Unleash American Energy Independence

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the time on the floor today to speak about these important matters.

Mr. Speaker, when Tennesseans go to the gas pump and grocery store, they are constantly reminded of the fact that everything was much more affordable only 1 year ago.

Since President Biden has taken office and congressional Democrats have recklessly borrowed and spent trillions of dollars, the cost of living has skyrocketed at a rate not seen since 1981--when I was just a junior in high school.

Common sense will tell you, this massive amount of deficit spending overheated the economy and created a labor shortage from folks staying home instead of working. Common sense will also tell you, that the only way to fix this issue is to turn the money spigots off here in Washington and stop this borrow and spend economic death spiral.

Unfortunately, common sense has again failed this Chamber as House Democrats passed earlier today a funding bill filled with partisan initiatives costing hundreds of billions of dollars. The socialist spending bill House Democrats passed today increased some accounts by double and even triple-digit percentages in some cases.

It rewards the Food and Drug Administration, which failed to quickly address the baby formula shortage with a budget increase. It also increases the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, who instead of enforcing our laws and stopping illegal immigration, is encouraging it by attempting to repeal title 42. It even increases the budget to maintain and improve Federal buildings by 12 percent, even though many of these buildings have been mostly empty for the last 2 years.

There are a lot of bad policies in this bill, but one of the worst has to be the exclusion of the Hyde amendment. The Hyde amendment is a bipartisan amendment that has existed for decades to prevent your taxpayer dollars from being used to help fund abortions. This is completely incomprehensible to me. In no way, shape, or form should taxpayers be subsidizing abortions with taxpayer dollars.

Tennesseans are sick and tired of borrowing money from China and forcing their grandchildren to foot the bill. The State of Tennessee should serve as a role model for Members of Congress. We have been committed in Tennessee to enacting fiscally responsible policies up and down each level of government. We don't even have a State income tax, and yet are still able to fund the government without driving our State into a hole of debt from which we will never get out.

I just can't help but think how one-party rule in Washington has completely failed the American people. Democrats have controlled both Chambers of Congress and the executive branch for almost 2 years now and Americans are paying the price.

Tennesseans are rightfully upset with their Federal Government and feel as though their concerns about the future of this country are not being heard. A recent poll shows that in April of 2020, during the height of the COVID lockdowns, Americans actually thought our Nation's future looked brighter than it does right now.

We can't continue down this path. We must do everything we can to rein-in the reckless spending. As interest rates begin to rise, our $30 trillion--and rising--national debt will only continue to get more expensive as the interest on the debt grows right along with it, squeezing out funding for other vital programs. With interest rates now rising at a rapid clip, it is all just a ticking time bomb ready to go off.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to listen to the American people and Tennesseans back home and do what is right for the sake of our country and our children. Recognize the policy failures of the last 2 years and commit to joining Republicans in our desire to restore fiscal common sense.

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