Republicans Are Addressing the Major Crises

Floor Speech

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, during our time tonight, my colleagues and I will address the major crises happening here at home and happening abroad. Our message tonight will all have a consistent theme: House Republicans are leading the fight, whether it is protecting the Hyde amendment, taking action to fix President Biden's economic crisis, or holding China accountable for the COVID-19 coverup once and for all.

On the last point, the time has come for Congress to take seriously its job to hold China accountable for their role in the proliferation of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has killed over 600,000 Americans, ruined the American economy, forced into closure many people's livelihoods, and destabilized our way of life.

Just as we did in the aftermath of 9/11 and in response to the Great Recession, Speaker Pelosi and her colleagues on her side of the aisle cannot abdicate Congress' constitutional responsibility to investigate the origins of COVID-19 and the roles both the Chinese Communist Party and the World Health Organization played in preventing an expeditious global response.

A March 2020 report by the University of Southampton found that if interventions in China could have been conducted 1, 2, or 3 weeks earlier, then cases could have been reduced by 66 percent, 86 percent, and 95 percent, respectively. That is inexcusable.

Luckily for the American people, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans have a plan to hold China accountable and ensure an atrocity such as the CCP virus never happens again.

The American people deserve transparency. That is why Congress must declassify information related to the origins of COVID-19. Yes, that includes any report that comes from President Biden's recent requests.

For far too long, the government has allowed individuals with known ties to the CCP or Chinese state-owned enterprises to benefit from American research and innovation. That is why we must continue to pursue policies that curb any gains made by the Chinese Communist Party.

It is also time for Congress to prohibit the National Institutes of Health or any entity that receives grants and funding from NIH from conducting research or spending resources on research with malicious foreign actors. This includes China. Our taxpayer dollars should not be going into arming our adversaries.

Foreign policy is a crucial element in holding China accountable. Congress must compel the administration to flex its foreign policy posture and reform the World Health Organization. As more information comes forward, it is evident that the WHO was complicit in China's coverup of the exploding pandemic. Their negligence is directly responsible for the loss of millions of lives. We need trusted actors such as Taiwan to form part of the organization.

In keeping in line with a tough foreign policy stance, Congress must implement a new round of tough and deliberate sanctions on anyone-- whether they are Chinese nationals with ties to the CPP or high-level executives at the World Health Organization--who willfully participated in the coverup of the COVID-19 pandemic and helped prevent a robust global response. Millions of lives are on their hands.

Another tool at our disposal is for Congress to pass the resolution introduced by my Florida colleague, Congressman Michael Waltz, and Senator Rick Scott to prevent Beijing from hosting the Winter Olympics.

Finally, we need to allow them to sue the Chinese Communist Party and any CCP official who participated in the coverup that killed over half a million Americans. They deserve no sovereign immunity.

Mr. Speaker, it is time for us to do our jobs and join Leader McCarthy and the House Republicans in holding China accountable, holding our adversaries accountable, and ensuring an atrocity such as this never happens again.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to introduce the Congressman from Texas, Congressman Van Taylor. Congressman Van Taylor is a decorated Iraq War veteran and an important member of the Financial Services Committee.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague from Texas for his great words.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to introduce the Congressman from California, Mike Garcia. Congressman Garcia flew over 30 combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a naval aviator. We thank him for his service.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, Glenn Grothman from Wisconsin is an experienced legislator in Wisconsin and a United States Congressman.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I couldn't agree more with the gentleman about the Hyde amendment. I think the majority of Americans couldn't agree with the gentleman more about the Hyde amendment. We need to maintain that the majority of Americans do not want to fund taxpayer- funded abortions.

Mr. Speaker, Congressman John Rose from Tennessee is an eighth- generation farmer and a key member of the Financial Services Committee.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments.

Congressman Glenn Thompson from Pennsylvania is the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee. Mr. Thompson and I share a common experience as former firefighters.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Thompson for his comments.

Mr. Speaker, Congressman Scott Perry from Pennsylvania retired as a brigadier general in the Army and now represents the people of Pennsylvania's 10th District. I thank the gentleman for his service.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congressman for his comments. I couldn't agree with him more. My opening statements were about China and their complicity, and we do need to investigate China and the World Health Organization and find out what did they know and when did they know it. Again, as I said, if we had known about this 1, 2, or 3 weeks earlier, we could have saved an incredible number of lives.

Mr. Speaker, Congressman Michael Cloud represents the 13th District of Texas and is the only Texas Republican on the Agriculture Committee.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Cloud for his comments.

Mr. Speaker, Congressman John Joyce of Pennsylvania is part of the Doctors Caucus and has worked with the U.S. Navy at Naval Hospital Portsmouth in Virginia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I thank the gentleman for his service.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, who would know better about protecting life and saving life than the good doctor from Pennsylvania and my colleague, Congressman John Joyce.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. He serves as a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and the Education and Labor Committee.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Pennsylvania's 13th District for those strong words and strong ideas on why we need to hold the people accountable who unleashed this horrific virus on the United States and the world at large.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I couldn't agree with the Congresswoman more. As a father and a grandfather, it is atrocious, the debt that we are going to be leaving our children and our grandchildren. We are stealing their future. They will not have the money that they need to provide for their programs and their infrastructure that they are going to need to fund in the future. That is one of the reasons why I wholeheartedly agree with her.

He represents Kansas' First District.
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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin), who represents Texas' 36th District. He is a lifelong resident of east Texas and my colleague on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. He has served as a naval aviator in the U.S. Navy for 26 years. I thank him for his service.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. She has been a successful pharmacist and business owner for over three decades.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. He is an experienced government official. We share a common background in local government, having both served as mayors.

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa). He represents California's First District. He serves on the Agriculture Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

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Mr. GIMENEZ.

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