Feeling the Impacts in Texas

Floor Speech

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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, the good gentleman from Texas for yielding.

I think that what most people don't understand--and some even in this body--is that when you think about operational control of the border, you are assuming that the administration wants to stop people from illegally crossing. You are thinking that they are about border security and about national security.

We actually voted in this body, as you know, to fund at higher levels, Border Patrol, ICE. And many on our side of the aisle even voted for it, either unwittingly or knowing that this administration was actually going to use that money, not to stop people from coming across the border illegally, not to uphold the law, not to stop the invasion that is guaranteed by our Constitution to the States, but to actually become more efficient at processing individuals coming across the border illegally and moving them very quickly into the interior of the country.

They used the money so that they don't have the optics of what is happening at the Del Rio bridge. That is why they wanted to be more efficient. They don't want the optics of people huddling underneath a bridge, coming from some other country or some other places illegally, and not having anywhere to go, and the squalor and the potential crime element that is associated with it.

Since they don't want that optic, what they have done is used the money that has been appropriated, the additional money--not to mention all the money that has already been appropriated--to move them more efficiently into the interior of the country.

So when the Secretary says he has operational control, sure, they are operationally controlling the influx of illegal aliens, right? That is the actual definition, right? That is the word that is used--illegal aliens into the country. And so on that charge, they are actually doing very well.

Unfortunately, the American people, and my good friend from Texas, Chip Roy, know they are suffering right now under horrific high prices that they barely can afford, whether it is for fuel in their car, whether it is for being able to buy groceries, if you can find them.

And heaven forbid you are a family that has a small child that needs formula. No extra money for that, Mr. Roy. No extra money for Americans.

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Mr. PERRY. Well, you know why.

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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, into the country but without the view of the cameras, without the access of the American people in to see what is happening in their country. That is the chain-link fence around it, without the view of what is happening in every single community which is due to fentanyl overdoses.

Every single person in America now likely can say they know some family, somebody in their town that died of a fentanyl overdose. So that is coming from China, as the good gentleman from Arkansas was just talking about what is happening in China--it comes from China through Mexico across our southern border and into your town.

That is national security. That is border security. That is health security. And our country and the leadership and this administration is not providing it at this time.

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Mr. PERRY. I am aware of that.

Madam Speaker, right here on this floor, the President came and gave his State of the Union and said he wanted to secure the border. That is what the President said, he wanted to secure the border. Yet, the fentanyl keeps coming in. The money has been spent. In many towns they have defunded the police, right? The drugs keep coming in.

And as there is a primary election going on right now in my home State in Pennsylvania, many people from across the aisle have said they want border protection, they want national security, they want to stop the fentanyl.

But given any opportunity to vote in favor of that, to come down and sign the discharge petition, not one Democrat, not one Democrat signed the discharge petition to force that bill to the floor to say keep title 42 in place and leave us an opportunity to make sure that people and drugs and the crime element supported by the cartels don't come to America. Not one will step up.

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Mr. PERRY. That is exactly right.

Madam Speaker, the American people see and are feeling it every single day when they go to the gas pumps, when they have got to get their kids to soccer games and multiple activities, driving back and forth, and they can't afford to fill up their gas tanks anymore.

This is because we are at the beginning of implementing the Green New Deal, forcing it on Americans; not letting you make the choice, but letting policymakers in Washington, D.C., determine how your life is going to be.

And while the President says, in this very body, they want to have a vote on price-gouging. Meanwhile, we are not allowing the people to produce the gas and oil that we desperately need to keep our energy economy going. Our country runs on energy, right? The President is saying no more leases. Not one pipeline is being built.

No more leases. No more refining. It is not happening. They actually said that we are producing more gas and oil than ever before in history. But you just gave them the numbers, Mr. Roy. You just gave us the numbers. It is actually less. That is what happens, and you are going to pay more. For every single gallon that you buy, you are going to pay more. And this is all by design. They don't want you to have the choice. They actually want to force you to drive an electric vehicle.

As long as we are talking about energy and the lack thereof, Mr. Roy, it was just reported in your State to be prepared for blackouts and brownouts because there is going to be a lack of electricity production.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the 21st century. America knows how to produce energy. We know how to make electricity. We know how to transport it. Yet, it is happening in California, and now it is going to start cascading across the country because of the policy decisions of the Green New Deal and those who worship at the altar of this green agenda that forces us to take these things that we can't afford and are inefficient and ineffective.

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Mr. PERRY. And opening one a week.

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Mr. PERRY. And hope you can charge. And I sure hope you have the time to sit there and charge, right? It is not like filling it up at the gas station and you get back on the road and keep going and make it in a reasonable amount of time.

The gentleman from Texas is absolutely right. I mean, he talked about the fact that we are empowering China. Eighty-five percent of the critical minerals that come here to make the solar panels and windmills come from China. Now, of course, we subsidize all that. That subsidy means it is coming from your tax dollars.

Of course, I don't know whether you know this or not, Mr. Roy, but I suspect you do, those tax dollars going to pay for those raw materials in China are then--those tax dollars go to mine it, to mine it in the Congo, right?

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Mr. PERRY. One of the biggest mines in the world, the biggest mine in the world. Slave labor, child slave labor, right? We are talking about saving the rainforest, meanwhile they are cutting all this stuff down to mine these minerals, so we can feel good. So we can feel good about our ourselves and America. Meanwhile, it is supporting child slave labor with your taxes, supporting deforestation of the rainforest. For what? For higher prices and less availability, and it is just going to keep coming, ladies and gentlemen, as long as the agenda of the left keeps being implemented.

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Mr. PERRY. I had a problem with $40 billion with 5 hours, 5 hours of consideration for $40 billion. When we took the text to the staff and asked them about this line, what is this $300 million, and they said, Well, we don't know. And we are expected to vote on that. We are expected to vote for that or somehow we are aligned with Vladimir Putin.

Keep in mind, my good friend from Texas, 2 weeks prior to this we did this lend-lease without any time limit, without any funding limit, then come back, and the President asked for $33 billion, we give him $40 billion. We can't afford our diesel. Pretty soon you are not going to be able to afford your food. We won't do anything on our own border. Prices are going up for every single person.

Every American wants to help Ukraine, but we are Americans, and the Representatives in this body represent America.

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Mr. PERRY. You are absolutely right, Mr. Roy. The American people at least deserve the debate. Five hours, ladies and gentlemen, 5 hours for $40 billion. People around here complain about all kinds of things.

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Mr. PERRY. Right. That is a problem. But $40 billion, no problem.

Meanwhile, our citizens, the citizens that I represent, they are having a hard time figuring out, do they pay their insurance, do they pay their mortgage? I talk to people on a regular basis that say they put their bills on their table, and they put a date on them when they are due and when they think they will be able to pay for them. They say, I have never had to do that before. I am selling stuff to pay my bills because I can't afford what is happening in my country right now. Meanwhile, we can't talk for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, an hour about $40 billion to some other country. Meanwhile, we just gave a blank check 2 weeks before to let the President spend any amount of money for any amount of time on the same country. We didn't declare war.

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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for allowing me to be part of this Special Order and speak on behalf of and fight on behalf of the American people that are struggling right now.

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