Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. PFLUGER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the much- needed student dormitory project at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas.

The district I represent is at a crucial crossroads of national security, energy security, and agriculture security that makes our Nation stronger. At the heart of this district sits Goodfellow, home to the training of over 12,000 airmen, soldiers, sailors, marines, and guardians every single year who do intelligence work and also in the training of fire.

Goodfellow plays a really critical role in continuing to provide world-class intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as well as that fire rescue that I just mentioned.

The national security demands of our Nation are quickly outpacing the capacity of Goodfellow to house the ever-growing stream of new students. The base is currently experiencing a drastic shortage of housing. In fact, to meet this shortage, the base has entered into an agreement with Angelo State University for the use of their dorms to ease the capacity concerns.

While ASU is a proud and willing partner with Goodfellow, this is not a permanent solution. We cannot expect our communities to shoulder these burdens forever.

This project is vital to the national security mission that Goodfellow provides to the country and to that of the Concho Valley community. It is imperative that Air Force Education and Training Command maintain this project as a top priority.

I am also offering an amendment tonight, and I rise in support of that, to strike the funding for the expensive and unreliable electric vehicle purchases by the United States Postal Service.

Let me be clear. We cannot maintain a functioning and prosperous country without affordable, reliable energy. Yet, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are completely bent on pursuing a feel-good green energy policy to pat themselves on the backs in the name of saving the environment.

But the truth is, they are not improving the environment. They are actually destroying the prosperity and security of our country by doing so.

During several days of brutal cold in Texas, the city of Austin saw its fleet of 12 new electric buses rendered completely inoperative during the power outages. By allowing the USPS to go to an all-electric fleet, we are basically saying that when the weather is too hot, too cold, not windy enough, with not enough sun, Americans will not have their mail service.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment and others.

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