Guy Reschenthaler

Mr. RESCHENTHALER

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Whether it is Pennsylvania or Massachusetts, they are still two great Commonwealths, right? Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time, and I yield myself the balance of my time for closing. Madam Speaker, I am incredibly disappointed but, unfortunately, not at all surprised that, once again, we are considering legislation that will do nothing more than penalize law-abiding citizens while doing absolutely nothing about the root cause of gun violence. We know from history, and we know from numerous studies that I have talked about today, that assault weapons bans do not work. So, why is this bill coming before us today? It is just the latest in the House Democrats' never-ending attack on America's Second Amendment rights. Madam Speaker, I, therefore, urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question and vote ``no'' on the rule. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis) for the purpose of a rebuttal.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle), my good friend, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, the rule before us today provides for consideration of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. After conference negotiations failed on a package to counter the malign actions of China, the Senate drafted this legislation to send billions of taxpayer dollars in the form of subsidies and tax credits to a single industry. Democrats' reckless spending policies led to this record-high inflation that is crushing American families and small business. The government should not be spending hundreds of billions of dollars to provide subsidies benefiting one industry. This legislation comes to the House just 1 day after Senate Democrats announced a deal to tax American manufacturers and energy producers, which will increase the cost to American families and worsen our supply chain crisis. They also want to hire 87,000 new IRS agents, and let's be honest about this. Those agents will do nothing more than target American families and small businesses. They also want to spend $369 billion on their radical, far-left, Green New Deal agenda. There can be no doubt that this latest iteration of Biden's build back broke agenda will cause inflation to skyrocket even further. The Biden administration is deflecting on our Nation's recession. They are classifying Biden's economic crisis as a ``transition'' to slower growth. While they are doubling down on their disastrous policies, they are devastating everyday Americans. It is time my colleagues across the aisle abandon their socialist pipe dream and actually work with Republicans to get our economy back on track. Madam Speaker, I, therefore, urge my colleagues to oppose this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I don't disagree that these chips are important to the U.S. economy and many manufacturers. What I take issue with is the fact that we are putting even more money, billions of dollars, into an economy that is already suffering from record-high inflation. It is unsettled whether this will even make a difference. It can be argued that chips were already going to come back anyhow, and it is not just me saying it. I have an article right here from The Economist, not exactly a rightwing publication. It was published on 10 July of this year. ``When the chips are way down: After a turbocharged boom, are chipmakers in for a supersize bust?'' That is the headline. It goes on, saying: ``Surging supply and softening demand are bringing the pandemic's superstar industry back to Earth.'' My question is: If this industry is already coming back, if it is already as important as we think it is, why do we need to inject billions of dollars into the economy that is just going to further the economic crisis we are already in? I know my colleague from North Carolina was talking about how to spur research and development. I can tell you how to do it: You cut taxes. You cut regulations. If you look at the TCJA, this was a huge win for U.S. research and investment: 25 percent higher than in the years prior, reaching an all- time high in 2019 of $584 billion and 3 percent of GDP. If you want to stimulate the economy, you can do it by reducing taxes and reducing regulation, not by picking winners and losers. To talk more about this point, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Texas (Mr. Burgess), my good friend and fellow Rules Committee member.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, just a point of clarification. This is just an authorization. We will still wait a year anyhow to appropriate these funds, so trying to act like we have a gun to our head right now and this is a do-or-die moment is completely illusory. Again, this is just an authorization. Additionally, I agree with my friend from New York on two points. Number one, we have got to be competitive with China. Number two, the semiconductor chips are important for the economy. But the way to compete with China is not to emulate the policies of a Communist police state. The way to compete with China is to unleash the American economy, to get back to our Western roots of free-market capitalism. If we want to bring more businesses onshore, if we want to fix our supply chain crisis, we can start by reducing the burdensome regulations that are crippling American businesses. We can reduce our income tax and our corporate income tax to make us more competitive globally, and we can do something to make sure we have cheap, reliable, abundant energy resources, such as exploiting our natural gas reserves and perhaps investing in nuclear power. But to sit here and say that we are going to compete with China by doing what the Chinese do and having some bureaucratic monster in D.C. pick winners and losers for a particular industry is not a winning proposition. What will beat China and keep us competitive with China is getting back to what made this country great in the first place, and again that is free-market capitalism. Let's talk about inflation because, again, this is going to put billions of dollars into the economy, which will make this situation worse. Americans are facing the highest inflation in over 40 years. This is literally the worst inflation in my lifetime. This morning we learned that GDP has decreased for a second quarter in a row. Yet, the Treasury Secretary wants to downplay Biden's economic crisis by redefining recession, which for decades recession has been defined as two quarters of negative economic growth. Instead, Secretary Yellen and the leftists across the aisle want to play Orwellian and change the definition to ``a period of transition.'' Even the extreme liberal think tank, The Brookings Institution, acknowledged we are in a recession, but it seems, again, my colleagues across the aisle have forgotten basic economics. House Republicans want to set the record straight. That is why if we defeat the previous question, I will personally offer an amendment to the rule to immediately consider House Resolution 1290, a resolution affirming the longstanding definition of a recession. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record along with any extraneous materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert), my good friend and the sponsor of this resolution, to explain the amendment.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Just to clarify, this is not an either/or choice here. If we defeat the previous question, we can consider the resolution of my good friend from Arizona to actually define recession, and then we can take up the underlying bill. Again, this is a false choice saying it is one or the other. We can do both. People may ask, Why is it necessary to define recession? It is necessary because the party across the aisle are trying to redefine recession. But I shouldn't be surprised. Because remember, this is the same party that tried to tell us that women are now known as birthing people. It is the party that all during the summer of 2020 told us that violent rioting and looting was mostly peaceful protesting. Now they are trying to tell us that a recession, which has been defined for decades as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, that that is now called a transitionary period. So it is an absolute necessity that we define recession so that we have clarity in language. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis), my good friend and the ranking member on the Committee on House Administration.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, my good friend from New York was talking about jobs and the promise of more jobs with this act. We have heard this before. The American Rescue Plan. We sat here and debated that, and we were told by the leftists across the aisle that this was going to create 4 million new jobs. You know what didn't happen? We didn't create 4 million new jobs. And that is not me saying that. That is a study from the American Enterprise Institute, which found that the American Rescue Plan failed to create any of the 4 million new jobs that Big Government Democrats had promised. While we are talking about stats and figures, let's put a real cost to the inflation and the pain that is being inflicted on the American people by injecting billions of dollars into the economy. So let's put real numbers on it. Inflation will cost the average American household more than $6,000 a year. That is so high that if you have had a constant salary for the last year, you have essentially worked for more than a month without pay. So, let me ask this: If you are sitting here watching at home, could you take one paycheck from this year, one paycheck, and just throw it out the window? Probably not. Now, if you are part of the coastal elite and the woke, yuppie, Zoom class that is the base of the Democratic Party, you might be able to afford that. You might just go to two Pilates classes a week instead of four. You may not take that second trip to Europe. You may scale back at Whole Foods. You have that luxury if you are part of the woke Democratic base. But if you are somebody in Pittsburgh who is a retired steel worker that is on a fixed income, this hurts you. You don't have that disposable income. If you are a natural gas driller in Oklahoma that has to drive to a drill site every day to actually produce something, you have to fill your tank with gas. You don't have the option to sit at home and pretend you are working on Zoom. If you are a woman that has to drive, for example, to a diner to work a shift, you don't have the luxury of not doing that. You have to bear the burden of the inflation; again, the inflation that is being caused by the radical left policies of the Democratic Party. Yet, despite this real economic pain, Democrats continue to want to put billions of dollars in the economy, billions in corporate handouts. They want to undo Republican tax cuts and policies that actually led to the lowest unemployment rates we have had in 50 years. So, rather than forcing Americans to pay for their radical socialist agenda, my colleagues across the aisle should use the time to work with Republicans on policies that American families will benefit from and allow American companies to actually compete in a global economy. And we can do that all simply by reducing regulation and reducing taxation. And how about we unleash our domestic energy supply? So I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question and ``no'' on the rule. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. There was an--I don't know if you want to call it an allegation--an insinuation that the only time I speak to condemn violence is when it is violence that I don't agree with. I want to be clear about something. I condemn all acts of political violence. I have been very consistent on that; so have my colleagues across the aisle. Great example: The first time I ever spoke here on the House floor was in support of a resolution rejecting white supremacy, and I talked at length at that time of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting that occurred in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania. As you know, I am from the South Hills of Pittsburgh. I have a lot of friends that actually attend that synagogue. And again, the first time I spoke on the House floor was to condemn violence. So I just want the Record to reflect my consistency on this issue and the consistency of my colleagues. I wish my friends on the left would condemn violence that the left has done. It seems that they cherry-pick their own outrage. But let's just get back to economics. Again, there was this notion floated that inflation is not as bad here as it is internationally, and this is a global problem. Again, it is a global problem because we are the world's largest GDP. We are exporting inflation. But even with that said, inflation is far worse here than it is in the developed world. Our inflation, by reference, is 9.1 percent. Japan is at 2.4 percent. The U.K. is at 9.1 percent; they are the same as we are. Italy is at 8 percent; Canada, 7.7 percent; France, 5.8 percent. Again, all those countries I listed, those nations in the developed world have inflation that is lower than where we are, with the exception of the U.K., which is the same. In Brazil--I should say this about Brazil. It is at 11.9 percent in Brazil. So this idea that everybody is experiencing inflation, and that we have it easier, is just not accurate when you look at the numbers. Now, I gave a list of what I would cut from the budget. It wasn't an exhaustive list, and neither is this, but I just want to give a few more examples. $75 million is allocated for public housing, energy efficiency and climate resilience upgrades. That could be cut. There is 75 million right there. Funding for the FDA--and let's not forget, the FDA was the agency that failed to prevent the infant formula crisis. The Democrats are rewarding the FDA with a 10 percent increase. That can be cut. And what is so insulting about a 10 percent increase to the FDA is, at the same time Democrats want to increase the funding to the FDA-- again, the agency that led to the baby formula shortage--you have farmers and ranchers that are struggling to make ends meet and to actually harvest food because of the rising food costs and fertilizer costs, and there is no increase to them. And I think one of the most outrageous items that can be cut is the $90 million that is going to The Presidio park, a park that is in an incredibly affluent area of San Francisco, arguably, one of the wealthiest areas in the entire United States. Yet, that park is getting $90 million, when those around that park can fund it. And again, what is so insulting about this is we are not even giving allocations to places like Yellowstone and Yosemite that are actually national parks. So those are just some of the areas I would cut. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman from my home State of Pennsylvania for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, the rule before us today makes in order three pieces of legislation, including H.R. 8294, a bill to fund 6 of the 12 appropriations bills. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I want to just say I am extremely grateful to Ranking Member Granger and Chairwoman DeLauro for all the hard work that they put in, and also the committee staff. I know a lot of effort went into this legislation. Unfortunately, the product before us was flawed from the very start. House Democrats drastically underfunded our national defense while providing major increases to the same social programs that have already received trillions of dollars in funding under the Biden administration. It is clear that the Democrats' out-of-control spending has been the key driver to inflation. Don't take my word for it. Larry Summers, former economic adviser to President Biden, went so far as to call the American Rescue Plan ``the least responsible macroeconomic policy we've had in the last 40 years.'' Again, that was Larry Summers, Democrat adviser to the President. You know what? He was right. Last month, inflation hit 9.1 percent. That is the highest inflation rate in my lifetime. It is the highest inflation rate since 1981. President Biden's inflation crisis has cost the American worker over $3,000 in annual income, and the skyrocketing cost of goods and services will cost the average American family over $6,000. That is what is so nefarious about inflation, it hits the working class and those on a fixed income the hardest. Yet, the Big Government Democrats with their reckless spending policies have these six bills before us today included in the package. The six bills included in today's package received a total increase of 11 percent over the previous fiscal year with some accounts, like the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of Personnel Management, receiving double-digit and triple-digit percentage increases, which will, of course, fuel additional inflation. Keep in mind, the Defense appropriations bill approved by the Appropriations Committee had just a 4.4 percent increase. Additionally, instead of addressing record-high gas prices, Democrats are pushing this partisan Green New Deal initiative that will only worsen Biden's energy crisis. Under this measure, offshore oil and gas activities are restricted and oil and gas inspection fees are increased. This is just going to drive up the cost of energy for working families. H.R. 8294 also includes numerous far-left, radical, liberal policies like allowing taxpayer dollars to fund abortions, and keeping our critical and strategic minerals in the ground. Alarmingly, it includes provisions that threaten our national security, including allowing for the closure of Guantanamo Bay, which houses some of the world's most dangerous terrorists. It also fails to modernize the nuclear weapons stockpile and complex, and provides incentives for illegal immigration. Further, the rule before us today provides for consideration of H.R. 8373, which goes far beyond supporting access to contraception. Let me just be clear about this point. Not a single State in the Union, not a single general assembly in any State is debating considering making contraception illegal. This poorly drafted bill has extreme provisions that could harm the health of women, send taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, and force people to violate their religious and sincerely held beliefs. Madam Speaker, I, therefore, urge my colleagues to oppose this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, my friend and colleague from Pennsylvania asked me which programs I would cut funding from as if this were some kind of checkmate in floor debate. It is not because the answer is very obvious. I have an extensive list of where I would cut. Just for starters, let's look at some of the increases in the appropriations package and, of course, where I would cut. We have a 20 percent increase for the Environmental Protection Agency. That could be cut. We have a $1 billion increase for the Internal Revenue Service. That could be cut right there. There is a 30 percent increase for the Federal Trade Commission. That could be cut. Don't take my word for it. Not one but two of the Commissioners of the FTC said that they don't even need this increase. There is money that you could cut right there, Madam Speaker. There is a 12 percent increase to maintain and improve Federal buildings. I don't know if anybody across the aisle has been paying attention, but most of the people in these Federal buildings have been working remotely from home for the last 2 years. Yet, we need to increase funding to Federal buildings that are literally sitting empty as people work from home? Then, we have a lot of bad ideas regarding climate. $100 million is provided for the President's proposal to use the Defense Production Act authorities to accelerate domestic manufacturing of select clean energy technologies. That can be cut. While we are talking about the shift to clean energy technologies, let's just be honest about who benefits from this. It is China because they are the ones who are selling the rare earth elements that are going into things like solar panels. By the way, they are bringing more nuclear power plants online and more coal-fired plants online while we hamstring our economy and our energy sector with these absurd climate change proposals. I have more, actually, but for the sake of time and brevity, I will save them for later if the issue comes up. Additionally, this notion that inflation is a worldwide issue, I am not sure when they stopped teaching economics in school, but we are the world's largest GDP. If we have inflation, then the world has inflation because we literally export it. That is just how economics works. To blame Ukraine, Ukraine might play a part in this, but who is to blame for Ukraine? It is President Biden. It was the weakness and vacillation--his surrender in Afghanistan--that emboldened Putin. It was the vacillation. It was the ``minor incursion'' comment that he had that gave Vladimir Putin the green light to invade. Had he just been more resolute in our national security, then we could have deterred this invasion. So, he owns Ukraine, as well. The gentlewoman from North Carolina brought up Dobbs. I want to quote the actual decision because I think a lot of the points in Dobbs were taken out of context. The Court made it clear in that decision that the decision on abortion should ``not be misunderstood or mischaracterized . . . to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.'' The Court went out of its way to state that they are not concerned about contraception, despite the gentlewoman from North Carolina saying otherwise. But let's go back to Dobbs. Since the point of the leak of the Dobbs draft Supreme Court decision, there have been 70 violent attacks and threats on churches, pregnancy centers, and pro-life organizations. These attacks consist of vandalism. They consist of destruction of property, arson, and even included protesters breaching the Arizona State Capitol, forcing legislators to evacuate. Radical pro-abortion groups have proudly declared ``open season'' on pro-life pregnancy centers while these organizations are providing critical resources to pregnant women, infants, and families. Republicans want to protect public safety. We want to ensure pro-life organizations can continue helping women and babies in need. That is why if we defeat the previous question, I will personally offer an amendment to the rule to immediately consider H. Res. 1233, a resolution affirming the importance of pro-life crisis pregnancy centers, condemning the violent attacks by far-left extremist groups, and calling upon the Biden administration to use all law enforcement authorities to uphold public safety and protect the rights of pro-life facilities, groups, and churches. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson). The vice chairman of the Republican Conference and sponsor of the resolution is here to explain the amendment.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time, and I yield myself the balance of my time. Since Democrats jammed through their $1.9 trillion stimulus bill last year, inflation is at an over 40-year high; the value of American paychecks has also fallen; and families are paying more for just about everything. Yet, the rule before us makes in order a funding package that provides double-digit and triple-digit increases for nondefense programs that will further fuel Biden's inflation crisis. And by the way, while this bill is providing double-digit and triple- digit increases for nondefense programs, the defense budget has only increased 4.4 percent. That is appalling. H.R. 8294 also is packed with far-left liberal wish list items like taxpayer-funded abortion, rather than policies that will address Biden's economic crisis and fix our supply chains, secure our border, and invest in national security, and bring down gas and electricity costs through domestic energy production. Clearly, the Democrats' spending and policy priorities are out of touch with everyday Americans. And that is just not me saying that. According to a poll, a shocking 75 percent of Americans are experiencing hardship because of Joe Biden and House Democrats' inflation crisis. And the majority of Americans expect the economy to get worse this year. This bill, like the Democratic Party, is tone-deaf and out of touch. I, therefore, urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question and ``no'' on the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of Amendment No. 431 in en bloc No. 4, offered by my good friend from Rhode Island, Mr. Cicilline. I am proud to cosponsor this amendment and urge my colleagues to support it. This amendment would safeguard important protections for servicemembers and their families by preventing the enforcement of forced arbitration clauses in any dispute covered under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The SCRA was passed to ease financial burdens on servicemembers when they are required to relocate for active duty assignments and protects them from eviction, foreclosure, and other financial penalties. Unfortunately, forced arbitration clauses deny our troops the ability to exercise their SCRA rights and protections in court. This is not right. Our servicemembers deserve peace of mind while they are out fighting for our freedoms, which is why Rep. Cicilline and I are offering this amendment. It is worth noting this language was included in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act that passed the House with bipartisan support, but unfortunately was stripped during negotiations with the Senate. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on amendment No. 431 so we can ensure our military men and women can focus on their missions rather than worry about financial burdens at home.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I hear about this being a global issue. It is a global issue, but the reason it is a global issue--quick economics lesson--we are still the reserve currency. We also are the largest GDP. We are exporting the inflation to other countries. Let's be clear. The inflation is caused by Joe Biden's reckless, Big Government, socialist agenda and, unfortunately, the American people as well as the world have to deal with this recklessness. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach), who is my good friend on the Rules Committee.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from California for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, the rule before us provides for consideration of three pieces of legislation that are, once again, missed opportunities to provide real relief to the American people. Rather than working with Republicans to address the serious issues facing our Nation, Democrats again prioritize the interests of far-left special interest groups and their radical progressive base over the needs of American workers and American families. Look no further than H.R. 2543, a compilation of 13 Committee on Financial Services' bills that prioritize woke policies and unnecessary reporting over actually fixing Biden's economic crisis. As my friends across the aisle will remember, under President Trump, U.S. employment reached a 50-year low of 3.5 percent. Additionally, under President Trump, minority unemployment dropped to the lowest levels on record. Compare that with the economy under the Democrats' one-party rule. Inflation is now at a 40-year high. Gas prices are now over $5 a gallon. Americans can expect to pay an extra $5,200 this year compared to last year for the same goods and services. Once again, rather than just working with Republicans to provide real economic relief, the Democrats continue to double down on reckless spending, far-left policies, and have prioritized their Big Government socialism over free market principles. What has this led to? It has led to economic instability. It threatens the stability of our Federal Reserve. It piles regulatory costs on small businesses. It emboldens unelected and unaccountable career bureaucrats. Ultimately, H.R. 2543 will make it more difficult for low-income and minority borrowers to start a business, to buy a home, and to build credit. It actually does the opposite of the intended effect. This will also provide for consideration of H.R. 7606, a bill that claims to lower food costs by appointing a ``special investigator,'' and this special investigator will investigate American meat packers and live poultry dealers. Let's be clear, this legislation is a weak attempt to lay the blame for President Biden's economic crisis on American job creators. In reality, this is just another unfunded mandate that empowers Washington bureaucrats and places new burdens on American food producers. Alarmingly, these compliance costs may actually raise the price of food even higher, making life in Joe Biden's America even harder on average American families. Finally, this bill provides for consideration of H.R. 2773, the Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2022. While I support conservation efforts, I am incredibly disappointed once again by the majority walking away from talks with Republicans to find offsets and to try to resolve spending concerns for the $1.34 billion in new annual mandatory spending authorized by this bill. In fact, according to the CBO, this legislation spends $12.7 billion just in the first 10 years alone. Madam Speaker, 80 percent of Americans say inflation is the most important issue facing this country. You wouldn't know it by looking at the bills Democrats are prioritizing for floor action this week. Perhaps it is time that my Big Government, Democratic colleagues actually listen to the American people and work with Republicans on real economic solutions rather than doubling down on the out-of-control spending and reckless far-left policies that created Biden's economic crisis in the first place. Madam Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' to oppose this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, Americans are now paying an average of over $5 for a gallon of gas. This is the first time in history this has happened. Let me repeat that: over $5 for a gallon of gas. The pain at the pump is a direct result of President Biden's and congressional Democrats' radical Green New Deal agenda and a war on American energy producers. Let's just be blunt about something: the base of the Democratic Party--the bunch of woke yuppies sitting at home on Zooms all day-- don't care about gas prices. But if you are someone who has to swing a hammer for a living and drive to a jobsite, if you are a waitress at a diner and you have to drive to your shift, that affects you. Republicans care about working families and working men and women. That is why we believe Americans deserve affordable, American-made energy. That is why if we defeat the previous question, I will personally offer an amendment to the rule to immediately consider H.R. 6858, the American Energy Independence from Russia Act. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.