Recognizing United States Marine Corporal Kelsee Lainhart

Floor Speech

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Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the United States Marine Corporal Kelsee Lainhart on her road to recovery from being wounded in Afghanistan.

Simply put, Corporal Lainhart is a hero. A native of Dearborn County, Indiana, Kelsee was assigned to secure the airport in Kabul.

Sadly, tragedy struck when she and her brothers and sisters in uniform were targeted by an ISIS-K suicide bomber.

We will never forget Corporal Lainhart's acts of bravery that day in Afghanistan or her courageous fellow servicemembers we lost. Remembering Kaye Whitehead

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Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor a pillar of Indiana's Sixth Congressional District, a leader in our community, and a true friend of the Pence family.

Kaye Whitehead, who sadly passed away on September 9, 2021, served as president of the Delaware County Farm Bureau for two decades.

Kaye also served as chair of the Delaware County Republican Party and in various advisory capacities to Dan Quayle, Richard Lugar, David MacIntosh, Mike Pence, and myself.

I am grateful to Kaye for her counsel, guidance, and friendship over the years. She will be dearly missed.

My thoughts are with her husband, Bill; her children, Eugene and Lucy; her siblings, Marie, Anne, and Chris; as well as her three grandchildren. Inflation Is Taxation

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Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in objection to the Democrats' monster tax-and-spending spree that will be a detriment to Hoosiers back at home in Indiana.

I have heard from hundreds and hundreds of constituents, literally, who have worried that this next set of spending bills will hurt their families more than they will help.

From paying more for groceries and gas to being unable to find workers to keep the doors of their small businesses open, wasteful government spending is moving our country toward stagflation.

Plain and simple, inflation is taxation on my constituents, on all Americans, and I urge my colleagues to reject this round of reckless Federal spending. Rejecting Socialist Drug Pricing Scheme

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Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the work of the Committee on Energy and Commerce in rejecting H.R. 3 by a bipartisan vote.

Had it passed out of committee, this legislation would have resulted in fewer cures and treatments in America, eliminating hope for millions of people battling all diseases.

It is estimated that under this socialist drug pricing scheme, there could be as many as 100 fewer cures over the next decade.

That is why I urge my colleagues to reject any alternative version of this legislation that may come to the floor in the future. Crisis Unfolding at Southern Border

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Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the crisis unfolding at the southern border.

This is not hyperbole. Look no further than the southern border completely overrun in chaos today. Over 1.2 million illegal immigrants have been apprehended at the border since February 1 of this year.

Our communities are less safe because this administration stopped building the wall, brought back catch and release, and got rid of the remain in Mexico policy.

This border crisis will result in perpetuating our COVID crisis because this President turns a blind eye to the vaccine and testing status of illegal immigrants.

Denying the crisis proves President Biden does not care or is being misled by his advisers. Mounting National Security Crisis

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Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the mounting national crisis we are seeing unfold under this President's leadership.

This week, the President desperately attempted to portray an image of strength at the United Nations, but nothing could be further from the truth.

We have seen the failure of the Afghanistan withdrawal that led to losing our men and women in uniform and has the potential to create yet another refugee crisis.

We have seen the failure to hold China accountable for its lack of transparency and mishandling of the COVID pandemic.

We have seen the failure to hold Russia accountable for its cyberattacks.

President Biden appears weak and failing, and the cost is our leadership and national security across the world.

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