Blake Moore

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from California's persistence and willingness to be down here to help share the message. Madam Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Haridopolos), who is a new Member from Florida. I have on good authority from his freshman colleagues that he isn't a huge fan of the cold we are experiencing here in Washington, D.C. Restoring Congressional Oversight of CFPB

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Haridopolos) for being part of our Special Order tonight. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Luttrell). Holding Traffickers and Illegal Immigrants Accountable

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Luttrell) for his comments. A lot of times, with policies and things that go on back here, there are variations moving to rightwing policies and leftwing policies. There is not a more stark difference between what President Biden was doing at the border and allowing to have happen to what we are seeing now and the changes we are making. That highlights the simplicity of our messages. We have to protect people's lives, and we are finally starting to do it, and it feels great. I think the American people are seeing that. I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Luttrell) again for his comments. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the great Commonwealth of Virginia (Mrs. Kiggans), my good friend. Celebrating the 100th Birthday of Felix ``Mo'' Maurizio

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from the great Commonwealth of Virginia (Mrs. Kiggans). Madam Speaker, I yield to the new Member from Pennsylvania (Mr. Mackenzie). Economic State and Safety in Local Communities

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his remarks. It is great to have a new group, and Pennsylvania is well represented. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Dakota (Mrs. Fedorchak), the new and improved Representative.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Dakota. She has an authentic and sincere voice with actual expertise on all matters of energy. It is awesome to have the State very well represented. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), which apparently has an improved basketball team down there now. He is also somebody that is well deserved to be the new chairman of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas, and I appreciate his leadership. I thank my colleagues, again, tonight for being here and for taking time to speak on these important pieces of legislation. Under the Biden-Harris administration, Federal agencies expanded their power at an alarming rate, undermining the legislative authority granted to Congress by the Constitution. I think if people truly understood how much of that was done during the Biden administration, there would be more appreciation--and it will take some time to understand what is going on, I know, but there will be more appreciation for trying to rightsize this, and that is a significant effort from the Trump administration. I think it is important to see what had taken place, and I think from my perspective that you don't get anywhere else by being, you know, a Member of Congress, being involved in these issues on a day-to-day basis, you don't see the amount of rulemaking that is going on. You don't see the amount of expansion of the Federal Government. People are lobbing that complaint or that criticism over to the Trump administration right now, and I get it because there is a lot of action and activity being done from the executive level, so the criticism can cut both ways, but the entire effort is to reduce the size of what Biden had expanded all this to. I just don't think people understand that nuance enough. That is why this process has to take place. The Congressional Review Act of 1996 requires Congress to pass a separate joint resolution for each agency rule it seeks to disapprove, slowing Congress' ability to hold the administrative state accountable and block burdensome regulations. That is the whole premise of why House Republicans just passed Congressman Biggs' Midnight Rules Relief Act to empower Congress to review and potentially disapprove of several regulations that Federal agencies may attempt to implement in the last days of an administration. Again, we passed this, this actually affects a Republican administration, as well. This becomes law to try to hold the administration, regardless of the party, accountable. This bill will equip Congress with the tools we need to reject the Biden-Harris administration's last-minute regulations, hold our government accountable, and protect our Nation's democratic values. This bill reins in bureaucratic overreach, protects Americans from burdensome regulations, gives power back to the legislative branch, and ensures transparency in the legislative process. We are also continuing our efforts to secure our borders and protect our communities. Tomorrow, House Republicans will vote on the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act, introduced by Congressman Juan Ciscomani from Arizona. This bill will create new criminal offenses for operating a vehicle within 100 miles of the southern border while fleeing from Border Patrol agents or any law enforcement officer assisting the U.S. Border Patrol. This includes serious jail time and prohibition from ever receiving legal status in the United States. This bill is in honor of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Raul Gonzalez, who, in 2022, died from injuries sustained in a crash while pursuing migrants who illegally crossed the Texas border. This bill sends a message to traffickers, cartels, and other illegal immigrants that if they risk the lives of American citizens, we will hold them to the full extent of the law. House Republicans will not allow more Americans to die at the hands of illegal immigrants, and we are committed to ensuring the safety of our communities. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin for his passion. It is always appreciated. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the good gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa). Mr. Speaker, I look forward to hearing more of his perspective on what is ravaging through his State. Our hearts go out to those affected. As we hear many conversations about the California wildfires, we constantly hear that concern for the human element of this and a sincere desire to find improvements in how we can support them now and address this going forward.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I will quickly touch on it, as well. I anticipate there will be some clear bipartisan support on this. If we are looking at it through a lens of common sense, we should get an abundance of it. I reflect back to Monday when President Trump, during his inaugural address, said we will be the party of common sense. It is something that I want to sincerely communicate as I wrap up here. There are a lot of games that get played in Washington. There are a minority and a majority and a lot of back and forth that goes on. I have experienced both. I have experienced it all, from the White House switching, the Senate switching back and forth, and the House going back and forth. There are a lot of games. There are a lot of times that the majority will put in a bill that has some poison pills in it for the minority, and it becomes an entire messaging bill, a party-line exercise. I was subject to it for my first term. Not every bill from the majority was like that. I joined on, in a very bipartisan way, sometimes not even from the majority of my side. You have to look at the policy. I have seen a sincere effort from us not to go down the poison pill route, just to get them to say they are going to vote against it and then we go out there in the public world and use it for campaign purposes. This Fix Our Forests Act is such a sincere, commonsense approach from Chairman Westerman, who is a forester by trade. He has delved into this issue. He knows more about it than virtually anybody here in Congress. He can dive in and talk about how we can protect, preserve, and enhance our forest health, while also protecting our communities, by putting the type of forest breaks in there, controlled burns, things like that that have proven to be very successful. My State goes through this all the time. We have seen devastation happen, and we have learned from it. That is all we are asking to do in this moment, is to take a look. Honestly, I hope it ends up being a net positive. With all the destruction and the sadness that has gone on and the devastation in California right now, I hope it has captured the attention in all 50 of our States to recognize there are better ways to do this and that it is not a partisan exercise. That is what we are trying to accomplish this week with Chairman Westerman's Fix Our Forests Act, a commonsense bill that works to prevent destructive wildfires, improve emergency response by providing new tools and advanced technology, and cut burdensome regulations and hinder active forest management. I have served under Chairman Westerman on the Natural Resources Committee. He leads with a really sensible approach to solving problems. It is something we absolutely need more of back here. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues tonight for being here to help share the message of what we are trying to accomplish this week. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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, with President Trump officially in the White House and the inauguration festivities behind us, House Republicans are hitting the ground running this week on critical bills to protect the most vulnerable among us and to respond to the devastating wildfires ravaging throughout southern California. Just to capture what just happened maybe 30 minutes ago, in the House of Representatives, we just passed the final version of the Laken Riley Act, which is commonsense, immigration border security protocols that put the lives of Americans first. It is so commonsense, I am going to highlight: There are two people, and primarily probably just one, that made this so we couldn't do this a year and a half ago when it should have been done in the 118th Congress. We just had over a dozen Democrats in the Senate vote for this bill. We had numerous Democrats in the House also support this bill. What is the difference today versus 6, 8 months ago when we tried to pass this? It is Senator Schumer. Senator Schumer, as the leader of the Senate, would not allow for this bill to come up. He told those 12 Democrats in the Senate, I am not going to give you a chance to actually vote for sensible border security about the life lost of a Georgian because of absolutely insane border falter from President Biden. Chuck Schumer basically said to a big portion of his Democratic Senators: I am not going to give you a chance to vote on something sensible. The House sent it over to us. We are not going to vote on it. One change was made. Senator John Thune was put in the leadership position where he, with Republican Senators, decided to bring this to the floor, and a dozen or so Senators came on board from the Democrat side and voted for something sensible. I wish the American people would truly understand that that is why elections are so important. That is why you put conservative leadership over in the Senate coupled with what we are doing in the House to provide sensible legislation, not extreme legislation like when it gets highlighted. Mr. Speaker, it is literally going to make a positive impact, and that is just the second day. President Trump now has something to sign and show the American people that he hears us and he is ready to go and move about this. I commend the bipartisan group of individuals from the Democratic Party in the House and the Senate that were willing to sort of buck the trend and say let's do this. I am very excited about that. I make that point. Obviously, I am a little frustrated it took so much time. It should have been brought up under Senator Chuck Schumer when he was the majority leader. That is clearly not the way he is going to govern. Who knows if President Trump would have signed it. If the Senate leaders are going to push, you can sometimes get something across the finish line in the White House, even in an opposing White House. We got that done today. This week we are focusing on Congresswoman Wagner's Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, another very commonsense piece of legislation that protects the fundamental right to life by ensuring that babies who survive an attempted abortion receive the same medical care health providers would have administered to a fetus born at the same age. If a baby survives an abortion, this bill says to that physician they have to administer the same healthcare treatments that they would in any other labor situation. This legislation also requires that healthcare providers transport the child to the hospital and report abortion violations to law enforcement. As southern California continues to struggle with devastating wildfires, House Republicans are also supporting Chairman Westerman's Fix Our Forests Act which enhances resiliency after wildfires and reduces regulatory burdens that hinder active forest management. I am grateful to my colleagues for joining me this evening to discuss these necessary pieces of legislation. I gladly yield to my colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden).

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman and the ranking member for the time. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Hershel ``Woody'' Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act. This bill, which passed the House unanimously during the 118th Congress, is the final legislative step to establish a location for a monument recognizing America's Medal of Honor recipients on The National Mall. Of the estimated 40 million individuals who have served in the United States Armed Services, fewer than 4,000 have been awarded the Medal of Honor. President Abraham Lincoln awarded the first Medals of Honor more than 160 years ago, and it is only fitting that this monument is located near the Lincoln Memorial on The National Mall. This monument will serve as a reminder that freedom is not free, and it will inspire new generations of Americans to revere and support the brave men and women who we owe our freedom to. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 186 to give America's heroes and their families a monument for their sacrifices for our Nation.

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the Modernizing Access to Public Waters, or MAPWaters Act. This legislation builds upon the success of my MAPLand Act, enacted in 2022, and MAP Army Corps language included in last year's Water Resources Development Act to ensure Americans can quickly see the public resources around them and spend more time recreating on the land and water they love. The MAPWaters Act will improve the standardization, consolidation, and availability of information on the recreational opportunities on Federal waterways, allowing recreationalists in Utah and around the country with the most up-to-date information on what is available to them. In addition to providing chances for families to experience the outdoors and instill a love of nature in new generations, recreational boating and fishing are major drivers of Utah's economy, contributing over $536 million in 2023. As our love for the outdoors continues to grow, accessing these public treasures should be as easy as possible. I thank my friends Mr. Panetta from California, Mr. Fulcher from Idaho, and Mrs. Dingell from Michigan, as well as our Senate companions, Senators Barrasso and King, for partnering with me on this effort. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 187.

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 yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, House Republicans are doubling down on our commitment to supporting and protecting the rights and safety of women and girls across the country. We are doing this by championing bills that fight back against unfair competition in sports and dangerous immigration policies. Yesterday, we passed Congressman Steube's Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which is now on its way to the Senate. This legislation prevents biological males from competing in school athletic programs for women and girls by requiring that sex in athletic competition be determined by genetics at birth. House Republicans are also supporting Congresswoman Mace's Violence Against Women By Illegal Aliens Act, which amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make illegal immigrants inadmissible and deportable from the United States if they are convicted of or have admitted to committing sex offense or domestic violence. I am grateful to my colleagues for joining me this evening to discuss these important measures and our commitment to delivering for our daughters, sisters, nieces, and granddaughters. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Moran).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for being willing to carve out time in their schedules to come down and share this message. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Dakota (Mrs. Fedorchak).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, North Dakota, like Utah, definitely hits above its weight, and the gentlewoman from North Dakota's presence is key on all of these particular issues. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Houchin), our Conference secretary.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa), who has been through the devastation that we are seeing there, and our hearts go out to those in California. His district has been hit by this several times, and I will say that hearing the stories and conversations he has from his district, it just puts it into perspective. This is tough stuff. He has been down this road before and has been a strong leader on communicating what we need to do to keep it from continuing to happen.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California. Again, we continue to pray that the best outcomes possible will continue to happen for California. Mr. Speaker, my next speaker from Montana (Mr. Downing) is a brand- new Member and our concluding speaker here today. We consider ourselves, as a Utahn and Montanan, the greatest portion of the country, wouldn't you say, out West? We have a lot to prove that. The gentleman is a new Member but a very experienced, thoughtful, and strong Member that I look forward to working with. I thank him for being here. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Downing).

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Montana. I appreciate all that we have been able to enact thus far. Mr. Speaker, I close tonight and just thank my colleagues for being here tonight and for taking the time to speak on this important issue. As I mentioned earlier, House Republicans are committed to advancing legislation that supports our women and girls and gives them a fair chance to excel in their athletic endeavors. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act ensures biological males are unable to compete in female-designated sports, giving women and girls the opportunity to compete on a fair playing field by requiring schools to comply with the Title IX recognition of a person's genetics at birth. This bill withholds Federal funding from schools that facilitate athletic programs where biological men compete against biological women. To be clear, this is not about disrespecting anyone. Everyone is worthy of dignity and respect. However, protecting women and girls from feeling uncomfortable in their locker rooms, sustaining major sports injuries because of unfair competition, or simply losing out on well- deserved athletic accolades because they are genetically unable to beat a male is not purely political effort. It is simply what is right. This is a line that we must draw, and we know that Americans agree with this. I have joked before about a couple of things. I have four boys. I wasn't blessed with a girl. We lament it every day. I do love those boys, though. I push them hard in sports. I reflect on this about my nieces, and they are dynamite athletes and, candidly, can probably beat me in most of their assigned sports, such as tennis and soccer, across the board. That is what motivates me on this. The amount of confidence that you get from sports is key. The ability to compete and play and enjoy this, above anything else, with all of the extra pressures that are placed on kids nowadays with social media pressure and everything, the concepts of teamwork that you learn, achieving something, getting better at something, and having the ability to say that you have a shot to win that competition cannot be beaten into my nieces. They have to be able to say, with a level playing field, they can go win this, not because it is important to win that gold ribbon or this or that or win the track meet. It is because they need to know that the effort they put in can achieve something. That is going to translate into a career, into anything that they get involved with where they have to accomplish something. It is not just about sports. It is a psychological element that we need to make sure exists. Sports is such a key, important aspect for growth in people, and that is what we are trying to do here. Let's not make this a political endeavor. At least you won't ever get that from me and my office and the way we communicate about this. Additionally, House Republicans this week are standing up for women's safety by bringing to the floor Congresswoman Mace's Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act to uphold the U.S. border laws and make illegal immigrants who have been convicted of or admitted to sex offenses or domestic violence inadmissible and deportable. This bill is about closing critical gaps in our crimes. Last year, over 20,000 illegal immigrants were not detained for sexual assault. As of July, over 650,000 with criminal histories were on the ICE non- detained docket. This must change. This bill takes action to get these violent offenders off of our streets and make our communities safe again. I am grateful for the work my Republican colleagues have done to push these bills forward. We are wasting no time to get some of the sensible legislation that we were able to get passed and went nowhere in the Senate in the last Congress, and we want to give the Senate an opportunity to vote on this again. I sincerely believe there will be Democrats who see the sensible approach with this. We are also seeing it with the bill we passed last week, the Laken Riley Act. Again, I thank Congressman Steube and Congresswoman Mace for their leadership on these critical issues. To my colleagues, again, I appreciate their willingness to spend some time down here today. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Republican Conference, I send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 513.

Mr. MOORE of Utah

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the Modernizing Access to Our Public Waters Act, or MAPWaters Act, which passed the Natural Resources Committee unanimously last month. The legislation builds upon the success of my MAPLand Act, enacted in 2022, and the MAP Army Corps language included in this year's Water Resources Development Act to ensure Americans can quickly see the public resources around them and spend more time recreating on the water that they love. The MAPWaters Act will improve the standardization, consolidation, and availability of information on the recreational opportunities for Federal waterways, allowing recreationists in Utah and around the country to have the most up-to-date information on what is available to them. In addition to providing chances for families to experience the outdoors and instill a love of nature in new generations, recreational boating and fishing are major drivers of Utah's economy, contributing over $536 million in 2023. As our love for the outdoors continues to grow, accessing these public treasures should be as easy as possible. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta), the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Fulcher), and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell), as well as our Senate companions, Senators Barrasso and King, for partnering with me on this effort. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6127.

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 H.R. 9716.

Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of my bill, the Increasing Baseline Updates Act. I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi) for co-leading this effort. The Increasing Baseline Updates Act would require CBO to produce at least two baseline updates per year, including at least one with economic data. Currently, under the Budget Act, CBO is required to publish its baseline before February 15 of each year, but a specific number of baseline updates is not statutorily required. As a result, in recent years, CBO has not published updates to the baseline later in the calendar year. The last time CBO published a baseline update after July was in 2020, and the Office has not published three baseline updates in a calendar year since 2019. By requiring these two additional baseline updates each year, the Increasing Baseline Updates Act will ensure Congress has updated information on the most relevant budget and economic figures to better inform the appropriations process and other legislative proposals we consider later in any given calendar year. The bill also ensures CBO will receive the relevant technical data from the executive branch by February 1 of each year so CBO can complete their baseline in a timely manner. I was proud that this bill unanimously passed the Budget Committee this past September, with the help of the ranking member from Pennsylvania. During the 118th Congress, the Budget Committee has been laser focused on sounding the alarm about the threat posed to our Nation by the debt and deficit crisis in which we find ourselves. This has included bipartisan efforts with our Democratic colleagues on reforms to bolster improper payment accountability, improve the budget process, and shore up our long-term fiscal solvency. Critical to our efforts to rein in the Federal debt and deficit is providing oversight of CBO to ensure this office is providing Congress the most accurate and timely information possible to inform legislative efforts. There is a sincere desire in a bipartisan way to get after the fiscal state of this Nation, and we have seen several proposals emerge. Not all of them have passed, but a lot of them have been worked on together with my Democratic colleagues on the Budget Committee to accomplish things to improve this process. That is what the Increasing Baseline Updates Act aims to accomplish. We know we have a lot more work to do. We are $36 trillion in debt, and we had a staggering $1.8 trillion deficit last fiscal year. We are paying more just to service the debt than on our national defense for the first time. It is unacceptable, and we must reverse our debt culture. Madam Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleagues in the new Congress on efforts to grow the economy, cut spending, and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the Federal Government. The Increasing Baseline Updates Act is a commonsense reform solidifying a total of three baseline updates per year to provide Congress with a better and more up-to-date sense of fiscal and economic developments, while paving the way for a return to regular order. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.