Providing for Consideration of Senate Amendment to H.R. Haiti Development, Accountability, and Institutional Transparency Initiative Act; Providing for Consideration of H.J. Res. Extension of Continuing Appropriations Act, and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Suspending Energy Imports From Russia Act
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I thank my very good friend, the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts, Chairman McGovern, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Today's rule covers three items. The first item is a bill to ban imports of Russian oil into the United States and to impose additional sanctions following Russia's unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine.
Madam Speaker, although I will be supporting this bill, I cannot help but feel that this is a half measure and a missed opportunity to exhibit unified support on immediate steps to confront Putin's evil regime.
Yesterday, Senators Wyden and Crapo introduced a much stronger bill, one that was negotiated over the weekend by Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate. But rather than taking yes for an answer, the majority instead put forward a weaker bill, one that is watered down and leaves loopholes wide enough to drive a tanker through.
Banning Russian oil imports in the wake of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine should be an obvious no-brainer, just like it ought to be a no-brainer for the President to reverse his misguided policies and unleash development of America's own energy sources. But instead of doing so, the Biden administration continues to discourage domestic oil and gas production and is asking every other oil producer in the world to make up the difference.
Instead of encouraging our own domestic sources of energy, which could meet our needs, critically supply our allies, and strengthen American energy independence, President Biden instead is taking steps like unilaterally canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, imposing a ban on new oil and gas exploration and leasing on Federal lands, and telling hardworking Americans who are struggling to buy expensive gasoline to instead go buy more expensive electric vehicles.
Failing to develop America's energy resources is a missed opportunity, Madam Speaker, just like this bill. We had a better option. I wish we had taken it.
Our second item today is an omnibus appropriations package covering the remainder of the year 2022, and the third is a short-term continuing resolution to ensure continuity of government funding while Congress processes a larger bill.
Madam Speaker, it has been a very, very long road to get to this point. But today, the House will act on a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations package. As vice ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, I am encouraged that we are finally nearing completion of this fundamental function of Congress to provide full-year funding for the government.
We are here today in a time of great crisis. Two weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked and unjust war against Ukraine, its democratic neighbor to the west. Inflation has skyrocketed to a 40-year high, and due to the administration's reckless action, gas prices have continued to soar month after month after month.
Yet despite these crises, the Members of this body have worked together and have found common ground on today's legislation.
As I have said many times, one of the most consequential duties of a Member of Congress is to fund the government and keep it open and operating. At a time of crisis, this is more important than ever.
Last year, the Appropriations Committee passed all 12 appropriations bills out of committee and succeeded in passing nine of those bills across the floor before the August recess. Unfortunately, these bills were partisan and did not receive support from any Republican Members, with good reason.
Today, we are 5 months into fiscal year 2022, and despite the long process, the path forward has always been clear. It was clear last July, just as it is clear today.
In order to reach a final bipartisan, bicameral deal on appropriations for FY 2022, four conditions needed to be met. I am greatly pleased that this bill meets all four.
The first is to ensure that the longstanding, bipartisan pro-life provisions historically included in the appropriations bills are restored. These include the Hyde amendment, which prevents Federal dollars from being used to pay for abortions, except in limited cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother, and the Weldon amendment, which protects American doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals from participating in and providing abortions if they have a moral objection.
The inclusion of these and other broadly popular provisions was and is an absolute necessity for this bill to have any chance of becoming law. I am personally deeply grateful that they are included in this package.
Second, partisan policy riders that were included in the bills that passed the House last summer needed to come out. These are provisions that both sides did not agree to and do not enjoy bipartisan consensus. At the end of the day, we needed to reach an agreement on these items to move forward. Fortunately, each of these provisions has been removed.
Third, the level of defense spending absolutely needed to come up. Unfortunately, last year, President Biden proposed a budget that underfunded national defense, repeating the mistake of the Obama-Biden administration of chronically underfunding our national defense. But earlier this year, the House Armed Services Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee, both controlled by Democrats, worked together in a bipartisan manner to authorize an increase in defense spending of $25 billion over the fiscal year.
In today's bill, appropriators actually went beyond that, ensuring a robust increase in defense spending. This increase is necessary to ensure that our Armed Forces will have the funds needed to maintain our readiness and to procure the weapons and assets the warfighters of tomorrow will need to continue to succeed on the battlefield.
This includes increases for defense assets based in my own home State of Oklahoma. If the present crisis in Ukraine shows us nothing else, it should show us the need to continue to adequately fund our national defense.
Finally, the fourth condition that needed to be met was that the proposed levels of nondefense spending had to come down. In the initial set of bills that passed the House, my friends in the majority sought to include a 17 percent increase in nondefense spending. While that no doubt included many worthy items, Republicans generally felt that 17 percent was excessive, particularly given the substantial needs on the defense side of the ledger.
But the bill before us today increases nondefense spending by just 6.7 percent, which will allow for increased investments in key areas while also ensuring that we will continue to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.
Of course, this 6.7 percent ensures that there will be significant and important investments in nondefense areas across the government. I am particularly pleased that the National Institutes of Health will receive a robust $2.25 billion increase, which will help advance medical science, help address future pandemics, and continue our progress toward defeating the scourge of cancer.
We are also funding ARPA-H, one of the President's highest priorities, at $1 billion in its first year of operation. I am also encouraged that this bill provides significant increases for TRIO and GEAR UP, two programs that are close to my heart, that help first- generation students go to college. These are just a few of the programs that I could point to that are worthy of increased funding and investment, and this bill has done that.
The legislation before us today represents a negotiated compromise between the House and the Senate and obviously between Democrats and Republicans. Given that, it is a compromise. That means neither side got everything that they wanted. As I have often said, in a compromise, you have to give up more than you would like to get less than you want. Indeed, this is not the bill I would have written had I written it alone. But at the end of the day, it represents a good balance for Congress and for the Nation.
Before I finish, I want to congratulate my friends and colleagues on the Appropriations Committee, particularly Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro and Ranking Member Kay Granger, without whom we would not have gotten to where we are today.
I also want to extend my huge thank you, as the chairman did, to the Appropriations Committee staff and to the Rules staff on both sides of the aisle. These staffers are truly unsung heroes who spent many long and sleepless nights over the preceding weeks, including this past weekend. We would not be here today without them.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to just quickly respond to my friend's comment about the energy industry.
I am from an energy district. I am from an energy State. My constituents and their forebearers have produced more energy than they have consumed for over a hundred years, and they have shared it all over the world, but particularly across this country.
Thank God for them because, quite frankly, what Americans would be paying at the pump now would be astronomical were it not for them. Since 2005, American oil production has doubled, and that is due to their ingenuity. Frankly, we pay almost the lowest energy prices in the world.
I am sorry, but to put all of these energy price increases off on Vladimir Putin--he is certainly responsible for those this week, but the reality is, for the entire Biden Presidency, energy prices have been going up. That is because the President, on his very first day, effectively declared war on the fossil fuel industry. He canceled the Keystone Pipeline. He changed the leasing and drilling rules on Federal lands. The hostility has simply been overwhelming.
Now, where does that put us? The United States is going to Iran to ask them to increase energy production, the largest sponsor of state tyranny.
We are sending representatives to Venezuela. Why don't we just call people in Houston and Oklahoma City and Cheyenne? We have got lots of places that know how to produce energy and have been doing it cheaply, efficiently, fairly, and cleanly for decades.
The reality is, let's not attack them. They are our salvation in a time of trial, and they are our national security moving forward. I feel very strongly about that.
Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), my good friend and distinguished member of the Rules Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Texas an additional 1 minute.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I will refrain from correcting my friend again and just send him something to read.
If we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 6858, the American Energy Independence from Russia Act for immediate consideration.
Two weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin shocked the world by launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In doing so, Mr. Putin revealed his true self, and that is a bully, a thug, a tyrant bent on subverting his democratic neighbor to the west. In challenging not only Ukraine, but also the rest of the civilized world, Mr. Putin's powerful weapon is not his army, potent though that may be, but the dependence of much of the rest of the world on Russian oil and gas. Already he has begun to put the squeeze on democratic states seeking to challenge his invasion of Ukraine by threatening to cut off their supplies of energy.
The American Energy Independence from Russia Act would address the challenge and would reposition the United States to be energy self- sufficient. It would immediately approve the Keystone XL pipeline, would restart oil and gas leasing on Federal lands and waters, and would expand liquid natural gas exports at the moment Europe needs the most. In doing so, it would ensure that America remains energy independent and can act to address Russian aggression without risking economic damage.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Crenshaw), my good friend and a distinguished member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, to further explain our amendment.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, to further discuss the need for America to be energy independent, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber), a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and my good friend.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COLE. I yield the gentleman from Minnesota an additional 30 seconds.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Just to remind my friend, it was the last administration that actually began lethal aid to Ukraine. The Obama administration did not. The record there is pretty clear as to who has helped the Ukrainians.
Madam Speaker, to further discuss the need to get America out from under the thumb of Russia, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and my good friend.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, for further explanation of our energy independence bill, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice), my very good friend and fellow Oklahoman.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source