Congressional Record, House — Congress Must Work Together for Progress (June 28, 2021)
Summary
Congressional Record, House, page H3160, June 28, 2021. Under Congress Must Work Together for Progress, Mr. Schneider of Illinois cites the American Rescue Plan, more than 300 million vaccine shots administered and the monthly child tax credit, and says the work of the Select Committee will be essential to understanding January 6. Under Stop Attacks on Rural America, Mr. Feenstra of Iowa objects to a return to WOTUS, to changes to the stepped-up basis tax policy and to $174 billion proposed for electric vehicles and charging stations. The page opens with the end of a tribute to David, who founded Waterlines.
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“Congressional Record, House — Congress Must Work Together for Progress (June 28, 2021).”
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H3160 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE June 28, 2021
under assault in the last administra- ing at implementing burdensome regu- Iowa is the breadbasket to the world.
tion. lations that will crush rural Main That is why President Biden must back
He has created nonprofit NGO advo- Streets and our agricultural commu- off rural America. Please back off agri-
cacy infrastructure to support his var- nity in the Midwest. culture.
ious missions. From 1986 to 2020 he Administrator Regan of the EPA re- f
founded and led Waterlines, which pro- cently announced that the EPA would
vided technical help and funding for look into undoing the 2020 Navigable CONGRESS MUST WORK TOGETHER
over 1,000 water projects in rural com- Waters Protection Rule, which re- FOR PROGRESS
munities in 15 developing countries placed waters of the U.S. as a smarter, The SPEAKER pro tempore. The
around the world. more efficient, and more straight- Chair recognizes the gentleman from
In 2005 David founded the D.C.-based forward approach to defining what Illinois (Mr. SCHNEIDER) for 5 minutes.
Water Advocates, the first advocacy or- waters warrant Federal regulation. Mr. SCHNEIDER. Madam Speaker, as
ganization devoted to increasing Amer- A return to WOTUS, which allowed we reach the middle of 2021, this House
ican support for affordable and sustain- the Federal Government to regulate has made incredible progress, including
able drinking water and sanitation. water on 97 percent of the land in Iowa, fighting the global pandemic by pass-
He has two other time-limited advo- would force unnecessary and costly ing the American Rescue Plan.
cacy organizations to further elevate government regulations on the backs Already, more than 300 million vac-
national and global attention to of Iowa farmers. There are many places cine shots have been administered.
WASH. the Federal Government bureaucrats Communities are opening up, and busi-
Most recently, David is fighting to just don’t belong, and specifically, they ness is picking up, creating jobs and
focus attention on safe water and sani- don’t belong on our family farms. opportunity.
tation for hospitals, which impacts When the executive branch’s power Next month, parents will begin re-
some 2 billion of the planet’s poorest exploded under the Obama administra- ceiving their monthly child tax credit,
citizens. Try to imagine treating pa- tion, we saw ridiculous rules imple- legislation that will cut the Nation’s
tients in a clinic where there is no safe mented and enforced, leading to rising child poverty rate in half.
clean water to wash your hands. You costs in the ag industry and snuffing We have a pathway to recovery and
can’t. out economic growth on our rural Main transformation that offers real promise
David has a gift for creating organi- Streets and in our rural communities. to every American. But underneath all
zations for a specific time, to con- This attempted power grab ulti- of this, our country faces a deep divide
centrate efforts and get the job done mately proved why water regulation is that threatens to undo the foundations
and move on. Some become captive of best left to States and localities. upon which our country rests.
Put simply, the Biden administra- These divisions reached an apex on
organizations. Not David. He is cur-
tion’s Big Government agenda for rural January 6, when our Capitol came
rently wrapping up efforts with the
America includes higher taxes and under attack and five people died.
promise of spending more time in the
great outdoors and with his family. more regulation, but this administra- b 1215
However David spends his time, tion isn’t stopping at this one-two gut The immediate threat to the Capitol
wherever he goes, whatever he does punch. President Biden is also looking may have receded, but the threat
next, we are deeply indebted to him for to undermine the RFS and lowering across the country still simmers.
his leadership and vision. The world is biofuel blending requirements. This It is therefore imperative that we
better for his service and for his exam- will hurt both crop growers and biofuel fully understand the events leading up
ple. producers, two industries that are so to and including the siege on the Cap-
f critical to our economic activity in itol on January 6.
rural Iowa. As someone who was here in the gal-
STOP ATTACKS ON RURAL At the same time, the administration lery during the attack, someone who
AMERICA is laughing as they propose spending watched in horror as they rushed the
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The $174 billion on electric vehicles and Speaker off the floor, who took cover
Chair recognizes the gentleman from charging stations. A study by Biden’s as the Capitol Police barricaded the
Iowa (Mr. FEENSTRA) for 5 minutes. own Department of Energy found that door against the mob, who fully under-
Mr. FEENSTRA. Madam Speaker, I four out of every five vehicles will still stands the cost to our Nation and the
rise today to urge President Biden and require liquid fuels by 2050. Think implications of simply moving on, I am
his administration to back off on the about that. Four out of every five cars personally, deeply invested in pre-
attacks on rural America and rural in 2050 will still need liquid fuels. venting such an attack on our Capitol
Iowa. Why is President Biden taking aim at from ever happening again.
The administration has proposed this critical industry? It seems the The divide in our Nation threatens
changes to the stepped-up basis tax Democrats are shrugging their shoul- the prospects of our recovery and the
policy, which is, effectively, the death ders, comfortable with turning their potential for America to lead on the
tax with a new coat of paint. backs on the rural Midwest, farmers, global stage.
I have heard from farmers all across our rural Main Streets. I say enough is Congress must now work in unison,
the Fourth District who are concerned enough. Democrats and Republicans, to insti-
about these changes, and they would be Rural Iowans are already suffering tute the policies we need to prevent fu-
financially devastating, especially from high gas taxes and grocery prices ture acts of domestic extremism. For
when it comes to passing on that fam- due to this incredible inflation, which years, I have worked to pass legislation
ily farm to the next generation. is a direct result of Democrats’ massive like the Domestic Terrorism Preven-
This was confirmed in a recent study and reckless spending. Gas prices are tion Act that would invest in the types
by Texas A&M and the Agriculture and over 50 percent higher than they were a of programs built to spot and intervene
Food Policy Center. It noted that the year ago. Our food and energy prices in this type of extremism.
stepped-up basis changes would impact continue to rise because of inflation. When my friend Republican Con-
98 percent of family farms and impose In May 2021, the Consumer Price gressman JOHN KATKO negotiated a bi-
an additional $1 million tax on farms in Index increased at a rate that has not partisan committee to investigate Jan-
the Midwest. been seen since the 2008 recession. On uary 6, he did it because he knew the
It is simple. The hardworking men top of the Biden inflation tax, our stakes we faced as a Nation.
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and women of the Fourth District and farmers can’t afford additional taxes, The work of the Select Committee
those who feed the world should not more regulations, and other policies will be essential to history’s under-
have to foot the bill for the Democrats’ that will hinder the most important in- standing of what took place on Janu-
reckless spending agenda. dustries and will stifle growth in the ary 6 and protecting the future of our
The Biden administration isn’t just rural Midwest, creating a disaster for Republic.
looking at penalizing rural Americans rural Main Streets, our producers, and My hope is that the members of this
with higher taxes. They are also look- our family farmers. committee will be committed to the
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June 28, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H3161
sober and relentless pursuit of the southern border. Americans will un- ministration came to the conclusion
truth so that such a crisis never hap- doubtedly become victims of crime that it was not. In 2016, the Centers for
pens again. from the illegal aliens successfully Medicare and Medicaid Services revis-
f avoiding detection when they cross. ited the question of whether sex reas-
Like Ms. Bowie who was run over and signment surgery would be covered by
NO END IN SIGHT Medicare plans. Despite receiving a re-
killed while I was sheriff by an illegal
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The alien who had been deported six times quest that its coverage be mandated, it
Chair recognizes the gentleman from prior. refused. It refused to cover it on the
Texas (Mr. NEHLS) for 5 minutes. Our open border will strain local law grounds that we lack evidence that it
Mr. NEHLS. Madam Speaker, Vice enforcement and border State re- truly benefits patients.
President KAMALA HARRIS was named sources who are tasked with cleaning It is well documented that up to 40
border czar on March 24, 2021. It was 93 up the mess. A mess created by the percent of the transgender population
days later when she finally went down Biden administration’s failure to stem will attempt suicide at some point.
to visit a border community amidst the flow of illegal aliens pouring across There is no clear evidence that this
this unprecedented humanity crisis. the border. tragic statistic changes anything after
There is just one problem: she didn’t But it really doesn’t need to be this having sex reassignment surgery. In
actually visit the border. way. The Biden border crisis all started fact, as recent as August of 2020 in the
Last Friday, Vice President HARRIS when Biden reversed the Trump admin- American Journal of Psychiatry, it
hopped off her plane in El Paso for a istration’s remain in Mexico policy and states that comparing those with gen-
few hours on her way to California. She stopped construction of the wall. We der dysphoria who had sex change sur-
quickly toured a border patrol station can get back to operational control of gery with those who did not, that the
10 miles away from the actual border our southern border if the Biden ad- results demonstrated no advantage of
avoiding a visit to ground zero. ministration just reverts back to the surgery in relation to subsequent mood
And what do I mean by ‘‘ground Trump administration’s policies. Until or anxiety disorder-related healthcare
zero’’? I mean the actual border where then, there simply is no end in sight. visits or prescriptions or hospitaliza-
thousands of migrants are flooding tions following suicide attempts in
f
across daily, like the Rio Grande Val- that comparison. I could go on with the
ley sector where over 50,000 illegal im- TAXPAYERS SHOULD NOT BE RE- medical statistics, but suffice it to say,
migrants were apprehended in May SPONSIBLE FOR SEX REASSIGN- there is no clear consensus regarding
alone, which is 128 percent, more than MENT SURGERIES surgical intervention in this popu-
the entire El Paso sector. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The lation.
Or in the Del Rio sector where every Chair recognizes the gentleman from Madam Speaker, I represent the sixth
afternoon buses on the Mexican side of North Carolina (Mr. MURPHY) for 5 largest number of veterans in any con-
the border pull up and they unload minutes. gressional district in the country.
hundreds of migrants who cross the Rio Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina. These surgeries that are required re-
Grande River in knee-high water. Madam Speaker, today I rise to speak quire complex surgical intervention by
I saw it myself firsthand when I vis- on the recent ruling by the Secretary highly trained surgical specialists that
ited the Del Rio sector in June. While of Veterans’ Affairs to allow taxpayer the VA does not have, nor has any
I was there getting a tour of the actual dollars to be spent to provide sex reas- prospect of employing in the future.
border, a couple of men crossed the Rio signment surgeries. I have been a board The Nation is already suffering a se-
Grande over to the American side, and certified urologist for 30 years, so I am vere shortage of surgeons. The Amer-
when they got to the bank of the river, quite knowledgeable about patients ican College of Surgeons cites severe
DPS agents and I questioned them. who suffer from gender dysphoria. shortages of general surgeons, urolo-
We asked them where they were Those who experience this mental and gists, and plastic surgeons. Those that
from, why they were here, and why physical ambiguity may seek care that we have are needed to take care of can-
they thought they could get into cer, bowel obstructions, and limb re-
involves years of psychological and
America. They told us they were from constructions following battlefield in-
psychiatric evaluation counseling,
Cuba and they had come here to work. juries, real life and death issues. They
years of hormonal manipulation, and
Then they told us something that are not going to jump ship to be paid
then multiple cosmetic surgeries. The
less in a bureaucratic Government-run
shouldn’t surprise anyone: They cost of these interventions may easily
healthcare system.
thought they could get into America run into the hundreds and thousands of We already know the VA is short-
because President Biden said they dollars. staffed. They need mental health treat-
could come. Recent numbers cited by the Na- ment individuals for PTSD and trau-
Within minutes, agents of Border Pa- tional Center for Transgender Equality matic brain injury from injuries sus-
trol pulled up in a van, loaded with stated there were an estimated 134,000 tained by veterans in battle. We al-
other migrants who had crossed down transgender veterans in our Nation. ready have 17 veterans dying a day
river, and away they went. Situations However, using the American Psy- from service-connected psychiatric
like this are happening in the thou- chiatric Association’s Diagnostic and issues. They do not need to compete for
sands every day along our border. And Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders resources with those who are suffering
Border Patrol is the one being forced to data from 2019, that calculated number from issues that have nothing to do
pick these migrants up, process them, appears to be far less. Regardless, the with being a member of the military.
straining their manpower and re- new Secretary has mandated that sex We do not have enough psychiatrists
sources, resulting in our border being reassignment surgery be covered by the or psychologists to deal with the trau-
completely open for criminal illegal VA. ma that our veterans have faced in
aliens who want to cross undetected. Again, I am very empathetic to the their fight to keep this Nation free. Is
Americans have been hearing about challenges that these patients face, but it right to divert resources away from
this Biden border crisis for months, as a surgeon and a Member of Congress, those who require years of therapy for
and they see nothing changing. They I must question the surgical priorities nonservice-connected issues? The an-
see the cartels are getting rich traf- here. The VA is already understaffed swer, I submit, is no.
ficking these migrants across our bor- and overburdened, and now requiring a Further, gender dysphoria requires
der. And they hear the horror stories of competing array of treatments may years of hormonal transitioning, need-
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children being abandoned and abused lead to a delay in diagnosis for serious less to say requiring medications for
during their journey to our southern life-threatening disorders. It is an issue anxiety and depression. This increase
border. All of this has a real world im- of resources and priorities. of pharmaceutical needs will further
pact on Americans. There is actually a much heated de- strain the VA pharmacy system that is
As a former county sheriff in Texas, bate on whether this sex reassignment already overtaxed.
I know all too well the second and surgery is truly appropriate or bene- But now the Secretary in an effort to
third order effects of an unsecure ficial. In fact, in 2016 the Obama ad- appease the far left wants to stress the
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