Blake Moore

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Utah for his steadfast voice on these key matters. Mr. Speaker, I am also grateful to welcome my colleague and the House Republican skipper to share his message. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I will share a couple of thoughts about this. I actually think it is very important as we are going through this moment right now in our country, as we see protests continuing on at colleges, to emphasize the importance of peaceful protests, the things that are done lawfully. We don't probably spend as much time focusing on the good examples that come out of this. We have to be a nation of the rule of law. We have seen excellent examples from universities across the country as well taking a very clear, simple stance about offering opportunities for peaceful protest, but when they cross the line, they are going to be punished. We saw it from the University of Florida and others throughout the country. Those are things we need to highlight. Those are things that are important to celebrate, that we are navigating that tricky line of making sure that we have the ability to protest. That is fundamental to who we are as Americans, and I commend those leaders. Instead of just always talking about all the negative that is coming from this lawlessness that we see in a lot of ways, I commend those leaders who are across our country at different universities making it very clear that they are not going to tolerate anything that crosses the line. If you don't do that, you will continually see people cross the line. Now, commencement ceremonies are being canceled. These kids have families, parents. Kids and students have put countless hours into their education to get to this moment. The commencement ceremony is one of the most special things that you could do in your academic experience. To then give in to this overextending of their protest capabilities just ruins the experience. I hadn't even thought about it until I was talking to one of my colleagues, but this is the same group of people who probably had their graduations canceled because of COVID 4 years ago. Now, they are going through a similar type of situation. We are seeing it happen, popping up across the country. It is flat wrong. We need stronger leadership. We have shown that in the last few months from the House of Representatives with the House Republican hearings that we have had. I think what we saw with the inability to call out genocide for being against the code of conduct clearly is the wrong direction to go, and I think there was a nice recourse. People lost their jobs because of it, as they should have. This is going to be one of those moments when they are not doing enough to protect the silent majority on these campuses that want to attend class, that want to put their money to use in something productive. The more that this type of nonsense continues to happen, we are going to see a shift away from these types of universities that aren't focused on what they should be focusing on, which is preparing those young minds and those students for the next-generation workforce. That is somehow lost in all of this. We are seeing it. I am proud to represent a State that does such a good job with higher education. We are not immune to protests and things like that, but we are doing the best we possibly can to make sure that the rule of law is followed. My oldest son is 11. I can't imagine helping out with tuition one day and then not even being able to go to a commencement or my son not even being able to get to class because of a group of people who have no idea and don't understand centuries and centuries of turmoil in a particular region. Hamas was elected 15 or so years ago and has made it impossible for Palestinians and citizens of Gaza to remove them from power. It has inflicted so much evil will on those innocent Palestinians, but they want to be in a position of supporting them. It is fascinating that they think that they have it all figured out, that they understand Middle East policy, that they understand centuries and centuries of turmoil. It flat doesn't make sense. As a parent, to have a university president not be able to move forward to continue on with commencement is beyond me. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for that great message. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, this is an important week in the House of Representatives as we discuss several issues important to Americans across the country, from standing up for Jewish students in the midst of dangerous anti-Semitic rhetoric and demonstrations being tolerated at universities across the country to denouncing the Biden administration for their mishandling of the crisis at our southern border. It was also Lands Week this week, and House Republicans proudly championed and passed legislation that will unleash American energy, promote outdoor access, and support local communities. In my home State of Utah, we are deeply concerned about the Biden administration's Federal land overreach that is stifling economic growth, national security, and recreation opportunities. I thank my colleague for joining me this evening, on a fly-out day, no less. I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kansas, and we appreciate the chair for the time today on this Special Order, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Westerman for bringing this important bill to the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3397, the Western Economic Security Today Act, led by my friend and colleague, Mr. Curtis. This bill will stop the latest Biden administration attack on the Western way of life. Last week, I attended a Natural Resources Committee field hearing in Hurricane, Utah, and heard firsthand how destructive the BLM's conservation and landscape health rule will be to communities. By allowing arbitrary standards and vaguely defined leases to lock up lands from grazing, energy production, and recreation, the BLM is leaving rural America behind and costing our economy billions of dollars in the process. We are going to hear the back and forth about this particular bill today. What it comes down to is actually listening to the people doing the job. That is what we do out West. We actually do the job that America needs for our energy, for our food. Everything that we live on in our society primarily comes from out West. For Washington, D.C., bureaucrats to not listen to ranchers that have been grazing and farming that land in Utah for generations is the most offensive thing that can exist in this world of politics, and there is a lot there. This does not make sense. Go listen to somebody who is looking and seeing. They are terrified because there is no trust. There is trust in the balance that we want to talk about because there is always government overreach when we talk about the balance of using Federal lands. The multiuse is so concerning. They want to be able to graze, keep fire risk low, and grow livestock in a responsible way. They do not trust that the balance trying to be sold on this particular initiative is sincere. I believe them when they say this is bad because I am representing them.

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this special order.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to join my colleagues and share some very important perspectives and messages. House Republicans are responding to many concerns held by Americans across the country, from this historic crisis happening at our southern border to the increasing cost of everyday goods and services as a result of the Biden administration's tax-and-spend agenda that is burdening hardworking families from New York to California, from Utah to Ohio. Just this weekend, Americans watched as Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, our ally, and yet again threatened Israel's very existence. The American people deserve better. They deserve better leadership from this the administration, better stewardship of our Federal resources, and better strength on the global stage. I am grateful to my colleagues for joining me on the House floor this evening to share their thoughts on how these issues are impacting their constituents and our Conference's solutions. We look forward to hearing from a few of my colleagues this evening. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina for his words and his steadfast work on the Armed Services Committee and all national security matters. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for sharing that information. It is part of the job that we need to be doing and what we can do to uncover and for a thorough analysis. Mr. Speaker, I will next yield to my colleague from the great State of California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and appreciate his willingness to participate always. Mr. Speaker, as I wrap up our Special Order and my remarks, the world watched over the weekend as Iran launched an unprecedented attack on our ally, Israel. This attack deservedly was met with scorn and contempt from governments across the world, and it was reassuring to see such strong cooperation from the U.S., U.K., Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia to intercept Iranian missiles to keep Jerusalem and its holy sites from being completely destroyed. I never thought I would be in that situation, to be in Congress, to be a part of legislation this week, to be at this moment, to meet this moment. People watched across the world because of these holy sites. Look, I have said this before, and as I finalize my thoughts here, I think back to one of my first meetings in my first term of Congress. I got to meet with the Consul General from the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles. He was in Utah, and I got a chance to sit down with him. I said, as I dig into this, I am so impressed with the Abraham Accords. Candidly, I think it was President Trump and Vice President Pence's most significant success in our foreign policy during their administration. The Abraham Accords are diplomatic and trade relationships with Israel and Arab nations. I mean, when you think about the years and decades and centuries of us trying to find common ground and peace in that region of the world, we created an opportunity, and the U.S. was a big part of this, to establish these relationships with Arab nations and Israel. Potential bellwether countries like Saudi Arabia could have joined on. I asked him what the recipe was for success to make that happen, and he said that it came down to one thing, that these Arab states--Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain--knew the U.S. stood firm against Iranian aggression. That was what he boiled the whole entire experience down to. Nobody in that region wants Iran to gain more influence. They want to destabilize everything over there. The whole region understands this. Arab nation, Jewish nation, whatever, they all understand that Iran wants to destabilize. They want to have the U.S. as a presence, a strong presence, to make sure that the U.S. had the backs of Arab nations and had Israel's back against continual potential aggression from Iran. Knowing that, they were willing to enter into these trade relationships that were potentially treacherous because Iran doesn't want anybody to have a trade relationship, a diplomatic relationship with Israel. This is my number one, biggest complaint with President Biden's foreign policy, is to just--okay, look, President Obama was going on the JCPOA, so let's just start those talks back up again and completely ignore the success that we had had to create peace in the Middle East. It is something that every President has wanted. President Clinton, watching what he was trying to do, the absolute tragedy of the assassination that took place during his time. Every President, Republican or Democrat, has wanted peace in the Middle East. To flatly say and to overlook the reason why the Abraham Accords were successful and to not take that type of same strength to Iran, it was the biggest blunder, I believe, in President Biden's foreign policy approach in that particular region. Is it any wonder why we are sitting here today with unprecedented drone and missile attacks directly on our ally Israel? You have to stand up to Iran in order to promote peace in the Middle East. You cannot have it all. You can't have the entire pie. You have to call it as it is sometimes and cut it off. The JCPOA should never have been reengaged. It has not created any positive outcomes over in the region. Can anybody disagree with that? Are we better today in the Middle East than we were when we had the Abraham Accords thriving? No, we are not, and everybody knows that. Anybody who is honest is willing to address it. If you want to be Israel's ally, you cannot also continue to pander to Iran. It is not a recipe for success, and that is not just from the Israeli point of view. That is from the Arab State point of view. I hope to impress upon the Biden administration recognition of that. That is what we are trying to do this week, putting several floor measures up to hold Iran and its proxy groups accountable for their actions. We will continue to hold the line in supporting Israel and ensuring they have what they need to defend their freedom. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of the Special Order.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, House Republicans are advancing important measures on the floor this week. We continue to work hard for our constituents and the American people. We continue to push the Biden administration to address the ongoing crisis at the border and increase our domestic energy production capabilities. We are standing by Israel and denouncing President Biden's efforts for a one-sided pressure on Israel with respect to Gaza. This is a Hamas-led travesty, and we need to make sure that we continue to have and focus on the evils that Hamas terrorists have created and the turmoil that they have created in that region. There is a lot to get to. I appreciate many of my colleagues for being willing to share some thoughts today. Mr. Speaker, I will yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California and I always appreciate his participation. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I will bring up another anecdote. When you hear voices like President Obama's economic adviser, Larry Summers, talk about the fact that there is one equation when you enact that much government spending like what happened in President Biden's first 2 years, there is only one outcome when you enact that much spending with no offsets. The American Rescue Plan, Inflation Reduction Act, like you mentioned, that type of relief spending is unnecessary and immediately creates inflation. That is what we have experienced. House Republicans oftentimes don't get the credit that we deserve for taking back the majority and putting an end to all of that additional spending that was enacted so quickly as soon as the Democrats had the White House, House, and Senate. They do those bills under reconciliation, they don't require the filibuster anymore, and they passed over $3 trillion that way on party-line vote. Just by taking back the majority, we have the opportunity to completely eliminate that and also work to find other areas of waste and push that as much as possible. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Harris for that message. Sometimes the details and data are inconvenient when you are trying to push a narrative about an economy, but it is good to make sure to highlight that. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy), a good colleague and friend.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate his passion and I echo his comments. Mr. Speaker, as I wrap up, I thank my colleagues for sharing their heartfelt messages. I appreciate them putting the time and effort into making sure their constituents and the American people know some of the most important things that are going on back here. I appreciate their time to be down here. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford), a good friend.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri. I can't add any more to that but will quickly highlight a point that I think needs constant reminding: The Abraham Accords were some of the strongest, most positive potential opportunities for peace in the Middle East by creating trade relationships with Israel and Arab nations. These are unprecedented. These are some of the most important things that I think happened in all the foreign policy from our previous administration. Saudi Arabia was inching toward engaging in these types of trade relationships. Iran doesn't want that to happen. Iran supports Hezbollah. Iran supports Hamas. Hamas does this attack. The whole intent was to make sure that the narrative and public perception would change on Israel because it was inching too close to productivity with a bellwether like Saudi Arabia being willing to potentially embrace trade negotiations and diplomatic relationships with Israel. Iran does not want that to happen. They will do whatever they can to incite violence and terrorism. They know that Israel will go and protect themselves. They know that Israel will respond. They know if they wait long enough, that even the President of the United States, who has traditionally been a very strong supporter of Israel, will start to put pressure on Israel as if October 7 was their fault. We cannot forget that narrative. We cannot forget that Iran is rejoicing and exuberant that this one-sided pressure is put on Israel at this moment. I think that point is so important to make. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleagues for sharing so much of their thoughts on various elements of the economy and other foreign policy issues. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to be joined tonight by several of my colleagues who are doing excellent work to counter many of the misguided policy decisions made by the Biden administration that are costing American families. From pushing legislation that fights back against the Biden administration's war on energy to creating a more sustainable Federal budgeting process, House Republicans are looking out for the American family and the American worker. This is energy week. It is an opportunity for us to be able to highlight two different philosophies, and that is what you are going to hear a lot from my colleagues on, Mr. Speaker. We have also heard from other folks on the other side of the aisle who have literally put up a sign that says: polluters over people. It is clear that there are two different philosophies about addressing this, Mr. Speaker. You can showcase that as American energy organizations we are going to do it better and we are going to do it cleaner than the rest of the world. By signaling that, we are able to effectively lower costs for American families. What they have gone through over the last 3 years with historic prices and costs in the energy world is not putting people first. That is just categorically and completely disingenuous. There is a much more productive way to address this. We harp on this a lot, but when we indicate and we showcase we are going to invest and that we are going to continue to embrace our ability to lead on this and bring our allies along with us, then we are able to weaken other adversaries across the world. There are so many angles to this, from national security to domestic policy. It makes so much sense. I am thrilled to be able to hear from many of my colleagues on this issue. I strongly believe that winning the future will take an optimistic and conservative approach, and we are committed to righting wrongs of the Biden administration and will continue to champion policies that allow American families to thrive. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from the great State of South Carolina (Mr. Duncan).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. I appreciate the gentleman from South Carolina. Good energy policy is groovy, so I thank the gentleman for bringing that up. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the first district of California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa), especially as he brings up some of the forestry issues, massive amounts of invasive, very noxious trees, juniper trees, things like that that can be put to much better use, saving water, at the same time replacing that with a more productive forest option. Those type of solutions exist out there, and we are working hard to identify that and actually do a productive job, instead of just allowing for the rhetoric to exist with regard to this energy narrative. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Commonwealth of Virginia (Mr. Cline), my good friend and colleague.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I sit on the same committee as the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline). We call one of those opportunities reverse the curse, the budget resolution. I do my best to show my constituents this is the hope that we have, that we didn't get here overnight, but we can build back toward fiscal responsibility, building a 10-year balanced budget and finding all those opportunities to extract waste out of our system so we can thrive and operate. I thank the gentleman for culling out all of those differences. I appreciate it. Now to my good friend from the greatest State--we call it the great State of Utah, but we both know that it is the greatest State--to share some of his thoughts for this important week. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens) for his sentiments on this important Energy Week. Solutions can be very common sense, and we hope to be able to beat that drum continually. For our last speaker tonight, we get the pleasure of hearing from a Representative from the great State of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett), a man of congenial disposition.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for his remarks. I will wrap up here briefly, but as I started my remarks tonight about how this affects the family, I have the pleasure of having one of those families here today in the gallery watching this debate go on. This is our focus. This is what we are completely focused on. This is not some nonsensical argument about polluters over people. That is just disingenuous. The U.S. has made incredible gains. In my home State of Utah, air quality is one of our most important aspects, and we have been able to experience strong growth, but maintain and even lessen the impact that we have on particles per million, tier 3 gasoline. If you embrace and you create opportunities for innovation, you can actually do better. You can actually engage allies better. We can be a net exporter. We can create a stronger America and lower prices. Our entire focus here is to make sure that families have an opportunity to thrive. We put so much burden with the unnecessary costs from Biden's energy policies on the backs of the American workers and the American family. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time for this Special Order.