[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 25, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H5086-H5087]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SOCIALISM RISKS LOSING TRUST IN COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Washington (Mrs. Rodgers) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share a 
story of power, people power.
  This story doesn't take place in the Halls of Congress, in the 
department of such and such, or in D.C., which is too often called 
``the most powerful city in the world.'' This story takes place at Hope 
House, a women's homeless shelter in Spokane, Washington.
  Hope House, which is expanding because of a grant made possible 
because of tax reform, helps women find a second chance.
  Heather Thomas-Taylor is the director. As The Spokesman-Review 
reported, she knows everyone staying at the house by name. She feeds 
them from donations from restaurants and churches.
  Once, a bride and groom, still in their dress and tux, donated 2 
weeks' worth of food left over from their reception. Around the 
holidays, Hope House fridges are so full they can't even ``fit a slice 
of bologna'' in them.
  Mr. Speaker, this is what an empowered community looks like, and it 
has provided more than mandates and centralized bureaucratic power can 
ever provide.

[[Page H5087]]

  Why is that? Because people like the employees at Hope House, the 
director leading its expansion, the bride and groom, and our church 
congregations have the power to improve the world around them.
  I have another story to share, but it isn't one of hope. It is one of 
people losing their ability to serve their community.
  Nearly 14,000 people live in Pend Oreille County in my district. Many 
work in timber, mining, the hospital, or elsewhere. However, in the 
entire county, we are down to one childcare center, just one, which is 
run by the local Tribe, and they have a long waiting list.
  Statewide regulations are making it too difficult for local providers 
to comply with licensing requirements. As one provider said in 
Washington, ``There's a rule for a rule for a rule.''
  Even the public hospital in Pend Oreille County, with its resources 
and lawyers, couldn't comply to open a daycare center.
  Just imagine if these one-size-fits-all rules were coming from the 
Federal Government for every single neighborhood in America. It is not 
that far from reality.
  I hear every day from local officials, schools, farmers, and people 
who are overwhelmed by costly mandates forced on them by the Federal 
Government. This is not what a government of the people, by the people, 
and for the people should look like.
  I rise to share these stories so that we will protect the people's 
voices and, ultimately, their power to create those solutions that will 
work in their lives and their communities.
  By design and common sense, the institutions closest to the people 
yield the best results as well as build trust. If you were suddenly in 
need, who would you trust, Hope House, which you can look in the eye 
and know by name, or a phone number that directs you to someone sitting 
in a cubicle in Washington, D.C.?
  Losing that trust in community solutions is what we risk when we 
start embracing socialism. Socialism will diminish our individual 
liberties, isolating us from the institutions that empower us to make a 
difference in the world around us. It will concentrate power, where the 
people's voices don't stand a chance against corruption.
  That is why power doesn't belong behind an unelected bureaucrat's 
desk, where scandals like we have seen at the IRS, the VA, and the FBI 
can run rampant.
  The promise of America is where people, not the government, is 
trusted with the potential to achieve our dreams. We have a voice. We 
have that power in our community.
  The promise that socialism can provide these things is a false one. 
It never happens.
  Mr. Speaker, I will say it again: We are a government of the people, 
by the people, and for the people. For those words to be true, the 
people's House must recognize where the people have the most power and 
freedom to make the best decisions for ourselves and our families. It 
isn't in the Federal Government.
  Like in Pend Oreille County, it is in the community. It is our 
community, our neighborhoods, our homes, our schools, PTA meetings, 
churches, local governments, and, yes, at Hope House and daycare 
centers, too. It is neighbor helping neighbor. We all need each other 
at different times in our lives.
  Mr. Speaker, it is community that we must stand for, for the American 
Dream to flourish.

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