Pete Sessions

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. Mr. Speaker, tonight, we join Texans back home in a day of celebration for the State of Texas. The State of Texas, as you have heard, began its formation not just at the Alamo but as people came to Texas with the understanding that we wanted the freedom of our own country. That is when, on February the 24th, the day after the siege of the Alamo began, heroism and opportunity filled the Alamo with ideas not only that they wanted to have their own country, but about a land, a land of people, a land of freedom, and a land that would be full of opportunity. Mr. Speaker, that is what we still stand for in Texas, a State that has distinguished itself not only in honor and in principle but in the opportunity to be a part of the United States of America, one Nation under God, the opportunity to serve in war after war with the United States military, the armed forces of this country. Texas has produced for years, not just heroes like Davy Crockett and Colonel William Barret Travis, but produced in every single war in this country those men and women who would stand for the opportunity to make this country stronger and better. Tonight, as we begin the celebration of Texas Independence Day, it should be remembered that here in Washington, D.C., this delegation is proud of not only who we are and what we stand for, but we are proud to be the 28th State in the United States of America. In 1845, we left Texas being a country to join the United States of America. The heroism, the pride of authorship, and the love which we have for the State of Texas we also share for our country, the United States of America. I thank the gentleman for leading the Texas delegation tonight as we stand on the floor to give thanks. ``Texas, our Texas. All hail the mighty State.''

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Pennsylvania yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, today America faces the Congress as we debate--yes, debate--just days before Christmas, this spending that will take place next year. In the 20 years I spent on the Rules Committee, I do know that the staff and the members do hard work, and I respect them for that. But the differences between our parties appear at the Rules Committee. For 8 years, Republicans--6 of those years with me as chairman of the Rules Committee--held government spending completely flat, discretionary spending. And yet we see what is happening now is a good bit of that discretionary spending they are moving to mandatory spending--mandatory spending that will put a burden on the taxpayer of this country--not just 4,100 pages, not just $1.7 trillion, but actually empowering government to intrude into the lives of American citizens. Over $20 billion will be given to the IRS over this next year. The Federal Government under President Biden does not even have government employees reporting to work. They stay at home. Yet, we add 87,000 new IRS employees. Mr. Speaker, what we have today is the difference on the priorities, I think, of the American people, people who want to have jobs and careers, people who want to be safe in their own homes. An open border with this President and the Democratic Party is openly assisting illegal immigration into this country with literally an unlimited amount of money. Detaining people at the border is important for national security. This next year, the Texas delegation will engage in this issue on the floor. I thank the Speaker for this time but will let them know that the American people will hear from the Republican Party next year.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, as we end this session of Congress in the next few weeks, I remind all Members we are acutely aware that without congressional action, the entire healthcare clinician community faces a cumulative Medicare payment cut in reduction of approximately 8.5 percent on January 1, 2023. Without congressional action, these cuts will continue to drive hospital consolidation, limit patient access, and harm physicians' ability to run their own small businesses. These outdated cuts in a time when considerable stress is placed upon physicians has meant that they are affected. They are affected because of the costs that they have on their business. So at a time when we look for this access and the care for our most vulnerable populations, it is up to Congress to make sure that we pass H.R. 8800, the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, it is important what we are doing here because our friends, the Democrats, were arguing that there is no additional rights of action, that this isn't going to change anything. In fact, this same discussion that we are having, if that is true, and we are going to say that we take them at their word, that would mean no rights of action would take place as a result of this law. Any judge would be able to look at the reason why we are passing this and the intent that would be on the floor of the House of Representatives, and that is what is being stated here tonight: No right of action; that is not what this is about. I would hope that we would understand, just as when I was the chairman of the Rules Committee, that what we did and the way we talked on this floor is what the intent would be for a judge, for a lawsuit. If something were to happen, they would open up the Record, just as we are doing here tonight, Mr. Speaker, and a judge, magistrate, Federal judge, State district judge, anyone ruling on this constitutional right would be able to see that this is not about a right of action. So, let's be clear. That was stated point blank in this discussion on the floor of the House of Representatives. It was reiterated up at the Rules Committee at the time that the rule came to the floor. That is what is stated. I will accept that as their word. I thank the gentleman from Lewisville, Texas, for his time and service to the Rules Committee. I spent 20 years on the darn committee, 6 years as chairman, and I understood when we handled matters that we spoke clearly and that we spoke directly about the intent of the law. I have heard enough to understand that, and I appreciate Mr. Burgess for yielding to me.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Weber very much for not only preparing this opportunity for us to honor our colleague and a Member who will be leaving this body after a number of years, the great judge and Congressman, Louie Gohmert. I rise tonight not just to honor Louie Gohmert but to probably say some things that not many Members can say, and that is I know Tyler, Texas, and I know Tyler, Texas, well. I know many people there, and each of them not only speak well of Louie Gohmert but are pleased with his performance. They enjoy not only his representation, but they believe that he is a man who came to this town knowing who he is and will leave this town knowing who he is. The same person that came is the same person that is leaving. You know this, Judge Gohmert, but I have the honor to take part of your congressional district that, through redistricting, has changed. It gives me time to come and reflect upon not only your friends in east Texas, Angelina County, and certainly places like Crockett. Huntsville is a little bit south of the district, but they asked me the other day when I was in Huntsville: ``Do you know Louie Gohmert? Because we were kind of thinking that before he said he was leaving that he was going to come down here and be our Congressman.'' I said: ``Well, that is the same thing they say in Lufkin and Nacogdoches. They say that in Crockett. They say that in Waco.'' There were a lot of fans all over central Texas that not only admired Louie, but he speaks very eloquently about the things that are on their minds, that are front and center on his mind. For his friends in Waco, Dallas, and Huntsville, certainly across the district that he represents, Louie Gohmert has not only made a name but has, with his great passion and articulation, struck the hearts of many people in Texas who deeply believe that Texas is special, that America is the greatest place in the world, and that we want to be one Nation under God for as long as we can stay there. Judge Gohmert, you are going to be missed, but I look forward to catching up with you often and letting you know that there are a lot of people who thought you did a great job and did it well and are proud of you.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, Congressman Johnson comes down here week in and week out and talks about not just the problems that face our great Nation but really the discussions that I want to bring tonight about families who sit at home, families who sit around before they perhaps watch TV or when they come home from church. They are talking about their lives, the lives of their children, and the things which concern them most. I remember well just a few years ago when America had the greatest of times that it has perhaps ever had: a stock market reaching the highest levels; employment in America that was the highest level we had ever had; more African Americans, more Hispanic, more women, more people at work with a growing economy; housing aplenty. It was full of opportunity from an economic perspective that came as a result from what I think was discipline, discipline from Republicans who had been in the majority. Yes, I was one of those Republicans, and I had an opportunity to serve as chairman of the Committee on Rules for 6 years. During those 6 years, 2013 to 2019, we held a disciplined view of the budget and of spending. We held a disciplined view that meant that we did not spend one penny more in discretionary spending than we did in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. It allowed the free enterprise system to grow. It allowed Americans the opportunity to not have government grabbing at them or overburdening their jobs. It meant that the free enterprise system with gasoline, with cars being built, with opportunity, with economic success was on the rise. Madam Speaker, tonight, we will say to you that that changed. That changed on January 20, a year ago. This Trump boost that we had, this opportunity where Republicans were growing our economy, it all of a sudden changed on January 20, a full year and a half ago when President Biden came in and immediately did exactly what had been done by President Clinton, what had been done by President Obama, and that is a massive spending bill. None that was talked about during the election, but as soon as they got control, a massive spending bill. This is virtually the same kind of policy that President Biden's favorite President, Jimmy Carter, had when I was in college that led to 18 percent interest rates. A whole generation of people that had to dig themselves out of paying too much for the day-to-day products that they needed. We are back to that. We are back to that because of excessive government spending that started here in the House of Representatives. The Democratic Party tonight was on record asking us to please come and vote with them on more Big Government, more spending. Well, the word is out that we are close to entering a recession. This is something that comes because Democrats have made inflation their friend. They have done the things for inflation that would have it roaring back to rob the American people not only of any gains they made under President Trump, but to rob them as they face their future, as our children are attempting to go to college, as they are planning for their future of retirement, but, more importantly, as they go to simply try to fill up their cars with gasoline, as they move forward to try to live their lives and make their families more successful. Madam Speaker, this comes as a result of politics. It is politics, pure and simple. On the one hand, you had Republicans and President Trump working diligently to give people an opportunity for not just a job but a career, not just to fill up their gas tank but to prepare them and their children for getting out and getting their own career. No wonder almost three in five children are back living in their homes with their parents. They get through with college, and they come back. This is exactly, Congressman Johnson, what we saw when President Obama was President. Our message tonight is one of hope and opportunity. Republicans will offer a vision, as we do on the floor here every day, about spending and the opportunity to balance out what the American people want and need. They want and need to do away with inflation. They want to go back to work. They don't want to be incented by this administration to get money but stay at home. They recognize that the President pushing the Fed to dump $110 billion into the economy every single month simply means that we have more that we have to pay on interest. Madam Speaker, I want you to know that Republicans are on the floor tonight to offer opportunity, and the most important thing we would say is this: Don't make friends with inflation. Don't do the things that this administration and this Secretary of the Treasury have done. Don't have Big Government programs. Don't incent people to come and break the law. By golly, don't spend the $10 million on fake IDs that the Democratic Party calls secure IDs for people who come to this country so they could travel around. Madam Speaker, people are weary. They are around their tables and talking, and they know that November is around the corner. Congressman Johnson, I thank you for taking the time to come gather together every week with a message of hope and opportunity. Tonight, it is not just that. It is reality.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Pappas, or as it might be, the Pallone 399 amendment.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, Mr. Pallone, for being here tonight. This opportunity for us to speak deserves to be placed within the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which has the jurisdiction on this matter, the jurisdiction that is very important to the United States and to our friends from Greece. But it also is important to our friend Turkey, who stands, as a NATO ally, ready, prepared to help the United States and its NATO allies in the defense of a region of the world that is important. It is important for us to note that the conversation about this really needs to take place within the Foreign Affairs Committee, and I think the chairman and the ranking member are very able to discuss it. A report to Congress was made from this last prior administration that directly speaks about exactly the circumstances that Mr. Pallone speaks of. The United States Government sent this Section 211, PL 116- 94, and they said: ``The United States Government is not in a position to provide a list of confirmed violations of Greece's territorial airspace.'' This is a basis of what this amendment is about. First, Greece claims territorial space that extends up to 10 nautical miles from its coastline and its territorial sea up to six nautical miles. Under international law, a country's territorial airspace coincides with its territorial sea space also. In this instance, Greece treats these differently. Although Greece currently claims up to 6 nautical miles of territorial sea around the many islands that it has, its neighbors have not come to a boundary delineation upon those areas. Thus, Turkey, which stands directly next to many of these islands, looks at international law. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important for us to recognize at this time, not just with the United States but with the war that is going on between Russia and Ukraine, that NATO be prepared to have its top- flight--not just fighters--but the equipment that would be necessary. I believe this discussion, although I recognize it was made in order by the Rules Committee, should be placed directly within the Foreign Affairs Committee. There needs to be a discussion to resolve this between America's friends, Turkey and Greece, and depend on them to be able to resolve this matter, not put this into the National Defense Authorization Act, which does not have jurisdiction in this matter. We should not invoke the United States military into this when, in fact, it should be something that is done by the State Department. I have great respect for the gentleman, Mr. Pallone. I have great respect for the Rules Committee, which I sat on for 20 years. But this issue entirely, from start to finish, belongs upon what might be the foreign sales of assets that are military oriented. That jurisdiction is not in the Armed Services Committee. I stand in opposition, and I ask that the gentleman withdraw his amendment solely based upon a jurisdictional issue, the need for the United States of America, the need for NATO and Turkey, as a very reliable member, to be able to have those things that it would need. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman for hearing our argument tonight, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to respond to the gentleman. First of all, the congressional review of all arms exports is done through the Foreign Affairs Committee, not through the Armed Services Committee. Secondly, it is in America's best interests. One argument could be made perhaps about Ukraine until Russia attacked. It is now a war that the United States is funding to huge numbers of appropriations amounts. There is great concern about not just food shortages but the destabilization of that area of the world. We, the United States, as a major supporter of NATO, count on all the NATO nations there that are part of that to have the top-flight--not only equipment--but the ability to effectively avoid a further war by them working together. I would say two points that the gentleman raised. First, the Armed Services Committee does not have jurisdiction, and secondly, it is very much in the United States' best interest to make sure that Turkey has top-line F-16 fighters. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today out of great respect and mourn the loss of Dr. Marcy Zwelling from California. Dr. Zwelling, since 2012, has headed up the National Physicians Council for Healthcare Policy, which is a group of some 570 independent physicians across the country. Dr. Zwelling not only challenged me but challenged all 570 members of the Physicians Council to please advocate on behalf of not only patients but also physicians. She dedicated her service and life not only to patients, attempting to give them the very best of medical help, but also for physicians. Physicians who many times are faced with innumerable challenges, not just to provide service but also in their own lives. So it is today I offer to the House of Representatives the great life of Dr. Marcy Zwelling who passed away this last weekend. May she rest in peace. May God bless her life and that which she gave each of us. Whether she was helping organize one of the over nine conferences of the National Physicians Council for Healthcare Policy nationwide, developing new screening tools for patients with cancer, or supporting her fellow physicians, Dr. Zwelling served as an inspiration and servant leader for myself and so many others in the medical community. I will miss her leadership and inspiration.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman from Florida. Madam Speaker, tonight, Members of the Republican Party are standing up to talk about important issues that we believe are not only important to us that we feel very strongly about, but also to America, who is listening for clearness and clarity of issues about ideas. Tonight, I would like to stand up and talk about the life issue. I want to talk about it a little bit differently. I am the father of a Down's syndrome young man. Many times, Down's syndrome children might be considered, before they are born, as something that might not be as respected or wanted by a family. Tonight, what I would like to say is that our children are important. Our children that are given to us are gifts of God. While each of us think of ourselves as being special, we need to think about our children, the next generation of not only this country, but of God's children. My son, who is now 25 years old, Alexander Gregory Sessions, who was born into a family that placed high value on him--not just his life, but his value that he has grown in throughout his life. Alex, in many instances, has some limitations about him. Alex is an Eagle Scout and a young man who gets up every day prepared and ready for the things that will greet him and the world that he will greet. Many times, so many people are respectable--they respect Alex and not only his willingness to live life, but also to come and be a part of society and to do the things that are important. So tonight, my message is not just to you, Madam Speaker, but the American people--the American people who need to know that life is so important and the children that many women carry not only will offer solutions to our future, but make our country better. For those parents that might be facing difficult circumstances, and perhaps uncertainty about what they think or feel about the emotion of having perhaps a disabled child, I want to stand up and say: You will be rewarded. You have been selected by God to be the parent of a special angel, a child who will mean so much to so many people that will bring joy and love and admiration. It will be something that will be a lifelong gift, probably, and something that is to be cherished and important. On behalf of my Republican colleagues, we do stand up and talk about how important life is and how much we believe these children and others contribute. We also want to say this--thank you to God for selecting us as parents. We are proud of the responsibility that we have and offer our thanks to You.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Johnson for this opportunity. Madam Speaker, we are here to talk to the American people about ideas that roam across our Nation. They are conversations that take place around every table, and next week at Thanksgiving we will have those conversations at my table and others around the country. Madam Speaker, you just heard a good discussion about inflation. But part of inflation comes from government spending, and part of government spending comes from policy that this President and this administration's Democratic Party supports. Madam Speaker, 1.6 million people have come to our borders and come across, and we are doing things that will encourage them to come here. We are doing things that will encourage them when we give them free education, free healthcare and to pay for them to do those things. So, Madam Speaker, tonight we want to speak specifically about this thing that is called inflation. Inflation is related to Federal monetary and fiscal policy. Inflation is that thing that occurs in the economy when the price of goods and services rise and rise exponentially. Normally, an administration would look at about a 2 percent growth, a 2 percent inflation rate, which would be, generally speaking, an acceptable growth for a GDP model as well as inflation rate. This administration, however, began with President Biden going down and visiting the king of inflation, former President Jimmy Carter, talking to this Nation about how great Jimmy Carter's service was. Well what he really meant to say was I admired his policies, progressive liberal policies that took this country to have 16 and 18 percent interest rates, interest rates that raised prices an excessive amount of money for families for a generation that could not buy homes. Madam Speaker, the Republican Party is here speaking, just as the American people are, and we recognize that this administration has made dear and great friends with the conditions that create inflationary spiral. This administration knows exactly--they have smart people there, but it is their policies that they demand to have, and those policies bring about results that end up making friends with inflation: Higher prices for goods and services; more government spending. This is big expensive government spending across the board. And so the American people will have the most expensive Thanksgiving in years; the highest inflation rate in 30 years. Oh, that would be back to Jimmy Carter. No wonder President Biden visited his favorite-- or second favorite President, Jimmy Carter, because he wants to make friends with the conditions that create inflation: Big government spending, prices rising, government control of the goods and services. And just like Jimmy Carter, he had a Senate, a House, and a Presidency to be very successful. Madam Speaker, the American people spoke again last night in local elections down in South Carolina. They spoke a week ago in State elections. Madam Speaker, the American people deserve better. Better comes from policy, and better comes from adults who will recognize that it is not just politics, it is about the American people who want and need to have more take-home pay and more ability to take care of themselves; not big, expensive socialist government that even breaks the laws of this country. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his service to this conference but, more importantly, for making sure that the American people hear the other side of the story.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Louisiana not only for his leadership to our conference but also speaking up and taking time out of his schedule to speak directly to America and Americans about important issues that face our country today. Madam Speaker, we hear time after time our colleagues from the Democratic Party talk about all the violence that is taking place in large cities. Murders are up 30 percent last year according to the FBI who talked about this rise. And then we turn around and see where they are the activists who are leading the defunding of police, the destabilization of our cities. The bringing together of illegals into this country with record drug deals and amounts of drugs on our streets, record numbers of death from fentanyl, opioids--misery. But what does our President do? He goes off on an aggressive agenda, one which is fueled by the radicals in his party, one which he fully believes in, one that he is proud of, and one that they sustain and are still pushing. It is not enough just to push and push big spending and Big Government. It is actually an agenda that is in chaos. A chaotic agenda is apparent to the American people. For a second I would like to have us think back about what we have had previously with Republicans not only in charge in the House and the Senate but in the Presidency leading this great Nation. Our goal as Republicans is to have America to be a land of hope, to have America to be a land of opportunity, to have America to be a land of freedom, for America to be a land of achievement, and for America to be a land of heroes. For this to happen, Madam Speaker, it means that America needs its ability to go back to work and to have the dignity of work. Madam Speaker, it means that we need to have Americans who go to work not because a government or a political party wants to keep people away from work and is using trillions of dollars of government funds to keep them there. Madam Speaker, we have an administration and a President who wants to take people's freedom away by requiring them to wear not just masks but to have vaccinations or lose their job. But, Madam Speaker, the thing that is harming America that is apparent to everyone right now is the cost of items just to live. Inflation and monetary policy are what the Fed is responsible for, the Fed bank. And they are prepared to give hundreds of billions of dollars and trillions of dollars, some $5,000 trillion is what they will be asked to go take loans out on again. That devalues not just the American dollar, but it actually causes a price increase directly at the grocery store where people buy their food and basic elements. Inflation is at a 40-year high, but we keep hearing about how much money the government is going to put in people's pockets. But it is robbed when they net it out, Madam Speaker. It is robbed when they net it out because inflation robs not just people who have families, but it robs those who live on a fixed income. It robs the vitality and the ability that we have to be ingenious and to move our country forward. So, Madam Speaker, please know this, that the Republican Party and our Members who are here tonight are not just speaking about things because we disagree, it is because we love our country. We believe that what was built and available for America and Americans is the greatest country in the history of this world. We believe in Americanism. We believe in American exceptionalism. We believe in the Constitution. We believe in freedom and a right to make our own decisions in our own homes and in our own communities. Increasingly, we are finding that this new administration, the House and the Senate under Democratic control, are taking away the basic rights and freedoms that would have been enjoyed by free people, but they are not because this administration intends to extend the long arm of the Federal Government into all transportation, to all members of the military, and to free people who want to live their own life. Madam Speaker, Republicans are on the floor today to offer better ideas, to offer hope and solutions, but perhaps more importantly to say this, that we believe that it is time that this administration get off its radical agenda, radical agenda that is leading America into chaos. If the President would listen, if the Speaker of the House would listen, and if the Senate majority leader would listen, they would hear even members in their own party saying that a radical agenda will greatly change America to where we would become a socialist Nation. Madam Speaker, we are here offering the example that we have known that made America great, and it is called capitalism and freedom. I want to thank Mr. Johnson for taking the time to gather Republicans together on the floor to offer not just our vision but also to highlight to the American people that elections have consequences, and we look forward to next year. I want to thank the gentleman for allowing me this time.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Roy for not only standing in tonight to speak forthrightly to the American people, but also including other Members of the Texas delegation to have conversations with the American people not just about the topic of being woke, but actually the things that are actually happening to the United States of America. The Congressman is exactly right, there is a crisis in America today. There is a crisis that takes place because of such a rapid and swift transition to the ultraleft. The transition that has taken place began immediately upon President Biden accepting the oath of office and walking, driving, going back to the White House after he had taken an oath of office, where he raised his hand and he repeated, among the other words, to ``well and faithfully execute the laws of the United States.'' Well, there is a little bit more than just ``well and faithfully execute the laws of the United States.'' I believe the American people want and need a stable person who will recognize that they need someone to work in their best interest, in the best interest of their community, in the best interest of their job, in the best interest of safety, in the best interest of trying to give every single person in this country a better opportunity to have a better life. That is what I believe is behind the ``well and faithfully execute the laws of the United States.'' In fact, what has happened is there is a sweeping revolution that is going on in the United States of America by the elected officials. Elected officials who have turned a blind eye to the things in the past that were seen as stable, as reasonable, and something that was in the best interest to protect the people that they represent. Day after day we have watched what happened down at the southern border of this country. I, too, went down. I am no stranger to the border. I previously lived in El Paso, Texas, for a number of years. My father served as the chief judge of the Western District of Texas and had to deal with not just the crime, but some of the circumstances that happened along the border. They came home to roost, so to speak, within the United States of America. And as a Federal district judge, he tried his best to deal favorably, fairly, with people who violated the law. But where there were people who were criminals, who were not here to serve in the best interest of the United States of America, those who would become enemies of the State because what they did is they would import drugs, drugs which would kill Americans. We have just been through a terrible epidemic in this country of opioid abuse. Opioid abuse that we all recognize, much of it was inherently begun and started here in the United States, but that has taken hold with other drugs now, fentanyl, methamphetamines, heroin, cocaine. And in that process, we look to where this comes from. This comes from other countries, by and large, other countries who have people who want to kill and make money off the demise of the American people. Yet the President of the United States, at the time he served as Vice President--because I know because the Drug Enforcement Administration senior officials have repeatedly said that the intelligence that was given to the then-Vice President, now President of the United States, they understood firsthand the danger that came from an open border. The dangers that came when we did not have active law enforcement and intelligence would cause the deaths of thousands of Americans because of the illicit drugs. Illicit drugs that not only are addicting, but many times mixed in a way that a user never knew they were taking them. The availability of fentanyl, as an example. Yet the President of the United States, with this vast knowledge of understanding from his service to the country as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, as Vice President of the United States, he already knew the story. The story that he wanted to project was that he is a kid from Pennsylvania, who knew what real America is. But what has happened is that he personally, and the radical left, have created a circumstance in this country that, we, as Republicans, are talking about tonight. That we are supposed to be woke to understanding the social implications. The enormous implications to people that we represent. Yet, seemingly, it is the police that are the problem. Seemingly, it is the border that is the problem by enforcing the law. Seemingly, it is the ability that they want for criminals to run rampant throughout not just our neighborhoods, but across this country. Madam Speaker, I would say to the young Congressman from Texas that we need his voice, his voice of compassion, his voice of common sense that says we need to move this country back to where it was simply a few months ago. Where we respect members of law enforcement, men and women of law enforcement who make house calls because they are asked to come and make dispute resolution many times, and then to take care of the law as it applies to a circumstance. We need to get back to where we understand that the men and women of not just the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Border Patrol are back on their job instead of being moved over to take care of 1 million people who, in the first 6 months, have come through illegally. We need to go back to elected officials who actually understand that the people who elected them aren't for woke. What they are for is this body to come together to where we understand that we have an obligation to protect the men and women and children and seniors and disabled people of this country. We have an obligation to stand behind our law enforcement and to provide them with better training and the things that they need, equipment, to properly do their job. Instead, we are watching our country, whether it is Chicago or Los Angles or New York City where criminals run rampant because of woke, that says we are supposed to defund the police department. We are supposed to defund those activities that would offer safety and security and opportunity for the most vulnerable of our society, and then blame others when people of color or of different races are harmed by criminals and thugs. I watched this morning on TV of the murder that took place in Chicago of the young couple that came to a stoplight and were accosted and killed by thugs, criminal thugs. I watched about a young man walking down the street in broad daylight in New York City and was stabbed repeatedly by a criminal this weekend. No wonder this happens. We have already run the police out of town. We have already run people out of town who legitimately can stand up and have that obligation. Madam Speaker, I come here tonight to join my two Texas colleagues to say, woke may be a term that we are supposed to get about enlightenment that we need to be good and better to each other, that we need to understand that there are people who might not agree with me, and I might not agree with them. But ``woke'' has taken on a different theme. It has taken on a theme of taking on responsibility and respect. It has taken away the ability that we have in this body to effectively even be heard by each other. It has taken away the ability of millions of Americans to where they no longer feel the safety and security of their own home, of their own city street, or even their ability to stand up to those who have a different opinion. Madam Speaker, I think what Congressman Roy is doing tonight is more than just standing up and expressing an opinion. It actually is an opinion that I believe millions of Americans support and respect by this gentleman doing this Special Order tonight. I would call on this House of Representatives and all of its Members to understand that this phase we are going through will have a very difficult, difficult conclusion for many people who cannot effectively get through what is happening to them, to people who live in cities where police will no longer be, to small businesses that are burned to the ground, and to judges who are no longer judging based upon the rule of law but rather fear. Madam Speaker, we as the Republican Party are not standing up and yelling and screaming. We have much resolve to us. But we ask tonight that the American people hear us that we condemned what happened on January the 6th. We condemn what is happening when people take advantage of law enforcement, take advantage of people, and take advantage of this great country. Let us hope that tonight in our resolve of speaking forthrightly and honestly that we want to be that great country with shining cities on the hill where people work together, where people have a common interest and goals for their communities, and generations of people can work together whether you be a retired senior citizen, Madam Speaker, or whether you be a young child who knows not except that you live in a great country. We need to speak plainly, but we are not yelling and screaming. We are not blaming someone else for the problems. But we will say this: The Republican Party of this House of Representatives stands for people to be safe in their own homes, for women who are in their own homes with their own children who will not be taken advantage of because they do know they have a backup and that is the police departments, that they know that the rule of law will effectively provide them with the needs that they have to live in the greatest country in the world, that our law enforcement agencies will know that they can continue to evolve into professionalism, that they will be able to effectively heal themselves and make the changes. I call on law enforcement to continue to make these changes. My Republican Party has these conversations with law enforcement every day. But I call on the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Christopher Wray, just as when my father, Judge William Sessions, was Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to stand up for law enforcement and expect them and want them to become professional. Madam Speaker, we must heal what has happened. Sunday, at church, I heard no less than 50 times the word redemption, the words that we are sinners, that we make mistakes, that we need to look at each other with the faithfulness of a great nation. I heard words of love and respect for those even that we disagree with. But, Madam Speaker, we are not down pounding on tables tonight. We are simply trying to say what we believe is true, and that is that I believe that there are tens of millions of Americans who want and need this country to be safe. They want and need our elected officials, whether they be Republican or Democrat, that they need their elected officials to understand that their life and their family are important, and that until we get back to the standards of performance of expectations where law enforcement is allowed to effectively and professionally be there as the backup, where our military knows that we are there to support them and that our elected officials will stand on the side of righteousness, we are going to continue to wander through this terrible time that I call chaos. It is my hope, as we drop to our knees this evening, that we do offer a prayer for our President, President Biden. I know him, and I know he has been through difficult times in his life. But, Madam Speaker, I would ask tonight that we give respect and prayer and ask that the President please understand that the most vulnerable who are there still need others to be of assistance, and we need to make sure that this country heals itself with love, respect, and admiration for each other. I want to thank the young Congressman for tonight, for his bringing forth this opportunity to speak about where our country is. I want him to know that I personally admire him, respect him, and appreciate his sound call for a voice of reason and opportunity for America's future. May God bless our country. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for allowing me to speak.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admissions Act. In many respects, America seems to be at the same point we were in the 1930s and 1940s--calling for a single party rule from Washington, D.C. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis observed at that time: ``The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachments by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.'' These words of wisdom might also offer some inspiration to us here today: ``Whenever a people or an institution forgets its hard beginnings, it is beginning to decay'' by Carl Sandberg. Mr. Speaker, both of these sayings are on the halls of our Capitol. Addressing people's ability to vote is important. Addressing a party's desire for singular political control of a Nation is another matter. Our Constitution outlines the process for admitting new States to the Union and rules regarding the formation of the District of Columbia. In 1961, 36 States voted to ratify the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution, ensuring that the District of Columbia had representation and taxation. That was done out of fairness. These 36 States did this out of fairness. We have already heard what the Attorney General Robert Kennedy said, but, Mr. Speaker, today we are doing the inconceivable and will produce the absurdity. Legislation does not overrule a constitutional amendment. Legislation is subject to the Constitution and all of its amendments. If you want to make D.C. a State, have a process that overturns the 23rd Amendment and then ratify a 29th Amendment, which then repeals the 23rd Amendment. There is precedent. The 18th Amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment to end Prohibition. On February 20, 1933, Congress passed the repealing Amendment. On December 5, 1933, the proper number of States ratified the Amendment, and the 18th Amendment ceased to exist. This was done by this country during prohibition. This is the standard by which we take care of the Constitution and the amendments thereon. Our system of government is predictable on the rule of law and following procedure, but today's bill abandons that procedure of amendments to the Constitution in favor of politics.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Baylor University's men's basketball team as the 2021 NCAA National Champions. Eighteen years ago, Coach Scott Drew talked about coming to Baylor ``for a chance to win a national championship,'' A dream vocalized by one man turned reality by a team of men with great faith. A team that played as one. Oh yes, they had individuals and they were outstanding. But it was their teamwork mindset that achieved this victory. This season, Baylor defeated more top-25 teams than the three other Final Four teams combined. These results prove that hard work, a determined mind, and a willing spirit can conquer any challenge. To say I am proud is an understatement. My hometown Baylor Bears have proved their abilities and I believe this is just the beginning of much more greatness to come. I wish these men as much success in future endeavors as they earned this season. Congratulations men. Sic `em.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize Sydney Cohen of Hawaiian Springs Water for her substantial efforts in providing life-sustaining resources to Central Texans during a time of great need. Madam Speaker, I would also like to extend my recognition to Judge Byron Ryder and Judge Linda Grant for their display of servant leadership during Texas' winter freeze. They worked tirelessly for their communities and went to great lengths to secure the water bottles provided by Hawaiian Springs Water. The residents of Leon and Freestone County have strong leaders, and for that, I am grateful.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, one month ago, the entire State of Texas was blanketed with a polar vortex that plunged temperatures to single digits for over 120 hours. Six inches of ice, combined with nine inches of snow, were common as far south as San Antonio, Texas. Within a day, all 254 counties in Texas were under a State and Federal emergency declaration. Madam Speaker, I rise today to give thanks to heroes who heard and saw this crisis and did something about it. Two heroes--Chairman Lew Cohen, and his partner, Magnes Glenn, from Hawaiian Springs Water--sprung into action. A simple call as a result of our friendship resulted in over 8,000 water bottles being shipped to Leon County, Texas; and 8,500 bottles of water being shipped to Freestone County, Texas. Help they were. Thank you to so many who were just like these two heroes who helped Texas in her time of need.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1180 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Torres), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, thank you and Merry Christmas. It is also Merry Christmastime to the American people, Mr. Speaker, as Congress moves to its final resolution for this term. Mr. Speaker, we can't forget that there is important work that is still to be done. The American people sent us here to do work and expect us to do that. Today I lay before the House the Rules Committee Print 115-87, the text of the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 88. Now, that may sound pretty pro forma, just like a normal bill, but, Mr. Speaker, what is in here is not a normal bill. In fact, it is a compilation of things which we do every year that are called tax extenders because we have been unable, necessarily, to agree on them for a longer term. So, one year to the next year to the next year, we gather together before we leave, and we normally come to an agreement. We have done this virtually every year I have been in Congress. We say on a bipartisan basis and a bicameral basis: Let's make sure that we take care of the things that have not been taken care of on a longer basis now. What might that mean, Mr. Speaker? Well, that means that we, as a body, need to be responsible and understand that during the year there have been a number of circumstances also that contributed to people needing tax help. Some of them are fires. Some of them are earthquakes. Some of them are the changing of the circumstances back home where we are trying to make sure that the Tax Code is updated in this tax year now so that if someone--for instance, if they are in a California wildfire--loses everything they have got, they know that Congress has passed laws that help them as they move forward to rebuild their home, to make decisions about their future. It could be, Mr. Speaker, that a lot of work that the gentlewoman from Kansas, who is a member of the Ways and Means Committee, one of your colleagues on that committee, had done to make sure that any whistleblower who saw something that was going wrong at work for tax- related matters is protected. These are important issues. But they are also important because there are broader activities, and they deal with taxation that was put into the Affordable Care Act. It is called ObamaCare, but it is the Affordable Care Act from years back. What this Republican Congress has done is shielded, protected the American people from many of the devastating effects, notwithstanding that this Congress and the President, President Trump, signed the law that takes away the individual mandate--not the business mandate but the individual mandate. But, Mr. Speaker, there are still three hugely onerous provisions that still lag on from that piece of legislation. Embedded in that is something called the medical device tax. The medical device tax is a tax on the newest technology--not, Mr. Speaker, on the sale of that to where, okay, Uncle Sam wants a little bit more of that, but the onerous part is it is on the manufacture. And when you put a tax on the manufacturing piece, that means that that product is not produced in an effective, efficient way. That means that they are produced one at a time because, upon that manufacture, the tax has to be paid, not upon the sale. It is something we fought on, I thought on a bipartisan basis, but it seems like today it is simply partisan, simply only Republicans, really, when it comes down to it, who are for doing away with the medical device tax. There is something called the Cadillac tax. That is the Democratic Party's and President Obama's idea of you really shouldn't have better healthcare than somebody else, and if you do, we are going to tax that asset. It is at the heart of the Affordable Care Act. This Cadillac tax has been, every single year, deferred, stopped, agreed to. We are not going to apply that Cadillac tax, because it is on people, many of them who work for unions, people who have earned the right to have the healthcare that they have but the Democratic Party wants to tax it. Lastly, the healthcare tax. And that is a tax on every single person that has a healthcare policy. It is about $70. That means that every single American is going to pay an extra tax because they have healthcare. These are things that the Republican Party had worked on, and we thought we were, on a bipartisan basis, going to take care of these issues. We find out, really, today, that is not true. But I think we found out around election time the real effort for the Democratic Party. It is called H.R. 676, Medicare for All. Mr. Speaker, to those of us who have looked at the bill, section 102 lays out every single piece part of healthcare that you could think of, from an audiologist, to a dentist, to a person who may provide massage therapy. Section 104 in that bill outlaws all private health insurance in America if a piece part that was in section 102 is provided or paid for by a health insurer. It outlaws all private insurance. What does that also mean? That means employer-provided insurance under H.R. 676, section 104. So, Mr. Speaker, sometimes you have got to read to the end of the book or watch the end of the movie to see exactly what the plot and the theme is. Mr. Speaker, we have, for the last 8 years, been going down a pathway of thinking that what we were doing was really bipartisan, that our colleagues on the Democratic Party were really opposed to the Cadillac tax because they consented and agreed to it, voted for it, that the medical device tax was something that they understood would cause great harm and increase prices and deny people to get the best technology. We thought they were going along with this. We thought they understood how important it was not to tax medical devices, the latest technology that saves lives. And we thought that they understood that the healthcare tax of $70 on every single health insurance plan in this country was probably a bad idea after we already had the Affordable Care Act signed into law. I find out now I was wrong. I was wrong, and I think the American people were fooled. The medical device tax, the Cadillac tax, and the healthcare tax are in this package, along with the ability to help the people in California and on the West Coast and other people who were a part of natural disasters, people who are seeking help where they are finding an employer doing something wrong, to give them that needed opportunity to protect themselves, a safe harbor. So much is being done in here at the end of the year, but that is not the story that was told at the Rules Committee. The story that was told is: Oh, this is just about the top 1 percent. This is just about a special deal. Mr. Speaker, that is a long way from, not just the facts of the case, but the truth. So I am here, as chairman of the Rules Committee, bringing to the floor an opportunity to, once again, do as we have done in the past to say the healthcare tax, the medical device tax, the Cadillac tax--we are asking my colleagues to join with us. It is a very genuine offer. It is an offer that has been extended and accepted for the past few years, since the Affordable Care Act passed. It is the right thing to do. So I will ask each of the Members of this body to pay attention, to see what is in there, help the people who have been a part of natural disasters this year. Let's get this package done. It is the right thing to do. And I can sincerely look at you, Mr. Speaker, and say thank you. Thank you for your years of service, but thank you for making sure that we were faithful to the end. Even though it is starting to look a lot like Christmas, we still have to do our work. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the argument that we are involved in today is whether we are going to, as this body, on a bipartisan, bicameral basis, understand that it is about hundreds of billions of dollars. It is about hundreds of billions of dollars that the American people have been spared from. Mr. Speaker, we are not undertaxed. We spend too much money. But that is not what this is about. What this is about is control. This is about the control that some in this body want over people's lives. This is not about whether we are going to arbitrarily cause the Federal Government to be in trouble over a Cadillac tax, a medical device tax, a healthcare tax and blame that on greedy people back home who, by virtue of them wanting to have healthcare and robust healthcare and better healthcare but somebody in Washington does not want them to have it and blames them on being greedy for what might be billions of dollars when you add up everybody across the country; this is about control. This is about controlling people's lives. And, Mr. Speaker, I will once again say it. I had thought, during these years, we came to an agreement that the Cadillac tax, the medical device tax, the healthcare tax, things that happened during the year, whether they be tornadoes, whether they be wildfires, whether they be other circumstances, would still be able to be reached on a bipartisan, bicameral basis. After all, President Obama signed these into law. After all, the American people understood that their gift for being gracious and working and doing the right thing shouldn't be an onerous tax. After all, many people who live, as an example, in Minnesota could look up and see where their two Democratic Senators fought hard to make sure this medical device tax that was the lynchpin for tens of thousands of jobs in medical innovation, that we could get together and work together. Now we find out, no, that is wrong. That is wrong. What we want is we want that $180 billion. We want that. You can't have that, and we are going to tax you because we can, because we can control your life and the outcome of your healthcare; because, actually, those who have great healthcare, yours is greedy, so we are going to tax it. So, Mr. Speaker, that is why the Republican Party in the House of Representatives is here today, as stalwarts of not just the middle class of this country but stalwarts of people who understand people get up and go to work--yes, the union worker, too. That union worker will find out, loud and clear, the party that was for taxing their healthcare, their working healthcare. The people in these States, where medical devices are robust and made America at the top of the world, they will understand. And the people, who are average families like those in Dallas, Texas, which I proudly represent, they will understand somebody was for taxing them further and somebody tried to continue what we have done now for years and not tax them on their healthcare. So it is about control, and I am sure we will find out, as the new year comes around, about H.R. 676, Medicare for All, that will outlaw all employer-provided private healthcare in this country. That is what the bill says. It is very plain. Section 104 gets right to it. That is what this is about. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I do not.