Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2025
Floor Speech
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Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Chair, my amendment is pretty simple. It prohibits funding for the purchase of electric vehicles.
We have a Member here in Congress who owns a dealership who is burying his electric vehicle, which doesn't work, as a testament to how useless these vehicles are.
I rise in support of my amendment that prohibits funds for the purchase of electric vehicles. As part of the Department of Homeland Security's Climate Action Plan, whatever that is, the agency responsible for the safety and security of our Nation is wasting hard- earned taxpayer dollars on EVs.
DHS has set a goal to transition 50 percent of its vehicle fleet to zero-emissions vehicles by 2030 in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Where is DHS' goal to reduce the number of illegal immigrants entering this country?
DHS is proud to be the first Federal agency to debut electric vehicles for law enforcement. How does an electric vehicle help a law enforcement officer do his or her job better? How does an electric vehicle protect our Nation? The DHS' website says it is implementing a new approach to meet the climate crisis, whatever that is, which includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Mr. Chair, this is a joke. What about the real crisis that is threatening our Nation, the crisis at the border, the crisis that has resulted in many deaths that are reported daily?
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Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Chair, the real crisis at the border is the invasion that is now taking place with over 9.6 million illegal immigrant encounters since the Biden administration took office 3\1/2\ years ago, over 1.8 got-aways who evaded Border Patrol since the Biden administration took office 3\1/2\ years ago, over 50 illegal immigrants with ties to ISIS infiltrating our Nation, and over 27,000 Chinese Communist nationals encountered in fiscal year 2024.
I don't know how much longer we are going to have to put up with the killings that are taking place. In one 2 days ago, a 13-year-old girl was dragged under a bridge, tortured for 2 hours, raped, and then killed.
How long will my friends on the opposite side of the aisle put up with this kind of insanity? Since the Biden administration took office, it has opened the borders to anybody from anywhere, any country, without any vetting.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment to ensure DHS is focused on their true mission to secure the Nation from the many threats that we face and to keep America safe.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment that prohibits funds for TSA's Inclusion Action Committee.
In August 2020, TSA announced the Inclusion Action Committee, which it describes as a coalition of diverse leaders focused on measuring the current state of diversity and inclusion at the TSA. The committee was instrumental in creating a gender-neutral option for the TSA PreCheck to serve nonbinary and gender nonconforming passengers and allow applicants to select their gender based on self-attestation, regardless of the sex assigned at birth.
This is flat-out insanity. Where else does this work in our society? Can I go to a bank and say I am Bill Gates and need a $10 million loan? Can I go to any NFL team and say I am a star football player and get automatically on the team? It is insanity. How does letting a confused man check a box calling himself a woman make our country any safer? Is this really what we should be focusing on?
The committee also came out with a report on best practices to support an inclusive, diverse environment. Where is the report on the best practices to secure our border, which has been open for the last 3\1/2\ years?
The Department of Homeland Security has utilized over 50 airports to process over 400,000 inadmissible aliens through this administration's unlawful Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan mass parole programs as well as any other country.
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Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Chair, I would just say this is insanity. For those listening in the balcony, I am sure if they flew here, they had to present a valid ID, a valid verification, a valid ticket before they got on the airplane. With illegals, it is no photo ID, no verification or information, just a piece of paper provided by the illegal immigrant.
This is a blatant mockery of United States law. Instead of securing our transportation system, TSA is more worried about diversity and feelings.
As a side note, can I go up to the TSA agent and claim to be a pilot and get in the pilot seat? No, I can't. It is insanity to even say that. It is amazing this is even something we have to spend time debating.
As I explained with my last amendment, DHS' mission is to secure the Nation from the many threats we face and to keep America safe. TSA's mission is to protect the Nation's transportation system, to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce. How does an Inclusion Action Committee that advocates for a woke diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda make our Nation any safer? The answer is it doesn't.
Again, it is insanity to even have to debate this on the floor of the House of Representatives with all the other crises that we are facing.
Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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