Scott Perry

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6277) to amend the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 to improve such Act, and for other purposes.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. First, I would thank the Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee Ranking Member Titus from Nevada for working with me on this piece of legislation. The Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act, also known as FASTA, was passed in 2016 to create a temporary board of experts to identify Federal properties for sale and redevelopment. Unfortunately, the process has not worked as Congress originally envisioned, and this bill seeks to remedy that. Federal agencies are reluctant to let go of property they don't need, and it has become clear the board requires more authority to gather data it needs to develop recommendations. This bill would make a number of reforms to improve the effectiveness of the process, including extending the board's timeline, speeding up the effective date of incentives for agencies to put properties forward, and giving the board access to the Federal Real Property Council. Madam Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus), for her hard work on this effort. H.R. 6277 makes improvements to the authorities of the Public Buildings Reform Board, or the PBRB, established by the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016, or the FASTA, to increase the number of Federal properties the board recommends be sold or redeveloped. By allowing for more Federal properties to be sold or redeveloped, H.R. 6277 will ultimately reduce the cost of our Federal real estate portfolio, resulting in savings for the taxpayers. Madam Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 83) authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service and the National Honor Guard and Pipe Band Exhibition.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on H. Con. Res. 83.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H. Con. Res. 83, which I introduced, honors our Nation's fallen law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty last year with a memorial service here at the Capitol. Every day our police officers show up to protect and serve, keeping our families, businesses, and communities safe. Unfortunately, so many of our police officers are demonized and disparaged for doing one of the hardest, most important jobs in the country, and it is a job that continues to grow more dangerous every day. We all owe our gratitude to those police officers who continue to serve despite these challenging times. This memorial service is only one small way to thank and honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. Madam Speaker, I also thank the Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Ranking Member Dina Titus from Nevada for working with me on this resolution. Madam Speaker, I urge support of this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing. All of us have had our hearts broken as we have watched the nightly news somewhere in our own town, our own State, or across the country as brave men and women wearing the uniform have run to the bullets, have run to the sound of the guns, have run to the violence--too many. As law enforcement struggles to maintain recruitment, as, unfortunately, too many places in America don't respect the work that they do, it is an unfortunate situation we find ourselves in. I can imagine every single day when an officer leaves their home, their family, and kisses their husband or wife or children good-bye, every day you never know, whether it is a traffic stop or a warrant service, where there is some bad turn of events and the officer never comes home. That has to end in America, Madam Speaker. That circumstance has to end. While it is present and while we seek a better future for our country and the men and women who serve so bravely in uniform, the one small thing that we can do is open up their United States Capitol to bring attention and draw attention to what has happened with the unimaginable sacrifice that they have made, that their families continue to endure, so that all of America and all the world can see who we honor. Madam Speaker, I urge support of H. Con. Res. 83 to allow these Capitol Grounds to be used for a memorial service to honor our Nation's fallen law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2023, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6316) to amend title 40, United States Code, to establish an expiration date of certain committee resolutions with respect to leases or projects, and for other purposes.

Mr. PERRY. 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 in the Record on H.R. 6316.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 6316 sets an expiration date for committee resolutions for the General Services Administration's capital leasing and improvements program. If the GSA fails to proceed with a project that has been approved by both the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works within 5 years, the bill would require that the authorization expires and the GSA would then return to the committees for a new approval. I thank my good friend, Ranking Member Titus of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, for her leadership and work on H.R. 6316 and for working with me and the whole committee on this piece of legislation, which I am proud to cosponsor. Madam Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I agree with the gentlewoman from Nevada that maybe it is not going to get a lot of press, but I think we both agree that it is simply good governing. Project proposals can grow stale, and if GSA fails to proceed on the authorization within 5 years, the agency should be required to resubmit the proposal. A lot of things can change in 5 years, and we have seen that. H.R. 6316 would increase GSA's accountability to Congress and, more importantly, to the American people, ultimately aiding in our ability to conduct appropriate oversight of these leases and these projects. Madam Speaker, I urge support of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6254) to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a review on the Public Buildings Service, and for other purposes.

Mr. PERRY. 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 in the Record on H.R. 6254.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 6254 directs the Government Accountability Office to review the General Services Administration's Public Building Service personnel structure, including staffing trends, work locations, and organizational structure. GSA's Public Building Service administrative budget, including staffing, is paid for out of the Federal Buildings Fund. Because it is buried in a larger fund, it is difficult to track and evaluate the Public Buildings Service workforce and its management to conduct appropriate oversight. This bill would seek to address that issue, increasing transparency and, ultimately, greater oversight. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden) for introducing H.R. 6254, the Public Buildings Accountability Act of 2023, and for his leadership on this important issue. Madam Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden), to speak on his bill.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee.

Mr. PERRY. I am not sure that that one particular singular focus should be an amendment or something like that, but as a general theme, I don't know that the committee would mind. We could take a look at that kind of activity and the effects.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Again, Madam Speaker, this bill will improve transparency and oversight of GSA's Public Buildings Service, and its staffing management structure. Further, H.R. 6254 will inform the committee's oversight efforts to maximize the return of Federal employees to in-person work. I do urge support for this. I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden) for offering this and to acknowledge his strident and outspoken work on the behalf of constituents, otherwise known as our bosses, who demand and deserve an answer when they call these folks who work for us and work for them. I thank him for his diligence and dogged determination. Madam Speaker, I, again, urge support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Texas for yielding. I had the honor of visiting the Alamo just about a month ago when I went to the border. Again, I went to the border and I wondered about William Barret Travis. And I have got to tell you, when you are standing there and you are reading that, and you know that you are standing on the ground where giants stood, where things in the world meant something and were worth fighting for, it is invigorating, and it is inspiring to you to do your part. I wonder, would William Barret Travis and the folks that lost their lives, the guys that lost their lives defending America at the Alamo and Davey Crockett, would they do it for $20 million for a State route in Alabama? How about $4.1 million for a bike path in San Diego or $6.4 million for a greenway trail in Chattanooga or $1 million for an electric vehicle car share for public housing residents or $5 million for a Newport, Rhode Island, walking path? I am sure that all of those are very important things to the people that live in those communities. I believe that. The question is: Why is the Federal Government paying for them when the Federal Government doesn't have any money? From December to January, we went over $34 trillion in debt and by May we will be at $35 trillion. Did the folks at the Alamo, including William Barret Travis, risk his life and ultimately give his life to watch his country be swallowed up in debt? To that end, the invasion coming from south of the border, we didn't stop in this bill that was just passed, using taxpayer dollars to represent illegal aliens, to get their attorneys for them. They have come illegally, and the people that gave their lives at the Alamo, I guess we would ask them: Hey, you don't mind paying with your life so that we can represent the people who are attacking you right now? You wouldn't mind that, would you? I bet they would mind. I have got to tell you, my good friend from Texas talked about the folks at Bastogne. I served in the 28th Infantry Division who held Bastogne underequipped, undermanned, surrounded by the Germans, taking the losses, taking the unbelievable losses, being told to hold the line, stay here, and hold the Germans off until Patton gets here. Everybody remembers Patton came and saved the Bulge and all that stuff. Nobody cares about all of those guys in the 28th Division who lost their lives fighting for the idea of the greatest country on the planet, the greatest country on the planet where we just agreed to fund firearm registries so that we can take rights away from Americans, where we agreed to fund vaccine mandates at the Veterans Administration. I don't think they fought for that. I don't think they fought so that we could have another report about China buying up farmland and sensitive land around military installations. We didn't stop them from doing it, but we are sure going to have a report, so that is awesome. How about this: They fought and lost their lives so that we can continue to fund the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and we also continue to fund sanctuary cities. It is breathtaking to me what is happening in this Chamber. The individuals that founded this Nation, that pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, they meant it. They knew how serious it was. They pledged their lives, Mr. Speaker, and we can't even honor their sacrifice by saying we are going to hold the line here and do what we said we were going to do last May.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, we will have colleagues starting today-- starting just moments ago, on both sides of the aisle, that will tell you we can't afford this government; it is spending too much. Our citizens can't afford their groceries. They can't afford housing. They can't afford their credit card bills. How did it happen? It happened in here a couple hours ago.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, did Davy Crockett and William Barret Travis-- not that they had them back then--but if they had, did they lose their lives so that a Federal Government could tell them you must buy this car; you cannot buy this gas stove; you will power your home this way or maybe you won't power it at all because we are going to shut off the generation that America invented? Is that what they died for? These people and the battered bastards of Bastogne died because they wanted us to be free. They wanted the privilege and the honor to run their own lives, to make decisions for themselves. They didn't want a government that decided everything for them. They wanted a government that laid out the framework where each one of them could determine their destiny. Now, we just voted for the government to determine the destiny right here and in so many other places. It is our duty, Mr. Speaker, and the duty of every Representative who takes the oath, to fight to ensure that the rights to determine your destiny reside with the individual and not an overbearing, out-of-control Federal Government. Today, we failed at that mission.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, free from the bondage of economic slavery. Slavery is in many forms, but when you can't make the choices that you should be able to make as a free person because you can't afford to make the choices because your government is taking from you that which you have earned, that is tyranny, Mr. Speaker. That is tyranny. With all due respect to many colleagues on both sides of the aisle, we have one set of Members that are seeking the fundamental transformation of America, which used to look like a free country, and we have another side that is doing nothing to stop it.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 39.