[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 6, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H1365]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RESPONSE TO THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Rouda) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROUDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in response to yesterday's 
address by the President to this body.
  The guests the President invited represented America's finest hours 
and most compelling stories. They serve as a reminder of a history much 
larger than any individual among us and as an invitation to recommit to 
our values and promises to our people.
  But last night, the President chose to invoke a national unity that 
he has made every effort to fray. It has been his cynical and sinister 
political strategy to divide our country and burn bridges among us.
  The State of the Union is a platform for the President to inject 
urgency into the problems the country faces. As a member of the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am encouraged that he 
has indicated he will sign bipartisan infrastructure legislation, and I 
am prepared to work with all Members to do so serving our country and 
communities.
  The President also raised the specter of declaring a national 
emergency to build a monument to his ego, but the real national 
emergency is the looming climate crisis. As seas rise, fires burn, and 
the weather becomes more extreme, the people of Orange County and 
across our country are already suffering its effects, and action from 
the executive branch can no longer wait--let alone denial of climate 
change altogether.
  He warned us not to cross him, to abandon our constitutional duty to 
exercise oversight and shine a light on the practices of the executive 
branch. Congress will not be intimidated.
  We should not wait for nor should we expect the President to lead an 
agenda for the people, but this Congress can move forward with a 
seriousness befitting the problems of our time and work with one 
another regardless of party to improve the lives of the people who 
trusted us to represent them.

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