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In the attached column Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-05) discusses the cost and reach of subsides and the impact of subsidies on the national economy. Insurance, electric cars, mass transit, sugar, milk, solar panels, airline tickets, housing, tuition, health care, film production, green energy – it is hard to find a sector of the economy that isn’t rife with subsidies. Subsidies not only cost hundreds of billions of dollars and inflate the prices of the things being subsidized, but they also misallocate resources and misdirect consumer decisions.

Today, the subcommittee meets to conduct oversight into the activities of the Office of Refugee Resettlement administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. We welcome HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to answer questions we have arising from his administration of this Office. I think we would all agree that if a child shows up lost and alone on your doorstep, you have a moral obligation to find out where that child lives and return him safely home. The last thing any decent person would do is to take that child to a strangers house and leave him there. Yet it appears this is exactly what this administration has been doing for the last four years. In just four years, this administration has deliberately allowed 7.6 million illegal aliens to enter the United States, releasing more than 5.7 million illegal aliens into the country while more than 1.9 million known gotaways evaded apprehension -- an illegal population larger than the state of Arizona, our fourteenth largest state.

As a senior member of the House Natural Resources Committee, I have pursued legislation that would restore active forest management on our federal lands and restore abundance as the central objective of our water and power policies. We must remember that excess timber comes out of the forest in only two ways – either we carry it out, or nature will burn it out. Additionally, my most important assignment in this session of Congress is serving as the Chairman of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. Much of H.R. 2, The Secure the Border Act, was written in my subcommittee and incorporated into my bill, H.R. 2640. H.R. 2 passed the House and is the strongest border security bill in history.

Three years ago, trillions of dollars of excessive federal spending unleashed the worst inflation in 40 years. I opposed these measures, and as a senior member of the House Budget Committee, I have advocated for dramatic budget reforms, including abolishing congressional earmarks, unauthorized appropriations, grants that rob one community to pay for another, and subsidies that prop up failing industries at the expense of consumers. I supported and cosponsored H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act. This legislation prioritizes two key goals: Increasing the production and export of American energy and reducing the regulatory burdens that make it harder to build American infrastructure and grow our economy.

The House issued a subpoena ordering the Attorney General to produce the audio recording of the Robert Hur interview with President Biden. The administration based its decision not to prosecute Mr. Biden on Hur’s assessment that a jury would view him sympathetically as an “elderly man with a poor memory.” Meanwhile, the same administration is vigorously attempting to jail President Trump for the same offense. Knowing the full context of this interview requires all of the non-verbal cues that a written transcript cannot fully and faithfully reproduce. This understanding is essential to inform the House whether a double standard is being applied and what statutory changes may be necessary to correct it. The Attorney General has defied the House subpoena, making specious claims of executive privilege that are certain to be struck down by the courts. The House has held the Attorney General in contempt, but the Department of Justice that he heads refuses to prosecute him. This produces a second glaring double standard, since that same Justice Department has already prosecuted and jailed two Trump administration officials for the same offense. To enforce its subpoena, the House is pursing the matter in court in order to obtain a ruling on the legality of the Attorney General’s refusal to comply. This is the appropriate response, and the same process that ultimately compelled Richard Nixon to turn over tape recorded conversations in the Watergate investigation. Nevertheless, a resolution proposing to invoke “Inherent Contempt” against the Attorney General was brought to the floor. It levies a fine against the Attorney General of $10,000 a day until he complies. “Inherent Contempt” is an established – although seldom used -- power that Congress holds to defend its own proceedings, including the issuance of subpoenas. Under several Supreme Court decisions, this allows the House to arrest individuals and bring them to the bar of the House to answer for their conduct. The last time the House invoked this power was in 1934. This resolution is a gross misuse of this power and I oppose it.

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-05) today delivered remarks on the House floor discussing the weaponization of the judicial system. The American Justice system has always been the pride of our nation and the envy of the world. In America, justice is portrayed as blindfolded, because it doesn’t matter whether those who seek it are rich or poor, weak or powerful, Republican or Democrat. Equal justice under law means exactly that: everyone is treated the same. It is this central principle that gives the law its moral authority. Without it, law simply becomes raw force, devoid of legitimacy. Respect for the law breaks down, and without that respect, civilization gives way to the law of the jungle. This is the well-trodden path to tyranny, taken by many nations through history. We Americans have always believed that it can’t happen here. And yet, it HAS happened here, and we are watching it in real time. The turning of the law against our democracy began with the IRS harassment and intimidation of the Tea Party movement during the Obama Administration. One of the principal players was the same Jack Smith that the Biden administration tasked to pursue federal charges against Mr. Biden’s political opponent.

Washington, D.C. – Today, during House floor debate on H.R. 8369 the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, Congressman McClintock delivered the attached remarks in support of the measure. Mr. Speaker: On December 8, 1941, Franklin Roosevelt stood in this very hall and asked for a Declaration of War against the government that attacked our fleet the day before at Pearl Harbor and he solemnly pledged to win through to “absolute victory.” On October 7th, Hamas targeted and butchered innocent and unarmed women and children. Israel not only has a right to defeat Hamas – it has a moral duty to do so. The killing on both sides can only end with the unconditional surrender of Hamas. The sooner that day comes, the better for all humanity. To hasten that day, the President requested, and the Congress provided the precision bombs and other munitions that Israel needs to quickly bring this war to an end while minimizing civilian casualties. And now, that same president is withholding that aid while sending billions of dollars of supplies into Gaza before Hamas has surrendered. This act is treacherous, and it must not stand. This measure says so.