[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 203 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H6745-H6746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THERE IS STILL TIME TO ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Nickel) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NICKEL. Mr. Speaker, Harry Truman famously labeled the 80th 
United States Congress the ``do-nothing Congress.''
  Back then, Republicans controlled the House and Senate for the first 
time in a while, while Truman was in the White House.
  Congress opposed all of Truman's Fair Deal bills but still saw some 
work on both the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. They also 
passed the Taft-Hartley Act over Truman's veto but generally did very 
little for the American people.
  After that do-nothing Congress, Democrats were able to take back the 
House, take back the Senate, and reelect President Truman. I, of 
course, think of the famous photo of Truman standing with the newspaper 
that says: ``Dewey Defeats Truman.''
  It turns out the American people like having a Congress working to 
solve problems. This is a job about results, and that Congress did very 
little.
  That is a big reason why voters chose to send the Republican majority 
in the House and Senate packing back then. Now, we are in the 118th 
Congress, and we are on track to be one of the least productive 
Congresses in our Nation's history.

[[Page H6746]]

  Mr. Speaker, 22 bills have been signed into law. At about this point 
in the last Congress, 81 bills had been signed into law. At this point 
in the 116th Congress, the Congress just before that, 107 bills had 
been signed into law.
  Mr. Speaker, what have we accomplished for the American people? I 
will tell you what: Virtually nothing.
  We have just 4 legislative days left this year, and we have very 
little to show for it. We have passed two CRs and raised the debt 
ceiling, but that is really about it.
  To this date, we have been defined by the chaos and confusion in the 
Republican Congress and the 19 votes for the Speaker of the House so 
far this year. We are truly the do-nothing Congress.
  We haven't passed funding for Israel or Ukraine. We haven't passed a 
farm bill or reauthorized the FAA. Border security and immigration 
reform are top-of-mind issues that need to be resolved. Yet, we will be 
facing another government shutdown when we come back in January.
  Mr. Speaker, the clock is ticking, and the American people are 
counting on us to do what we were sent here to do--to vote, to get 
things done. The world is at a critical juncture, and our inaction 
speaks volumes.
  In Ukraine, we have heard from our diplomatic and defense leaders 
about the precarious situation in Ukraine and in Israel. Right now, we 
risk Ukraine literally running out of bullets. If we do nothing by the 
end of the year, Vladimir Putin will win.
  The silence in this Chamber is easily mistaken around the world as 
support for Moscow, and we cannot let that happen.
  The majority of the Republican Conference, I believe, supports 
standing with Ukraine, but the vocal minority in the Republican 
Conference has been able to block all action so far this year. It is 
the tail wagging the dog, and it is disgraceful.
  Let's talk about the cost. If we gift wrap Ukraine for Vladimir Putin 
this holiday season, we will spend 100 times more money down the road 
containing an aggressive Russia all over the world.
  This is a national security issue for the American people. Support 
for Ukraine is in our national interest.
  Let's talk about Israel. Like Russia, Hamas poses an existential 
threat to democracy. It is our duty to firmly stand with our democratic 
allies.
  The majority of the Members of this Chamber support a clean security 
and humanitarian aid package to Israel, yet nothing has happened. It is 
shameful that our new Speaker has chosen to play partisan political 
games with support for Israel.
  Listen, Mr. Speaker. Something has got to give in this Congress. 
Democrats have a narrow majority in the Senate; Republicans have a very 
narrow--soon to be even more narrow--majority in the House; and 
Democrats have the White House. We have to work together if we are 
going to get anything done. Until the Republican Conference begins to 
understand that, we will continue to accomplish nothing for the 
American people.
  I believe we can work together. I believe we can pass a bill to 
support Israel and Ukraine, strengthen our southern border, and pass 
immigration reform, but only if we do it together.
  That is the challenge we have, Mr. Speaker. There is still time to 
act. There is still time to vote. There is still time to come back next 
week to pass support for Israel and Ukraine. We need to do it. We need 
to get things done. We do not want to be defined as the do-nothing 
Congress.
  I am here to get to work, and I encourage all of my colleagues to 
join me in reaching across the aisle and working together to get these 
things done.

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