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The Leader’s Floor Lookout: Week of April 29, 2024

Washington, April 28, 2024
Here’s what to watch for on the House Floor this week:

Standing with Jewish Students Against Antisemitism

Since the heinous October 7th terrorist attacks on Israel perpetuated by Hamas, we have seen a massive wave of antisemitism on college campuses and in big cities across the United States, including violence and intimidation. According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic incidents were up around 360 percent in the three months after the October 7th attacks

Instead of rallying around the victims of the attack after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, college students and radical Left-wing activists praised the terrorists who brutally slaughtered over 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians – including women, children, and the elderly – and took over 240 civilians hostage, as well as committed atrocious acts of sexual violence.



At Columbia University, pro-Palestine protesters were filmed chanting “Remember the 7th of October! That will happen not one more time, not five more times, not 10 more times, not 100 more times, not 1000 more times, but 10,000 times!” and "Are you ready? 7th of October is about to be every day. Every day. 7th of October is going to be every day for you."

And, after the Islamic Republic of Iran launched around 300 missiles and drones at Israel in an unjustified and unprecedented attack on April 13, the first time Iran has directly attacked Israel, radical pro-Palestine and anti-Israel activists cheered for Iran.

At a time where our friend and ally Israel is under constant threat of attack and Jewish students at American universities don’t feel safe while they pursue higher education, it’s imperative that we crack down on antisemitism within our country, wherever it rears its ugly head. No student should feel they have to hide their identity, religion, or support for Israel to avoid persecution. 

H.R. 6090, the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023, introduced by Rep. Mike Lawler, instructs the Department of Education to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which includes denying Jewish self-determination and applying double standards to Israel, when enforcing laws and rules against discrimination in education programs. 

House Republicans will always stand against antisemitism and continue our work to hold universities accountable. 


Condemning Biden’s Open Border Policies 

President Biden has done everything in his power to dismantle United States border security. On his first day in office, President Biden used his pen to stop construction of the border wall, revoke President Trump’s executive order to ensure meaningful enforcement of border laws, end immigration restrictions on countries associated with terrorism, and sign other executive orders incentivizing illegal immigration. Altogether, the President has purposefully undermined U.S. border security on more than 60 occasions.

Under President Biden, more than 7.2 million illegal immigrants have entered our country, which is more than the population of 36 states, including over 169 people on the terror watch list. Not only does this pose a threat to our national security, but communities across America are suffering the tragic consequences of the Biden Administration’s open border policies daily.
 

Laken Riley was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record who was released into the U.S. on parole. In South Louisiana, an illegal was arrested for raping a 14-year-old girl at knifepoint and brutally stabbing a man multiple times. In Maryland, a Salvadoran immigrant with a criminal record was arrested in connection to the murder of a 2-year-old. And, in Boston, ICE arrested an illegal from Guatemala recently convicted of sexual assault of a child under 14 years old.

President Biden could secure the border today the same way he created this crisis: With a pen. He chooses not to, putting criminals before the safety of the American people. 

Meanwhile, House Republicans passed a bill nearly a year ago to stop the flow of migrants and keep our communities safe: H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. But the Democrat-led Senate and the White House refuse to take up any meaningful border legislation, instead trying to shift blame and pretend to take action with a Senate open border bill that does nothing to actually close the border.

President Biden and his Administration must be held accountable for their egregious disregard of and efforts to subvert our border laws, and for the consequences their actions have had on American families.

Rep. Tony Gonzales’ legislation, H. Res. 1112, condemns President Biden and his Administration for their disastrous open border policies that have created the worst border crisis in U.S. history, and urges the Biden Administration to take immediate action to end this national security threat.  

While President Biden and Democrats refuse to stand up for the safety of Americans over illegal immigrant criminals, House Republicans won’t stop passing legislation again and again to protect our communities and secure the border.
 
Protecting America’s Shores From Criminal Networks   

After the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) was formed to protect against national security threats beyond the U.S. border in transit zones, between ports of entry, in our coastal waters, and within the nation’s interior through aviation and maritime law enforcement expertise.

Off our shores, transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) work nefariously to smuggle thousands of pounds of deadly drugs, unvetted migrants, and other illegal goods into our country, posing a significant threat to America’s maritime border security. Meanwhile, AMO fights to secure the more than 95,000 miles of U.S. shoreline, intercepting vessels and keeping drugs from reaching our communities.

In Fiscal Year 2022, AMO enforcement efforts led to the seizure of 382,916 pounds of drugs, 82 percent of which took place in the maritime environment, and the interdictions of 9,392 illegal immigrants in the maritime environment – an increase of 242 percent from Fiscal Year 2021 and 334 percent from Fiscal Year 2020.

Despite rising illicit activity in our waters, AMO’s law enforcement authority is limited to enforcing trade laws and combating drug activity in U.S. “customs waters,” or 12 nautical miles offshore, restricting AMO’s ability to effectively respond to threats, engage suspect vessels, or prevent their escape. 

It is critical that we expand law enforcement jurisdiction off our shores so that authorities can enforce U.S. customs and immigration laws, combat sophisticated transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from illegal smuggling of deadly drugs and other contraband. 

H.R. 529, the Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act, introduced by Rep. Michael Waltz, extends the customs waters territory of the United States from 12 nautical miles to 24 nautical miles, allowing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to pursue critical efforts to enforce our trade laws and prevent deadly drug smuggling off our shores.

House Republicans will continue to support our law enforcement and AMO as they fulfill their mission to protect American communities by defending our shores. 
 
 
Protecting Alaska’s Right to Produce Energy

Alaska is a state with abundant natural resources and potential for energy development that would boost jobs and prosperity in the state, as well as contribute to national energy security and independence.

However, at every turn, the Biden Administration is using burdensome bureaucracy to hinder natural resource development in Alaska and cater to radical environmentalists, including canceling leases in the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and weaponizing the National Environmental Policy Act to delay projects surrounding domestic energy production on Alaska’s North Slope. 

These anti-American energy decisions were made by the Biden Administration without consulting Alaskan Native communities that will be most impacted, and will have devastating consequences on the state’s economy, hardworking Alaskans that depend on energy production, and American energy security, including job loss and higher energy costs.

In a time where threats from foreign adversaries are rising and energy is center-stage in global politics, we should be doing everything in our power to increase domestic energy production, restore energy independence, defend our national security, ensure future energy stability, and lower costs for American families.

To protect our country’s energy security and position on the world stage, it is vital we continue development of the oil and gas resources within the 1002 Area and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).

H.R. 6285, the Alaska’s Right to Produce Act of 2023, introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber, reverses the Biden Administration’s and the Department of Interior’s decisions to ban energy development in the 1002 Area and the NPR-A and reinstates lawfully awarded leases.

House Republicans will continue fighting to lower energy costs for Americans, boost economic opportunity for Alaskan communities, reduce our reliance on foreign adversaries for energy, and bolster American energy security. 

 
Reversing Biden’s Burdensome Public Lands Rule

On April 18, Biden’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a rule that fundamentally changes the multiple-use requirement and sustained yield mandate for BLM lands by undermining the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), impeding access to public lands for recreation, energy and critical mineral development, forest management, and more. 

This overly burdensome “Public Lands Rule” elevates “conservation” as a land use in the FLPMA, bypassing Congress, but fails to even define what could be considered conservation under a conservation land lease. Additionally, conservation is already practiced on public lands in Utah, while keeping lands accessible to families and small businesses for recreation and development. 

The Biden BLM’s rule would further the Biden Administration’s radical climate agenda at the expense of rural economies across Utah and the West, devastating these communities under the guise of conservation, threatening lands used to feed and fuel our country, and temporarily closing public access to lands for an indefinite time.

Access and the multiple uses of BLM land are an essential part of Western life and the backbone of rural economies across the country, sustaining over 783,000 jobs and producing around $201 billion in economic output. 

Americans in the West deserve better than the BLM’s bureaucracy. The people in Utah know how to manage these lands better than Washington bureaucrats who have never been to the West – Utahns have been preserving and protecting these lands for decades.

Rep. John Curtis’ legislation, H.R. 3397, the Western Economic Security Today Act of 2024, requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) director to withdraw their finalized rule regarding conservation and landscape health that would upend their multiple use mandate and restrict access to public lands, and also prevents the BLM from finalizing a similar rule. 

The BLM’s restrictive regulation only hurts communities in the West, favoring wealthy individuals and radical environmental groups over families and small business owners. House Republicans won’t stop fighting to ensure Utahns retain access to responsibly use and develop public lands.
 
 
Unleashing Critical Mineral Production in the Superior National Forest

In 2022, the Biden Administration ended decades-old mineral leases in the Superior National Forest held by Twin Metals Minnesota, and at the same time began a mineral withdrawal of more than 225,000 acres of land – barring new mineral extractions for 20 years.

At the end of the Obama Administration, the U.S. Forest Service applied to withdraw 234,328 acres of the Superior National Forest from critical mineral development and declined two new mineral leases – however, President Trump canceled the application and reinstated the mineral leases. But, once again, the Biden Administration put their misguided climate agenda before the American people and reversed course.

The Superior National Forest includes 3.7 million acres of National Forest System land and is rich in minerals, such as copper, nickel, cobalt, and platinum metal groups. These critical minerals are crucial to modern technology and electronics, and it is vital to our nation’s future that we develop a strong, reliable American critical mineral supply chain.

Currently, we are forced to rely on foreign adversaries like China for critical minerals. As critical mineral demand increases rapidly and takes a more center position on the world stage, America must invest in and responsibly develop our abundant natural resources, like critical minerals – not block their mining and productions, as Biden would like to do. 
 

President Biden’s decision to block this land from essential development of critical minerals endangers both our national and energy security. We cannot allow the Biden Administration to threaten our security to cater to the powerful environmental lobby.

H.R. 3195, the Superior National Forest Restoration Act, introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber, rescinds the Biden Administration’s Public Land Order No. 7917 for Withdrawal of Federal Lands; Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, MN, which blocks mining operations in the Superior National Forest lands in Minnesota and reissues canceled mineral leases granted prior to January 2021.

House Republicans are working to safeguard the future of America by unleashing critical mineral production and supporting American energy independence.  
 
Correcting the Rosemont Decision and Supporting Critical Mining Projects

In May 2022, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision repealing an approved mine plan for Rosemont Copper-Mine Project, changing decades of precedent to require discovery and determination of a commercially developable or valid mineral deposit before an operations plan can be approved. This faulty decision is commonly referred to as the “Rosemont decision.”

By restricting the U.S. Forest Service’s ability to approve mining support facilities necessary for federal land mining operations, the Rosemont decision ignores specified U.S. Forest Service regulations that authorize approvals of operations “on or off a mining claim,” as long as these operations reach environmental and regulatory standards.

This misguided and harmful decision threatens hardrock mining and critical mineral projects across Western states rich with minerals, such as Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho, by banning mining support activities including waste storage and processing, and forcing all such activities to happen on mineral-rich lands. 

These critical mineral projects and hardrock mining are crucially important to securing our manufacturing and energy futures, as well as decreasing our dependence on imports from foreign adversaries

Now more than ever, we should be promoting mining operations and domestic energy production in states with rich mineral resources – not upending responsible mining projects and practices under the false guise of protecting the environment. 

Rep. Mark Amodei’s legislation, H.R. 2925, the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act of 2024, undoes the damaging Rosemont decision, allows mining operations to continue as they have historically under the law, and protects the communities and jobs supported by this industry.

House Republicans will continue working to secure essential mineral supply chains and responsibly harvest our abundant natural resources.  
 
Defending Hunters and Anglers’ Access to Recreation

Each year, hunters and fishers contribute over a billion dollars to conservation funding through excise taxes on recreational hunting and fishing equipment, like tackle and ammunition – the most cost-effective options being lead ammunition and fishing tackle. 

The raw material alternatives to lead tackle and ammo are significantly more expensive: Copper ammo is four times more expensive than lead ammo, and using tin for fishing tackle is over 10 times more expensive than using lead. 

Despite the substantially higher financial burden, the Biden Administration’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed banning the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on federal land – increasing costs on sportsmen and women and potentially resulting in a significant decrease in hunting and fishing participation.

This ban would affect millions of Americans who use traditional lead ammunition and tackle, as well as put wildlife conservation funding sources at risk, threatening conservation efforts instead of aiding them. 

Sportsmen and women know what it means to sustainably utilize America’s natural resources and great outdoors so that our lands are left in better condition than before – that’s the nature of hunting and fishing. Banning lead ammunition and tackle and making it harder for Americans’ to responsibly enjoy outdoor recreation will do nothing to help conserve our lands: It will only prevent conservationists who can’t afford to spend more on ammo or tackle from continuing healthy recreational use of our federal lands.

H.R. 615, the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2023, introduced by Rep. Rob Wittman, stops the Biden Administration’s Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture from banning lead ammunition or tackle on federal lands and waters for hunting and fishing, unless the regulation is consistent with state laws and supported by science.

House Republicans won’t stop defending Americans’ access to recreation from burdensome and counterproductive regulations.
 
 
Delisting the Recovered Gray Wolf Species

Across the lower 48 states, the gray wolf species has clearly recovered from their once extremely endangered status – recent scientific analysis has shown their population to be healthy and sustainable from a multitude of threats. As such, it is time for the species to be delisted and returned to state management.

In the Great Lakes region, which claims the largest concentration of gray wolves here in the lower 48 states, there are around 4,200 wolves, and the current population is well past delisting recovery goals. In fact, the delisting recovery goals for gray wolves “have been met since at least 1994,” according to Nathan Roberts, former wildlife biologist at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. 

Furthermore, the Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations all took actions to delist the gray wolf: In 2013, the Obama Administration proposed delisting the species; in 2020, the Trump Administration published a rule removing the gray wolf as a protected species that was later vacated by a U.S. District Court; and currently, the Biden Administration is appealing the vacating of the Trump 2020 rule. 

While the last three presidential administrations agreed that it is time to delist the gray world, activist judges and radical environmentalists continue to block the removal of the gray wolf from the endangered species list. We should be focusing on allocating resources and taxpayer dollars to species that need to recover, not keeping an already recovered species on the list at the expense of more threatened species.

Additionally, allowing the recovered gray wolf population to continue to grow completely protected and unchecked poses an immediate threat to livestock, farmers, pet owners, residents, and more.

Rep. Lauren Boebert’s legislation, H.R. 764, the Trust the Science Act, would delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List in the lower 48 states and ensure this decision is not subject to judicial review. 

House Republicans are following the science, as many of these so-called “environmentalists” claim to be, and the science shows it is time to delist the gray wolf.