so much so that American mothers were turned away and forced to delay inductions. That was in Yuma, Arizona. He canceled border wall construction contracts established under President Trump that would have secured our Nation's border and was securing our Nation's border, but now the materials lay rusting on the ground. He has repeatedly pulled border agents from actually securing our border and has moved them to processing roles, welcoming committees, leaving huge gaps for the Mexican cartels and drug smugglers to exploit and gain control of our border, and they are controlling our border. He has violated the law by directing DHS to mass-parole illegal aliens into the U.S. when Federal law specifically prohibits this. He has encouraged asylum fraud, abused the credible fear standard, and exercised mass catch-and-release policies. He has turned every single State into a border State. Veterans are even being kicked out of their hotel rooms to make room for illegals. He has even caused approximately a 1,700-percent increase in just one sector of the northern border. He has not only enabled child exploitation, sex and drug trafficking, and fentanyl overdoses, but he has also done everything in his power to put Americans last. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, my amendment will prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from implementing any mask mandate for the employees of the Department. This is an extremely important amendment. Our current appropriation bills completely stop the mandates for vaccines but do not stop the mandates for any future mask mandates. We need to recognize as a country what Americans have already recognized, COVID is over. This is something that we even passed a resolution on, and the President himself signed it, declaring COVID is over. We all know something to be very, very true: Masks don't work. They did not stop the spread of COVID. They were really a violation of people's rights. Even Dr. Anthony Fauci himself said that masks do not prevent the spread of COVID, and he said so in a personal email to one of his friends, advising her not to wear a mask when she flew on an airplane. However, the Biden administration forced our TSA agents, forced everyone to be masked every single time they flew and every single time TSA agents showed up to work. This administration insisted that illegal aliens posed no threat to spreading COVID, yet treated Border Patrol agents as if they were the COVID superspreaders. We saw many migrants come up illegally invading our country with no masks on, a constant, steady stream of thousands and thousands of people coming into our country from countries all over the world, bringing all kinds of diseases, but yet Homeland decided that it was Border Patrol agents and ICE agents who had to be masked, not the people coming into our country illegally, bringing all kinds of diseases with them. They weren't worried about COVID. It was about control. Border Patrol agents and all DHS employees were required to wear masks when fulfilling a number of official duties at a time when there was almost no enforcement of these same mask requirements for these same illegal aliens coming across the border. In light of Democrats' attempts to manufacture the resurgence of COVID, my amendment will protect employees of the Department of Homeland Security against all tyrannical mask mandates. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, this is laughable. This is absolutely pathetic. All the whining and complaining about shutdowns coming from Democrats, who forced shutdowns on Americans by shutting down their businesses, shutting down their freedom of speech, shutting down their churches, shutting down their playgrounds, shutting down beaches, shutting down every human right that Americans possessed, shutting down their freedoms. Listen to Democrats whining and complaining about working late at night. Americans wanted to work late. They wanted to work all the time, but Democrats forced shutdowns. Do you know how many small businesses closed? We don't know the actual number, but it is a casualty to the American Dream. Businesses were forced to shut down, and they went out of business. Children are behind in schooling because their schools shut down, and they were forced to stay home doing virtual schooling. We have kids all over America who can't read, can't do math, and this is all happening under the Biden administration that wants to use all of our hard-earned taxpayer resources to pay for migrant children in our taxpayer-funded schools. Yes, it is important to have an amendment in the Department of Homeland Security appropriation bills forcing there to be no mask mandates because we know the truth: Democrats will do everything they can to bring COVID back, scare Americans, and convince them that a piece of paper strapped on their ears with rubber bands is going to protect them from the man-made COVID-19 virus that came from the Wuhan lab. This is outrageous. I can't listen to the pathetic whining. It really is pathetic. We remember last Congress. Last Congress, Democrats had us in here late at night practically every night. I can remember many times sitting on the House floor waiting for them to get all of their things together and voting past midnight. This is what hard work looks like. We don't want to hear government employees getting a taxpayer-funded paycheck whining about a shutdown when this comes from the very party that shut down America, and we haven't recovered yet. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.