Andrew Ogles

Mr. OGLES

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, this amendment prohibits the use of funds to consider the social cost of greenhouse gases in the development and implementation of budgets, Federal procurement processes, and environmental reviews. President Biden is directing agencies to consider the social cost of greenhouse gases in the development and implementation of budgets, the Federal procurement process, and environmental reviews. Progressive Democrats use these social costs of greenhouse gas metrics to justify sweeping climate policies and stringent regulations that drive up costs. However, the social cost of greenhouse gases is an extremely inefficient policymaking tool. Estimates are based on very questionable, flawed, and uncertain assumptions, and the Biden administration refuses to share any details on how they come up with these numbers. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, I certainly appreciate my colleagues' sentiments, but I think the key here is analysis and the metrics, or the lack thereof, on some of these policies and regulations. As we assign metrics that can't be quantified to policies and regulations, driving up costs to industry, that is passed to the consumer. As you have more people moving into zones that are prone to tornadoes or hurricanes, you are going to see more incidents, you are going to see more destruction, and you are going to see more costs. Those folks move there knowing that that is the cost-benefit analysis of it. What I would say is that the current metrics are insufficient. They drive up costs. It is at a time when we have ballooning budgets and at a time when our border is wide open. These are the things that we need to be discussing, not metrics for gases that can't be quantified. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, as the designee of Mr. Norman of South Carolina, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, this amendment would prohibit funding for the American Climate Corps that the Biden administration established through an executive order last year. When you understand that we have the power of the purse and that we are the body that is supposed to authorize and appropriate on that executive order alone, this should be dismantled. The Biden administration describes the American Climate Corps as a workforce training and service initiative for careers in the clean energy and climate reliance economy. As part of the administration's Justice40 goal, the corps will focus on equity and environmental justice. This cost is around $30 billion. Madam Chair, I just want to emphasize that we have a border that is overrun. We have deficits that are out of control. Inflation is at an all-time high. People in our country are struggling, and when I see a line item for equity and environmental justice, I am appalled, just as my constituents are and should be. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, I look forward to working with my colleague on how to get the next generation to engage in the workforce. As we see and as she mentioned, we have a shortage of workers in the oilfields. We need people to climb poles, drill for oil, and be captains of ships for the Coast Guard. Teaching them environmental justice isn't what she is talking about. We need workers to roll up their sleeves and buy into the American Dream of building a life for the future in America. It is not solar panels. It is the oil and gas beneath our feet. We have got to stop pushing the progressive Democrat agenda, which is pulling us away from the very thing that is part of our national security, which is fossil fuels. Madam Chair, I urge adoption of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, as the designee of Mr. Norman of South Carolina, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, this amendment would prohibit funds from being used by the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases. The Interagency Working Group was originally convened by the Obama administration before being disbanded by the Trump administration and reimposed through President Biden's radical climate Executive Order No. 13990. Progressive Democrats use the social cost of greenhouse gases metrics to justify sweeping climate policies, strict regulations, and like I have said before, it does nothing but drive up costs for the American consumer. As I have explained, President Biden began directing agencies to consider the social cost of greenhouse gases in the development and implementation of budgets, Federal procurements, and environmental reviews. At a time when we have to get down to the dollars and cents, where we have to be cutting budgets, where we have to be saving dollars, metrics that can't be quantified are not acceptable. These costs are hard to explain. They are hard to measure. They are not reliable. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, as an Eagle Scout, I truly want to see our community become and be a better place. As someone who lives in a rural area, I am passionate about our rural communities and seeing a better and vibrant rural America. However, the mistakes of the past don't justify passing regulations that destroy American energy, destroy American industry, and that make it cost prohibitive for R&D to take place so that we do produce cleaner energy and so we do produce chemicals or precious metals in a cleaner and more efficient way for the American consumer. Nonetheless, this working group is designed to undermine American industry. Madam Chair, I urge adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, I rise as the designee for the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman), and I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, this amendment would prohibit funding for policies that advance the Biden administration's radical DEI agenda. Specifically, this amendment would prohibit the use of funds for the Department of Energy's Office of Scientific Workforce Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This office's mission is to promote diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces. Now even science must bow to equity and inclusion. Science should be rooted in fact and research, not wokeism. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chairman, we have seen what happens when the Department of Energy prioritizes diversity and inclusion over all else. It results in hiring nonbinary nuclear officials like Sam Brinton who uses they/them pronouns and steals women's clothes. From the military to corporations to Federal agencies, we have seen time and time again that the DEI mission fosters tribalism in the workplace. We have seen where corporations, Tractor Supply and John Deere, for examples, have pulled away from DEI policies because they are a failure. One has to ask when you look at the attempted assassination of President Trump when the Director put diversity above all else, was that complicit in the fact that a shooter almost killed the former President? Diversity and inclusion as a priority when it should be based off of metrics, skill set, and who actually deserves the job, that should be the priority. Madam Chair, I urge adoption of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, the administration's war on appliances continues. First, it was gas stoves. Then it was water heaters. Now the Biden-Harris administration apparently wants to go after ice makers because, as everyone knows, ice makers are obviously a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The Department of Energy has proposed a rule to impose stringent regulations on commercial automatic ice makers in the name of energy efficiency. For my fellow Americans watching this amendment debate, if someone knocks on the door of your local business and tells you they are from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, don't answer it. Close the door. What this does is drive up costs to hardworking citizens, people who own restaurants, and it makes the products more expensive, and for what? Where are the metrics? This is baloney. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, to my colleague's point, we are getting new windows in a couple of weeks, but that is a cost that, as a household, my wife and I decided to expend, and it is a metric that I can quantify for myself over time. We have seen this play before. In 2014, the Obama administration pushed out a rule to force different sectors of the American economy to comply with more restrictive energy conservation standards. They targeted hotels and hospitals, schools, office buildings, and supermarkets. The projected cost at that time to manufacturers represented 25 percent of their profits. There is no savings for the American consumer. This is a Marxist-style wealth distribution scheme that forces increased costs on the manufacturer, which ultimately costs the consumer more money. If someone wants to buy windows for their home and wants to improve the energy standards of their home, that is one thing. For the government to come in and meddle in an industry that is not truly contributing to carbon emissions or gas emissions is ridiculous. This is absurd. That is why this amendment is offered. Madam Chair, I urge adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, the administration's war on everyday appliances continues with no end in sight, and it has to be pointed out that the ultimate price of these regulations is and will be paid by the American consumer. At a time when inflation is higher, when going to the grocery store costs more, when rents have increased, when the dream of buying a home has slipped away for many Americans, and the costs of purchasing and operating a car have increased, the last thing we need is more government policies that are going to force something that I would consider necessary in every home, which is a water heater. To increase costs on a necessity for the American people at a time when they are already struggling just doesn't make sense. It is time for government to get out of the way of industry. Let's get back to free market principles and stop forcing radical Marxist agenda items on industry. It didn't work. It doesn't work. This isn't going to work. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for her words. This kind of climate alarmist rulemaking isn't about reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is about control. It is absolutely ridiculous that some bureaucrats at the Department of Energy can impose energy efficiency standards that radically alter the marketplace. The Biden-Harris climate crusade has gone too far. They have weaponized the Federal rulemaking process to officially place nonelectric technology off the market. My amendment sends a message that the climate cartel running the White House has no claim on our appliances. Enough is enough. Madam Chair, I urge adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, under section 706-1 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for fiscal year 2003, the President is authorized to identify a list of countries that are major drug transit or major illicit drug production countries, also known as the majors list. China was added to the majors list in September, citing the PRC's role in the production of precursor chemicals used to produce illicit drugs. We have, sadly, seen the impact of Chinese fentanyl in real time. Overdose deaths in my beloved home State of Tennessee have increased by 200 percent over the last 5 years, driven in part by a near-doubling of fentanyl seizures at the southwest border from fiscal year 2022 to 2023, 14,700 pounds versus 27,000 pounds. While Joe Biden did add China to the so-called majors list, that designation came with a caveat. The President effectively said that despite overdose deaths regularly topping 100,000 a year, he was only adding China to the list because of the statutory definition of major drug source countries. It was expanded to include source countries for precursor chemicals. Biden also said that it is hard for large countries with significant chemical and pharmaceutical industries to prevent precursors from being diverted to the production of illicit drugs. The President even brought up an argument saying that it is hard for the U.S. to do it. It may be hard, Madam Chair, but we do do it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, I appreciate my colleague's comments, but the pressure being applied by this administration is clearly ineffective. Just ask the families of the kids in my State or your State or his State who have overdosed because of the moral equivocation that Joe Biden has displayed between China and the United States. It is why we need to ensure that he is not tempted to remove China from the majors list. If he reluctantly put China on that list, Congress must make sure that he doesn't go back on his word. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, again, I appreciate my colleague, and I do agree on the urgency of the situation. Extreme times sometimes require extreme measures. It is important that we dot the i, cross the t, and underline and underscore that this is a crisis in our country. Tonight, somewhere in my home State, someone will overdose because of fentanyl. Someone in your home State will overdose because of fentanyl. Meanwhile, Joe Biden has allowed the border to be wide open, overrun, and unmanned. That is unacceptable. Madam Chair, I urge adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, if you want to come up with the right policy position on any issue related to foreign affairs, talk to Antony Blinken first and then do the opposite. We have all seen the Secretary's inability to be correct about our major foreign policy concerns in the last 20 years, whether it be Iraq, Libya, or Yemen, giving the Iranians access to tens of billions of dollars, or the botched withdrawal of Afghanistan. He is undoubtedly one of the most professionally incompetent individuals to hold the title of Secretary of State. If incompetence by itself were a sufficient ground to remove a Senate-confirmed Cabinet official, the President would have very few advisers left. In the case of Secretary Blinken, it is more than just about incompetence. It is about corruption. We have long since learned from former Acting CIA Director Mike Morell that the infamous ``spies who lie'' letter, an event responsible for Donald Trump not being President today, was led by no one less than Antony Blinken. The letter, signed by 51 intelligence experts, was intended, according to Morell, to give Joe Biden a way to refute the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of a Presidential debate in September 2020. You would think this would be worthy of investigation if not outright impeachment. We just found out that at least two signatories of the ``spies who lie'' letter, Michael Morell and David Buckley, were actively working for the CIA as contractors. Think about that. The CIA contractors colluding with the Biden campaign to discredit Hunter Biden's laptop story were getting paid with Federal tax dollars. The Secretary has also, in perhaps the second highest profile instance during his tenure aside from our botched Afghanistan withdrawal, failed to sufficiently demonstrate America's resolve against terrorist thugs. Prime Minister Netanyahu, set to address this Chamber next month, expressed concerns about the administrative bottlenecks preventing weapons from arriving in Israel. The White House initially withheld approved weapons sales to Israel, including F-15s, mortars, tank rounds, and Joint Direct Attack Munition smart bomb kits. Thankfully, and finally, 50 F-15s are now on their way in support of Israel. Munitions delays do nothing but embolden the perception that the U.S.-Israel relationship is fraying. Nothing could be more dangerous for U.S. security interests than promoting this narrative. For what it is worth, nothing could be more dangerous for international security than perpetuating the lie that the IDF is wantonly murdering Palestinians or that Israel is causing famine. Both claims are top-level absurdities, and honest people will rightfully call these claims for what they are, anti-Semitic garbage. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES. Madam Chair, in the House of Representatives, we have the power of the purse, and what I have proposed in this amendment is holding an individual accountable for his failure and incompetence in the role of his duties. That is our job. There has to be accountability. The ``spies who lie'' letter, CIA contractors undermining an election, the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan--there has to be accountability, and we have the ability to do so with the purse strings. That is a reasonable expectation. If Joe Biden isn't going to do his job, if Joe Biden isn't going to hold Blinken accountable, if Joe Biden isn't going to fire him, then we must do our job. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OGLES

Mr. OGLES. Madam Speaker, tonight the American people will tune in to watch a rigged debate with leftist hosts pretending to moderate. Biden's sham of a judicial witch hunt is as obvious to the American people as the amount of stimulants that Biden takes before his public appearances. Incoherent mutterings, lack of physical awareness, and wandering off demonstrate his cognitive decline. Ahead of tonight's debate, I have no doubt his puppet masters will once again be administering a concoction of drugs to keep him awake. President Trump volunteered to take a drug test. White House handlers, however, won't let Biden take a cognitive test because they know he will fail. I agree with President Trump. The American people deserve transparency, which is why I introduced the No Juicing Joe Act, which would require the White House to notify Congress and the American people when Biden takes anything for cognitive decline. America is the leader of the free world. We need a Commander in Chief who is capable of articulating a coherent sentence, aware of his surroundings, and can lead with strength, a President like Donald Trump.