Announcement By the Clerk

Floor Speech

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Mr. BIGGS. Madam Clerk, I rise to place into nomination the name of my friend from Florida, Byron Donalds, for Speaker of the House.

You know, we are coming off an election just 2 months ago, a little less than 2 months ago, actually. What did that election tell us?

Well, there were 5 million more Republicans who cast their ballots and told us that the American public wanted a change. They wanted a change from the policies of the left that has taken over the Democratic Party.

It said they wanted a change, a change from this administration, this administration that has inflicted so much pain economically.

We have seen crime explode. We have an administration that won't even acknowledge that there is a crisis on the border.

I tell you to go on down to the border. I have invited this administration to come with me to the border. Let's see it firsthand.

The American public said they want a change. They want something new. They want something different, and we are on a path that just continues.

Where were we just 12 years ago? An $11 trillion national debt. Do you know where we are today? Almost three times that. Both parties share blame in that.

We have to bring that under control. You bring that under control not just by changing the rules of an institution but by changing the leadership.

I am told this process is painful. It is embarrassing, I am told. Do you know what it is? It is not dysfunction, and it is not imperiling. What it is, is the exchange of ideas and expression of support for people you want to be your leader in the next Congress.

I think it is incredibly healthy, actually, for the American people to see that we are on the floor, something that my colleagues across the aisle so rarely like to be. They enjoy the proxy voting, I guess.

They have sat there--I will give it to you. They have laughed, and they have chuckled, and they have pointed fingers at us and said, oh, see here.

But do you know what? As my friend from Florida just said, we are together. We are having an internal fight. It is being displayed. I wish it wasn't necessarily being displayed, but the American people can see it.

But I can tell you this: When this is over and done with, I know which side of the aisle is going to be laughing, and it is going to be the side that is unified in taking on the issues that Americans care about, the issues that the other side has not only ignored but has put upon the American people.

We used to be energy independent. It seems so long ago. It was 2 years ago, actually. We are going to restore American energy independence.

Do you know how you reduce inflation? You stop devaluing your currency. You stop blowing out the waters by spending $1.7 trillion on an omnibus bill that has many thousands of earmarks in it.

You start taking on crime. You start fighting violence.

You start fighting the overgrowth of our budget and restore our economy. You start incentivizing jobs.

You recognize that the American middle class is being squeezed, and that those who are in more difficult economic circumstances are being squeezed by an economy that has this inflation that attacks energy.

You bring your border back under control, and this side is going to bring that border security under control. We recognize it is a crisis.

It is a crisis when, in 2020, the Yuma sector had 9,000 encounters, not for a 5-day period, but for an entire fiscal year. Under this administration, with these policies, 9,000 encounters is about a 5-day period in the Yuma sector today.

You don't know what it is like unless you see that happening.

We are on a suboptimal path. It has to change. To make a change, it can be difficult. It can be short-term uncomfortable. But when you move to the correct path, all of a sudden, things ease up and you can start having success.

The direction here, in my opinion, is to someone like Byron Donalds, a man who is living the American Dream and is an example and a mentor for millions who need hope.

Here is a man who has worked his way up. He is not a novice. He has the experience. He has the chops to be the Speaker. He is a man who has a lovely family, and they are politically engaged. They know what is going on. He has worked in Florida politics. He has worked in the legislature. He has respect. He has the quiet confidence that a leader needs.

I look around this body today. I know it is hard for you to believe-- and it is hard for me to believe sometimes when I am here, as I have the great honor and privilege of serving with you--but you represent the cross-section of America, the great American experiment. The experience that you bring and the knowledge that you bring is unique. The road to recovery is through this body.

I believe if you want to make changes, you have to make changes. Maintaining the status quo is not an option today. I believe we have reached an existential crisis in this country. I look across the aisle, and I see the left has captured virtually every institution. It is time that we reassert ourselves and put America back on the road to recovery. The person who I think is most capable and will do the most credible job to lead us back that way is my friend from Florida, the Honorable Byron Donalds, who I am pleased and proud to nominate as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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