Jim Jordan

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Justices' families; I will correct that. But you guys waited a month to do that when they were being threatened. That is my point. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, what happened in Colorado, as the gentleman referenced, was wrong as wrong could be. We all understand that. But you know what else is wrong? The 100 churches and crisis pregnancy centers that were attacked in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision--actually, when the leak happened. Dozens and dozens of those attacks happened between the leak of the opinion and the opinion itself, all designed to intimidate the Supreme Court. And what did this body do while that was happening and Supreme Court Justices' homes were being--protests, harassed, all kinds of things said about their family, an assassination attempt on one of those justices, Justice Kavanaugh--what did this body do? They waited a month to pass legislation to give our highest court members the protection they needed. This body did that. There is no place for violence. But let's be clear: Let's condemn all of it. Let's do what we can to protect against it, and let's not stay on this concerted effort to intimidate the Court. By the way, Madam Speaker, we have yet to have a hearing on the leak of the Dobbs decision, but in 1 hour and 15 minutes we are going to have a hearing on the fake leak that was brought up about Justice Alito in the Hobby Lobby case. Why can't we get to the bottom of what happened earlier this year with the Dobbs decision that resulted in all that violence--over 100 churches and crisis pregnancy centers attacked? I would like to have a hearing on that. I hope at some point the chairman will--we will look into doing that next year when we convene the new Congress.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. JORDAN. Reclaiming my time, the fact is, the Senate passed the bill and you guys waited a month before we passed it on the House floor, and you know that is accurate.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I would urge a ``no'' vote based on arguments we have made on the floor today. I think this is--I just urge a ``no'' vote. I think this is the wrong way to go. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, just a few minutes ago the chairman of the Judiciary Committee said--the Democrat chair said--this bill is not about the border. That is the problem. That is what we should be addressing. There have been 4 million illegal migrant encounters since Joe Biden has been in office; 1.4 million illegal migrants released into the country; 1 million got-aways; and an administration that says the border is secure. It is laughable. I don't know how they can say that with a straight face. Remember this, too. Remember those border agents on horseback? Remember those guys doing their job on horseback? This administration allowed a lie to fester and grow for months knowing that those guys did nothing wrong. Yeah, this bill is not about the border. It should be. When are the Democrats going to take this issue seriously? We have literally gone from a secure border to no border. When are they going to take it seriously? No, no, they are never going to take it seriously. Obviously, over the last 22 months they haven't done anything to address it, which leads us to--I think the logical conclusion that any American and every American is making is--they are doing this intentionally. Why? I do not know. It has to be intent. It has to be intentional. It has to be deliberate. It has to be premeditated because you can't have this kind of chaos just happen--and now they bring this bill. The bill says veterans who have committed crimes that make them deportable aren't going to be deported. It makes no sense to me. I hope at some point the Democratic Party will wake up. I hope at some point the Biden administration will do what everyone knows needs to be done and get our border secure again. Maybe it would help--maybe it would be a good first step--maybe a good start would be for the President of the United States, who is charged with securing our homeland, securing our border, maybe it would be a good first step if he went to the border. I know the leader of our party has asked him to go. Leader McCarthy has asked him to go. Why don't they go together and help unify the country maybe? Stand up for something that makes sense that we would actually have a border. Maybe that would be a first step, instead of bringing bills like this and not addressing the fundamental problem. A bill that is not about the border--you can say that again because this one sure isn't. This one is not going to address the problem that every American knows is as real as it gets.

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan legislation codifies into law an existing Department of Justice pilot program known as the Rural Responses to the Opioid Epidemic initiative, established during the Trump administration. In 2020, the Trump administration created the new initiative to improve the opioid response and to reduce opioid overdose deaths in America's high-risk rural communities. The initiative enables 21 rural communities to receive existing Department of Justice funding to develop responses in opioid prevention treatment and recovery services. While this work is important, it is also critical that we not lose sight of the dangerous drugs like fentanyl that are so easily trafficked across our southern border. The Biden border crisis is making America's drug crisis worse. We have seen record numbers of drug seizures like fentanyl, encounters of illegal aliens, and apprehensions of suspected terrorists at the southern border. For example, in fiscal year 2022, Customs and Border Protection seized over 14,000 pounds of fentanyl at the border and up to 10,000 pounds in fiscal year 2021 and 4,500 pounds in fiscal year 2020. Oh, by the way, these drugs are only what CBP officers catch. We do not know the amount of dangerous drugs that have slipped through the gaps due to President Biden's open border policies, but there is no mistake that drug cartels and illegal aliens are taking advantage of the crisis at our border. Meanwhile, our drug crisis continues to spiral out of control. We have seen the sad reality that overdose deaths in America reached an all-time high last year. An estimated 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021, an increase of approximately 15 percent from the previous year. Overdose deaths involving both opioids and synthetic opioids like fentanyl sharply increased in 2021 compared to the year before. These dangerous drugs are killing Americans at record levels and destroying families and communities across America. Communities in rural America have been particularly hard-hit by the opioid crisis. While passage of this legislation will continue the important work started by President Trump's administration to help rural communities combat this crisis, we must do more. We must also take actions to address the Biden border crisis and stem the flow of illicit drugs flowing into our country. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra), my good friend.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Feenstra for his work on the legislation. We support the litigation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 4834 reauthorizes the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction for an additional 2 years. In 2008, Congress passed the PROTECT Our Children Act, which required the attorney general to develop and implement a National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction. The PROTECT Our Children Act formally authorized the Internet Crimes Against Children task forces. These task forces support State and local law enforcement agencies in combating online enticement of children and the proliferation of online child sexual abuse material. Since its inception, nearly 90,000 individuals have been arrested because of complaints reviewed by these task forces. They not only put the dangerous criminals behind bars, but they also provide outreach to communities to spread awareness about and, hopefully, prevent internet crimes against kids. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office established the Patents for Humanity program as a pilot program in 2012 to recognize noteworthy inventions that address humanitarian problems. The program has honored inventions relating to water purification, infectious diseases, crop yields, and infant mortality, among others. Winners are awarded certificates that grant acceleration of certain matters before the USPTO, such as examination of a future patent application. The Patents for Humanity program provides an incentive to encourage innovation in areas important to addressing humanitarian needs of today and the future. It does this without costing taxpayers a penny and without the need to raise user fees at the PTO. This is a very important distinction. This bill would also allow this successful pilot program to continue as a congressionally approved program. The Senate version of this bill on the floor today is almost identical to the version the House passed this past spring with just a few minor changes. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN

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

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 3372 authorizes the Attorney General to provide grants to community-based nonprofits to operate one stop reentry centers. The biggest problem, though, is the Department of Justice already does exactly what this bill would require it to do. The Second Chance Act of 2007, reauthorized by Congress and signed into law by President Trump in the First Step Act of 2018, provides comprehensive assistance to individuals in transition from prison back to the community. This bill is duplicative. It is redundant, and maybe, most importantly, the Democrats know that. Last Congress, the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing. The majority's own briefing memo for that hearing highlighted the reporting center in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. And the center said this: It was a community-based correctional program that has been designed to provide services for its participants at one location. This is the exact type of program outlined in H.R. 3372. And indeed the center's program received a grant from the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance. In fact, the name of that grant is Smart Supervision: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and Creating Safer Communities. H.R. 3372 is duplicative of efforts found in the Second Chance Act under which nonprofit entities are eligible for grant funds. While we want successful reentry programs to reduce recidivism, we should not be creating duplicative and additional bureaucracy in the process. Also, the bill encourages State, Indian Tribes, and local governments to employ sex offenders, murderers, and human traffickers, and other dangerous criminals to operate the reentry service assistance hotlines. H.R. 3372 authorizes $7.5 million in grants to States, Indian Tribes, and local governments to operate these reentry service assistance hotlines that direct individuals to local reentry services. It requires the Attorney General to give preference to applicants who would employ people to operate the hotlines, ``who have been convicted of an offense or have served a term of imprisonment and have completed any court-ordered supervision. But the bill provides no exceptions for violent offenders, such as sex offenders, murderers, human traffickers, and other dangerous criminals. While it might be appropriate to employ certain offenders who have demonstrated full rehabilitation, Congress should not be incentivizing local communities to hire certain offenders who may not have been rehabbed. What should we be doing? Spending our time, our limited time, in addressing the rampant crime epidemic in America. Cities are rejecting lenient, soft-on-crime policies and encouraging prosecutors to actually enforce the law. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), a respected member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Again, I would just point out that that is not what the legislation says. It says the Attorney General shall give preference for hiring folks, that I described in my opening statement, to answer these hotlines. So what the gentlewoman from Texas, my friend, said is just not accurate. It doesn't reflect what is in the bill itself. That's not the first thing she said today that is not accurate. Earlier, the gentlewoman made a statement. I wrote it down: Isolated programs will not help Americans. How do you know? Which isolated programs are you talking about? I assume you were talking about the one I referenced in Pennsylvania that is doing exactly the same thing this bill seeks to do. Have you checked that program out? If they don't help Americans, then whom do they help? Are they helping illegal immigrants? I don't know. Again, all I am saying is it is important when we have these debates we stick to the facts. For the reasons I outlined before, Mr. Speaker, we oppose the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I would just point out there is nothing in the bill that requires that you screen these individuals. It says you are supposed to hire these folks with that past criminal record to answer the hotlines. That is what the bill says. If you want to amend it to say no, that they have to be screened even more before you let them answer the phones, that is not what the legislation says. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, it requires the Department of Justice to issue a report. Seeing how the Department of Justice is already doing what is authorized in this bill, it would be kind of nice, frankly, to have this report done before we spend an additional $59 million over the next several years. Mr. Speaker, for the reason we outlined against the legislation itself--it is redundant, it allows people with a violent past to work at these facilities, and it actually encourages them to be the preference for answering the hotlines at these facilities, and for those reasons we are opposed to the legislation. Mr. Speaker, I oppose the amendment as well, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop), a valued member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).