[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 123 (Monday, July 23, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6637-H6639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
A BETTER WAY AGENDA
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2017, the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Mimi Walters) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
General Leave
Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California. Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I ask
unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which
to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on
the topic of my Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California. Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, House
Republicans made a promise to the American people that there was a
better way forward under our leadership. Our Better Way Agenda outlined
a pathway toward safer communities, a stronger military, and a robust
economy. Since then, House Republicans have compiled a record of
results, not rhetoric. Thanks to this progress, the American people are
better off now.
Republicans started by moving bills that address some of the biggest
issues plaguing cities and towns across the country:
We have passed over 50 bills to put an end to the opioid epidemic in
our communities.
FOSTA, which will dismantle the online sex trafficking industry, was
signed into law.
We are also keeping our children safe by providing additional funding
and resources for school safety programs.
We are rebuilding our military, ensuring our troops have the tools,
training, and equipment they need to carry out their missions and keep
us safe both at home and abroad. Our brave men and women in uniform
received their largest pay raise in nearly 10 years.
We are keeping our promise to provide our veterans with the care they
have earned by overhauling the VA and ensuring that they have access to
reliable, quality care.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has undoubtedly had the most significant
positive effect on the daily lives of Americans. Tax reform has led to
unprecedented economic growth across our Nation. Americans are keeping
more of their hard-earned paychecks, while companies in all 50 States
are creating jobs and opportunity for all.
At home in Orange County, the unemployment rate has dropped to a near
20-year low, while pay and benefits continue to rise. Nationally,
jobless claims have fallen to their lowest levels since 1969, and
economic confidence is soaring.
Mr. Speaker, I could go on about the numerous accomplishments House
Republicans have achieved in the last 18 months, but the American
people don't
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need convincing. They are seeing the results firsthand. Our Nation is,
without question, better off now, and we will continue our work to
improve the lives of all Americans.
I am proud to introduce my friend and fellow committee member on the
Energy and Commerce Committee, Congressman Buddy Carter from the First
District of Georgia.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for
yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in discussing how
Americans are better off now.
Two years ago, I told the First District of Georgia about our Better
Way Agenda, our bold agenda to tackle some of our Nation's greatest
challenges and improve the lives of everyday Americans.
Now, 2 years later, I am thrilled Americans are experiencing the
results. We have instituted sound, progrowth policies, and the economy
is booming.
Now people are no longer asking: Where are the jobs? Instead, thanks
to tax reform, rolling back burdensome regulations, and more, we have
more job openings than job seekers.
Just last week, I visited a local business called Game Changers, with
locations in Richmond Hill and Savannah. While there, I learned their
revenue is up at both of their locations. They are hiring new employees
at both locations, and they have increased wages and given bonuses to
their employees.
It is incredible to hear these stories of how local small businesses
and hardworking Georgians are thriving again.
That is not all. As the proud Representative of every branch of the
military, I have been fighting for our troops, veterans, and military
families because they deserve better. Republicans have taken historic
actions to rebuild our military and fix the VA.
After years of neglect, we have provided new investments in training,
equipment, and personnel to reverse the damage of the last decade.
Members of our military put their lives on the line for our country,
and we are working to provide the support to ensure they are the most
well-prepared and well-equipped force on the planet.
Finally, we have made major strides to make our communities safer,
including fighting the opioid epidemic. The House has passed more than
50 bills combating this crisis that is killing 115 Americans every day.
The list goes on and on. House Republicans are fighting every day for
Americans in Washington to deliver results, not rhetoric. I hear it
from small businesses, big businesses, and citizens in the First
District all the time. Americans are truly better off now.
Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx), who sits on the House
Committees on Education and the Workforce and Oversight and Government
Reform. Virginia Foxx is the Congresswoman who represents North
Carolina's Fifth District.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Walters, and I
appreciate her leading this Special Order tonight to bring to the
attention of the American people the fact that they are better off now
than they were 2 years ago. This is an important message for us to
share with the American people. Many of us are doing it individually,
but we appreciate the gentlewoman's leadership on this.
Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, House Republicans promised to replace our
broken Tax Code and rein in the runaway administrative state that
stifled our economy and made it harder for businesses to create jobs
and grow.
We proposed a better way to grow the economy with solutions for
hardworking Americans who were being chewed up by our system and
struggling to get by. This Congress, we have delivered on our promises,
and I am pleased to say that North Carolinians are better off now.
We passed the most significant tax reform in over 30 years, and
everyday Americans are already reaping the benefits. According to the
Tax Foundation, the average increase in take-home pay for a family of
four in the Fifth District is $1,843. I would like to say that again,
Mr. Speaker: $1,843. Those are hard-earned wages being kept in
paychecks and not sent to Washington to finance inefficient government
bureaucracy.
Speaking of bureaucracy, Mr. Speaker, this Congress has also enacted
historic regulatory relief, with 16 Congressional Review Act
resolutions becoming law. Five of those resolutions came out of the
House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which I chair, and I
was able to get a sixth enacted that I sponsored that came through
another committee.
We have rolled back some of the most burdensome Obama-era regulations
concocted by Washington bureaucrats who thought they knew better than
American farmers and business owners. But Republicans did not agree
with them.
North Carolina's economy is evidence that Republicans' policies are
working for the American people. Just compare the North Carolina
Department of Commerce's figures from June of last year to this year
and you will see that our State now stands 100,000 jobs ahead. There is
still work to be done, but thanks to tax and regulatory relief, North
Carolinians are better off now.
Again, I want to thank Congresswoman Mimi Walters for leading this
Special Order tonight, Mr. Speaker.
Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California. Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege to
introduce the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs.
McMorris Rodgers).
Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague
for yielding and for hosting us this evening in a Special Order to talk
more about Americans who are better off now because of our hard work
over this Congress. I want to just join in sharing why Americans and
their families are better off, and it is because Republicans have
provided a better way and results that work.
After years of struggling to get ahead, hardworking men and women are
now seeing jobs, opportunity, and confidence come roaring back. This is
the comeback story that was made possible at the beginning through our
Better Way Agenda. Over the past 2 years, we have worked hard to
deliver on that agenda.
Mr. Speaker, at better.gop, you can check out the promises that we
have kept and why, as a result, America is stronger at home and abroad
with a booming economy, safer communities, and a revived military.
After historic tax reform and our work to rein in Obama-era
regulations, unemployment is at a historic low, job openings at a
record high, paychecks are growing, and wages are rising right along
with consumer confidence.
In my home State of Washington, the average wage increase just hit a
10-year high, and those increases are benefiting rural communities as
well, like Garfield County.
Garfield County is in my district. It is the smallest county in the
State of Washington, and the average wage increase has been 8.7 percent
in the last year.
Asotin County is another small, rural county, and they have seen a
6.6 percent increase in the last year. For other rural counties,
unemployment rates are dropping sharply.
Pend Oreille County is in my district. They have seen a 3.2 percent
drop in their unemployment rate.
For families and small businesses that are no longer overtaxed and
overregulated, they have confidence again that they can achieve a
better life and reach their full potential. That is what I am most
excited about. I am excited about the hope and the optimism that it is
bringing to people in eastern Washington and across this country.
{time} 1945
It wasn't that long ago, in 2010, unemployment was at 9.9 percent.
Our policies have unleashed economic growth. It is now at 4 percent.
More Americans are coming off the sidelines and into the workforce.
Just last month, there were 600,000 Americans. I am proud to say that
it includes people with disabilities.
As The Washington Post recently reported, the jobless rate for
workers with disabilities has fallen at a faster rate than the general
population. This is great news because Washington State is getting
ready to launch our ABLE accounts. I was proud to lead efforts in tax
reform to provide a way for
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those with disabilities to explore work, get a part-time job or an
internship, and take that money and put it back into their ABLE
account.
Today, 50,000 people in my State will be eligible for ABLE accounts.
It will help them find a job that gives them independence, dignity, and
purpose. We all recognize that a job is a foundation for a better life.
A booming economy isn't the only reason why Americans are better off.
We have also made significant investments to combat the opioid crisis
and human trafficking, target dangerous criminals, and make schools
safer.
After the Obama administration left our Armed Forces depleted, we
have made good on promises to revive and rebuild our military. In
addition to giving our troops the biggest pay increase in almost a
decade, we have provided for the largest increase in defense in 15
years. Our troops, including those I have the privilege of representing
at Fairchild Air Force Base, will now have additional resources to
train, address the readiness crisis, and keep America secure.
Madam Speaker, the American people don't want rhetoric. They want
results. After years of slow growth, lack of confidence, stagnant
wages, and a stagnant economy, they asked for a better way. I am proud
to have been a part of a group that has proven that we can get those
results done. By putting people first and focusing on improving lives,
we have delivered real results and a better way forward. That is why
Americans are better off today. I invite everyone to learn more at
better.gop.
Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California. Madam Speaker, I yield to the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Ferguson), serving on the Committee on the
Budget, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the
Committee on Education and the Workforce, representing the Third
District of Georgia.
Mr. FERGUSON. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from California for
leading this Special Order.
What a year and half it has been since I came to Congress. There have
been a lot of positive things that have gone on, and I think Americans
feel that they are better off now.
If you listen to the media and the rhetoric, you wouldn't know it.
Every time I travel home and I talk to the folks in the Third District
of Georgia, I get this sense of optimism, this reality that they are
doing better. Their wages are up. There are more job opportunities.
They are doing better. They feel safer, and they feel more secure.
In spite of what you might have heard on TV and in the other parts of
the media, more than 177 bills have been signed into law in the 115th
Congress. That is the most of any Congress at this point since 2008.
The results are clear: Americans are better off.
I have heard from small businesses like Shred-X in Griffin, Georgia;
Custom Truck and Body Works in Woodbury, Georgia; and Emma Hill
Manufacturing in LaGrange, Georgia. All of these businesses are making
investments. They are expanding. They are being more productive. Most
importantly, they are hiring more people, and they are investing in
their people with higher wages and better training. Families are doing
better throughout our district.
But these businesses are doing more than simply investing in their
people and in their businesses. They are investing in their
communities. So our communities are becoming more helpful.
All of this is a result of a tax reform bill, a better regulatory
environment, and a changing attitude in education that ensures that
people pursue their talents and not just a degree. They are involved in
making sure that they are able to make a living in viable careers for a
long period of time.
It is not just the economy that is making us more secure. We have
invested heavily in our military, and we have fully funded our men and
women serving this Nation. Most importantly, when they returned home,
we have made the changes in the VA that, over time, will make sure that
they have the benefits that they have earned and, quite candidly, that
they deserve.
We have also made investments in many other areas. Think about what
we have been able to accomplish with human trafficking. We are
beginning to take steps to really change how we view addiction and the
opioid crisis. We are making progress, and that is making Americans
better.
So it is easy to get caught up in the news of the moment, to get
clouded from the really good things that are happening. But we are here
to remind America that things are better now because of the work that
we have done in this House of Representatives.
Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California. Madam Speaker, I yield back the
balance of my time.
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