Congressional Record, House — December 13, 2022, H9696
Summary
This is H9696 of the Congressional Record, House, December 13, 2022, with two floor speeches whose speakers are not named on this page. One speaker criticizes President Biden's border policies, says morale among U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents is low, and states that fiscal year 2022 was the deadliest year ever recorded for migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border with 853 migrant deaths. The other speaker, who says there will be only a few weeks left in the House, states that the speaker was first elected in the 1994 Republican Revolution and describes 26 years in Congress, listing leading the effort to pass the ban on partial birth abortion as a proudest accomplishment.
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“Congressional Record, House — December 13, 2022, H9696.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2022-12-13-crec-2022-12-13-pt1-pgh9696-3b06202ed5/
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H9696 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE December 13, 2022
With President Biden tying the hands ington State involving children no point Biden district, making it the
of our agents and enabling lawlessness older than 2 years old. toughest Republican-held seat in the
at our border, morale among the force The fact that our babies are over- country outside the State of California.
has been crushed to an unthinkable dosing on this poison should alarm
b 1045
low—so low, in fact, that the CBP has every single person in this Chamber.
hired a suicidologist to help prevent The silence from many of those on the Despite starting out in a 9-point hole,
further loss among its force. other side of the aisle and the Biden I hoped that with a lot of hard work
Our CBP agents are overwhelmed, administration is, quite frankly, sick- and a little luck we could hold it any-
overworked, underfunded, and they are ening. And if you hear anything at all, way. I was wrong. That is water over
demoralized. They put their lives on they tell you that the border is se- the dam.
the line every day to defend our Na- cure—a complete lie. There is a Chinese proverb, ‘‘May you
tion’s borders while receiving no sup- Biden’s open borders have created live in interesting times.’’ My 26 years
port from the top levels of our govern- full-blown national security, public in Congress have certainly been that. I
ment. safety, and humanitarian crises in the was first elected in the 1994 Republican
In fact, the President says that there United States, not only for our law en- Revolution, Newt Gingrich, the con-
are more important things going on. forcement and constituents but for the tract with America. Republicans took
It should not come as a shock that so migrants as well. over the House for the first time in 40
many are at wit’s end. In fact, fiscal year 2022 was the dead- years, which was my proximate age at
While some have taken their own liest year ever recorded for migrants the time, and 73 freshmen Republicans
lives, many others have been seriously attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico were elected. I am the last one in the
injured or have made the ultimate sac- border unlawfully with 853 migrant House out of 73, and I will be gone in a
rifice while on the front lines. deaths. Many drowned in the Rio few weeks.
In April, 22-year-old Texas National Grande. They perished due to dehydra- I have been asked a number of times:
Guard Specialist Bishop Evans was tion from battling extreme heat and What are my proudest accomplish-
swept away in the Rio Grande while at- difficult terrain or taken deadly falls ments during my time here in Con-
tempting to save two migrants from while climbing border barriers. gress? At the top of the list was leading
drowning. We later found out that the In June, 53 migrants were found dead the effort to pass the ban on partial
two he sacrificed his life for were actu- in San Antonio after being abandoned birth abortion. I fought that battle for
ally attempting to traffic illegal nar- in a tractor trailer without air-condi- 8 years, all the way to the U.S. Su-
cotics. tioning or water. In September, a mi- preme Court. They upheld the law, and
Just last week, a 38-year-old father of grant mother of two committed suicide it has been described as the most sig-
two, CBP Agent Raul Humberto Gon- in a New York City homeless shelter. nificant pro-life legislation since Roe
zalez was killed in an ATV crash while Her 15-year-old son discovered her v. Wade. It is estimated that it saves
chasing a group of migrants illegally body. Think about the consequences he about 20,000 innocent unborn babies
crossing the border. will have for the rest of his life. every year from a particularly brutal
Some have accused the Republicans death. Some have said my strong pro-
Perhaps if the cartels were not al-
who want to secure our borders of life positions were a factor in my de-
lowed free rein on our border to smug-
being uncompassionate. The greatest feat this election. If so, it was worth it.
gle drugs and to traffic humans, Spe-
humanitarian crisis in our country is Another accomplishment was having
cialist Bishop Evans and Agent Gon-
unfolding right before our eyes, and I served as both chairman and ranking
zalez would be with us today.
No one has benefited more from this urge our colleagues and our President member of the House Small Business
country’s lax open border policies than to work with us to take action to se- Committee. I was in the position to in-
the cartels. The Drug Enforcement cure it. troduce, pass, and implement the PPP,
Agency has told us that up to 70 to 80 f the Paycheck Protection Program,
percent of fentanyl in the United FAREWELL TO CONGRESS during the recent pandemic. As a re-
States comes into our country over the The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. sult, the First Congressional District
southern border. We know the vast ma- RYAN of New York). The Chair recog- received more money, almost $3 bil-
jority of fentanyl is being manufac- nizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. lion; got more small business loans,
tured in China and brought into our CHABOT) for 5 minutes. over 27,000 of them; and most impor-
country over the southern border Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, it has tantly, saved more jobs, over 247,000,
straight into American cities poisoning been an honor to represent the people than any other congressional district
our youth. of greater Cincinnati in public office in Ohio. A lot of people’s lives, both in
The Drug Enforcement Agency is for more than 35 years now. I thought our community and across the country,
telling us that is where it is coming I would take a few minutes to sum up were positively impacted.
from, yet we continue to have an open those years. Rather than list a whole bunch of
border policy, and this body refuses to I first ran for office, Cincinnati City other bills I have got passed over the
act to secure our border. Council, when I was 26 years old. When years—I am limited to just 5 minutes
Drug overdoses are the leading cause this, my last term in Congress, expires here this morning—let me just tell you
of death of 18-to 45-year-olds in the next month in January, I will be turn- this: the University of Virginia, UVA,
United States, killing 100,000 Ameri- ing 70. 26 to 70, that is long enough. It and Vanderbilt, have together done
cans last year alone; three-quarters of is somebody else’s turn. three studies of Congress over the last
those deaths are from fentanyl. One I had seriously considered retiring 10 years in order to determine who are
American dies every 7 minutes from and not running this past election the most effective Members of Con-
this deadly drug streaming over our cycle, but it was a redistricting year. gress.
open border, and by the time I finish The congressional lines were being I am proud to say that I was rated in
this speech, there will be one more redrawn, and I was concerned that if I the top 10 most effective Members each
American lost. didn’t run, our district was going to be time. When you consider that there are
Our babies are dying. Last month, written off and drawn in a way that 435 of us, I would say that is pretty
San Francisco firefighters had to use only a Democrat could win it as had good. Of course, I could have accom-
Narcan to save the life of a 10-month- been done 10 years ago in Columbus plished none of this without the hard
old baby boy who came into contact and prior to that in Cleveland. work of my tremendous staff both here
with fentanyl while playing in a park. I didn’t want to see that happen to in Washington and back in Cincinnati,
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In May, a 3-year-old in California died the people of greater Cincinnati who and without the support of my family.
from a fentanyl overdose, and in No- depended on me and trusted me to rep- My wife, Donna, and I will be cele-
vember of last year, so did a 1-year-old resent them as a commonsense con- brating our 50th wedding anniversary
child in Connecticut. In the last 3 servative for so many years. this coming June. We were blessed with
months, there have been two fatal Redistricting turned out to be a pret- a daughter, Erica, and a son, Randy,
fentanyl exposures in western Wash- ty rocky process. I ended up with a 9- both adults now, and the two cutest
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December 13, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H9697
grandchildren anywhere ever, Reed and Her legacy for Iowa lives on in the RADAR STATION VETERANS MONUMENT
Keira. And I thank my son-in-law, millions of dollars that she has brought Several years ago, three Air Force vet-
Kevin, for creating and then overseeing home for her constituents, in the legis- erans who served on various radar stations
my blog over the years. lation she has fought to get across the during the Cold War began discussing how to
Finally, let me conclude with this: finish line, and in all of us fighting to honor their service and others who held the
same job. A monument was suggested, but
Despite all the rancor and controversy end the divisiveness and to bring the
they lacked funding and a location. Wash-
and partisanship that routinely goes on collective spirit of compromise to Con- ington, D.C., was thought to be the most ob-
in this place, it was truly an honor to gress. vious location choice, but given how long it
serve here in the people’s House. This I thank CINDY for everything—for her took to construct the World War II Memo-
extraordinary country, the United leadership, for her unwavering spirit, rial, they decided to look elsewhere. After
States of America, is still the greatest and, most importantly, for her friend- many discussions with their fellow veterans,
country that ever existed on the face of ship. they formed a 501(c)(3) non-profit organiza-
the Earth. tion called the United States Air Force
f (USAF) Radar Station Veterans Monument
Goodbye.
Association. Five veterans volunteered to
f RECOGNIZING COLD WAR RADAR serve as officers for the association, and 26
HONORING REPRESENTATIVE STATION VETERANS agreed to become board members.
CINDY AXNE Once the association was formed, dona-
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The
tions were sought from many Cold War-era
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from manufacturers and suppliers of radar equip-
Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas (Mr. BABIN) for 5 minutes. ment. Unfortunately, most were out of busi-
Nevada (Mrs. LEE) for 5 minutes. Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today ness or had merged with other companies. As
Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I to recognize the tens of thousands of a result, the association contacted as many
rise today to recognize the outstanding veterans who served on radar stations radar station veterans as possible to ask for
across the world during the Cold War. their donations for the monument. Eventu-
work of one of my congressional class-
From 1947 to 1991, American service- ally, the National Museum of the United
mates, now one of my closest friends States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air
here, Congresswoman CINDY AXNE. members faced extremely challenging
Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, was selected as
In 2018, less than 100 years after climates and conditions in the most the location for the monument’s placement.
women gained the right to vote, we isolated locations to successfully miti- The museum indicated that the project
were elected as part of the largest class gate threats from the Soviet Union to would cost approximately $30,000. After
ever of women elected to the House—a ensure the maintenance of peace. much aid from their fellow veterans, they
record we broke again 2 years later. These veterans were highly trained raised $43,000.
Breaking the glass ceiling was just the and from every United States military When designing the monument, their goal
branch, including the National Guard was to educate the public in an appealing
start. way. They decided on a monument made
CINDY AXNE is a true trailblazer. No and Reserve units. They were also sup-
from black granite stone, with images of 23
issue is too big or small. As a fellow ported by allied forces and civilians, as radar sites etched into it. A mission state-
mom in Congress and a lifelong edu- well. ment and description of the radar station op-
cation advocate, I have seen CINDY’s These brave watch guards were on a erating conditions were inscribed on the
passion for the next generation. Even mission of the utmost importance to front, and a globe sat on top, symbolizing
before her time in Congress, as a mom detect, track, intercept, and destroy worldwide involvement. The monument was
at local school board meetings, CINDY hostile airborne intruders when they completed and placed in section two of Me-
entered the free world airspace. morial Park at the National Museum of the
fought to make real change and to pro-
United States Air Force. The dedication
mote education equity with the imple- Although the protection of allied air-
ceremony was held on November 7, 2019, with
mentation of full-day kindergarten space was successful following the end some 100 veterans and family members in at-
across her children’s school district. of the Cold War, the United States tendance. It was an outstanding program;
That passion and can-do character has never officially recognized the count- the Air Force honor guard members gave a
followed her to Congress, too. less hours of surveillance that these flag presentation. After the program, the
Congresswoman CINDY AXNE is a rare servicemembers provided to our coun- USAF Radar Station Veterans Monument
breed here on Capitol Hill. Bipartisan- try and the world. Association members formally turned the
Several years ago, a dedicated group monument over to the museum.
ship is a word many of us use here in
Following the ceremony, an evening ban-
Congress, but few of us can back it up of Air Force Cold War-era radar station
quet was held, and the association’s officers
quite like CINDY. Her energy and en- veterans formed a nonprofit organiza- were recognized for their work in commis-
thusiasm are endless, and I have seen tion to raise funds for the construction sioning the monument. They received a
firsthand how she brings it to her work of a monument commemorating their standing ovation. All officers were presented
here in Washington. fellow servicemembers’ sacrifices. with a framed picture of the monument, the
As the lone Federal Democrat from The monument was unveiled on No- USAF Radar Station Veterans Monument
the Hawkeye State, she has taken that vember 7, 2019, at Wright-Patterson Air Association’s logo, and a statement of appre-
Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, with some ciation.
Iowa-nice attitude to a whole new
This is just one example of what it means
level—working with anyone, Democrat 100 veterans and their family members
to be a United States veteran: We are loyal,
or Republican, to get the job done. in attendance. are proud to have served this great country,
Las Vegas, Nevada, and Des Moines, Today, I thank these veterans for and can still stand tall for a monument dedi-
Iowa, may be looking a little bit dif- their service during such a tense and a cated to this purpose. We give a proud hand
ferent, but CINDY and I have worked to- turbulent time in our history. Their salute to all who attended, to those who
gether to find common ground that dedication to our security and the could not attend because of distance or
transcends partisanship and works for prosperity of peace never wavered an health, and especially to those who served
every single American. iota. but are no longer with us.
1ST. LT. JAMES E. MUECKE.
As the tallest woman in Congress— As a veteran stationed in Germany
although Representative LORI TRAHAN during the Cold War, I can relate to Mr. BABIN. May God bless these he-
might have a point of order on that— many of the sacrifices that these cou- roes and may history remember them.
she also bears one of the tallest lists of rageous individuals made, and I am for- f
accomplishments in her time in this ever grateful for them.
House. I include in the RECORD a letter by CONTINUED DELAY OF FLOOR AC-
She personally helped her constitu- one of the United States Air Force TION ON THE MAJOR RICHARD
STAR ACT
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ents recover from catastrophic flood- Radar Station Veterans Monument As-
ing. She led the charge to keep our sociation founders, 1st Lieutenant The SPEAKER pro tempore. The
communities safe with the Invest to James E. Muecke, which contains more Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Protect Act. CINDY led the charge to information about the hard work that Florida (Mr. BILIRAKIS) for 5 minutes.
tackle inflation with the Lower Food went into making the dream of a Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, it is
and Fuel Costs Act, as well. monument into a reality. with great sadness that I must take the
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