Robert Latta

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1343) to codify the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences and to direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to establish an initiative to support the development of emergency communication and tracking technologies, and for other purposes.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), who is the bill's sponsor and the vice chairman of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I also urge support of H.R. 1353, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill, including an exchange of letters with the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my legislation, H.R. 1339, the Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act, that I was pleased to introduce with the gentlewoman from Illinois' Second District. For years, large parts of my district and rural areas across America have lacked access to fast broadband connections. Reliable internet access is more than just being able to stream your favorite TV shows and movies, Mr. Speaker. It is the crucial link connecting us all. Whether it is helping seniors access telehealth services or allowing students to complete homework assignments or enabling small businesses to reach global markets, our people, country, and economy run on a reliable internet connection. Farmers in rural Ohio also know that reliable broadband connections are essential to their operations. After all, it helps deploy technologies that increase their productivity, produce higher yields, and minimize operating costs. Today's smart agriculture technology, from autonomous tractors to distributed soil sensors, rely on internet connections to share data. In fact, farmers use information in real time to make smarter decisions on how to optimize inputs and whether and when to plant or harvest. When terrestrial or cellular networks are not available, satellite broadband steps in to make these technologies work. However, it is not just advanced satellite broadband capabilities that improve precision agriculture. Earth imaging satellites also provide important information that can help farmers and ranchers identify visual trends that may require immediate attention. As we heard in hearings before the Energy and Commerce Committee, satellite communications technologies can offer an array of services that may promote precision agriculture. In order to ensure our regulations maximize these opportunities, our legislation directs the FCC to evaluate its rules and identify potential changes that could further promote precision agriculture. I am committed to ensuring our farmers have the tools needed at their disposal to help increase productivity while minimizing costs. This legislation is a good step forward in that mission. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Washington, DC, April 24, 2023. Hon. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chair, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Ms. Chair: I am writing concerning H.R. 1339, the ``Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act'', which your committee reported on April 24, 2023. H.R. 1339 contains provisions within the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology's Rule Xjurisdiction. As a result of your having consulted with the Committee and in order to expedite this bill for floor consideration, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will forego action on the bill. This is being done on the basis of our mutual understanding that doing so will in no way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology with respect to the appointment of conferees, or to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or similar legislation. I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming this understanding, and would request that you include a copy of this letter and your response in in the Congressional Record during the floor consideration of this bill. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, Frank D. Lucas, Chairman.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I also urge the passage of H.R. 1339, the Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, legislation offered by our majority leader that will fulfill House Republicans' commitment to America and focuses on one of the most pressing issues facing communities in Ohio and across the country. Over the past 2 years, I have heard from countless people in Ohio's Fifth District that the soaring cost of energy has negatively impacted family budgeting, business operations, and agricultural output. One retired individual told me that his gas budget plan went from $100 a month to $160. Farmers in my district were hit hard because of the need to fuel their farm equipment and purchase fertilizer and other materials made from petroleum products. In 2022, operating costs for ag producers went up a whopping 30 percent. This resulted in higher food and grocery costs for consumers, eating up a larger share of the family budget. There is no way around it: Energy plays a huge role in America's economy. Plants in northern Ohio, such as glass, steel, and food processing, depend on reliable and affordable energy. When I asked stakeholders at a recent Energy and Commerce roundtable whether we need more or less power in the future to meet demand, it was unanimous. Our economic future depends on the generation of more power, not less. Unfortunately, the Biden administration's policy of restricting access to and production of energy resulted in higher costs. After promising throughout 2020 that he was going to shut down American energy production, President Biden came into office and immediately canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have carried 830,000 barrels per day from Canada. This ill-conceived order also eliminated good-paying American jobs. He then halted new oil and gas leases on Federal lands, slowed or halted the permitting process for new oil and gas projects, and authorized financial regulators to issue new rules to make it harder to invest in the oil and gas industry. Instead of recognizing that his failed policies were causing prices to increase, the administration called on countries like Russia, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and other OPEC nations for relief and authorized historic releases from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to manipulate the markets. To the surprise of no one, all of these gimmicks failed, and the American people have paid the price. That ends today. H.R. 1 represents the culmination of our early efforts to solve the problem of lowering energy costs. It will increase domestic energy production, reform restrictive and costly permitting processes, reverse the Biden administration's anti-American energy policies, and boost the processing and production of critical minerals. This legislation also includes my bill, the REFINER Act, to boost refining capacity in the United States. In order to meet the energy demands of the American people, we need more refining infrastructure to transform products into fuel and other petroleum products. We also need increased capacity to keep the prices of everyday goods down, like medicine, hygiene products, clothing, home improvement products, and more. The REFINERY Act will provide us with the much-needed blueprint to do just that, and I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the 175th anniversary of The Daily Standard, a newspaper located in Celina, Ohio, and the Fifth Congressional District. The Daily Standard was founded in 1848, and its readership includes residents of communities throughout Mercer County and beyond. The Daily Standard works diligently to keep our communities informed on a wide and varied range of issues. For 175 years, The Daily Standard has been a consistent and reliable source of news, delivering local, state, and national updates to the residents of Northwest Ohio. Again, it is a privilege to celebrate and pay special tribute to The Daily Standard, and its diligent staff, for 175 years in the newspaper business. Here is to 175 more.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1123) to direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit to Congress a report examining the cybersecurity of mobile service networks, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 1123, the Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act. In recent years, we have seen a rise in large-scale cybersecurity attacks that put Americans at risk. While mobile service providers take numerous steps to address vulnerabilities in their networks, threats to our mobile networks continue to exist. To sufficiently address threats across networks, Congress needs a sophisticated and comprehensive assessment of what vulnerabilities persist, what issues have been resolved, and where mobile cybersecurity policymaking should be focused. The Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, NTIA, to submit to Congress a comprehensive report examining the cybersecurity of existing wireless networks and vulnerabilities to cyberattacks and surveillance by adversaries. This bipartisan bill will ensure that communication networks are safe and protect the privacy and security of the American people. I thank the gentlewoman from California's 16th District (Ms. Eshoo) and the gentlewoman from Florida's Third District (Mrs. Cammack) for leading this bipartisan legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cammack).

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, cyberattacks are increasing in this country, not decreasing. Again, that is why this bipartisan bill will ensure that communications networks are safe and that they will protect the privacy and security of the American people. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this very important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1108) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to extend the authority of the Federal Communications Commission to grant a license or construction permit through a system of competitive bidding.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is important today that we consider H.R. 1108. This bill would extend the Federal Communications Commission's general authority to auction spectrum and provide licenses and construction permits for the use of radio spectrum. This piece of legislation is sponsored by the gentlewoman from Washington who is the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and also by the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from New Jersey. Without congressional action, the FCC's authority to issue spectrum licenses expires on March 9. Auction authority is a key tool for making frequencies available for commercial uses that enable U.S. technological leadership. This bill will also ensure that FCC has the authority it needs to continue issuing licenses for a spectrum band that will be used to provide better coverage and wireless speeds across the United States. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington State (Mrs. Rodgers), the chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Dunn).

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I also urge support of H.R. 1108. In the report that just came out from the Congressional Budget Office this past week for the budget outlook for 2023 to 2033, it is important to note that, on page 13, it cites that the FCC conducted several auctions in 2021 and 2022, which boosted net receipts in 2022 to $104 billion. Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely essential that this piece of legislation is passed, and I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 1108. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Protecting America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act, legislation offered by my good friend, the gentlewoman from Washington State and the chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Over the first 2 years of the Biden administration we have seen an unprecedented level of hostility toward America's energy producers. The administration has made every effort to undermine, avoid, and restrict oil and gas production in North America, while at the same time moving to drain our strategic reserves in an attempt to offset the price increases caused by the President's own policies. Playing politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has resulted in the lowest level it has been in decades. If this wasn't alarming enough, just wait until you hear who has benefited from our reserves being drained: the Chinese Communist Party. As part of this administration's Strategic Petroleum Reserve sales, a little under 1 million barrels were bought by UNIPEC, the Chinese Petrochemical Corporation. The shortsightedness shows the Biden administration is willing to put our national security at risk by selling vital reserves to our adversaries to manipulate market prices in hopes of getting political advantage. This is not right, and every single Member of this body should be opposed to such actions. While we investigate these actions, we must ensure they never happen again. That is why I am proud to be an original cosponsor to the Protecting America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act. This bill would prevent the Secretary of Energy from selling any products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to any entity owned or under the control or influence of the Chinese Communist Party, or to any other entity that intends to export products to China. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.