Scott Perry

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Chief Master Sergeant Robert S. Smith on his retirement from service to our Nation in the United States Air Force and Air National Guard. Chief Smith entered the U.S. Air Force in December 1987, completing the Aerospace Ground Equipment Apprentice course in June 1988. During his active component service from June 1988 to October 1999, Chief Smith performed numerous support functions within the Maintenance Group and Logistics Group, as well as Quality Assurance Inspector and Exercise Evaluation Team Member. Chief Smith deployed in support of myriad missions, including Operation Provide Comfort, Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and Unified Protector. In 2013, he completed a tour at the Air National Guard Readiness Center as the subject matter expert for the A4/M Equipment Management section. Currently, Chief Smith is the Command Chief Master Sergeant of the 193d Special Operations Wing based in Middletown, Pennsylvania--not only one of the largest Air National Guard units in the Country, but a premiere one unlike any other--a profound testament to his leadership skills. He serves as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Wing Commander on all issues affecting mission effectiveness, health, morale, readiness, enlisted development, and mentoring of approximately 1,900 Airmen. Throughout his decorated career, Chief Smith earned a multitude of awards and decorations, to include the: Meritorious Service Medal (w/4 OLC); Air Force Commendation Medal (w/4 OLC); Air Force Achievement Medal; Pennsylvania Commendation Medal; General Thomas J. Stewart Medal; and the Major General Thomas R. White, Jr. Medal. Chief Smith is a member of the National Guard Association of the United States, the Pennsylvania National Guard Association, the 193rd Special Operations Wing Association, and VFW Post 9738. Mr. Speaker, I am honored and privileged to recognize Chief Master Smith on his retirement upon more than 38 years of service to our Nation in uniform--26 of those in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. His tireless service and dedication to his fellow Airmen and the United States of America set the standard by which we all should be judged.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Chief Steven Kingsborough of the Middlesex Township Police Department on his retirement upon 40 years of tireless service. Chief Kingsborough's decorated tenure protecting the Citizens of Middlesex Township began as a patrol officer in August 1985. In 1986, he attended the Pennsylvania State Police Academy in Hershey and graduated as a member of the 49th Municipal Police Training Class. He was promoted to Corporal in January 1987 and served for 10 years before being promoted to Sergeant. In 2017, he was promoted to Lieutenant, where he served for three years before being named Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety on January 1, 2020. Throughout his outstanding and tireless career, Chief Kingsborough was recognized by Middlesex Township with an Exceptional Service award, a Medal of Honor, a Purple Heart, 2 Meritorious Service awards, 2 Outstanding Arrest awards, an Outstanding Community Service award, 2 Medals of Valor, and a Silver Star. Chief Kingsborough also finishes his career as the Certified Instructor for First Aid and CPR classes, Firearms qualifications training, Self Defense training, Non-Lethal Force training, and Taser and OC Spray usage training for the Department and for the Municipal Police Officers Training and Education Commission. He is also certified by the federal government in National Incident Management Systems and Federal Motor Carrier Commercial Vehicle Inspections. Mr. Speaker, I am honored and privileged to congratulate Chief Steven Kingsborough's selfless, tireless, dedicated, and exceptional career of 40 years of law enforcement service to community, Commonwealth, and Country. He has made a lasting mark on Middlesex Township and its citizens in countless ways, and he embodies the term ``servant leader.'' Chief Kingsborough's service sets the standard by which we all should be judged.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I am humbled and honored to recognize the life and legacy of Stanley R. Lawson, Sr., a veteran and trailblazer in Pennsylvania. Born and raised in Harrisburg, Stan was a loving father, son, community leader, and public servant whose life's work was defined by service to others. He was a proud combat veteran of the United States Navy, serving in Vietnam from 1960 to 1964. After returning home, he began his 50-year career in politics and public service. Stan made history in 1969 by becoming the first African American to be elected to the Harrisburg City Council, eventually serving as the Vice President in the early 1970's. His journey in public service continued as the first African American President of AFSCME Council No. 13, the first African American President of the Susquehanna Township Board of Commissioners, and the first African American Chairman of the Dauphin County Republican Committee. In 1986, Stan stood alongside Governor Dick Thornburgh for the signing of House Bill 1855, which conveyed funding and property designated for Susquehanna Township, while he was the President of the Susquehanna Township Board of Commissioners. Those funds were used to create the Susquehanna Township parks, an example of how Stan's leadership directly improved Citizens' quality of life. In addition to his public service, Stan was deeply committed to the local community, civil rights, and his faith in God. Throughout the 1990's, he established and managed Lawson's Grocery, Stan Lawson's Palace, and multiple residential and commercial real estate enterprises. In 2006, he became the President of the Greater Harrisburg Area NAACP, where he served for over 10 years. In 2009, he was ordained as a Deacon at the First Spirit Filled Missionary Baptist Church. Over the course of his life, Stan earned several meaningful honors that meant a great deal to him, including the Man of the Year Award from the Dauphin County Teenage Republicans in 1971, a Resolution of Recognition from the Black Republican Council of Pennsylvania in 1982, and a Presidential Award from the IMC of Greater Harrisburg in 2012. Mr. Speaker, I am honored and privileged to recognize Mr. Stanley R. Lawson, Sr. for his tireless, dedicated, and faithful service to God, family, friends, the Harrisburg community, our Commonwealth, and the United States of America. His lifetime of public service, his pioneering contributions to civil rights, and his enduring commitment to community leadership will endure into eternity. Stan's life example of ``service above self'' set the standard by which all should be judged.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize Jonathan D. Holmes, Chairman of the Jackson Township Board of Supervisors, for his many years of service to Jackson Township, York County, Pennsylvania. Jon has dedicated his life to serving the great People of Jackson Township. He began in 1990 after being appointed as an alternate to the Township Zoning Hearing Board, where he served for almost two years. In 1992, he became a full member of the Zoning Hearing Board. In April 2003, he was appointed to the Township Board of Supervisors to fulfill another member's term, and became Chairman of the Board in 2005, where he has served for nearly 21 years. Jon's career as a Civil Engineer has benefited the Township greatly. As a graduate of Penn State's Engineering program, he always understood the Township's infrastructure needs and made efforts to improve the quality of life for all residents. Under his leadership, he took the Township's Public Works Department to the next level. The Township implemented a roadway improvement program that funded proper paving versus tar and chip, thus improving the safety and durability of town roads. He also improved the equipment in the Department, giving town employees the necessary tools to keep things running. Jon led the Board during the purchase of land titled for Little Creek Community Park, the Township's first park. Today, the park includes a nine-hole golf course, walking trails, playground equipment, and a pavilion; it's a heavily used community center and loved by residents and non-residents alike, yet another tangible example of how Jon's leadership impacted the communities in and outside of Jackson Township. Jon's leadership was recognized not only by residents, but by other leaders in Pennsylvania. He was honored by the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors and inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2025, which speaks broadly to his leadership abilities and legacy. Mr. Speaker, I am honored and privileged to recognize Chairman Jonathan Holmes for his selfless, tireless, and dedicated service to the Citizens of Jackson Township, York County, Pennsylvania. His leadership, professionalism, and fidelity will be greatly missed, and his service sets the standard for all to be judged.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Lancaster County for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, the Psalms tell us that the Lord is closest to the brokenhearted, and we are brokenhearted on this day for the loss of these officers. Mr. Speaker, every day across America, as we go about our lives, every day and every night, there are men and women who put on the uniform to keep our communities safe. They never know when they leave home, kiss their wife, their husband, their children good-bye, whether that is the last day or not. It is a burden that most of us will never recognize, can't understand, will never experience. We live in a wonderful country because of the people who are willing to risk their lives and run to the danger. Mr. Speaker, these brave individuals, the finest in America, certainly the finest in York County, gave their last full measure in support of the safety of their community and our country. We are heartbroken, and we pray for them. We pray for the departments. We pray for their families. We pray for our community, and we hold them up. We acknowledge their sacrifice on our behalf. I thank the gentleman from Lancaster and the whole Pennsylvania delegation, the whole House for your attention to this matter. We have to do better. We have to deal with these things successfully, and we have to continue to honor those who stand in the way of evil every day so that we can remain free.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chair, had I been present, I would have voted AYE on Roll Call No. 244. Stated against:

Mr. PERRY

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

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, I might sound like a little bit of a broken record here, but, unfortunately, the broken record of $37 trillion in debt and climbing continues as well, so we have just got to keep at it. First, the Great Lakes Authority has only been authorized since 2022. It still does not have a Federal co-chair, so nobody is in charge. It has no website, and it has no programs funded. They haven't done anything. They haven't spent any money making any lives better, yet, strangely, it is still receiving Federal dollars to the tune of $4 million for projects allegedly in the watershed of the regions of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The commission's programs are duplicative of other Federal economic development programs and are better addressed at the State and local levels. That is even if they do any projects, which they don't. They just get money. Mr. Chairman, we have seen how the other commissions have gone. President Trump urged the elimination of many of them, and President Obama also recommended the elimination. With that level of bipartisan criticism of existing commissions, I don't see why we need to dig ourselves even deeper with another one, more debt, more projects that are supposed to be done by others, and no Federal nexus, but here we go. I know that people in the building will scoff at the difference of $2 million and $4 million, but for folks where I live, $2 million and $4 million is a lot of money. Remember, Mr. Chairman, whether it is four or two, no projects are being completed at this time by this organization. That is a lot of money to be throwing around at a commission that is duplicative and, obviously, unnecessary. Furthermore, all of us here know it is not going to stop at $4 million. This commission, like all the rest, will balloon up to tens of millions of dollars unless somebody puts their foot down. I am going to stay on this mission to try and save the taxpayers some money. It is great for people on the commission to be Santa Claus and hand out your money to somebody else, but you are the one paying for it, Mr. Chairman. Don't have any illusions about that. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, there are a lot of things I agree with the gentlewoman from Ohio about. We have hardworking people. Whether they are in Harrisburg or in Ohio, they are working-class people. I am one of them, having spent most of my life turning wrenches, laying in ditches, and things like that. We know how to work in Pennsylvania. Where we agree, apparently, but we can't say, is that the Federal Government broke it, shipping our jobs overseas, not only in the gentlewoman's communities but in my communities. Of course, the Federal Government did that with our tax dollars. Then the Federal Government is going to come back in after they broke it and use our tax dollars to tell us that they are fixing it. What I am saying is that these programs are being done by other Federal agencies. We don't need yet another one on top of them to take our money and have it sit in some account. Oh, by the way, when the gentlewoman says that no one has been appointed by the executive branch, this thing was started years ago while somebody else was in the executive branch and didn't appoint anybody. Please don't lecture me on how Donald Trump isn't appointing someone to this when President Biden had the opportunity and somebody could have autopenned it but couldn't be bothered. Mr. Chair, we need to support this amendment. I urge passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chair, as the designee of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy) I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chair, this amendment fully defunds DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, or the EERE. This amendment is offered because we simply cannot continue to fund the destruction--and that is what it is--of the U.S. energy grid to satisfy a climate cult. The FY 2024 minibus gave this office $3.5 billion. While the underlying bill cuts funding down to $1.9 billion, we need to defund it entirely. Why are we fooling around here, taking half of it? This thing doesn't do anything good for anybody. This office's mission under the last administration was to ``equitably transition America to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050.'' What does that mean, net zero? What that means is everything that you see--the clothing you are wearing, the car you are driving, the cell phone you use--disappears in America because we can't make any of that stuff because it requires emissions. We will still have it, so we will just offshore that stuff to everybody else, including China. That is a brilliant plan. If we look at wind and solar, it funds wind and solar, which are actively destroying the power grid. They are the least reliable sources of power and the most expensive. Nobody would use them, and nobody would produce them, if they weren't subsidized by your tax dollars. It funds zero-emission vehicles that only the wealthy can afford and depends on supply chains dominated by China. It actively promotes divisive concepts like energy equity and environmental justice, which allocate tax dollars based on immutable characteristics. Are you serious? This is America? While we successfully ushered in the end of the Inflation Reduction Act, we have to continue because there is plenty more to do. Over 90 percent of the subsidies from this organization went to corporations that make over $1 billion per year. I am going to tell you who is going to defend it. Not me. Some people over there, some people over here will, but not me. With $1 billion per year, these subsidies could make wind and solar account for nearly 60 percent of U.S. electricity generation by 2050. People say that is great. Isn't that good? It is good if you don't care if you can't turn the lights on because the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining. We are going to have rolling brownouts and blackouts because that is what is going to happen, like in California. Americans in the 21st century are going to become used to it. We are going to normalize living in the seventh century instead. Of course, all of this makes us wholly dependent on China for our power. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chair, President Trump won the election and requested that Congress slash the funding for this office. This amendment does exactly that and deals with this out-of-control agency. Historically, this office was responsible for some of the most egregious rules regulating the lives of Americans. Previous regulatory actions undertaken include air cleaners, fans and blowers, dehumidifiers, commercial clothes washers, and conventional cooktops. Who in the hell do these people think they are? We are Americans. We ought to be able to choose whatever we want to, yet they tell us what we can have and what we can't have. I am not sure what country you think you live in or what it should be, but it shouldn't be this. Mr. Chair, I still urge adoption of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. PERRY

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

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chair, this amendment prohibits the use of funds to implement or enforce the Delaware River Basin Commission's rule to ban hydraulic fracturing within the Delaware River Basin. The best way to combat high energy prices is to produce more energy in America and in places like my own Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the second largest natural gas producer in the Nation. Unfortunately, unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats at the Delaware River Basin Commission have instituted a hydraulic fracturing ban for a portion of the State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, stripping away property and mineral rights from Pennsylvanians in contravention of the will of the State's own legislature. The result is a prohibition on the development of critical shale plays in eastern Pennsylvania that can bring desperately needed natural gas to market and the unconstitutional taking of the mineral rights of Pennsylvanians, all while keeping prices high. To be clear, this amendment simply prohibits the Delaware River Basin Commission from implementing or enforcing its hydraulic fracturing ban but does not impact the ability of the States in the Delaware River Basin Commission to regulate hydraulic fracturing as they see fit. During previous debates on this issue, mistruths were spread about the impact of this policy change on the water reservoirs that serve New York City. These claims are false and easily disproven by the facts. The safety of hydraulic fracturing has been demonstrated through its extensive use across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and across the country for decades now. The Obama-era EPA determined that the practice did not pose a threat to drinking water. Simple geography and hydrology make this outcome an impossibility. All of New York City reservoirs are upriver from Pennsylvania or on the Hudson River, which does not connect to Pennsylvania, precluding any impact in Pennsylvania from reaching these reservoirs. Mr. Chair, the intention of this amendment and its primary impact will be unleashing Pennsylvania's full energy potential by allowing Pennsylvanians in the river basin to use their property and mineral rights as they see fit as free Americans, subject to the laws passed by their elected Representatives. It is time to stop this underhanded attack on property rights, representative government, and State sovereignty and restore American security. Opposition to this amendment is support for the hydraulic fracturing ban and for higher energy, in particular, natural gas prices for our constituents. Mr. Chair, I urge passage of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, I have done my homework for years now, and it is the same song every time because nothing changes. While I agree with the gentlewoman from Ohio--she does know something about this and, of course, it is allowed in Ohio, but she said that it is not appropriate to overrule regional and local governments, but that is exactly what the DRBC does. It overrules regional and local government. By the way, it overrules the Commonwealth Government. While the Governor has a say, there are four other voting members who can overrule that Governor. Quite honestly, what we don't need is somebody from another State telling us how to run our business. There is no political accountability. We don't vote for people in Delaware, New Jersey, and New York. They are wonderful people, and we appreciate them, but our job is to represent Pennsylvania. That is what I am doing. Pennsylvanians want to have access to their land and to their mineral rights, and they should have it, not unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats. Mr. Chair, I urge passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, this amendment eliminates earmarked funding for the Delaware River Basin Commission. Unfortunately, this bill includes an earmark providing nearly three- quarters of a million dollars to the Delaware River Basin Commission, marking just the third time the Federal Government has provided the DRBC funding since 1998. The unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats at the DRBC have unilaterally instituted a hydraulic fracturing ban for a portion of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, stripping away property and mineral rights from Pennsylvanians in direct contravention of the will of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth's legislature. The result is a prohibition on the development of critical shale plays in eastern Pennsylvania that can bring desperately needed natural gas to the market and the unconstitutional taking of the mineral rights of American citizens. This attack on Pennsylvania energy and American energy is at a time when residential natural gas prices are near record highs, and my friends on the other side of the aisle literally run ads saying that I increase their energy prices while they do it every single day and they are just about ready to do it again. It creates significant inflation for my constituents and the constituents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and it empowers our enemies abroad. The earmark in this bill rewards the radical commissioners with money from the very taxpayers and ratepayers the DRBC is attacking. Providing funds to such an out-of-control, radical commission is a step in the wrong direction that incentivizes others to follow its lead, and it keeps our energy costs high. This amendment would prohibit Federal funding for the DRBC, ensuring that we do not further incentivize this commission to attack American energy and the rights of Pennsylvania's citizens. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. PERRY. That is correct.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, the community funding process, just understand if you are not familiar with congressional jargon, that equals earmark. That is three-quarters of a million dollars to this organization that heretofore hasn't needed the money because they extort members of the States that they exist in all kinds of fees, applications, and licensing agreements from townships and other municipalities for private individuals. That is how they are paid for. Yet now we are going to pay three-quarters of a million dollars from the Federal Government when we are $37 trillion in debt. While I am happy to agree that we should test the effluent, I am good with that, but apparently we don't care about the effluent from Ohio to Pennsylvania or from Pennsylvania to Ohio where we conduct the same activity. Oh, by the way, there have been no cases of any issue where hydraulic fracturing caused some effluent issue that I know of or that I imagine my counterpart on the other side of the aisle can speak to. As a matter of fact, I said that the Obama-era EPA said that it was completely safe. While I agree that we should do those things, and if there is a problem we absolutely have to get after it, but we are just throwing money at this thing when there is no evidence that there is a problem. There is zero evidence that there is a problem, number one, and there is zero evidence that they need any of this money, but there is $37 trillion of evidence that we don't have the money to pay for it. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would eliminate funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, program. Modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA, the agency funds research and development of advanced energy technologies. It sounds like a noble goal. Despite a purported goal to identify and promote revolutionary advances in energy, the agency is more focused on misguided, ineffective climate and so-called green priorities. For years, ARPA-E has drifted from its mission and provided grants to companies and projects that are neither high risk nor something that the private sector cannot and does not support. Among recent awards, ARPA-E has supported the Net-Zero Game Changers Initiative, which is subsidizing climate-warming refrigerants and Jetsons-style electrification of aviation. With all due respect, as a member of the Transportation Committee, if they want to electrify aviation, God bless them. Let them and the Wright brothers from the gentlewoman's great State of Ohio invest. It is always better when the private sector invests. It is always more efficient, and the outcomes are always better. The Trump administration has also called for the elimination of this program, and rightly so, recognizing the private sector's primary role in taking risks to commercialize breakthrough energy technologies with actual, real market potential, not made-up ones by the good idea fairy from the Federal Government. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chair, I certainly appreciate the chairman's view. I think his view is actually the same as mine, recognizing that it has already had a 24 percent reduction. Quite honestly, that is great that it has produced all of these patents, but wouldn't it be better if the private sector produced those patents? Right now, the American taxpayer is paying for those patents, but you know who is not getting any of the money, the royalties, or the licensing for those patents? The very taxpayers who pay the bill. Again, I get that many see this as a great jobs program, and it provides a lot of great things for America, but those things should be provided by the private sector because we simply cannot afford to pay for all of this stuff. Something has to give. The private sector wants to make money. It wants to get patents. It wants to license things. Good for them. They should do it. The American taxpayer doesn't want to pay for it. If they are paying for it, where is the return on the investment? Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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