Rich McCormick

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, it is my great honor to recognize Lee Irwin on the week of her 90th birthday. She has lived an extraordinary life. Mr. Speaker, she has spent 90 years of serving the community, making tens of thousands of dresses and britches for those young people over in Africa that don't have very much, serving her community and the Methodist Church that she served as both a secretary and now a volunteer teaching accordion, and raising three lovely children, also known as my cousins. Welcome to just a great woman here in the House to recognize a life well lived. Happy birthday. I love you, and God bless you.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 56.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Fire Chief Joe Pennino and the brave men and women of the City of Roswell Fire Department on being awarded the 2025 Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award by the Congressional Fire Safety Institute. The Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award honors organizations that have made noteworthy contributions to firefighter health and safety. The award celebrates those who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and dedication in promoting a safer environment for firefighters. The City of Roswell's Fire Department is recognized for its collaboration with researchers in the analysis of the impact that new shift schedules and adjusted start times have on the performance and well-being of firefighters. The study evaluates both the immediate and long-term effects of these changes on the health, responsiveness, and capability of these firefighters. Through their collaboration in this study, the Roswell Fire Department has shown a strong commitment to the well-being of their firefighter personnel and dedication to assuring that they are well- rested and in peak condition for the daunting schedule that those who wear the uniform face. This innovative leadership shows Roswell Fire Department's commitment to not only their firefighters but also to the well-being of firefighters throughout the United States The mission of the Roswell Fire Department is to protect life, property, and enhance the quality of life by providing dynamic services, including emergency response. Through these thoughtful studies, they are taking that seriously by ensuring their personnel are at peak performance capability. On February 13, 2025, the Roswell Fire Department will be honored here in Washington, D.C., during the 35th Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner for then leader ship and commitment to innovation and safety. As their Representative in Congress, I am proud to have these types of leaders who strive to serve the public residing in my district. I have no doubts that the City of Roswell and its Fire Department will continue their trajectory of excellence, and I wish them all the best in the future.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a true leader in our community. It is my distinct privilege to honor him and his team by sharing their achievements. Ben Reaves, Jr. is the Head Football Coach of the Milton High School Eagles, who on December 17, 2025, beat Langston Hughes High School Panthers scoring 56-35 to clinch back-to-back State Championship titles in the highly competitive 5A Division of Georgia High School Football. Their high-powered offense, led by starting Quarterback and Miami University bound Luke Nickel, University of Georgia commit Tight-End Ethan Barbour, and electric Running Back T.J. Lester, steamrolled opponents over the previous two seasons. Football is in genetics. Coach Reaves inherited his passion for coaching and mentoring young athletes from his father, who was a longtime coach at Newton High School. After playing for his father in high school as a standout wide receiver, Coach Reaves played for a season at the University of Georgia before he transitioned to his true calling: coaching. After making multiple coaching stops on his journey, Coach Reaves joined Milton High School's staff as an offensive coordinator in 2017. As a member of the football coaching staff, he helped turn Milton High School into a football powerhouse building on top of the three region titles and playoff games the team has won since 1950. In 2022, Coach Reaves took over the program from his successor, Coach Adam Clack, and has since led the Eagles to a strong 23-6 record. Coach Reaves exemplifies the tradition of football excellence in our community and is known by all as an incredible mentor, coach, father, husband, and friend. The success of the Milton High School team is a culmination of efforts, from the players to the coaches, parents, teachers, and training staff. However, there is no question about who the glue is that holds the program together and drives it toward excellence. I extend my best wishes to Coach Reaves and the entire Milton High School team going into the next season, Go Milton Eagles.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to express my most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Roswell Police Officer, Jeremy Labonte, who was senselessly killed in the line of duty in a heinous act of violence. Officer Labonte was a member of the Roswell Police Department since November of 2021, where he served as a night-shift patrol officer. As a member of D-Squad, he was beloved and respected by his fellow officers and peers. On Friday, February 7, 2025, while responding to a call, Officer Labonte was killed, leaving his family, fellow officers and the entire community devastated. This tragedy is the first of its kind in the community since the 1980's. Officer Jeremy Labonte was a hero. He was someone who had dedicated his entire life to public service and has long stood for the values which all Georgians hold dear. Serving the community was just what he did, and he did so with honor. Today, I honor the life of this brave young man. He is a shining example of excellence, sacrifice and honor. I will continue to pray for his family and friends during this tragic time. I also pray for the protection and safety of all the brave men and women who wear the uniform and protect our communities every day.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of a true leader in the Forsyth County Community, Mr. Bobby Thomas. Mr. Thomas was born on November 3, 1946, and spent his youth in Coal Mountain, Georgia. Signs of future success were evident early on, as Mr. Thomas won ``Most Likely to Succeed'' during his senior year at Forsyth County High School. Upon graduation in 1964, Mr. Thomas went on to Georgia Institute of Technology, where he excelled, and earned his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering in 1969. During his time at Georgia Tech, Mr. Thomas met the love of his life, Brenda. They married three years later and enjoyed 57 years of wedded bliss together. Upon graduation, Mr. Thomas enlisted in the United States Navy and was commissioned as a supply officer, serving on a destroyer warship stationed out of Jacksonville, Florida and Glassboro, New Jersey. After returning home, he bought into the family lumber business, and by the mid-1980's he had turned the Thomas Lumber Company into the leading manufacturer of Western Red Cedar Products throughout the Southeast. The Thomas Lumber Company, founded in 1927, is the oldest family- owned business in Forsyth County. As an active member in his community, Mr. Thomas was a founding member of the Forsyth County Rotary and later President, a 30-year member and leader of the Development Authority of Forsyth County, and maybe most importantly, an active member of Oak Grove Baptist Church, serving as a clerk and Sunday School teacher. Sadly, on January 6, 2025, Mr. Thomas passed away. He is survived by his wife, Brenda, two children, and 7 grandchildren. My prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time. His impact on the lives of the people and community of Forsyth County will not soon be forgotten, and the entire community is mourning the loss of this great man.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Tigran Gambaryan and celebrate his return home to the United States of the America, and to his friends and family. Mr. Gambaryan is an American citizen, a resident of Georgia, and a dedicated former public servant. While on a business trip to Nigeria in February, he was arrested and charged with false accusations of tax evasion and money laundering. Tigran was detained in the notorious Kuje Prison for months, repeatedly denied access to medical care as his health deteriorated, denied basic due process rights, and otherwise treated inhumanely. Despite these severe hardships, Mr. Gambaryan displayed remarkable resilience and an unwavering determination to return home. Finally, on October 23, 2024, Nigeria dropped all fraudulent charges against Mr. Gambaryan, and he was able to return safely to the United States. I want to thank the hard work and dedication of the Department of State officials for the role they played to bring Mr. Gambaryan home. I also want to extend my deepest gratitude to my colleagues on the House Foreign Affairs Committee for their unwavering support and advocacy in urging the Nigerian government to secure his release. Most importantly, I want to commend Mr. Gambaryan for his courage and for never losing hope during this tumultuous situation. It is an honor to represent brave individuals like Tigran Gambaryan in Congress, and I celebrate his return home to his wife Yuki and their two young children. God bless their family.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 7673, S. 4199, and H.R. 5009, the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025. I am confident that this year's NDAA will have a lasting, positive impact on our national security, and I urge my colleagues to support the rule providing for its consideration. The fiscal year 2025 NDAA authorizes targeted, responsible investments in critical technologies and future capabilities while restoring our military's focus on lethality. I served with sailors, marines, and Army folks from all walks of life during my time on Active Duty. We all bled red and were all green at heart, and we were all united in our mission to protect the United States. Putting our differences under the microscope only divides us and distracts us from our mission, so I am pleased that the NDAA gets things like DEI and critical race theory out of the military's divisive issues. I am also glad that it reauthorizes language I put in last year's NDAA to improve the Defense Department's transparency on how it works with entities that discriminate against conservative voices by steering advertisement dollars away from them. I was also proud to champion specific provisions in this bill that will help us deter and, if necessary, defeat our allies in the future fight. Things like using drones to clear land mines, changing how we do aircraft maintenance by using AI to bring down costs and improve readiness results, and making it easier for the Marine Corps to procure critical capabilities like LPDs and CH-53K helicopters will all help us maintain our edge over our adversaries using these techniques. Perhaps most importantly, the NDAA will drastically improve our servicemembers' quality of life, especially for the junior enlisted. The least we can do for our fellow Americans who take up the mantle of service is to make sure they have good housing, quality medical care, and the tools and resources to raise a family in the military if they so choose. This NDAA deters our adversaries, supports our allies, and exercises Congress' lawful oversight mandate to cut down on waste and improve the way our military does business within the private sector. Mr. Speaker, I express my sincerest thanks to Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Smith, my fellow committee members, and all the staff for their work on this bill. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have helped with this bill, and I urge swift passage for the rule and swift passage of the fiscal year 2025 NDAA.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I will take the time to talk about the biggest threat to our Nation, our ability to thrive as a nation and an economy. It is not really being addressed, even with the Herculean efforts of the DOGE and everybody else talking about what cuts we are going to make to the budget, which is around $7 trillion right now. We need to have a realistic conversation. We are $35 trillion in debt. We bring in less than $5 trillion per year to pay those debts and to pay for the entire budget. If we didn't have a budget, if we spent nothing on the United States, if we spent nothing for the military, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or anything in our budget, it would take us over 7 years to pay off our debt. That doesn't count the trillion dollars of interest we are paying right now per year. Let's have a realistic conversation. This problem is bipartisan. The real divergence of the debt-to-GDP ratio started about 2004, so about 20 years ago. It happened when we had a Republican President, and it has continued regardless of who was in control of the Presidency--or the House or the Senate, for that matter. If we talk about the future, 75 percent of the budget is nondiscretionary. Some people call it mandatory, but we are Congress. There is nothing mandatory about spending. If we don't address these issues, we are in trouble as a nation. If we are out of balance and our debt-to-GDP ratio becomes too extreme, our currency will fail, and we will no longer hold the position we have in the world as an economic powerhouse. If you think that I am threatening Social Security, not at all. As a matter of fact, it is just the opposite. I want to secure it because, quite frankly, if we don't do something about Social Security, it will be insolvent in less than 10 years. It will take an automatic 21 percent cut without a vote. We have no control over that, or we can, as Congress, say no we won't just print a whole bunch more money and saddle our children and grandchildren with that burden in the future and increase our debt ratio, again threatening our currency. If you think I am here to threaten Medicare, you are greatly mistaken. If we do nothing, within about a decade, it will be cut automatically by 11 percent, or we will have to make the emergency standard to print more money and, again, saddle our future generations with debt they cannot pay, debt that will saddle our economy, saddle our ability to function as a government, debt that will disrupt everything we know in America to be good: our abilities, our opportunities, all the things that make us thrive as a nation. As Coolidge famously said: The business of America is business. Business cannot thrive if we don't have American currency as the standard of the world. Therefore, I want us to have those serious conversations. I want us not to have those automatic cuts. I want to make sure that we do what we can to cut as much of the deficit spending as possible. Remember, a 30 percent deficit per year cannot be conquered just by one budget, but we have about 2 years to take this opportunity because, quite frankly, so many times I keep hearing my peers in this Congress talk about the things we need to give away. That comes at a cost, a cost to all Americans, and it doesn't matter if you are Republican or Democrat. We have to have real reform in not just our discretionary budget, which is only 25 percent of what we discuss, but we have to have an entire budgetary process that is bipartisan so we can have a solution for all Americans going forward.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, after giving prior notice to House leadership, I was not present for floor votes on November 20, 2024 while attending to a personal matter. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 474; YEA on Roll Call No. 475; and YEA on Roll Call No. 476.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, since illegally invading Ukraine, the Russian Federation has become reliant on the People's Republic of China for the supply of semiconductors and other critical dual-use technologies. The State Department notified Congress this March that the PRC exports of semiconductors significantly increased last year compared to the pre-invasion levels. These semiconductors are critical to aspects of the Russian war effort, including electronic warfare, command and control, and targeting. These components allow Russia to terrorize Ukrainian civilians with ballistic missile strikes at will. The prevalence of U.S. manufacturing equipment in global semiconductor production means nearly all are subject to U.S. export controls if destined for Russia or Belarus. My bill seeks to reduce Russia's access to these semiconductors by authorizing sanctions on foreign countries and adversaries that materially support Russia's military and intelligence services, violate U.S. export laws, and steal U.S. intellectual property. It further requires a report on whether China is providing significant support to Russia's military and updates existing law to provide greater flexibility to pursue sanctions against China and other foreign adversaries if they violate these export controls. The PRC may publicly claim that they do not provide material support to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but their continued provision of dual-use technologies with military applications demonstrates otherwise. Cutting off the supply of semiconductors will seriously hamper the Russian war effort and show the world that we will not allow our adversaries to work together in destroying sovereign nations and undermining the international system. I thank Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Meeks, and my bipartisan colleagues on the Committee on Foreign Affairs for supporting the bill before us today. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 8361.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer my amendment No. 56 to H.R. 8998, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025. Amendment No. 56 will reduce funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by reducing the Environmental Programs and Management account by $7 million. My amendment will then reallocate $5 million in funding to the EPA's Office of Inspector General for increased oversight of the EPA. The EPA's role is to protect human health and the environment through research and development. Yet, it seems the EPA is more often focused on creating burdensome bureaucratic red tape than serving the American people and businesses. Stringent EPA regulations burden businesses with compliance costs leading to job losses, higher consumer prices, and reduced economic competitiveness, particularly in industries such as manufacturing, energy, and agriculture. Tragically, these regulations often have nothing to do with protecting the environment. For example, in my district, the repaving of a key road has been delayed for 18 months. This heavily trafficked road is in desperate need of repair. These delays are due to the EPA's requirement for an extensive environmental impact study, even though the road is already paved, has been around for over a decade, and it is a simple repaving project to revitalize the community. It is going to cost $700,000 and a delay of 18 months to repave 1.5 miles of road. This is a ridiculous delay of the inevitable. The EPA needs to begin prioritizing our communities over bureaucratic overreach and overbearing regulations with no benefit. That is why proper oversight is critical to holding the EPA in check. The EPA's Office of Inspector General has done incredible work with the funding it receives. Their work proves additional funding is a sound investment. In May, it published its semiannual report to Congress which summarized its work and accomplishments from October 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024. During that 6-month reporting period, they identified $120.1 million in total monetary benefits and provided the EPA and U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board with 55 recommendations for improvement. To further prove their worth, the EPA OIG is performing a critical role in investigating and tracking the ridiculous spending from the Inflation Reduction Act. That is important oversight work to prevent fraud of Federal dollars. I urge my colleagues to support amendment No. 56 which will decrease the EPA's overall funding account and reallocate a portion of those funds to increase oversight, transparency, and accountability. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Chair, I love the environment. My favorite President is Teddy Roosevelt, a great environmentalist, and my dad was a forest ranger. I grew up with Woodsy Owl and Smokey the Bear. I truly, truly, have a great love for the environment, and I want to make sure we use our funds appropriately. I just reiterate that my amendment reduces funding for the overbearing EPA portion and really increases accountability, which I think is the more important part at this point when we see the abuses of the system. I think it is time for a more efficient and more accountable government. That is what this bill is about. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCORMICK. In closing, Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for this time to talk about accountability and efficiency of government. I hope and humbly request support for my amendment No. 56, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Chair, I rise and offer my amendment No. 25 to H.R. 8997, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025. My amendment No. 25 prevents the Army Corps of Engineers from closing parks and campgrounds around Lake Lanier. My amendment would ensure these campgrounds are open for my constituents and for people all across the country to enjoy the outdoors in Georgia's Sixth District. Lake Lanier is the most visited lake of the 464 federally operated lakes in the United States, with well over 10 million visitors from all over the country annually. The Army Corps of Engineers operates the lake and the campgrounds and parks surrounding it. Over the past year, the Corps suggested they may close some of the campgrounds and parks around the lake, citing a lack of appropriations needed for maintenance. Congress provided $58.2 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers for fiscal year `24. That amount was $11.1 billion more than fiscal year `23, an almost 20 percent increase in Federal funding. The Corps has expressed that these appropriations are not enough. Still, Lake Lanier Army Corps of Engineers leadership took the initiative and started a partnership with many localities in my district to share maintenance, upkeep, and operations activities, which should also ensure that these facilities remain open. I am excited about this new partnership and hope that the Army Corps continues to rely on local partnerships while ensuring sufficient funds are allocated to the most visited lake in the United States. The more local control, the better. In today's day and age, when people are hooked on their cell phones and electronics, it is more important than ever to ensure that the families of Georgia-06 and Americans across the country have access to all the beauty Lake Lanier has to offer. These parks must remain open to the benefit of all. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Chair, I reiterate, my colleague talked about diminishing funds. The funding has increased almost 20 percent, $11.1 billion more. We didn't close it last year, and we had the same amendment last year because they said the same threat. I think it is important that we provide these facilities when we are talking about $58 billion to keep the parks open. When we talk about something that is good for everybody, it doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or Republican, it is something that can be and should be done. We have actually partnered with local facilities to make sure this happens even through private funding. Why wouldn't we put in a specific thing for the most visited lake in the United States? Ten million visitors annually benefit all districts. It doesn't matter where you are from. I highly encourage my peers and humbly ask my colleagues to support my amendment No. 25. Madam Chair, I yield the balance of my time.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind this body that our role as Members of Congress is not just to pass laws and allocate funding. We are the people's House because we are the closest to the people. We have the most crucial duty to oversee the executive branch and hold the bureaucracy accountable for their actions. Since the founding of our Nation, this oversight function has been a cornerstone of our democracy. Yet, time and time again, we see witnesses from the executive branch refusing to answer the questions of the people. They quibble over details and dodge questions. Our hearings have become political theater. Witnesses act like teenagers caught out after curfew. The deep state evades the constitutional oversight authority that the people's House is supposed to yield. This authority is the way our Founders intended to keep the Federal bureaucracy in check. Enough is enough. This cannot continue. It is time to take a stand and restore the power of the people's House. We must ensure that the men and women who would act like rulers over the American people, despite never being elected, and then intentionally withholding information from the United States Congress, finally face consequences. Under title 2 of current law, their duplicity is already illegal. Refusing to answer the people's questions that are deemed ``pertinent to the question under inquiry'' is currently punishable by a fine or imprisonment. The application of this law, however, has been lost to history. Just this year, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and many others blatantly and boldly violated the law and have gleefully and unabashedly refused to answer questions in hearing after hearing. They have zero respect for the American people and no fear of the United States Congress. At a hearing on June 4, Attorney General Garland was asked if the Supreme Court's then-pending decision on obstruction charges would change the Department of Justice's actions in prosecutions related to January 6. Garland's response was: ``I don't answer hypotheticals.'' In November of last year, at a hearing of the Homeland Security Committee, Secretary Mayorkas simply refused to answer when asked by Vice Chairman Guest how many daily apprehensions constituted a crisis at the southern border. Just today, the Director of the Secret Service, Dr. Kimberly Cheatle, refused to answer nearly every single question she was asked by Members on both sides of the aisle about the egregious security failures of July 13. This is what we have experienced over and over again. That is why I am introducing the STOP the SWAMP Act. Our legislation will make it clear that those bureaucrats who refuse to answer the questions of the American people will be permanently disqualified from Federal employment. It will further empower committee chairs and ranking members, Members from both parties, to refer cases to the Department of Justice for prosecution. Lastly, it would give the United States Congress more tools to withhold the salaries of those who obstruct our oversight efforts. We cannot allow the swamp, the entrenched bureaucrats in Washington who believe they know better than the people they are supposed to serve, to continue to dodge oversight of Congress and rule by fiat over the American people. We must stand up for the American people and demand transparency and honesty from those who serve in our government. Our Republic's survival hinges on it. It is time to send a clear message that we will not tolerate any attempts to undermine our oversight role. We are the voice of the people, and we will not be silenced. Together, we can stop the swamp and ensure that our government is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, we have a quick decision to make, and I understand this is contentious because of who is President and because of who is in control of the floor. In the near future, we will have maybe a new President, a new Senate, and things will be looked at very differently. I think the most important thing here is empowering the legislative branch to do its duty, to have representation by the people in its most basic way. We saw something in the debate that we have never seen before, probably the most epic and historic debate ever as far as exposing the President and how he thinks, what his mental capacity is, and his ability to lead this great Nation forward in the next 4 years. This is about the survival of our Nation, about the representation of ideas, about the health of the most powerful person in the world. If we can get to the bottom of that, we can make great decisions on who we elect. We can also, at the same time, have the best representation from the legislative branch.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer my amendment No. 29 to H.R. 8752, the fiscal year 2025 Homeland Security appropriations bill. My amendment would add language to section 212 of the bill to make sure that no Federal funds can be used to dismantle, demolish, remove, or damage barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border that are placed there by State governments. The crisis at our southern border has never been worse. Since President Biden took office, there have been easily over 9 million encounters nationwide and over 7.5 million at the southwest border specifically. There have been around 2 million known got-aways and over 350 encounters with those on terrorist watch lists, massive numbers of aliens who are considered inadmissible by law entering our country, with about 400,000 from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela mass paroled into our country. We are willfully and knowingly allowing murderers, rapists, and spies into our country as a byproduct of the Biden administration's attempt to skew future elections. They do not care about the carnage and would literally be happy to be king of the ashes. The border crisis has also created a public health crisis. This fiscal year, there has been over 13,000 pounds of fentanyl seized. That is enough to kill billions of people. We have seen 110,000 people who have died from opioid overdoses. That is just what we stop, though, 13,000 pounds. In the meantime, the President and his allies in Congress have said time and time again that nothing can be fixed without congressional action. I am all for congressional action. This body passed H.R. 2 over a year ago, a bill that would fix issues in the code by doing things like raising the standard for credible fear determinations and requiring most migrants to arrive at official ports of entry to have their asylum cases processed. Sadly, it is not surprising that this bill hasn't seen the light of day in the do-nothing Senate. Here is the other reality. Immigration law hasn't changed significantly in years. The border crisis was never this bad before. Under President Trump, and even under Presidents Clinton and Obama--as a matter of fact, Obama ran on border security, let that sink in--we didn't see the same absolute humanitarian crisis that is going on today. This is the fault of the current administration. In response to the negligence of this administration, Texas, under the leadership of Governor Abbott, started Operation Lone Star to secure the border. His plan included the placement of more than 100 miles of razor wire along the border. What was the administration's response? To oppose Texas every step of the way and even go so far as to cut razor wire installed by Texans. This is completely unacceptable. It is an example of the administration starting a problem and then preventing anyone else from fixing it as Biden has done nothing to secure our sovereign border. My amendment would prevent this and guard the ability of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and other border States to protect their citizens and their border. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Chair, I will quote the ``protects our national interests.'' That is the justification of removing barriers to illegal invaders; it protects Americans' interests. These are the same people who would do harm to our American citizens through fentanyl overdoses, rapes, murders, crime, and then consuming American resources at a time when we cannot afford it. President Biden's executive order is too little too late. It won't fix the border crisis and would still give tacit legal permission to about 1 million illegal immigrants to enter every year. That is if he didn't tell agents to ignore his own guidance. Further Biden's latest legal action, amnesty for 500,000 illegal immigrants based on their marital status will encourage more immigrants to break the law and cross the border to do something else. This policy of the administration has shown that they aren't seriously attempting to secure the border and to solve this problem. In closing, Mr. Chair, my amendment would simply protect the State governments and allow them to secure their borders while the President refuses to do that. This is an 80 percent issue among the American public. This is an issue of We the People protecting our house. With the policies of this current administration, we, at the very least, must make sure we allow State governments to protect their citizens and protect their borders. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCORMICK

Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7152) to direct the Secretary of State to establish a national registry of Korean American divided families, and for other purposes, as amended.