[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 17, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H4371-H4372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1040
                         WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER

  (Mr. Mann of Kansas was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today still in shock and saddened at 
the political assassination of Charlie Kirk. There is no place for 
political violence in our country, and it is antithetical to who we are 
as Americans.
  The beauty of our Nation and the First Amendment is that anyone from 
anywhere has the right to express their beliefs, engage in dialogue, 
and disagree peacefully. That is the heart of our democracy. We need to 
get back to embracing that dialogue.
  Charlie often said that when we stop talking, that is when violence 
happens. I don't want to live in a society where we don't talk to 
people we disagree with and resort to violence. Leadership is never 
easy, but it falls on us to lead the way by carrying on the mission 
that Charlie lived for of open debate in a free society in the greatest 
nation that the world has ever known.
  When al-Qaida terrorists attacked our Nation 24 years ago, they had 
one goal--to destroy America. They didn't see us as Democrats or 
Republicans, red States or blue States. They just saw Americans, one 
nation under God, and their goal was to destroy us. When we lose sight 
of seeing the humanity in our fellow Americans who think differently 
than us and convince ourselves they are the enemy instead of our 
neighbor, we are feeding into the very thing our adversaries want, and 
destroy our great country from within. We are better than this.
  America is the greatest country in the world. All 340 million of us 
have different perspectives, values, and beliefs. I can't count how 
many issues I disagree with my colleagues across the aisle on, yet we 
know we can disagree without turning to violence. Charlie Kirk was an 
example of this. He did things the right way, having healthy debates 
with people who saw differently than him and sparking a movement that 
transformed an entire generation. Charlie believed in the promise of 
America, and his life's work

[[Page H4372]]

was making sure we lived up to that promise.
  Audrey and I continue to pray for Charlie's wife, Erika, who has two 
beautiful young children, and his family, friends, and supporters. Last 
week, President Trump invited the Nation to commit to praying for the 
country for 1 hour a week ahead of our 250th birthday. I would 
encourage us to accept that challenge. It is hard to hate someone when 
you pray with them and for them regularly.
  One of the greatest blessings of this job is that I get to know and 
spend time with Kansans all across the Big First District, and because 
of that, I know that we are better than this. America is still the 
greatest country in the world, and I am hopeful that we will all take 
the opportunity to follow Charlie's example by engaging on the issues 
with our neighbors and living up to the promise of our great country.


                        Return to Regular Order

  Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, today our national debt stands at $37 
trillion. For years, elected officials from both sides of the aisle 
have come to Washington ringing the alarm on our national debt, and 
rightly so. The only problem is, often they get to the Nation's 
Capital, and there is little to no appetite to make hard decisions to 
get our spending in check.
  At the start of President Trump's historic second term earlier this 
year, he did the unthinkable. He paused Federal spending, went line by 
line through the Federal budget, and seriously evaluated how we are 
spending our tax dollars. For some people in this town, it was 
heartburn. However, Mr. Speaker, Kansans in the Big First District 
welcomed this fiscal sanity.
  The reality is, our national debt is unsustainable. If every single 
household was to contribute and bring our debt to zero, we would each 
be responsible for $289,000. Consider that the average mortgage in 
America is about $245,000. No one in this body would allow a loved one 
to make continuously poor financial decisions like this. Why do we do 
it with our government?
  House Republicans have been clear that we would like to return to 
regular order, pass 12 individual appropriations bills, and get our 
spending under control. Despite this reality, the consensus among too 
many in Washington is that they would rather see President Trump fail 
than work together to fund the government responsibly. It is 
frustrating, and rather than coming to the table to work together, they 
prefer to grandstand to try to score some political points.
  We are better than this, Mr. Speaker. I urge my Democratic colleagues 
to come to the table, return to regular order, and let's get our fiscal 
house back in order.

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