Scott Perry

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. And hope you can charge. And I sure hope you have the time to sit there and charge, right? It is not like filling it up at the gas station and you get back on the road and keep going and make it in a reasonable amount of time. The gentleman from Texas is absolutely right. I mean, he talked about the fact that we are empowering China. Eighty-five percent of the critical minerals that come here to make the solar panels and windmills come from China. Now, of course, we subsidize all that. That subsidy means it is coming from your tax dollars. Of course, I don't know whether you know this or not, Mr. Roy, but I suspect you do, those tax dollars going to pay for those raw materials in China are then--those tax dollars go to mine it, to mine it in the Congo, right?

Mr. PERRY. One of the biggest mines in the world, the biggest mine in the world. Slave labor, child slave labor, right? We are talking about saving the rainforest, meanwhile they are cutting all this stuff down to mine these minerals, so we can feel good. So we can feel good about our ourselves and America. Meanwhile, it is supporting child slave labor with your taxes, supporting deforestation of the rainforest. For what? For higher prices and less availability, and it is just going to keep coming, ladies and gentlemen, as long as the agenda of the left keeps being implemented.

Mr. PERRY. Right. That is a problem. But $40 billion, no problem. Meanwhile, our citizens, the citizens that I represent, they are having a hard time figuring out, do they pay their insurance, do they pay their mortgage? I talk to people on a regular basis that say they put their bills on their table, and they put a date on them when they are due and when they think they will be able to pay for them. They say, I have never had to do that before. I am selling stuff to pay my bills because I can't afford what is happening in my country right now. Meanwhile, we can't talk for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, an hour about $40 billion to some other country. Meanwhile, we just gave a blank check 2 weeks before to let the President spend any amount of money for any amount of time on the same country. We didn't declare war.

Mr. PERRY. You are absolutely right, Mr. Roy. The American people at least deserve the debate. Five hours, ladies and gentlemen, 5 hours for $40 billion. People around here complain about all kinds of things.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, the good gentleman from Texas for yielding. I think that what most people don't understand--and some even in this body--is that when you think about operational control of the border, you are assuming that the administration wants to stop people from illegally crossing. You are thinking that they are about border security and about national security. We actually voted in this body, as you know, to fund at higher levels, Border Patrol, ICE. And many on our side of the aisle even voted for it, either unwittingly or knowing that this administration was actually going to use that money, not to stop people from coming across the border illegally, not to uphold the law, not to stop the invasion that is guaranteed by our Constitution to the States, but to actually become more efficient at processing individuals coming across the border illegally and moving them very quickly into the interior of the country. They used the money so that they don't have the optics of what is happening at the Del Rio bridge. That is why they wanted to be more efficient. They don't want the optics of people huddling underneath a bridge, coming from some other country or some other places illegally, and not having anywhere to go, and the squalor and the potential crime element that is associated with it. Since they don't want that optic, what they have done is used the money that has been appropriated, the additional money--not to mention all the money that has already been appropriated--to move them more efficiently into the interior of the country. So when the Secretary says he has operational control, sure, they are operationally controlling the influx of illegal aliens, right? That is the actual definition, right? That is the word that is used--illegal aliens into the country. And so on that charge, they are actually doing very well. Unfortunately, the American people, and my good friend from Texas, Chip Roy, know they are suffering right now under horrific high prices that they barely can afford, whether it is for fuel in their car, whether it is for being able to buy groceries, if you can find them. And heaven forbid you are a family that has a small child that needs formula. No extra money for that, Mr. Roy. No extra money for Americans.

Mr. PERRY. Well, you know why.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, into the country but without the view of the cameras, without the access of the American people in to see what is happening in their country. That is the chain-link fence around it, without the view of what is happening in every single community which is due to fentanyl overdoses. Every single person in America now likely can say they know some family, somebody in their town that died of a fentanyl overdose. So that is coming from China, as the good gentleman from Arkansas was just talking about what is happening in China--it comes from China through Mexico across our southern border and into your town. That is national security. That is border security. That is health security. And our country and the leadership and this administration is not providing it at this time.

Mr. PERRY. I am aware of that. Madam Speaker, right here on this floor, the President came and gave his State of the Union and said he wanted to secure the border. That is what the President said, he wanted to secure the border. Yet, the fentanyl keeps coming in. The money has been spent. In many towns they have defunded the police, right? The drugs keep coming in. And as there is a primary election going on right now in my home State in Pennsylvania, many people from across the aisle have said they want border protection, they want national security, they want to stop the fentanyl. But given any opportunity to vote in favor of that, to come down and sign the discharge petition, not one Democrat, not one Democrat signed the discharge petition to force that bill to the floor to say keep title 42 in place and leave us an opportunity to make sure that people and drugs and the crime element supported by the cartels don't come to America. Not one will step up.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I am joined by my friends here this evening to talk about the impending decision of the Supreme Court and, of course, the things surrounding it, including the unfortunate, unprecedented leak of the information from the Court, as well as the, I think, heretofore unprecedented protesting at the homes of the Justices that can only legitimately be described as an attempt to influence and change their decision. We are going to get into all that. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop), for some comments on this subject.

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and those are indeed inspiring and hopeful words as we stand ready to hear the Court's final decision, not trying to leak it, not trying to persuade it unduly, doing the work of democracy, of the representative Republic, speaking on behalf of the people that we represent, our bosses, so that they can decide, not just a few folks across the street here in robes, making decisions for the whole country. Madam Speaker, I yield to the good gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman).

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I am being joined by some of my other colleagues here. Mr. Norman, Congressman Norman, mentioned the baby formula. We are here to talk about the stain of abortion on our country. But we are watching what is happening, talking about children that need their formula. Mothers need to feed their babies. They can't get it at the store, yet we see the shelves are full down on the southern border, full of baby formula. What about America's babies, ladies and gentlemen? What about America's babies? Look, you don't have to take our word for it. We are here to talk about the stain of all the lost lives of the innocent over these 49 years. But don't take our word for it. Don't take Republicans' word for it. How about Democrats? How about Governor Bob Casey in the Abortion Control Act of 1982, where he had to go to the Supreme Court and fight against Planned Parenthood for things like parental consent prior to a minor undergoing an abortion? What a novel concept. Oh, so striking. How about, just yesterday, The Washington Post, not known as a bastion of conservatism, saying that yes, experts say protests at SCOTUS Justice homes appear to be illegal, appear to be illegal because title 18, section 1507 of the U.S. Code, says it is: cannot try and influence the decision of the Court. But the left doesn't care. Every single day when you wake up, you say to yourself, I don't know how it could get much worse. I can't believe what is happening, and I don't know what else could get worse than it is. But then, every single day, something else unprecedented happens. Today, that is occurring yet again. If you don't believe me or The Washington Post or Bob Casey, Governor Bob Casey v. Planned Parenthood--by the way, I am not sure how Governor Casey would feel about his son's actions in the U.S. Senate when they voted for the most extreme position, which would make abortion legal at any point during the pregnancy, including up until the minute of birth--voted for that. His father fought the good fight. But what about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, celebrated leftist on the Court, celebrated believer in abortion and protector of abortion, who said that the 1973 law did too much too fast, said that ``doctrinal limbs too swiftly shaped . . . may prove unstable.'' She knew this was a stain on our humanity. She knew. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice).

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, the good gentleman from Georgia reminded me, as I said, you don't have to believe us Republicans. He reminded me that President Biden said this is a child, what we have known all our lives. But don't believe us if you don't want to. Believe your President. He said it is a child. So we know, right? And we are so grateful. As people who love life, love the protection of life guaranteed in the Constitution, we have suffered and prayed for 49 years. We didn't like the decision 49 years ago, in 1973. We didn't like it, but we didn't do the wrong thing. We used the system appropriately, as it was designed by the Founders and the Framers of our great country, to remove the stain of the loss of innocent life from our laws. We are on the edge of that. But the point is that there is a right way to do things. Even though we disagree on occasion, we are a country of laws. If it is going to be okay to break the law just because you disagree with a decision, well, that is not a country that is going to endure very long. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rosendale).

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Indeed, life is precious. It is a blessing. It is a gift. As a parent there is nothing like it. We have lamented these last 49 years in the loss of these innocent lives, and that our country could stand for that and support that; not only just support it, but go out and campaign for it with our tax dollars, with our rhetoric, with our policies around the globe. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the United States of America where you are guaranteed by our Creator, and ordained in the Constitution, the gift of life, the blessing of life, the first gift, the first blessing. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the good gentleman and all my colleagues. Our time is almost over, but I just want to reiterate that we--these Members here and many others on this side of the aisle, in particular--stand for life. We stand for the Constitution which guarantees that life. We stand for the rights enumerated in the Constitution that are given to us by God--granted to us by God. As my friend said: Can't be taken away--even though some will try. When God gives them to you, they can't be taken away. That is all by design. We stand for the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution that folks that would wish to subvert the rule of law--try and color the Court's decision--they should be held accountable. All men are created equal under the law. Apparently, under this administration some are more equal than others. Madam Speaker, that is the recipe for anarchy. We are thankful for this opportunity to speak to our bosses, our employers, the ones who rule over us, the good Lord, and our constituents this evening. Madam Speaker, we are thankful for the time to speak on this very important issue, stand for the Constitution, stand for the law, and importantly, stand for life. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the good gentleman. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice).

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues from the House Freedom Caucus. They are always the toughest and most courageous people in Congress who are willing to do the uncomfortable things. They are fighting to take action, not just rhetoric, but to take action. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Boebert) to close us out.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I am joined here this evening by some of the other members of the Freedom Caucus to talk about what everybody is talking about or one of the things everybody is talking about, which is the unmitigated disaster, the calamity, the crisis at the United States southern border. Today, Secretary Mayorkas was here on the Hill, and I think the term he used was that the border was effectively managed. Effectively managed, Mr. Speaker. I think maybe we are asking the wrong question because effectively managed seems very different in the minds of many Americans than apparently it does to the good Secretary. It seems to me that just looking at the numbers--and I think we oftentimes talk too much in numbers--the toll is in real human lives, but we do need to talk about the numbers a little bit just to emphasize the scale. Effectively managed. For us, for Americans, we think we should have a sovereign country that has a border where the United States of America determines who gets to walk across the border and what the process is. Of course, that is obliterated right now. That is totally gone. I think when the Secretary says that it is being effectively managed, I think that is in terms of the new left's version of the border of America, which is to allow it to be as open as possible, to be violated as many times as possible, and to make as efficient as possible those violations on a daily basis. In other words, let's move across as many people as we can, legally or illegally, without regard to the safety of the country, without regard to the health of the country, without regard to the financial circumstances of the country. All of that stuff is out, quite honestly, without regard to the sentiment of the American people whom we all serve--our bosses. In his mind, apparently, it is effectively being managed. Every time we allocate more money, the charge is it is to more effectively manage or secure our border. Ladies and gentlemen and Mr. Speaker, what that means under President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas and the left's reign across America right now is that they are efficiently--and becoming more efficient at it--moving illegal aliens into our country, into our neighborhoods. Maybe you say, Well, look, these are just people that are looking for a better life. Many of them are, that is true. We don't hate anybody. Every one of us wants to help. What comes with that? What comes with the wide open border? Mr. Speaker, what comes with it is a record number of fentanyl overdoses, the leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 18 and 42 in America today. That is what comes across the border. MS-13 and the criminal element. It is said that we need a humane policy. This is a humane policy? Mr. Speaker, I don't know whether you know this or not, but, unfortunately, a young National Guardsman died while trying to help people that were trying to cross the river, they seemed like they were struggling so he jumped in to help them. He lost his life. I don't know if it is true, but it is reported that after those people came across or got across they were arrested for drug trafficking. When they found the young servicemember's body, it was with another person who happened to be an illegal alien that was trying to cross. Of course, it is not reported, but I think there are literally hundreds and hundreds of dead illegal aliens that have tried to cross the border in the last 14 months. How humane is that? Human trafficking. We have passed numerous bills in this House of Representatives, Mr. Speaker, even since you have been here, about human trafficking. Yet, the taxpayers of our country are forced to finance the largest human trafficking operation the world has ever known. These are the same people paying the taxes. Mr. Speaker, I went to the grocery store before I came here, I bought, I think, seven items: a loaf of bread, cheese, normal things-- two little bags. It was $50. These are the same people that are paying $50 for the groceries for two little bags that have got to pay for all of this. I have a regular-size car, it has about 292,000 miles on it, and it was $75 to fill it up. We are telling them, under penalty of law, unless you pay for this you will go to jail, and you will lose your house if you don't pay your taxes. Mr. Speaker, this is unconscionable. We are currently at 8,000 per day. There are 8,000 illegal crossings per day. We are here to talk about title 42, which is only going to at least double that--and that is according to this Department of Homeland Security. Double that. There is already a crisis at 8,000 per day. I come from a town of about 2,000 people. Every day, four times that many people come across the border illegally and reside in the United States and take away and steal our opportunities. They steal the American opportunity for education, for safe streets, for a starting job--your first job out of high school. All of that is stolen. Mr. Speaker, I would contend that Secretary Mayorkas should be arrested for violating the law because indeed he is violating the law. He is not enforcing the law. He swore an oath. It is in the law. People say we need new laws. Mr. Speaker, even members of your party are saying we need new legislation to combat this. What is any legislation going to matter if the administration refuses to faithfully execute the laws of this land? It is listed right in the Constitution, Mr. Speaker. It is right in there. It is right in there. Faithfully execute the laws of the land. Yet, we have a President and we have a Secretary that refuse to do it. Mr. Speaker, I am joined here by my great colleagues. I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Hice, could you tell us how many have signed? How many Democrats have signed the discharge? The discharge brings the bill to the floor. How many have signed?

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, there are Democrats out there talking about the border crisis and saying we have to fix it, yet they won't sign it.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Boebert).

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Colorado for her remarks. Mrs. Boebert talked about the wall that is not being built; unfulfilled contracts, Mr. Speaker, costing, as Secretary Mayorkas told us today, $72 million, $72 million to not build the border wall, to not honor the contracts that the United States has made with the contractors, $72 million. Yet they are asking for more money. Mrs. Boebert also knows that even though we have contracted for more beds to deal with the influx, we actually leave them empty while we pay NGOs--nongovernmental organizations--to put these people up in hotels. And I will remind you, Mr. Speaker, that the folks whom I serve--my bosses--can barely afford their groceries or their gas, but they are forced to pay for this. We will talk about national security because border security is national security. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the good gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cloud).

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, national security is community security. We are here to talk about the border in general, but certainly title 42, 8,000 a day right now but soon to be double that, maybe more than double that, 8,000 a day. So national security is community security. I was watching a report on the television of a lady in New York--I think it was New York--she got stabbed in the neck and the face over 50 times--over 50 times--murdered. And in the press conference the press asked for the person--the perpetrator--whom they had caught his immigration status. And law enforcement said: We are not going to get into that. We are not going to get into that. There is a Texas guardsman, a young man who would be alive right now. There is a lady who was stabbed in the neck and the face 50 some times who would be alive right now because this administration, the left, the Democratic Party, unfortunately, apparently doesn't care about border security, community security, title 42, preserving the American Dream, and safeguarding the American people. Mr. Speaker, we are going to lose a great Member of Congress here at the end of this session. I often affectionately refer to him as the closer because everybody is gone from Washington, D.C., but Louie is still standing there telling the country what is happening. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the good gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Louie, for his comments. We have 2 minutes remaining by my clock here; is that right, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. PERRY

Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I'm honored to recognize Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Thomas J. Jenkins upon the auspicious occasion of his retirement upon more than twenty years of tireless service to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States of America. Lt Col Jenkins distinguished himself in the performance of outstanding service while assigned to the 193d Special Operations Squadron. During this period, he served as the pilot section supervisor and flight commander, managing over sixty (60) aviators' combat readiness, and recruited twenty-nine (29) rated officers, enhancing the group's longevity. Additionally, he excelled through aircraft commander, instructor, and evaluator pilot upgrades in minimum time, and actively trained and evaluated special operations pilots--ensuring the safety and effectiveness of flying operations. Throughout his career, Colonel Jenkins compiled over four thousand total flight hours in the MC-130W, AC-130W, C-130E/H, and EC-130J airframes. He flew eight hundred (800) hours as an instructor pilot, and totaled over seven hundred (700) career combat sorties, fifteen hundred (1500) combat hours, and forty-four (44) combat support sorties. He deployed and served as an aircraft commander, director of operations, and an expeditionary squadron commander on the EC-130J Commando Solo in support of operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom's Sentinel. Colonel Jenkins' professionalism, expertise, and dynamic leadership contributed immeasurably to the overall mission effectiveness of the 193d Special Operations Group. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J. Jenkins culminate a distinguished career in the service of our Country and reflect great credit upon himself, the Air National Guard, and the United States Air Force. I wish him Godspeed as he embarks on his next adventure.