[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 22 (Thursday, February 2, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H635-H643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DENOUNCING THE HORRORS OF SOCIALISM
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 83, I call up
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 9) denouncing the horrors of
socialism, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 83, the
concurrent resolution is considered read.
The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:
H. Con. Res. 9
Whereas socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of
power that has time and time again collapsed into Communist
regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorships;
Whereas socialism has repeatedly led to famine and mass
murders, and the killing of over 100,000,000 people
worldwide;
Whereas many of the greatest crimes in history were
committed by socialist ideologues, including Vladimir Lenin,
Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong
Il, Kim Jong Un, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, and Nicolas
Maduro;
Whereas tens of millions died in the Bolshevik Revolution,
at least 10,000,000 people were sent to the gulags in the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and millions more
starved in the Terror-Famine (Holodomor) in Ukraine;
Whereas between 15,000,000 and 55,000,000 people starved to
death in the wake of famine and devastation caused by the
Great Leap Forward in China;
Whereas the socialist experiment in Cambodia led to the
killing fields in which over a million people were gruesomely
murdered;
Whereas up to 3,500,000 people have starved in North Korea,
dividing a land of freedom from a land of destitution;
Whereas the Castro regime in Cuba expropriated the land of
Cuban farmers and the businesses of Cuban entrepreneurs,
stealing their possessions and their livelihoods, and exiling
millions with nothing but the clothes on their backs;
Whereas the implementation of socialism in Venezuela has
turned a once-prosperous nation into a failed State with the
world's highest rate of inflation;
Whereas the author of the Declaration of Independence,
President Thomas Jefferson, wrote, ``To take from one,
because it is thought that his own industry and that of his
fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others,
who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and
skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of
association, the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of
his industry, and the fruits acquired by it.'';
Whereas the ``Father of the Constitution'', President James
Madison, wrote that it ``is not a just government, nor is
property secure under it, where the property which a man has
in his personal safety and personal liberty, is violated by
arbitrary seizures of one class of citizens for the service
of the rest''; and
Whereas the United States of America was founded on the
belief in the sanctity of the individual, to which the
collectivistic system of socialism in all of its forms is
fundamentally and necessarily opposed: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress denounces socialism in all its
forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies
in the United States of America.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The concurrent resolution shall be debatable
for 1 hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Financial Services or their
respective designees.
The gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry) and the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Waters) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.
{time} 0945
General Leave
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material thereon.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from North Carolina?
There was no objection.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution is a simple one. It states that the
Congress denounces socialism in all its forms and opposes the
implementation of socialist policies in the United States of America.
It is a statement that I would hope all elected leaders in the United
States could support. Despite my Democratic colleagues' claims, there
is nothing in this resolution about entitlement programs or banning
social services or anything of the like.
In fact, I would encourage anyone who has doubts to actually go and
read the resolution--it won't take long. It outlines the pain and
hardship experienced by millions around the world who have suffered
under a socialist regime.
This is something the sponsor of the resolution, Ms. Salazar of
Florida, can speak to personally. Congresswoman Salazar is the daughter
of Cuban exiles and was born in Miami's Little Havana.
H. Con. Res. 9 is not just messaging or a waste of time--as some of
my colleagues across the aisle said--it speaks to people who have known
all too well the atrocities of socialism, and it gives voice to their
pain.
I thank Congresswoman Salazar for her work on this resolution, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose H. Con. Res. 9, and I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the Committee on Financial Services, we
organized and considered the committee's oversight plan. We debated
homelessness and the lack of affordable housing, how to best protect
consumers, and the need to strengthen diversity and inclusion across
the financial services industry.
We also discussed the threat to our Nation's future if our country is
forced to default on our debt 4 months from today. We don't always
agree and, honestly, none of the Democratic amendments were adopted,
but it was a civil debate about the merits of policy.
I believe all of our committee members recognize that the legislation
that comes out of our committee has the potential to support wealth
creation, grow small businesses, support affordable housing, and build
a stable financial system and economy.
It is the contrast with the intentionality and seriousness of the
debate today that makes it so hard to understand why the very first
piece of legislation to come to the floor under a rule is not a
proposal to address the needs of any of our constituents, to provide
support to struggling small businesses, or the community banks and
credit unions that finance them.
It certainly doesn't provide our markets with certainty that our
country won't act recklessly and default on its debts; a situation that
will bring untold harm to all of us in America.
No, Mr. Speaker, this resolution today, in fact, does nothing except
spread lies and fear about a threat that does not even exist. The
rightwing extremists who are running this House have forced my
committee to consider as its very first piece of legislation a bill
that tries to say that our country will collapse in ruin because of--
wait for it--Social Security.
The resolution suggests that because we support seniors with health
insurance, our democracy will crumble. They think that because Congress
and the President have provided disaster relief to communities that
have been burned by historic wildfires or flooded by once-in-a-
generation hurricanes that we will fall into ruin.
No, Mr. Speaker, Americans take pride in the ways that we come
together to do everything from building schools to sending a man to the
Moon.
[[Page H636]]
Mr. Speaker, Americans know better than the fear-mongering that we
see here today. They know, for example, that when the pandemic hit and
people were dying all across this country, it was the Federal
Government that stepped in to provide trillions of dollars of support
to small businesses, workers, renters, students, seniors--and would you
believe it--even Republican Members of Congress.
In fact, the government, using taxpayer dollars, provided $14 million
in PPP loans to a number of our House Republicans who asked and then--
guess what--received debt forgiveness.
Now some Republicans have tried to suggest that voting against this
resolution is saying that you support dictators like Pol Pot, Mao
Zedong or Stalin, which is ridiculous. No one in this Chamber supports
them, but do you know which dictator my extremist colleagues refuse to
condemn? Oh, they didn't say anything about Hitler.
Mr. Speaker, you have heard of him, right?
My colleague, Mr. Gottheimer noticed that somehow the Republicans
just forgot to condemn Hitler and offered an amendment to denounce his
atrocities and mass murder. But Republicans rejected it. And I think we
know why.
It is because Donald Trump--your true leader, the true leader of the
Republicans and North Star for House Republicans--was reported to have
frightened his own staff by saying that Hitler had done some good
things.
There is only one would-be authoritarian who refused to accept the
will of our voters and peacefully transfer of power after losing his
election. Instead, he incited a violent insurrection on January 6 to
block the election's certification that was happening in this very
Chamber, but you won't see his name in this resolution or his strongman
pals that he loves so much in Russia and China.
Mr. Speaker, we are a great Nation, not because we let everyone fend
for themselves, but because we care for one another. We are a great
Nation that comes together as communities as small as towns and as
large as a whole Nation to decide to organize and collectively pay for
fire departments, public schools, libraries, hospitals, roads, and
bridges, and a military.
We are a better Nation because we have programs that we love. We love
Social Security and Medicare. We are going to fight every inch of the
way to ensure that we keep Social Security and Medicare. We are not
going to let the opposite side of the aisle take away our seniors'
Social Security and Medicare. I will say it again--Social Security and
Medicare.
We are a better Nation because our form of capitalism includes
regulatory safeguards and strong cops on the beat patrolling our
financial system, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Mr. Speaker, I urge you and the majority to stop these divisive
``gotcha'' tactics. Get out of the way, and let my committee and this
Congress pass real legislation that puts the needs of our constituents
and Nation first.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Hill), the vice chair of the Financial Services
Committee.
Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, the sound that America is hearing is their
alarm going off. It is Groundhog Day. I feel like Bill Murray because,
Mr. Speaker, when the alarm goes off every morning, the ranking member
of the House Financial Services Committee is off on a rant about the
former President.
I think it is important that we stay focused on what we are talking
about today. It is a choice between freedom and something far worse.
The American people know why we are on this floor today. We are on the
floor today to support a resolution that denounces socialism.
As a boy attending elementary school in Little Rock, one of my
favorite teachers was a beautiful, young mother who taught us Spanish.
Her kids were the playmates of mine during those early school years.
Her family had moved to Little Rock, escaping the Castro regime in Cuba
that murdered their fellow citizens, took family farms and businesses,
and systematically destroyed one of the most beautiful, successful
countries and places on Earth. For me, an early lesson in the cost of
freedom.
As a businessman in 1986, at the height of the Cold War, I joined a
civil society tour of East Berlin led by the U.S. Army via the famous
Checkpoint Charlie. There one saw the stark and cruel contrast of
freedom versus socialism and communism: vibrant businesses, full
shelves, full employment in the West; and drab, sullen people in the
East staring into empty store windows in buildings still bearing the
bomb and bullet scars of World War II.
Just 3\1/2\ years later, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, I
represented President George H.W. Bush as his Deputy Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury in helping design and deliver U.S. economic
and technical assistance to the citizens of the newly freed countries
from socialism and communism from the Baltic to the Black Sea, creating
a rule of law, markets, private property rights, and new banking
services.
Mr. Speaker, I keep a piece of that Berlin Wall in my House office.
It reminds me of the gruesome fact that the Berlin Wall was built to
keep people in--not the other way around--and keep freedom out.
Today, some three decades later, one can witness the victory of
capitalism and freedom over the authoritarianism and command and
control of socialism.
People of today's Central Europe want no part of communism or
socialism. They know fully the brutality and failure of Soviet-style
authoritarian socialist domination; so much so, they have opened their
homes to Ukrainian mothers and kids. They opened their wallets to
provide Ukrainians money, military, and humanitarian assistance to
expel the invading Russia.
Mr. Speaker, let's say ``no'' to socialism and ``yes'' to freedom and
opportunity.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
New York (Ms. Velazquez).
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to this
resolution.
I think it is important that we clarify what my colleagues on the
other side of the aisle believe to be socialist policies. Historically,
Republicans have tried to label as socialist any Democratic actions
that improve the lives of Americans.
In 1996, Senator Bob Dole, the future Republican Presidential
nominee, referred to public housing as ``one of the last bastions of
socialism'' and called for an end to government-assisted housing
programs.
Public housing in the United States provides decent and safe housing
to 1.3 million families that are working class, elderly, or disabled.
This is what Republicans are calling socialism.
The 12-point plan to rescue America that Senate Republicans released
last year vowed to stop socialism and shrink the Federal Government by
enacting extreme policies like putting Social Security and Medicare on
the chopping block.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich promised that Medicare would
wither on the vine, thanks to spending cuts to combat what Mr. Gingrich
dubbed ``Big Government socialism.''
{time} 1000
Social Security and Medicare are hard-earned benefits that provide
millions of seniors with healthcare and retirement funds every year.
This is what Republicans call socialism. From climate action and public
education to the Affordable Care Act and Social Security, Republicans
classify popular government programs to help working families as
socialism.
This resolution is a distraction from extremists and nothing more
than a thinly veiled scare tactic directed toward voters.
Why is it that we are here wasting our time discussing a resolution
about socialism? Guess what? Work on the budget. That is what you need
to do. You refuse to work on the budget because you will have to tell
the American people that you intend to cut benefits for Social Security
and Medicare.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks
to the Chair.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Williams), who is the chair of the Small Business Committee
and an advocate for capitalism.
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, let me just ask you this: Are we
capitalist, or are we socialist?
[[Page H637]]
I am glad to join my colleagues in denouncing socialism in all forms.
Socialism is the greatest threat to our economy and freedom and must be
defeated.
Worldwide, socialism has led to the death of more than 100 million
people, has forced thousands to flee in exile, and has turned
prosperous nations into impoverished and hopeless nations.
Socialism is not winning in America and has no place in our country.
We are a nation of opportunity and incentive and because of those
principles, we are a nation of hope where everyone can benefit.
What sets America apart from the rest of the world is the drive to
reach our fullest potential coupled with a free market economy. It is
what makes us the greatest economic engine in the world.
The opposite of socialism is capitalism, and I am proud to call
myself a capitalist. Capitalism is about taking responsibility for what
you create and making it even greater. It is about going from nothing
to going to something. It is about taking risks and getting rewards,
not government handouts or freebies.
Capitalism has been the greatest force in the history of our world
for lifting people out of poverty, and we must instill this value that
we have in future generations.
As a small business owner for 52 years, I represent Main Street
America. Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, the implications of what
socialism would mean for our businesses are alarming and scary. Main
Street was built by men and women who wanted to swing for the fences
because, at the end of the day, there is a desire to dream bigger, to
dream bolder, to turn dreams into a vision, and visions into reality.
America must always lead the fight against socialism and communism.
We must always defend the principles of the American Dream and ensure
our future generations have the same opportunities to build something
for themselves.
We must never forget the tragedies socialism has caused for countries
around the world.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues--everybody--to support this
resolution denouncing the horrors of socialism and opposing the
implementation of socialist policies in the United States.
Bottom line: socialism bad, capitalism good.
In God We Trust.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Williams is my friend, but I do wonder
whether Mr. Williams views the $1.43 million he received in debt
forgiveness as being consistent with his views on socialism. I don't
get it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Doggett).
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I was prepared to vote for this resolution.
Socialism is clearly not the best path for America.
Who wants to be associated with Stalin and the others whom this
resolution denounces?
They were really thugs who were masquerading as socialists.
But when the promoters of this worthless resolution rejected the
Takano amendment to protect Social Security and Medicare, their goal
became clear.
They have a long history of rigorously attacking most every new
social initiative--originally claiming that Social Security would
``enslave workers'' and ``Sovietize the country''--and they have long
denounced Medicare as ``Socialism.''
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On February 2, 2023, on page H637, in the second column, the
following appeared: initiative--originally claiming that Social
Security would enslave workers and sovietize the country--and they
have long denounced Medicare as socialism.
The online version has been corrected to read: initiative--
originally claiming that Social Security would ``enslave workers''
and ``Sovietize the country''--and they have long denounced
Medicare as ``Socialism.''
========================= END NOTE =========================
Some Republicans would even privatize the Veterans Administration
with its socialist structure of government-run hospitals and employees.
It is a system our veterans love.
This resolution is the foundation for continued attacks on better
Medicare for more Americans and their attempt to cut Social Security
benefits.
Like their cult leader, Donald Trump, they use this resolution to
attack our allies in Germany and Sweden at the very time Republicans
are considering cutting aid to Ukraine.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On February 2, 2023, on page H637, in the second column, the
following appeared: at the very time they are considering cutting
aid to Ukraine.
The online version has been corrected to read: at the very time
Republicans are considering cutting aid to Ukraine.
========================= END NOTE =========================
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).
Mr. MEUSER. Mr. Speaker, I thank our chairman very much for his
leadership on what is a very important subject.
I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to support the simple yet necessary
resolution to denounce the inevitable corruption of socialism and the
suffering, death, and destruction it has brought upon hundreds of
millions of people throughout the world since its inception.
Our Founding Fathers built our Nation on the principles of freedom
and liberty, which leads to a free market economy, all tenets that
stand directly counter to the ideas and ideals of socialism.
Capitalism has produced prosperity for generations of Americans and
has shaped the American Dream that so many have sought by immigrating
to America for centuries.
Mr. Speaker, how many are fleeing capitalist countries like the
United States for socialist countries, I ask?
Overtaxed economies backfire. They have no growth, prosperity,
quality of life, or advancements in medicine, food, housing, or
education. Overregulation stifles business throughout national and
global markets and, on the State side, gives States like Florida and
Texas--and good for them--a great advantage over overregulated and
overtaxed States.
Historically, obvious metrics and clear results prove that capitalism
is far better for all societies, especially the United States of
America.
As President Reagan said, socialism only works in two places: Heaven
where they don't need it, and hell where they already have it.
Socialist governments culminate with absolute power, and absolute
power corrupts absolutely.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Meeks).
Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I do not take this issue lightly. I do,
however, take issue with how this resolution has been presented.
Of course, we oppose the violence inflicted upon people under the
rule of communist and dictatorial governments, but this resolution is
less about their plight and more of a political stunt.
Make no mistake about it, I am proud a capitalist, and I always will
be. Ideas like affordable healthcare, affordable housing, and paid
family leave are not radical socialist policies. Some of our closest
allies in Europe and around the world participate in the free market
and help their citizens meet their most basic needs. That is what we
have been sent here to do: to consider, debate, and ultimately pass
legislation that will help the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my Republican colleagues: What is your agenda? Is
it the 30 percent sales tax? Is it the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid?
Is it the cuts to Social Security or eliminating access to reproductive
care?
What is your plan? Do we give people access so they can participate
in a capitalist society? Or do we just cut them so we can limit the
opportunity to participate in a capitalist society?
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
California (Mr. McClintock).
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, it is often said that socialism is
sharing and capitalism is selfishness. It is precisely the opposite.
The only way to prosper in a capitalist society is to identify what
somebody else needs and to provide it for them better than they can
provide it for themselves, whether it is sweeping a floor or designing
a microchip.
Socialism is taking what one person has earned by helping others and
giving it to someone who hasn't.
Socialism always produces poverty and misery because when you take a
dollar from Peter and give it to Paul, both have been robbed of that
dollar's incentive to help each other. Peter has been denied the reward
of his dollar's worth of work, and Paul no longer needs to help someone
earn that dollar.
Socialism and slavery both spring from exactly the same rotten
principle, as Lincoln put it, that you work and toil and make bread,
and I will eat it. Both have been championed by the same party through
the ages.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Georgia (Ms. Williams).
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, as a legislator, I know to look
at a bill's definitions. As House Republicans talk about rejecting
socialism in all its forms, it is important to understand just exactly
what my Republican colleagues are talking about.
Surely, it is not Social Security and Medicare, public schools,
public libraries, public safety, and roads and bridges? The bill
doesn't say. There is not a single definition of ``socialism'' or all
its forms.
[[Page H638]]
My colleague, Congressman Takano, gave my Republican colleagues an
opportunity to clarify. He offered an amendment stating that programs
like Social Security and Medicare are not socialism. Republicans
refused that amendment.
That makes me wonder if what Republicans are really doing here is
trying to reject things like bedrock social programs that so many of
our seniors and constituents rely on.
I support our Nation's market-based economy, and if my Republican
colleagues truly did the same, they would be using this time for
legislation that creates jobs and lowers costs for all American
families. This bill does neither.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to focus their time on
the issues that will help all of our constituents achieve the promise
of America.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from West Virginia (Mr. Mooney), who is a great leader and a member of
the Financial Services Committee.
Mr. MOONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Representative
Salazar's House resolution denouncing the horrors of socialism.
I grew up in a home where the American ideals of personal freedom and
limited government were cherished. My mother, Lala Suarez, grew up on a
sugarcane farm in Cuba, where she was one of 14 brothers and sisters.
When Castro took control of Cuba by force, her entire world was
destroyed. My mother was imprisoned by Fidel Castro for 7 weeks.
Thankfully, they never found the gun she had hidden or they would have
executed her and her friends. She fled communism to enjoy freedom and
opportunity in America.
Today, over 60 years later, socialist policies have kept Cuba in
economic ruin.
She met my father, Vincent Mooney, and became a proud American
citizen. My father was a captain in the United States Army who served
in Vietnam to stop the advance of communism.
Growing up, my parents impressed upon me and my three siblings that
America is special. Unlike economically failing socialist countries,
Americans' personal liberty is enshrined in our Constitution and must
always be protected.
All citizens deserve basic freedoms, such as freedom of press;
freedom of speech; the right to vote; the right to be considered
innocent until proven guilty, where in communist countries you are
guilty until you prove yourself innocent; and the right to worship.
As President Donald Trump said right here in this Chamber in his
State of the Union speech: ``America will never be a socialist
country.''
America must never give up on our God-given rights. We must fight
against socialism and for the American Dream.
Mr. Speaker, when the government takes away your rights and freedoms,
as the socialist and communist countries want to do, they never give
them back.
Every American should feel blessed to have been born in this country
where we are free. Let's protect our freedoms.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Takano).
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, this resolution is not about socialism. It
is about political cynicism.
No one in this Chamber would defend the atrocities committed by
murderous Communist ideologues such as Mao Zedong or Fidel Castro, but
that is not what this resolution is about. This resolution is about
conflating some of our most cherished social safety net programs with
so-called socialism.
With this resolution, Republicans demonize Social Security, on which
more than 46 million retirees rely today. Republicans demonize
Medicare, which has saved the lives of countless Americans. Republicans
demonize many other Federal programs, including benefits offered to our
Nation's veterans.
Harry Truman was right when he said that: ``Socialism is a scare word
that [Republicans] have hurled at every advance the people have made in
the last 20 years.''
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution.
{time} 1015
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Rose), a great leader for agriculture issues and a
member of the Financial Services Committee.
Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 9,
which denounces the horrors of socialism in all its forms.
Whether it is communism, Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism,
anarchism, democratic socialism, ecosocialism, or liberal socialism,
all of these have failed, and none of these ideologies should, God
willing, ever be implemented in the United States.
By passing this resolution, we can send a message to the American
people that we reject these deadly ideologies, and our Nation will
always and forever be a bastion of freedom and a beacon of hope.
I pray for the more than 100 million lives that have been lost at the
hands of Communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal
dictatorships.
Socialism should never play any part in the American way of life. I
hope we can all agree on this commonsense resolution. I urge my
colleagues to vote ``yes'' on its passage.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan).
Mr. POCAN. Mr. Speaker, for 35 years now I have owned a small
business, giving me significantly more experience as a capitalist than
the vast majority of Members on the other side of the aisle.
As a capitalist, let me tell you, this resolution is plain
ridiculous. It jointly condemns Pol Pot and Norway. I am with you on
the first one. But Norway? Please.
Here is what this is really about. More and more Members on the other
side of the aisle are calling for cuts to Social Security and Medicare,
and many have referred to these programs as socialism throughout their
existence.
The other night in the Rules Committee, they showed their cards.
Republicans refused an amendment to declare that Social Security and
Medicare is not socialism.
This resolution has little to do with intelligent discourse and
everything to do with laying the groundwork to cut Social Security and
Medicare. I support Social Security and Medicare, capitalism, and
Norway. I will be voting ``no.''
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Ohio (Mr. Davidson), chair of the Housing and Insurance
Subcommittee.
Mr. DAVIDSON. Mr. Speaker, I enlisted in the United States Army after
high school and arrived in West Germany in the spring of 1989. The Cold
War was at fever pitch, and at the Brandenburg Gate, President Reagan
famously said, ``Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.''
On 9 November 1989, the East German people finally tore down their
own wall; not Gorbachev, not America, not the West, but the people
trapped on the other side of that wall.
I was there that Thanksgiving in the heart of Berlin when I met with
people experiencing their first hours of freedom. One man asked me,
``Is it like this everywhere?'' I thought he meant like Berlin, a big
city. I am from western Ohio and a small town. He corrected me. He
said, No, the stores are open at night, and there is fresh milk and
everyone can go in?
He had been told a lie that we were poorer in the West than they
were, that only the elites could buy things, like the Communist Party
officials.
He was not alone. The wall had separated their Communists from our
freedom and free markets. The flood of people was to the land of
opportunity, not to the failed ideas of Marx and Lenin.
The United States of America is worth saving. To do that, we must
defend freedom and defeat socialism.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Frost).
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to this resolution
because the American people know that the biggest threat to our modern
democratic society and free market economy is not some socialist
bogeyman, it is Republican leaders in this Chamber, people who want to
call every federally funded program that Americans depend on socialism
just to scare people and position themselves to cut and gut the
benefits that people count on.
[[Page H639]]
Go back and look at the decades' worth of transcripts and see what
Republicans call socialism to scare people--Social Security, Medicare,
Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act. They even call free public school
education socialism to scare people.
This vote is a sham. We have heard about Cuba a ton. My mother came
here from Cuba in the late 1960s with my grandmother and my aunt. I
won't let their story be used to gut the benefits that our people have
earned and deserve. This vote has nothing to do with socialism and
everything to do with gutting the programs that millions of Americans
have paid into and have earned.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Nebraska (Mr. Flood).
Mr. FLOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this
resolution condemning socialism.
I have seen the victims of socialism firsthand. Many of those victims
have found refuge in Nebraska. Vietnamese is the third most spoken
language in Nebraska due to immigration in the 1970s, and members of
the Falun Gong have found freedom from religious persecution by the
Chinese Communist Party in our great State.
History shows us that when socialism is tried, it leads to three
things: poverty, devastation, and ultimately communism. As Vladimir
Lenin once said, ``The goal of socialism is communism.''
Socialist regimes continue to commit atrocities around the world.
In North Korea, there are an estimated 180,000 prisoners today. Many
of them are subjected to torture and extreme manual labor.
In Venezuela, police and security forces killed more than 19,000
people between 2016 and 2019 for ``resisting authority.''
In Cuba, journalists, bloggers, and artists are routinely jailed for
speaking against the regime. The list goes on and on.
Socialism is the enemy, not just to free enterprise, but to human
rights.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the last gentleman mentioned China, and I just remind
everyone of a quote by their President Trump, ``And I like President Xi
a lot,'' he said. ``I consider him a friend, and--but I like him a lot.
I've gotten to know him very well. He's a strong gentleman, right? . .
. he's a strong guy, tough guy.''
When are you going to denounce Trump?
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms.
Wasserman Schultz).
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to condemn all socialist
autocrats who place power and wealth over their own citizens. Yet this
resolution ignores some of their worst evils, then falls silent while
American leaders mimic their cruel tactics.
For instance, Cubans and Venezuelans suffer from far worse than the
inflation and expropriation this measure describes. Dictators there
destroy human rights; the rule of law, and jail, exile, or kill their
enemies.
Let's condemn socialist abuses, yes, but leaders on this very floor
seek to overturn democratic elections, confiscate long-held rights, and
gut programs our families, veterans, and servicemembers need.
In my home State, an aspiring autocrat daily deploys the socialist
tyrant's playbook. He marginalizes minorities, demonizes the free
press, and criminalizes or bans speech, books, even history.
What we can learn from these failed despots is to respect the rule of
law, free speech, and free elections, and to protect our own citizens
from the grinding poverty tyrants wield as weapons. Socialist dictators
deserve our scorn, but glossing over their crimes and ignoring the
leaders right here who mimic them--that fails those fighting freedom
everywhere.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire the time remaining on both
sides?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from North Carolina has 15\1/
2\ minutes remaining. The gentlewoman from California has 13\1/4\
minutes remaining.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
California (Mrs. Kim).
Mrs. KIM of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.
Con. Res. 9 to denounce the atrocities perpetuated by socialism around
the world.
If you want to see the difference between socialism and freedom, take
a look at North Korea at night versus South Korea. As an immigrant who
grew up in South Korea during the aftermath of the Korean war, I know
firsthand the horror, the destruction that socialism has brought to
millions of families in the Korean Peninsula under the evil regime of
the Kim dynasty, from Kim Il-sung to Kim Jong-il to now Kim Jong-Un.
Socialism divided my family and friends between North and South. My
mother-in-law, for example, crossed over the DMZ and back multiple
times to rescue loved ones from the tyrannical North Korean regime.
Tens of thousands of war-torn families remain separated to this day.
Meanwhile, famines and the daily threats of a nuclear war in east Asia
persist.
Although I was just a young girl, I remember the hope embodied by
those brave soldiers who defended the freedoms of a country they never
knew and a people they never met. It is because of them that I stand
before you today as one of the first Korean-American women to serve in
Congress.
The United States must continue to stand as a beacon of freedom,
hope, and opportunity for the world. I urge my colleagues from both
sides of the aisle to join us to say ``no'' to socialism.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman from California just mentioned North
Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Let me tell you what Trump said. He said,
``Kim wrote me beautiful letters, and they're great letters. We fell in
love.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms.
Leger Fernandez).
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I absolutely denounce the brutal
and Communist regimes of Castro, Maduro, Stalin, and other dictators in
the whereas clauses of this resolution.
But, sadly, instead of spending our precious moments in the people's
House expanding opportunity for hardworking Americans, supporting
ranchers, farmers, and rural communities, lowering healthcare costs,
and strengthening Social Security and Medicare, we are spending hours,
actually days in pure political theater.
In the Rules Committee, when I offered Mr. Takano's amendment to
clarify that this resolution does not also condemn Social Security,
Medicare, and veterans' health benefits, Republicans blocked it.
Yet, I still know that our love and respect for our veterans,
seniors, and retirees will always guide our work to ensure they receive
all the benefits they have earned. I will not stray from our obligation
to create prosperity, hope, and a future everywhere in America.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Lawler), a great new member of the Financial Services
Committee from the Hudson Valley.
Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, as Margaret Thatcher said, the problem with
socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money.
My wife is an immigrant from Eastern Europe, from Moldova, a former
Soviet satellite state. She came to this country in search of economic
opportunity and freedom and a better life for her and her family. She
left a former Communist country that is still dealing with the grips of
communism and socialist policies.
Let's be very clear. Communism and socialism have limited freedoms,
stymied economic innovation and opportunity, limited prosperity, and
left the very people it claims to help in a permanent state of poverty
and government dependence.
Conversely, capitalism has lifted people from poverty to prosperity
within a generation and made America the envy of the world.
To be clear, this resolution is not about Social Security or
Medicare, two programs with broad bipartisan support. It is about a
sick ideology that has destroyed nations, ruined lives, and resulted in
death and destruction around the world.
Now, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are twisting
themselves
[[Page H640]]
into knots trying to explain why they oppose this resolution. The sad
truth is, it is because their party has been taken over by a radical,
socialist ideology that they are held hostage to. They can't even
muster the courage to denounce it.
We are Americans. We should speak with one voice and denounce
socialism, communism, dictators, and despots at every turn.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from New York an
additional 1 minute.
Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support this resolution,
denounce socialism, and proudly embrace capitalism, American innovation
and ingenuity, and the role it has played in promoting freedom and
democracy throughout the rest of the world.
I ask all of my colleagues to join me. It is very simple. This is not
about Social Security or Medicare. This is about denouncing socialism.
If you can't muster the strength to do that, that speaks volumes about
your party.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks
to the Chair.
{time} 1030
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would reiterate to my colleagues: I love
Social Security. I love Medicare.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr.
Hoyer), the former majority leader.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to lament the failure today to
consider a resolution which would reflect the overwhelming consensus in
this House: that capitalism, not socialism, has proven to be the very
best economic system.
It is the most effective system to create dynamic economies and
incentivize individual innovation, entrepreneurship, and risk-taking to
achieve economic security and success. Such a resolution would have
brought us together. It would give confidence to our fellow citizens
that we are united in our support of our Democratic capitalist system.
The resolution before us today, however, does not do that. Instead,
it is an intellectually bankrupt screed of political demagoguery. All
it aims to do is to divide and distract this institution and this
country. It is a political gotcha and a distraction from the real
issues that face the American people.
As our departed colleague Elijah Cummings said, ``We are better than
this.''
We just came from an annual prayer breakfast where we gave voice to
reconciliation and unity. We prayed to one God, and we recited our
pledge to one nation, under God, indivisible.
This resolution seeks to divide. Americans expect more of us. This
resolution does not, sadly, Mr. Speaker, further that goal.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Burchett), my friend.
Mr. BURCHETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the
time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of condemning the horrors of
socialism. The biggest crimes in humanity have happened under socialist
regimes. It has taken more than 100 million lives. Margaret Thatcher
said it best, and I will paraphrase it: Eventually you run out of
people to take money from. That is the only way socialism works.
President Trump said we would never be a socialist country in his
State of the Union Address, and I was shocked that over half of this
body, Mr. Speaker, refused to stand and applaud that. I think it tells
where we are as a country. Too many people have fought and died for
this country.
If you have ever come to my Knoxville office, there is a 48-star flag
that is on the wall. It is a flag that was draped over my uncle's
casket. He was too old to go fight, Mr. Speaker. He went and enlisted
anyway.
They sent him back home to Cheatham County. He went back and enlisted
again, and they let him go. He died shortly after the D-day invasion as
a sergeant.
Too old to go to fight, but he went anyway. He fought for the
American Dream. He fought for what we have in this country, and every
dadgum day we want to throw it away.
The fact that we are even having this conversation sickens me, Mr.
Speaker. I say that with all sincerity.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, the ex-President who still thinks he is
President said, ``I went in yesterday and there was a television
screen, and I said, `This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of
Ukraine--of Ukraine--Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that is
wonderful. . . . He used the word `independent' and we're gonna go out
and we're gonna go in and we're gonna help keep peace.' You gotta say
that is pretty savvy.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Nadler), who is the ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution lists many Communist dictators, but it
doesn't list any of the capitalist dictators--from Hitler to Mussolini
to Franco to Salazar to Peron, and so many more, because the issue is
not socialism, the issue is tyranny.
The second issue is the progress of the American people. Because
every single issue of progress from Medicare to Medicaid to the
Affordable Care Act to public housing to Social Security has been
called by Republican leaders at the time ``socialist.''
This is not an attack on tyranny. This is an attack on all of these
programs. This is an attack on Medicare, on Social Security, on public
housing, on Federal aid to education, on everything the Republicans
have quoted ``socialist'' when they were first enacted, and they still
want to get rid of.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I have heard the most absurd argument just now on the House floor.
The contents of this resolution are very simple and very
straightforward: A system that is borne out of freedom inevitably
begets freedom and a liberation of people from tyranny. An economic
system that is borne out of taking inevitably leads to the loss of
human life and centralization and control by despotic people.
That is what this resolution speaks to. It does not speak to any
programs here in the United States. It doesn't talk about our system of
government. It doesn't speak of other systems, economic systems.
It is simply in the resolved that Congress denounces socialism in all
its forms and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the
United States. Period.
So rather than contorting themselves to vote ``no'' against a
resolution condemning tyrants who use socialism to centralize their
power, my colleagues are contorting themselves to speak against
previous Presidents or a question of Republicans' views on domestic
social programs.
That is not a part of this resolution. It is a part of other debates
everywhere else in Congress.
Let's read the resolution. Let's stick to the terms of debate of the
resolution, and let's figure out a way that we can actually come
together and denounce socialism in all its forms here in the United
States.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Khanna).
Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. The Democratic Party does
not believe that the government should control the means of production.
No Democrat believes that there should be government gas stations or
government technology companies or government car companies.
So what does the Democratic Party believe? We believe every person in
America should have childcare.
What do the Republicans say?
Their answer: Well, look at how many people Stalin killed.
We say: Let's give everyone healthcare.
The Republicans say: Well, we can't do that. Look at how many people
Pol Pot killed.
We say: Let's make sure everyone has equal opportunity.
The Republicans say: We can't do that. Look at how many people Kim
Jong-un is starving.
Give me a break. The American people are catching on. They know that
we have lost 25 percent of wealth in the working class and middle class
since 1980.
They know that the real crimes are not crimes happening abroad but
the crime of paying starvation wages for hard work.
[[Page H641]]
This party is actually solving the problems of the American people.
That party is giving rhetoric about foreign regimes.
People will see through the rhetoric and side with the Democratic
Party.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I have one further speaker, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have
remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman has 7\1/4\ minutes
remaining.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, let me share a quote from the opposite side
of the aisle.
``Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the
people have made in the last 20 years.''
They go on to say:
``Socialism is what they called public power.
Socialism is what they called Social Security.
Socialism is what they called farm price supports.
Socialism is what they called bank deposit insurance.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent
labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the
people.''
This was a quote from the great President Truman, talking about
Republicans' claims 70 years ago. It has revisited itself.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California
(Mr. Sherman), who is also the ranking member of the Subcommittee on
Capital Markets.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, imagine an antisocialist resolution so
poorly drafted that the cochair of the CPA Caucus finds it necessary to
come here and denounce it. But this resolution equates Willy Brandt
with Kim Jong-un, Medicare with the Great Leap Forward, and European
Socialist Allies of America and NATO, with the worst murderers in
history.
Democracy calls for every country to decide what blend of government
regulation of business, what blend of government programs to have, and
that is a decision for each country to make. Instead, we have a
resolution that provides a misleading and sophomoric description of
history.
We are told that all socialism is equal, and that Marxist-Leninism is
the same as the European Socialists. When communism stood over Europe
and could have conquered the Western world, we organized NATO.
Here are the NATO leaders who were all socialists:
Harold Wilson, Willy Brandt, Francois Mitterand, and so many others,
as shown on the chart.
Without them, Stalinism may well have prevailed. Yet, this resolution
condemns them.
Then we are told, Oh, well, then the anti-communists must be great
people.
Yes, like Francisco Franco and the rest of those identified on this
chart.
Later today, the Republican leadership wants to take someone off her
committee because they say they are dedicated to fighting anti-
Semitism.
Yet, on this same day, they bring a resolution to this floor that
equates some of the greatest leaders of Israel with some of the
greatest mass murderers of history.
Look at the history of Israel. The founder of Israel, Ben-Gurion, a
socialist; Golda Meir, a member of the Socialist International; and
Shimon Peres, President of Israel and President of the Socialist
International.
Yet, they say they are against anti-Semitism.
Mr. Speaker, 73 percent of the American people believe Republican
leadership is ignoring the problems facing America, per a CNN poll. And
we could dismiss this resolution as just a stupid waste of time
consistent with that ignoring.
{time} 1045
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. SHERMAN. Can I get another 30 seconds?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the
gentleman from California.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds, as well.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized for an
additional 30 seconds.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, they are intent on using the debt limit to
attack Social Security, which was attacked by Republicans as socialist
at the time, the 1930s, and by Paul Ryan, more recently.
They are here to attack Medicare as socialist as was done by Ronald
Reagan on a whole LP album denouncing Medicare as socialism.
They are here with this resolution to say that any social program can
be equated with the greatest mass murderers in history.
This resolution is not just a waste of time. It is a pernicious
attack on the programs that American people support.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to take a moment to thank my colleague for his fulsome defense
of socialism and historical socialists. I think that was the most
intellectually honest piece of debate we have had here on the House
floor.
If this resolution were just simply to draw out my Democrat
colleagues to just say, yes, they are in favor of socialism, maybe this
is a worthwhile endeavor.
Again, this is not my resolution. It was reported to my committee. We
are reporting out this resolution as Ms. Salazar of Florida presented
and wrote because this is the early stages of the House. This came
straight to the House floor rather than through the committee markup.
It came through the Rules Committee.
What I would have preferred in this resolution was a fulsome defense
of capitalism and the juxtaposition between that optimistic sense of
freedom that is borne out of our property rights, our speech rights,
and our individual liberties in this country that has deeply connected
us with an economic system of freedom, the juxtaposition of that to the
misery of socialism and what the taking of people`s individual liberty
and centralizing it in government and government control does to
economic progress, to the best of humanity, to social outcomes, to the
health and welfare of the people, to the economic prosperity of the
people, and the misery that it begets to those people suffering in
those regimes.
What we have here is the history of international moments of terror
begat by Putin. It is not in there. He doesn't currently call himself a
socialist, but Lenin did, Stalin did, Mao Zedong did, Fidel Castro did,
and the list goes on. Then, it talks about the loss of human life under
those regimes from those socialist leaders.
The resolve clause, I have read before: ``That Congress denounces
socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist
policies in the United States of America.''
I would be happy to work with my colleague on the type of resolution
that I outlined, happy to have that come back to the floor, in time, on
something that my Democrat colleagues would actually support, a proper
denunciation of the miseries of socialism and a proper embrace of our
economic capitalism here in the United States, but that is not what we
have before us today.
I encourage my colleagues to look at what is in the resolution and
judge it based off the contents of what is here, not what is omitted.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague to close, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I raise a question, and I direct it to the
Speaker. Was PPP socialism? No, of course not, but some Republicans
would claim it was.
Interestingly, many Republicans, including several sponsors of this
ridiculous resolution, not only applied for a PPP loan but also asked
that the government forgive the debt.
So I ask unanimous consent to enter this list of Republicans in the
Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection.
Mr. McHENRY. I object.
Ms. WATERS. I yield 1 minute----
The SPEAKER pro tempore. There is an objection.
Ms. WATERS. I include in the Record the list of Republicans.
1. Ralph Norman (R-SC): $306,520--member of Rules.
2. Roger Williams (R-TX): $1.43 million--member of FSC.
3. Matt Gaetz (R-FL): $476,000.
[[Page H642]]
4. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA): $180,000.
5. Greg Pence (R-IN): $79,441.
6. Vern Buchanan (R-FL): $2.8 million.
7. Kevin Hern (R-OK): $1.07 million.
8. Brett Guthrie (R-KY): $4.3 million.
9. Ralph Abraham (R-LA): $38,000.
10. Mike Kelly (R-PA): $974,100.
11. Vicki Hartzler (R-MO): $451,200.
12. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK): $988,700.
13. Carol Miller (R-WV): $3.1 million.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, Americans are tired of this body wasting its time when
there are real problems to address.
I want to get started considering legislation to house the more than
a half million people who will sleep outside tonight because they don't
have a house of their own.
I want to get started on legislation to address the extreme wealth
disparities in our country, including where CEOs now make almost 400
times what the average workers make.
I want to stop Wells Fargo-like banks from ripping off millions of
consumers.
I want to get started finding ways for seniors and folks saving for
their retirement to have more confidence that those who would defraud
them will be thwarted.
Instead, we spend time talking about how Republicans want to force
Biden to slash Social Security and Medicare, or they will turn the
economy down by forcing a default on our debt.
The American people should rest assured that my Democratic colleagues
and I are united in our resolve to expand access to affordable housing
and good-paying jobs, protect consumers from abuse, strengthen our
economy, safeguard our national security, protect Social Security and
Medicare, and, above all, defend our democracy.
Let me say it again: Protect Social Security and Medicare.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from North Carolina has 1\3/4\
minutes remaining.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), the Budget Committee chairman, to
close on behalf of the Republicans.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from North Carolina for
yielding.
Socialism, like the Devil, does not appear with horns and a
pitchfork. He masquerades as an angel of light with promises of human
flourishing, all failed, all broken.
Socialism isn't empty words. It isn't a speech. It is a series of
actions that rob people of their freedom and concentrate power in the
hands of a few in their central government.
I heard my colleague say: Socialism is controlling the means of
production. We are not doing that.
Except there is a whole-of-government assault for all the world to
see on an industry, American energy, and it is being replaced with this
Green New Deal--hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies, tax
credits, grants.
If that is not control of the means of production, I don't know what
is.
Universal healthcare: We don't want healthcare in the hands of
doctors and patients. We want it in the hands of bureaucrats. We want
government to control healthcare. Masquerading as an angel of light is
this concentration of power.
Socialism is the road to serfdom, and history is littered with the
failed experiment in central planning. Those countries that have taken
that ruinous road have ruined, destroyed, their country and left their
people in despair.
Our Founding Fathers believed fundamentally this: If we limit the
Federal Government's role in our lives, we will unleash the greatest
potential of free people created in the image of God. They were right.
There has never been a greater force for all of humanity than
freedom. Nothing uplifts the human condition, unlocks the human
potential, unleashes the human spirit like freedom.
Freedom has given every generation of Americans the greatest
opportunities, the highest standard of living, the best quality of life
anywhere on the planet and in the history of the world.
In the prescient words of Ronald Reagan, ``Freedom is never more than
one generation away from extinction. . . . It must be fought for,
protected, and handed on for them to do the same.'' God have mercy on
our country.
If you boil it down, Mr. Speaker, I believe our singular mission in
this Chamber, in our Nation's Capitol, is to fight for our country by
preserving and protecting freedom for the next generation of Americans.
If, like my colleagues say, this is just theater, that decrying
socialism and extolling the virtues and value of freedom is theater,
God give us more Shakespeares. God bless America.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address a Resolution the House is
considering that, and I quote, ``denounces the horrors of socialism.''
In reading the various ``Whereas'' clauses it's pretty clear that the
authors have conflated ``socialism'' with ``totalitarianism.'' Further,
they apparently believe that ``socialism,'' which they have not
defined, is the political philosophy of notorious communist dictators.
For example, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Fidel Castro all described themselves
as communists, not socialists. Why does this resolution ignore that?
Why does it fail to condemn communism?
It's obvious that the purpose of this vote is political in nature.
For the duration of my career (in Congress and before that), I have
been a proud member of the Democratic Party. Not the Socialist Party.
Not the Communist Party. Not the Republican Party. Not affiliated with
any dangerous group or conspiracy theory, including but not limited to
white supremacists or Q-Anon. I oppose and I have, on many occasions,
spoken out strongly when there are anti-democratic atrocities around
the world. I oppose totalitarianism.
Curiously, the resolution doesn't condemn fascism nor condemn Hitler.
Yet by focusing solely on socialism and conflating socialism with
communism and totalitarianism, H. Con. Res. 9 paints a distorted
picture of the world. A rising tide of violent, anti-democratic forces,
many from the far-right, also challenge us. Vladimir Putin (who is
suspiciously not mentioned in H. Con. Res. 9) and his war of aggression
in Ukraine, democratic backsliding Hungary and other far-right
governments that commit human rights abuses and threaten democracy are
weirdly given a pass by the authors. Sadly, the United States is not
exempt from the growing threat of far-right extremism. From drastically
increased rates of hate crimes to the violent attempt to overthrow the
government on January 6, 2021, our society and democracy are threatened
by growing extremism and violence of the far-right.
Some Republicans have called public education socialism, Social
Security and Medicare socialism. I don't agree that these basic
programs, loved by Americans, are socialism.
This Resolution does not address the challenges we face today.
American families want solutions and policies that will help the
middle-class, grow our economy, and protect our democracy--not empty
political gestures. Take, for example, the ongoing crisis in Venezuela.
Mr. Speaker, it seems the current Majority would rather score cheap
political points than pass actual policies to address challenges
involving Venezuela. I would know. In 2019, while I condemned the
Venezuelan regime on the Floor, I was simultaneously advocating to
designate TPS for Venezuela so those Venezuelans in America would not
be forcibly sent back to that oppressive communist regime. I bring up
this example because it highlights how Democrats in recent
congressional sessions focused on how we could help people--not accuse
people. We need to provide results instead of rhetoric. I strongly urge
my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to focus less on
``gotcha'' Resolutions and more on measures that actually accomplish
something.
This resolution, if passed, does absolutely nothing.
Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H. Con. Res. 9,
Denouncing the horrors of socialism.
Mr. Speaker, let's be clear about what this resolution is. A complete
waste of time. This resolution is not about Stalin. It is not about
Mao. It is not about Castro. It is not even about condemning the human
rights abuses that many communist dictators throughout history have
committed. Instead, the Republican majority has thrown together a
poorly written, ill-conceived resolution so sloppy that it condemns
socialism in all its forms. That includes important allies and friends
of the United States that have mainstream socialist political parties
like Albania, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Luxembourg,
Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Romania,
Slovakia, Spain, and Sweden. With this resolution, House Republicans
are sending a message to these nations that we condemn the domestic
political process within their nations. That is outrageous.
At a time of crisis for the world when Vladimir Putin is waging the
largest war in Europe
[[Page H643]]
in over seventy years, Congress should be working to strengthen the
relationships with our fellow democracies, not passing poorly written
messaging bills that will alienate our friends and allies. As Ranking
Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, I know just
how crucial it is to maintain relationships with our NATO allies. This
weekend I will join the Minnesota National Guard in celebrating the
50th anniversary of the Norwegian Reciprocal Troop Exchange--the
longest-running military partnership between 2 nations. Make no
mistake, this resolution is not just an insult to the Norwegian
government, but an insult to the Norwegian Home Guard and Norwegian
Armed Forces who sacrifice to defend their nation from the Russian
threat.
The Republican majority was even offered the opportunity to soften
this resolution before bringing it to the floor. House Democrats
offered amendments in the Rules Committee that would clarify the
resolution's intent, including language stating that nothing in the
resolution should be seen to condemn long-time Federal programs like
Medicare, Social Security or VA Healthcare that impact all our
constituencies. Another amendment included language condemning fascism
and the mass murder of 6 million Jewish people by the Nazi regime.
Unfortunately, all these amendments were rejected by Republicans.
Mr. Speaker, it is telling that a month into the 118th Congress,
House Republicans have nothing to offer the American public but to
waste their time with political stunts like this.
Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, today's Resolution, falsely conflating
socialism with communism, is the latest in a long history of Republican
scare tactics about Democrats and socialism.
In 1935, Republican Representative Robert Rich said here in this
chamber, ``Roosevelt is a socialist, not a Democrat.''
In 1946, during the Truman Administration, Republican Senator Robert
Taft called a national health insurance bill ``the most socialistic
measure that this Congress has ever had before it.''
In the 1960 election, Republican Senator Barry Goldwater called the
platform of John F. Kennedy ``a blueprint for socialism.''
In 1964, when Lyndon Johnson passed Medicare, George H.W. Bush called
it ``socialized medicine.''
In 1976, Barry Goldwater claimed that Jimmy Carter would bring about
a ``suicidal slide toward socialism.''
In 1993, Newt Gingrich called the Clinton health care plan
``socialism now or later.''
Barrack Obama was routinely called a socialist, including by three of
the Republican candidates in the 2012 election.
And several Members of this House have called Joe Biden's bipartisan
infrastructure law ``socialist.''
Having reviewed this history, it's clear that this Resolution
denouncing the horrors of ``socialism'' is an attempt by Republicans to
trap Democrats on a vote by tying them to socialism.
I neither admire nor ascribe to socialism, and the merits of this
Resolution are none, in my view. It makes no mention of the real
threats to democracy like Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the
right-wing attack on the Capitol two years ago, and the challenge to
our democracy of the movements of white nationalism, election
denialism, the alt-right, and fascism.
Let's end these cynical debates about socialism and get back to the
work our constituents sent us to Washington to do.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H. Con.
Res. 9--Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism''.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
February 2, 2023, on page H643, in the second column, the
following appeared: Let's end these cynical debates about
socialism and get back to the work our constituents sent us to
Washington to do. Mrs. JACKSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in
opposition to H. Con. Res.--Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism''.
The online version has been corrected to read: Let's end these
cynical debates about socialism and get back to the work our
constituents sent us to Washington to do. Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr.
Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H. Con. Res.--Denouncing
the Horrors of Socialism''.
========================= END NOTE =========================
It is not a logical response to policies that help Americans i.e.
Social Security.
Republicans don't want to take action to raise wages for workers or
reduce costs of living for Americans.
Instead, they are spending valuable floor time on meaningless
resolutions that will do nothing for the American people with the goal
of dividing Democrats with ``gotcha'' votes.
Let's be clear: no matter how Democrats vote on this resolution,
Republicans will not stop condemning Democrats for being
``socialists.''
This resolution will not change that.
The Republicans' resolution ends with a resolve clause that denounces
``socialism in all its forms.''
This is a direct insult to many countries the United States counts
among its allies--including NATO member states Spain, Germany and
Portugal--which are governed by parties or heads of state that identify
as social democratic or socialist.
Many Nordic countries, as well as Canada and New Zealand, have
adopted socialist ideas and policies to various degrees.
The resolution ``opposes the implementation of socialist policies in
the United States of America,'' which Republicans themselves have tied
to the core policy goals of the Democratic Caucus.
This is a bad-faith attempt to smear our agenda and crudely conflate
Western European-style social democracy with antidemocratic,
totalitarian regimes of Stalin and Kim Jong II.
Democrats should not dignify this deeply unserious and blatantly
disingenuous effort and politicalized stunt.
Throughout history, every effort by Democrats to advance a fairer
society for working people has been attacked as ``socialism,'' from the
New Deal to the advent of Medicare.
Libraries, K-12 public education and the Postal Service could also
fit within Republicans' denunciation of ``socialism in all of its
forms,'' and would be painted as ``fundamentally and necessarily
opposed'' to the foundation of the United States according to this
resolution.
Republicans still routinely brand wildly popular policies that
Democrats advance as ``socialism,'' ``collectivism,'' and ``anti-
American,'' including the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion,
lowering prescription drug prices, expanded Social Security, tax
fairness for the wealthy and large corporations, a $15 minimum wage,
and climate action.
The ``-ism'' that the House should be condemning is
authoritarianism--but Republicans are too busy worshiping at the altar
of Donald Trump, who called for the ``termination'' of the
Constitution, to do that.
This resolution is nothing but a shallow attempt by Republicans to
distract the American people from their own far-right, authoritarian
leanings, complicity in the January 6 insurrection, and coziness with
white supremacy and antisemitism.
Republicans are showing us who they are: by gutting Social Security
and Medicare and protecting billionaire power.
The American people know that the ``threat'' of socialism is not
real. Real threats to America include an insurrection against our
democracy and attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election,
abetted by House Republicans, as well as economic hostage-taking with
the risk of triggering a recession by letting America default on its
financial obligations.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 83, the
previous question is ordered on the concurrent resolution and the
preamble.
The question is on the adoption of the concurrent resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
____________________