[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H1764-H1767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE FIRST 100 DAYS
(Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Moore
of Utah was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority
leader.)
General Leave
Mr. MOORE of Utah. 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 on the topic of this Special
Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, again, yesterday marked 100 days
since President Trump took office for the second time. It has been a
whirlwind 100 days, to say the least, as his administration has taken
swift action to reverse many of the Biden-era policies that I believe
brought major challenges to American businesses and families.
From bringing the southwest border crossings to their lowest in
history to ushering in critical private investments to our communities
and boosting job growth, the Trump administration has wasted no time in
reversing many of the wrongs of the last 4 years.
We have much to celebrate and highlight this evening. I appreciate my
colleagues for taking time to reflect on these past 100 days and how
House Republicans are joining the administration to implement a
progrowth, profamily, conservative agenda that will deliver for
Americans across the country.
I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose).
Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Vice Chairman Moore for yielding and
for claiming this time to highlight the many accomplishments of the
Trump administration during the first 100 days.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of tens of thousands of
Tennesseans I represent to express appreciation to President Trump and
his administration on their bold action over the last 100 days.
After 4 years of unprecedented illegal immigration under President
Biden, our borders are finally under control. After 4 years of deficit
spending, we are grateful to have a Chief Executive who is willing to
cut waste, fraud, and abuse on behalf of the American taxpayer. Indeed,
what we have witnessed over the last 100 days is a real master class in
the art of following through.
If elected again, President Trump said he would put a stop to men
competing in women's sports. He did.
He said he would end divisive and anti-American DEI policies in
schools across the country. He did that, too.
The President told us that this country would once again be respected
on the world stage. Mr. Speaker, it is clear he has delivered on that
promise, as well.
There are many, many wins I could point to. Just last month, 228,000
new jobs were added to the U.S. economy. Prices fell for the first time
since May 2020. The Border Patrol reported a 94 percent drop in illegal
immigrant encounters at our southern border compared to the same month
last year under Joe Biden.
It is noteworthy, Mr. Speaker, that the only thing the President
needed to accomplish this was leadership. We heard the last
administration claim time and time again that Congress would need to
pass legislation to secure the border. We heard a blank check would end
the unprecedented illegal immigration happening at our southern border.
Yet, last month, President Trump's Border Patrol reported only 7,181
illegal crossings compared to 137,473 similar crossings during the same
month in 2024. All of that without Congress lifting a finger. It is
clear that the accomplishment was because of the clear leadership of
President Donald J. Trump.
In Tennessee specifically, President Trump's tariffs and economic
policies have brought about millions of dollars in new investment and
countless new jobs. Cra-Z-Art is moving manufacturing equipment from
Asia back to the United States to expand operations in Lewisburg,
Tennessee. Charms, the maker of Blow Pops and other candy, has planned
a nearly $100 million expansion of its Covington, Tennessee, plant.
Schneider Electric has announced plans to expand their footprint in
middle Tennessee in the coming months.
Thanks to President Trump, gas prices are down and optimism is up.
Candidly, this White House has been able to accomplish more positive
results in 14 weeks than the last administration did in 4 years, and
President Trump has just gotten started.
I look forward to working with my fellow House Republicans to codify
many of the President's executive actions into law. I am confident we
will
[[Page H1765]]
pass a reconciliation bill that gets large parts of the President's
vision for restoring the greatness of America across the finish line.
{time} 1830
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee.
I always appreciate his consistent voice and willingness to support
Special Order hour.
Again, there are many wins to focus on, and I can't emphasize this
enough. President Trump was overwhelmingly elected in November to fix
the border. I don't understand why Democrats couldn't see the horrific
approach that they had to it.
It doesn't make any sense to me why they let that get as bad as it
was, when it was fixable. We have seen the lowest numbers in history.
It is common sense. I appreciate the focus on that one fundamental
issue. Again, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of
California (Mr. LaMalfa).
Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore)
for leading us here tonight.
Picking up on what he said, we are in the first 100 days of a new
administration. I have to harken back just 101 or more days ago to what
had been going on the last 4 years.
The first thing that comes to mind is the border situation. As my
colleague was saying, how does that make a lick of sense with what was
going on there? We are allowed and supposed to have a sovereign border
if we are going to confine ourselves to the country. In the days
previous and in the formation of this country, for people to immigrate
here, they had to bring a skill. They had to bring sponsorship. They
needed to bring something that added to the growth of America.
That wasn't seen at the time as racist or hateful or anything else.
People from all backgrounds and from pretty much any continent were
coming over here and being part of that. We had immigration laws that
made sense. We really have never lost our immigration laws. They
weren't being enforced a lot in the last 20-plus years or so.
When we talk about common sense, it just went out the window on that
issue for a long time. We are gaining it back. We have seen that the
illegal border crossings, by and large, across the country have dropped
by 95 percent under President Trump. We knew that is what we were going
to get, and that is what voters asked for.
It didn't take a bunch of new, comprehensive immigration laws to do
that. It took enforcing the laws we had on the books. It took enforcing
and having the will to say: No, we are not going to do this anymore.
Guess what? We are still pro-immigrant. It just means legal
immigration. It means following our rules. It means coming through the
ports of entry and applying under the various ways one would apply for
particular visas--student visas, tourist visas, work visas. Apply and
ask for permission.
We lock our cars when we park in this town. We lock the front door on
our houses when we leave. We are allowed to have gates on the entry to
this country. I say gates with well-oiled hinges. Somebody staffing
them will then say if an immigrant has his papers, come on in. If he
doesn't have his papers, he has to go back and apply. There is a
process for that.
Why is that so tough? When I see interviews on TV, talking with
President Trump or Tom Homan or anybody, the interviewers just don't
seem to grasp that--well, so you are against immigration, you are
against people coming across. No, it is legal immigration. Follow the
legal process. What is so tough to grasp about that? It just amazes me
how that isn't mentioned. It is the duplicitous of the media and
sometimes the interviewers on that, they are just not able to quite
connect those dots.
When we talk about the 95 percent, we also note that the number of
got-aways, the individuals who intentionally avoid detection, pose some
of the greatest dangers. The number of got-aways is also down by 99
percent.
We have seen lately the reporters down on the border can't find a
single illegal immigrant coming across these times. Indeed, we have
seen some dramatically good results. The catch and release is over.
Since taking office, President Trump has deported more than 139,000
illegal immigrants. We hear a lot of caterwauling about that. Oh, the
humanity. It is horrific. Well, he hasn't done the most yet. Under
President Obama, the numbers are probably triple of that only because
different Presidents and different parties actually--look at the floor
speech or the State of the Union speech, you can go back and listen to
President Clinton talk about that years ago. Hillary Clinton has talked
about it back before something changed politically and they completely
switched on that.
We have had bipartisan support for border control. Go back to 1986,
when a deal was struck with Ronald Reagan, the Democrats, and Tip
O'Neill and the gang. He allowed for amnesty. It is the ``A'' word now.
There is a distrust around striking additional deals like that.
Reagan said, okay, we will give amnesty to the ones that are here--
back in 1986, it was a much smaller number than we now have here
illegally--in order to have strong Border Patrol and Border Patrol
infrastructure put in place. A stronger fence and all that.
Well, that wasn't fulfilled. We never really got the whole border
barrier we needed in order to make it much simpler and easier for our
personnel down there to be able to do their job. President Trump is
backing that up by having a barrier. Is it perfect? No, Mr. Speaker, no
thing is going to be perfect because you build a better mousetrap and
somebody finds a way around it. At least it deters the massive tide.
Is it symbolic? Is it actually a good barrier? It is probably both.
It also shows that the U.S. is determined to enforce its border and
that that alone is going to deter people. They are not going to try it
now because President Biden isn't waving everyone in and giving them a
free T-shirt.
When we see that 150,000 illegals have been arrested, many of them
gang members, we have success. Violent gangs, like MS-13, have been
designated as foreign terrorist organizations. Hallelujah, it is time.
What do we see in the news lately? Some of our Democrat colleagues
are bending over backwards to go to El Salvador to bring a guy home.
How about half of that effort being expended over the Israeli hostages
over there after the horrific Hamas attacks back on October 7 of the
previous year?
President Trump has taken these measures. Gang leaders operating in
Virginia, Florida, and New York are now in custody and off the streets.
President Trump shut down the Biden-Harris migrant app which had
served as a fast pass into the country. Why would we develop an app to
make it easier to come into the country illegally?
President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportation
and dismantle criminal networks operating on U.S. soil. That is a
useful tool that the left is trying to throw out. Hopefully, it will
succeed in tests in the court.
Construction of the border wall resumed. More than 85 new miles of
barrier are already in place. There is still a lot to do, but at least
we can keep it funded and get the job done and aid our border
personnel.
Taxpayer-funded goodies for illegal immigrants--luxury hotel stays,
food stamps, special college funds--at least at the Federal level--have
been eliminated. California is still giving that away as fast as they
can. We have a Medi-Cal handout of $9.5 billion to illegal immigrants
in the State of California. We are going to hear caterwauling there on
some of the other things for cost-cutting measures being done here
federally. California could take a long leap towards that just by not
funding illegal immigrant activity.
Sanctuary cities are finally being held accountable, as they should.
President Trump has taken legal action and moved to cut off Federal
support for jurisdictions who refuse to cooperate with immigration
enforcement. Why would they not cooperate with Federal law? It is a
violation of Federal law. I see more and more local municipalities
pushing back against State mandates on this. I commend them for doing
so.
Some of my northern California counties have done it. The city of
Oroville did it. Siskiyou County has done it. Others have and others
will continue to do so.
[[Page H1766]]
What it has done is helped to deliver justice. We passed the Laken
Riley Act. It is now law. It even got bipartisan support at the end. It
is a powerful reminder that this administration will never forget those
whose lives were taken by illegal immigrant crime.
This is real leadership. These are promises made. These are promises
kept. President Trump is helping to get that done for all of us. For
those of us who have been here a lot longer and have battled on this
issue, we are seeing common sense applied to our border and so many
other things as a result of President Trump's leadership and
partnership with the House and the Senate.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California
for his voice and participation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of
Tennessee (Mr. Burchett).
Mr. BURCHETT. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to congratulate
President Trump on a successful first 100 days in office.
Under President' Trumps leadership, he has successfully closed the
southern border. For the past 4 years, our country has been invaded by
illegal aliens, many of whom are on the terrorist watch list, members
of the Taliban, members of the Chinese Communist Party, not to mention
MS-13, gangbangers, human traffickers, and fentanyl distributors. They
have also trafficked over 300,000 children, and who knows what hell
those young people are in right now because of our callousness.
That has not happened under this President, though. Under President
Trump's leadership, the border is now completely shut down. That means
safer streets, safer schools, and safer communities, Mr. Speaker.
In my own community, some dear friends of mine, the Corcoran family,
lost their dear son at the hands of an illegal. I see them and talk to
them on a regular basis, I don't know anything that could ease their
hurt except prayer.
However, as we now pass the 100 days since President Trump has taken
office, it is time for us to do our jobs and codify these executive
actions that he has taken to make America great again. If Republicans
are serious about backing the President's agenda, let's do something
about it, dadgummit.
That means making sweeping reforms that may actually involve some
sacrifice, like passing a bill that I have--a shameless plug--End
Congressional Stock Trading Act, which would level the playing field
and help restore America's faith in Congress once again.
There is no reason in the world, Mr. Speaker, that we are
individually trading stocks. Everybody ought to do like I do and have
my buddy, Tommy Seiler, manage my portfolio of $11,000. I do not trade
any individual stocks. It is all a mutual fund.
President Trump said if Congress passed a bill banning stock trading
for Members of this body, he would sign it. I say let's give him that
opportunity. Let's first see if Congress has the guts to stand up and
do what is right. I sure as heck know that is what I will do.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Bean), our final, last but not least, speaker. With his energy
level that he always brings to this place, you will understand why he
is clearly not the least.
Mr. BEAN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, is it true President Trump has done more in 100 days
than the previous President has done in 4 years?
Mr. Speaker, I have only got 60 seconds, but let's break it all down:
border closed; mass deportation of illegal immigrants; fentanyl
smuggling dropping; Laken Riley Act signed into law; inflation cooling;
egg prices down; gas prices falling; astronauts back home; 11 American
hostages freed; reducing the Federal bureaucracy, saving taxpayers
billions of dollars and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse; reversing
the anti-crypto crusade; unleashing American energy; the green new scam
terminated; EV mandates eliminated; revoked DEI policies in the
military and government; affirming there are only two genders; no more
men playing in women's sports; restoring America's leadership on the
world stage; rebuilding our military; military recruitment up;
defending religious liberty; sending gang members back to their own
home countries; standing up for American workers; adding 345,000 new
jobs; securing billions of dollars in new investments in the United
States.
The golden age of American prosperity is indeed here. As exciting as
the first 100 days of President Trump have been, it is clear President
Trump is just getting started.
{time} 1845
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Florida never
disappoints, and I thank him for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I will briefly close with some of the comments I have
made before.
President Trump in November, along with congressional majorities--the
House majority stayed in Republican control. The Senate majority
flipped to Republican. It was a clear show that we wanted to move past
some of the policies that have been implemented, or not implemented,
from the previous administration. I am proud as we look out at his
first 100 days.
Again, to reiterate what has taken place with our southern border,
enforcing very commonsense laws such as making sure that our parole
authority is properly done, ending catch and release, and re-
implementing the remain in Mexico policy. I think this gets missed from
the conversation quite a bit. It is actually some of the most humane
things we can do.
I still remember the 30-plus immigrants who were basically killed in
the back of that truck in the San Antonio area. The only reason that
that type of thing happens is because the cartels don't care for human
life. The cartels that were running the border over the last 4 years do
not care about the plight of an immigrant searching for a better life
and a unique work opportunity.
They sell them a bill of goods. They literally sell them that bill of
goods by making them pay thousands of dollars in the hope that once
they get them across the border, then everything will be great for
them. Then, they get stuck in a legal system that doesn't benefit them.
The most humane way to do it is to re-implement things like the
remain in Mexico policy. The point I had always tried to continue to
make was that a simple policy change would actually reduce border
crossings significantly. When we do that, we take away the power that
the cartels have. When the cartels are in power, human beings suffer.
There is no other way to look at it.
Customs and Border Protection data from earlier this month show that
Southwest border crossings are the lowest they have been in recorded
history.
Think about that, Mr. Speaker. By the numbers, there were over 7,000
Southwest border crossings in March. That is still a high number, but
over the last 4 years, the monthly average was over 150,000. It is
astonishing.
This is something that has been delivered. I would appreciate any
opportunity to codify this into law. I do not like ruling by executive
order all the time. This is stuff we need to codify.
I hope that we can learn from the good experience with the Laken
Riley Act and how our functioning Republic is supposed to work to get a
piece of legislation done. This one had good, strong bipartisan
support. The President signed it.
I know there is more that we could be doing on that so we don't have
this constant back and forth in the future of our country. We have to
get some predictability with this type of policy. Predictability is
incredibly important, as well.
As I look ahead past the 101st days, I look ahead to one of the most
important things to accomplish going forward, and that is a
reconciliation piece of legislation. This discussion that has been very
prominent here in the beltway is the talk of reconciliation. To put it
in plain terms, this is just making sure that, at the end of this year,
American families don't pay a significant increase in taxes.
In 2017, there was major tax reform done, and I think if you were to
take a look at the specific elements of that bill, Mr. Speaker, you
would find excitement and broad support for almost all of it.
The Republicans in 2017 doubled the standard deduction. Who does the
[[Page H1767]]
standard deduction support, and who does it help? It helps lower- and
middle-income Americans, plain and simple. It increased the number of
people who took the standard deduction and gave them the best tax
benefit. It is the wealthy folks who itemize, for the most part. Right
there, we are already targeting middle- and lower-income Americans.
The second piece is doubling the child tax credit. In 2017,
Republicans doubled the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000. That is
something that has been incredibly bipartisan. Democrats, in their own
version of reconciliation, have enhanced that, as well.
I lead the Family First Act, which is another enhancement of the
child tax credit, and I am looking forward to, hopefully, getting that
passed through. That is another key win.
There are numerous business provisions that help. Real wage growth,
economic activity, and strong GDP growth are helping.
Mr. Speaker, any time you have the White House, the House, and the
Senate under one party, then people get a little bit chippy. They get a
little bit partisan as we try to get significant pieces of legislation
through. It is not going to be any different this time.
That was the case in 2017. I wasn't here then, but as I was sort of
watching from the sidelines on these types of things, I get it.
Then, in 2021, the Democrats had the White House, the House, and the
Senate. They did the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction
Act, and they tried to do Build Back Better. Those were incredibly
partisan approaches, which I firmly disagreed with, but that was the
piece that took place at the time.
We have an opportunity going forward for these next few months to be
able to deliver on something that is very important to every American
family, and that is making sure that they have consistency in the tax
code so there is not going to be a massive tax increase on American
families next year. It is something I am proud to be working on, and I
hope that we can celebrate it as a key piece of success as we look past
this first 100 days of the administration. We are 4 months into our
119th Congress, and this is going to be a key piece.
Democrats will say over and over again that this is just a tax break
for the billionaires. Mr. Speaker, when you cap SALT like the
Republicans did, that only hurts wealthier folks. I hate to bring them
that news. I believe it was Bernie Sanders who was criticized by The
Washington Post--again, The Washington Post--by giving three or four
Pinocchios when they say that these tax breaks that Republicans do just
go to benefit the wealthy. That is The Washington Post saying to call
it as it is. These are Pinocchios. These are complete lies that the tax
policies that Republicans put forth actually strengthen and target the
middle- and lower-income Americans.
We will say that over and over again. Unfortunately, my Democratic
colleagues will say this is just going to benefit the billionaires.
I hope that, deep down, they would come to some realization that that
is just a lie. Their own media is saying that it is just a lie. It is
just one of those things that exist back here, and we are probably
going to be dealing with that a lot for the next few months. The
reality is this is good, strong tax policy that is going to benefit
American families and workers.
In addition to some of the successes we have had over the last few
months, this is something we have to be able to lock in and accomplish.
I look forward to being a key part of that as we move forward.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________