Guy Reschenthaler

Mr. RESCHENTHALER

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Just a quick point of rebuttal. I would just remind my good friend from Massachusetts that passage of H.R. 3967 is not guaranteed in the Senate. We don't have that concern when we are talking about the Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act, which has already passed the Senate by unanimous consent. We could pass that today here on the floor this week. It could be signed into law this week. Doing anything other is simply to delay assistance to the veterans who need it most. Now, to the topic of Ukraine. In the wake of Vladimir Putin's brutal, brutal invasion of Ukraine, the world is crying out for an alternative to Russian energy. Pennsylvania, and the rest of America's heartland, could provide that alternative. But President Biden and Congressional Democrats refuse to let that happen. They would rather promote their radical Green New Deal agenda and continue buying oil from Putin's ruthless regime. They would rather do that than unleash domestic energy production, and that includes Pennsylvania coal, oil, and natural gas industries. They would rather do that than lower gas and heating prices for American families and strengthen our national security through becoming an energy exporter. Republicans, on the other hand, actually want to make America energy independent once again, just like we were in the last administration. That is why, Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will personally offer an amendment to the rule to immediately consider the American Energy Independence from Russia Act. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Here to explain the amendment is one of the bill's authors, the Natural Resources Committee ranking member and my good friend. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman).

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, one of the best ways that we can support the Ukrainian people, and President Zelensky by extension, is by ensuring that we have a steady supply of American energy and that we are supplying our allies in Eastern Europe. This will also deny Putin a major revenue stream. Alarmingly, U.S. oil imports from Russia reached an 11-year high in 2021, accounting for more than 10 percent of the total U.S. crude oil and petroleum product imports. Here to explain why that should concern all Americans is my good friend, my mentor, the ranking member of the Rules Committee, Tom Cole. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole).

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, one in six American adults reported they cannot pay their full energy bill in the last 12 months. That is appalling. It is especially appalling given the fact that at our fingertips we have an abundance of energy. In Pennsylvania alone, we have oil, gas, and clean coal. We should be unleashing the American energy sector. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Herrell), who is here to talk more about this.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, just three quick points in rebuttal. First and foremost, I myself am a veteran of the Iraq war. I was there for 6 months, actually, in 2009. If we would just pass the Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act that the Senate passed by unanimous consent, we could pass that and put it on the President's desk at the end of this week. There is nothing standing in our way except the Democratic Party on this. Also, I would just remind my good friend from Massachusetts that my motion does not prevent the House from considering the Honoring our PACT Act. It doesn't. It simply amends the rule to also allow for consideration of the American Energy Independence from Russia Act. I am sure everyone on the other side of the aisle would agree that lowering gas and heating prices for all American families and ending our dependence on Russian oil is of the utmost importance. In fact, I just got an alert that a gentleman from my colleague's State General Assembly just put forward a bill on the floor of the General Assembly of Massachusetts to stop the importation of Russian oil. Sixty percent of the natural gas our country imports actually goes to Massachusetts. People don't realize that. But if New York would get out of the way and allow Pennsylvania to have a pipeline from Pennsylvania to New England, the New Englanders wouldn't need dirty Russian oil. They could use Pennsylvania natural gas. But I digress. We can and should find the time this week to add the American Energy Independence from Russia Act to our agenda. Lastly, ad nauseam, I have heard bill after bill after bill from the leftists across the other side of the aisle on electric vehicles, and yet again I am reminded that the Republicans are the real party of science because if you look at the actual science, an electric car will generate just 23 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a gasoline-powered car. In fact, if you were to take every gas-powered car on the face of the planet and get rid of it, it would only mean a mere 1.8 percent decline in total emissions. This is fake science. We have alchemy and chemistry. We have astrology and we have astronomy. We have the Democrat Party and we have the Republican Party. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Armstrong), my good friend, to talk more about this.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), my good friend and the Republican whip.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, just one point in rebuttal to my good friend from Massachusetts: Republicans do support toxic-exposed veterans. Yesterday, I personally offered an amendment in the Rules Committee to bring up the Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act. By the way, that passed unanimously in the Senate. We could again be doing that right now. That doesn't stop us from debating the current bill. We can walk and chew gum at the same time, but the only thing that is delaying getting the Senate version of this bill on to the President's desk at the end of this week is the Democratic Party. We could pass that bill this week. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves) to talk about oil and gas and energy issues.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I have talked a lot today about the Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act, which is again, the Senate version. That legislation carries the support of leading veteran service organizations, VSOs, including Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Wounded Warrior Project, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the American Legion, as well as the Military Officers Association of America. Again, that Senate version passed unanimously. We could be running that here today and get it on the President's desk at the end of the week. The only thing that stands between getting help to veterans right now in terms of the burn pit issues is the Democrat Party's refusal to just run the Senate version of the bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the Republican leader.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, so just a quick history lesson. The Obama-Biden administration sent Ukraine blankets and well-wishes. The Trump administration sent Javelin missiles. That is the big difference. You know, I have said numerous times standing up here that the Democratic Party is a party of political science. I could be even more generous. The Democratic Party is also a party of false choices and false narratives. The Democrats have presented us with a false choice when it comes to U.S. energy and also a false narrative. Let me be clear: We can unleash domestic energy and be good stewards of the environment. Thanks to American energy innovation, thanks to the energy sector, the U.S., at least under President Trump, was actually reducing carbon emissions. In Pennsylvania, for example, thanks to natural gas, our energy sector has reduced emissions by 41 percent since 2005. Again, it is an absolutely false choice. It is a false narrative that we cannot unleash the American energy sector and be good stewards of the environment. In fact, quite the opposite. We actually are good stewards of the environment when we are using clean natural gas, particularly from Pennsylvania. But here to talk more about that issue is my good friend, the ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and one of the authors of the American Energy Independence from Russia Act, Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. Rodgers).

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time, and I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I am an Iraq war veteran. I was in Baghdad for 6 months in 2009. I can tell you that I am committed to ensuring the men and women who served our Nation receive the care and benefits they deserve. It is of utmost importance to me as a Member of this body and as an Iraq war veteran. That is the reason why I am so disappointed in my friends across the aisle. I am disappointed that instead of considering the Senate-passed Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act--which, again, could immediately be sent to the President's desk--House Democrats are prioritizing legislation that is still a long way away from enactment and will delay benefits for toxic-exposed veterans. Let me be clear. We can get help to veterans. We can get this bill to the desk of the President by the end of this week. The only thing standing in the way are my friends on the other side of the aisle. It is for that reason I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question and vote ``no'' on the rule. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, here to explain the amendment is the legislation's author, Representative Ashley Hinson of Iowa, my good friend. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Hinson).

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, talking about more science, here is some more science: A North Carolina study, where my good friend resides, conducted before vaccines were available, found that not a single case of student-to-teacher transmission occurred when 90,000 students were in school. That is the real science. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time as I am prepared to close. Madam Speaker, thanks to President Biden and thanks to House Democrats and their far left, radical policies, Americans are currently facing a border crisis, a crime crisis, and an economic crisis. Despite a lack of scientific evidence to support masks in schools, Democratic Governors, officials, unelected bureaucrats, petty tyrants, have mandated the use of masks in schools, damaging the educational and social development of our students. It is past time that Democrats stop prioritizing their woke agenda and work with Republicans to address these and other pressing issues facing American families today. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question; I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the rule; and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that my good friend from Maryland would say the former President was ``reckless'' during the pandemic. This is a man who put together Operation Warp Speed, one of the quickest vaccination programs and one of the most effective the world has ever seen. If we are talking about numbers, let's just talk about the numbers. More people have died in this pandemic under Joe Biden than ever died under President Trump. The numbers don't lie. During President Trump's first year with the pandemic, there were just over 390,000 deaths and, again, every death is tragic. But to say that President Trump was reckless, look at the numbers of Joe Biden. Since Joe Biden has taken office, over half a million people, 500,000-plus people have died. So if President Trump was reckless, what word would you use to describe President Biden? I am interested to hear that. But there are two kinds of science; there is real science and there is political science. The risk of severe disease from COVID-19 to healthy children is very low. This is real science. The CDC data shows that 863 total pediatric deaths related to COVID-19 have occurred since the beginning of this pandemic, which is less than--and, again, for the party of science, this is real science--that is less than 0.001 percent of all COVID deaths in the United States. Many of these children had underlying medical conditions making them more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 than the average child, meaning that many of these children died with COVID not of COVID. But again, that is real science, not political science. Talking about real science versus political science, I have got a photo of Stacey Abrams. This is political science, and here is why. Because the kids in this photo trying to learn, all of them are masked up. Statistically, these children are at very low risk of contracting COVID and even lower risk of dying from COVID. Again, the stats don't lie; 0.001 percent. The real person in this photo who bears most of the risk is a governor-in-exile Stacey Abrams who is not wearing a mask. This photo is political science. If the mask wearing was reversed, that would be actual science. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. LaTurner), my good friend.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and my friend from Maryland for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the rule before us today makes in order H.R. 6617, a resolution to fund the Federal Government through March 11, 2022, and H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022. I know that Appropriations Chairwoman DeLauro and Ranking Member Granger continue to engage in bipartisan discussions to find a path forward on a fiscal year 2022 funding package, and I want to thank them sincerely for those efforts. Mr. Speaker, I also want to commend Chairwoman Maloney and Ranking Member Comer for working together to put forth a truly bipartisan package to stabilize the financial health of the U.S. Postal Service and to improve efficiency and transparency for senior citizens and other Americans who rely every day on the Postal Service. Mr. Speaker, for the past 3 years, Democratic leadership has written major legislation behind closed doors with little to zero input from House Republicans and, frankly, almost zero to little input from even the committees that, of course, the Democrats control. This has truly been a behind-closed-door process that I have seen for the last 3 years. So, it is finally refreshing to see the House consider a bill that was the subject of a robust bipartisan negotiation and that actually went through the normal committee process for once. I want to say that I hope my colleagues across the aisle will make this the new normal, as it has previously been the norm. Mr. Speaker, I also hope the majority will continue the bipartisanship that I have seen here today and continue to work with House Republicans to address the serious and pressing issues facing American families across this Nation. For example, thanks to President Biden's open border policy, deadly fentanyl continues to just pour across our southern border, which is ravaging our communities, literally killing people in the heartland of this country. For example, in 2021, drug overdose deaths in the U.S. topped 100,000 for the first time in a single year. In fact, fentanyl overdoses are reported to be the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45. It is past time that Congress acts to stem the tide of deadly fentanyl coming into our Nation largely through our porous southern border. The fentanyl that comes-- let's just say it--is largely from China. It is time we address that issue. At the same time, America is in the midst of a crime crisis like we haven't seen before, largely thanks to the Democrats' demonization of our police in what I view as one of the worst public policy positions I have ever seen, their push to actually defund police. In 2021, at least 16 cities set new records in homicides. It is no wonder that 64 percent of Americans disapprove of how President Biden has handled crime. Congress should be working to address this crime surge and working to back the blue as well. Finally, Americans continue to pay higher prices to do everything, from feed their families, heat their homes, and even fill up their gas tanks. Instead of doubling down on the failed far-left radical policies and out-of-control spending that actually caused this economic crisis, we should be reclaiming our energy independence. We should be eliminating burdensome regulations that hamstring our job creators. And we should be working to ensure American families keep more of their hard-earned paychecks. I want to applaud the bipartisanship work that went into these bills. I want to applaud the Committee on Oversight and Reform and, of course, the Committee on Appropriations. But there are many other pressing issues that we can also be working on and should be working on for the benefit of American families. I therefore urge my colleagues to oppose this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, look, for the record, I would bet on Dr. Miller-Meeks any day of the week over Dr. Birx. She believes in the real science, not the political theater and political science that the CDC and Dr. Birx speak of. A great example: The CDC never even studied the effects of school mask mandates before mandating masks in school. Say what you will, but that is not how science works. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson), who is my good friend.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Across this country, Democratic Governors and local officials have forced children to wear masks in schools. They have done this without real concern for the social developmental and emotional consequences of their authoritarian actions. These are the actions of petty tyrants, people who do not care about real science. In stark contrast, House Republicans have been consistent this whole time. We have been fighting for the rights of America's children, and the American parent. That is why if we defeat the previous question, I will personally offer an amendment to the rule to immediately consider H.R. 6619, the Unmask Our Kids Act. This legislation would block education agencies from receiving Federal funding unless schools are open for in-person learning and school mask mandates allow parents to opt out on behalf of their children. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Texas (Mr. Burgess), who is my good friend and fellow Rules Committee member.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, while I respect my good friend and colleague, especially for what he has done in the private sector as well as the public sector, I do have some concerns. I believe the Postal Service Reform Act is a strong bipartisan act, and I urge its passage. This measure will bring increased transparency. It will improve operations for senior citizens and Americans who use the Postal Service every day. It will help this institution that is critical, especially to rural America. Again, I have deep respect and admiration for my friend from California. I just would urge passage of this, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa).