[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11465-11470]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1945
     FAILURE TO GOVERN: THE FIRST 6 MONTHS UNDER REPUBLICAN CONTROL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2017, the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett) 
is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include any extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today 
to anchor the CBC Special Order hour.
  For the next 60 minutes, we have a chance to speak directly to the 
American people on issues of great importance to the Congressional 
Black Caucus, Congress, the constituents we represent, and all 
Americans.
  Led by our chair, Cedric Richmond from Louisiana, it is our duty, we 
feel, as the conscience of the Congress, to speak to all people in this 
hour on the issues that we deem are important and that our constituents 
have told us are important.
  For this Special Order hour, we will spend this time to talk about 
Failure to Govern: The First 6 Months Under Republican Control.
  President Trump's first 6 months have been defined by his often angry 
and personal tweets, his efforts to denigrate and undercut the multiple 
investigations into Russian influence in the 2016 election, and most 
importantly, the stalemated legislative battle to repeal and replace 
ObamaCare.
  President Trump has signed dozens of executive actions and 
Presidential proclamations. Some have fared better than others. His 
travel ban plan, for instance, first caused chaos and was effectively 
shut down by a series of legal challenges. But the second effort, which 
also faced a flurry of lawsuits, was ultimately allowed to take effect 
on a limited basis by the Supreme Court.
  In all, our President has signed 42 bills into law. But when it comes 
to big ticket items, like infrastructure, tax reform, and a repeal and/
or replacement of ObamaCare, President Trump is sitting on zero. With 
healthcare seemingly on ice, tax reform is expected to be the big 
challenge next on our agenda.
  Budgets are about priorities, and this President's priorities are 
clear. His budget hollows out our economy, endangers working families 
all across this country, in my district of the Virgin Islands, and the 
other districts that we all represent.
  The $2.5 trillion in cuts to entitlement programs, which include $192 
billion to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise 
known as SNAP, and the $800 billion to Medicaid, will devastate 
localities like the Virgin Islands and elsewhere, where one in five 
children are covered under Medicaid and one-fifth of our population 
receives SNAP benefits.
  The President has a budget with massive cuts that would shred social 
safety nets and cripple longstanding governmental functions. This 
administration has created uncertainty in the Nation's healthcare 
system by sending inconsistent administrative signals and supporting 
legislation that could deprive millions of people of health insurance 
coverage, undermine Medicaid health support for low-income Americans, 
and give wealthy taxpayers a massive tax cut.
  He has mismanaged the Federal Government by failing to fill top 
spots. He has expanded the policy of deporting dangerous and illegal 
aliens by including many people with minimal records, stable jobs, and 
American families.
  Most recently, we saw this with the Secretary of Homeland Security 
ordering the 50,000-plus Haitians here under protective status, due to 
the devastating natural disasters in Haiti, to leave. These are decent, 
hardworking people who are sending money back home, supporting an 
economy which is faltering under collapse.
  We have seen a reversal of decades of bipartisan cooperation in 
extending environmental preservation of national landmarks. He has 
hired foxes to watch the chicken coops by filling his administration 
with arch-conservatives, many with records opposing the very agencies 
with which they work, and curbing civil rights and environmental 
enforcement.
  All of these things we have seen in these first 6 months, and we will 
hear more.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), to 
speak on behalf of what we have seen in these last 6 months.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, let me first thank the gentlewoman from the 
Virgin Islands, who has demonstrated great leadership in leading these 
CBC Special Order hours. It is not an easy task, but she has done 
remarkable work in terms of finding topics that are important to our 
communities and our Nation.
  As the gentlewoman stated, Mr. Speaker, this month we marked 6 months 
of the Trump Presidency and 6 months of congressional Republican 
inaction.
  Republicans made promise after promise to the American people. The 
President called himself the ultimate dealmaker. I wonder if we are 
witnessing the first Manchurian President. Instead of the promise of 
jobs, infrastructure, and a new and improved healthcare plan, we get 
chaos and seemingly never-ending controversies.
  Where is the Republican agenda? Where are their accomplishments? 
Where are all those wins?
  Let's take a look at the numbers. President Trump has a job approval 
rating of 36 percent, the lowest of any President ever at this point in 
their Presidency. Republicans can point to zero legislative 
accomplishments. The President has no plan to lower healthcare costs, 
no jobs bills, no infrastructure bills, no tax reform, and no clean 
budget. These simply are the facts.
  Instead of doing what is right for the American people, it appears 
that Republicans are more occupied with taking away healthcare from 
millions of our constituents to give tax cuts to the wealthy, or 
defending the administration's most recent controversy.

[[Page 11466]]

  This week, we will vote on a dishonest security spending package that 
will force American taxpayers to pay for the President's border wall. 
Who is going to pay for it? It looks like the American people.
  During his campaign and the rhetoric that we heard up until this 
point, Mexico was going to pay for the wall. Now, here we are, with our 
Republican colleagues supporting an effort that says that the American 
people will pay for the wall. Well, we will get the money from Mexico 
later. Yeah, all right.
  As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, I am alarmed by 
President Trump's and the congressional Republicans' determination to 
further break down our alliances and ignorance of matters related to 
the security of this Nation.
  Instead of funding the border wall, we should focus on building 
strong transportation and infrastructure systems that will create good-
paying jobs and lay a foundation for a strong economy. Instead, we are 
weakening America. Let's build America with a strong infrastructure 
bill and adequate training and apprenticeship programs that will 
benefit our constituents.
  Make it in America is something I heard last week, which sounds 
magnificent, if we could do it. But if you are going to be the leader 
of this country and make such pronouncements, you have to live by what 
you are talking about.
  Make it in America is to strive to make sure that we do everything in 
America. We hear of two buildings Trump erected in Chicago that used 
Chinese steel or steel from outside the United States. If you look at 
his ties, his shirts, his suits, the soap in his hotels, nothing is 
made in America. Who are we trying to kid with this? There is nothing.
  Maybe his daughter. Well, no, her shoes aren't made in America. Her 
dresses are not made in America. Who are we kidding? Who are we 
fooling?
  The American people have to open their eyes and see the sham that is 
going on. How this President says one thing and does absolutely the 
opposite is an atrocity. Make it in America? He stood up there in front 
of the American people and said that, with the suit, shirt, and tie 
that he had on? Absolutely unconscionable.
  Where are the jobs? I am going to be the best job creator you have 
ever seen. When? You are going to win so much, you are going to get 
tired of winning. When? The American people deserve better.
  The American people deserve better than a Congress that cares more 
about pushing an agenda that puts wealthcare in front of healthcare. 
The American people deserve better than a Congress that will pass 
legislation that will harm our environment, contaminate our air, and 
pollute our waterways.
  The American people deserve better than a Congress that continues to 
ignore important issues that disproportionately affect African-American 
communities, such as criminal justice reform, gun violence prevention, 
and voting rights.
  While this administration and congressional Republicans turn their 
backs on the American workers, we will continue to demand real action 
to create jobs, raise wages, and create a brighter future for American 
families.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, when the gentleman was talking about what 
has happened in these last 6 months, it reminded me of when the 
chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Cedric Richmond, on March 
22 went with the executive members to visit with the President to speak 
with him specifically about those things that African Americans and the 
people who we represent--the 17 million African Americans and the 20-
plus million Americans that members of the Congressional Black Caucus 
represent--to outline for him in a very succinct and systematic manner 
those issues that are important to us.
  You mentioned criminal justice reform. You talked about expansion of 
voting rights, jobs creation, support to small businesses, 
infrastructure. These are the things that the President said he was 
interested in.
  These are the things that the Congressional Black Caucus said: We are 
willing to work with you. We have an agenda. We have specific language, 
specific legislation that we would like to have a discussion with you. 
And not a photo op, but really to sit down around a table and discuss 
actual legislation and how we can be supportive of an agenda that 
supports the people we represent.
  And what have we gotten out of that? Zero to date, 6 months in.
  Mr. PAYNE. Will the gentlewoman yield?
  Ms. PLASKETT. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, to the gentlewoman's point, I believe there 
was a document that was created to give to the President on those 
issues, and we are still waiting to hear back from the administration 
in reference to anything that was in that document.
  We don't need photo ops. We don't need to go to the White House and 
be trucked up there and lollygag and use us for whatever they deem 
proper for them. We need help for the American people. We need an 
administration that is going to look at these issues, be serious about 
them, and continue to move this country forward, as it was in the 
previous 8 years.

                              {time}  2000

  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Evans), the freshman who is not a freshman, who represents 
Philadelphia, who has been a legislator for many years and comes here. 
He is so thoughtful. He is very quiet just like yourself, Mr. Payne, 
and he sits back and is really more observant but is ready to do the 
work.
  He is about policy, is discussing--on a regular basis I hear him 
talking about middle communities, middle America, those communities 
that are on the edge. There are places in Newark, New Jersey, and other 
places that you represent, in neighborhoods in my own district in the 
Virgin Islands where working class, hard working class people are there 
but they are on the edge of losing those homes, losing their health 
insurance, neighborhoods which they have worked so hard over 20, 30 
years to create to be vibrant areas in this country that may be lost 
under this administration and the lack of action.
  So I yield to Congressman Evans this evening to discuss what he has 
seen happen in these last 6 months of this administration and how it 
speaks to those individuals that we represent.
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Virgin Islands 
for her leadership in terms of being provided this opportunity that she 
has demonstrated clearly that she has been leading these efforts for 
the Congressional Black Caucus. So I want to again compliment her for 
all that she has done not just through words, but through action. And 
then my neighboring legislator from New Jersey, he and I worked very 
close together and I have known him an awful long time. So I thank both 
of you.
  I have always said there is a big difference between campaigning and 
governing. I will say that again. There is a big difference between 
campaigning and governing. President Trump, it is time to govern.
  When I talk to people in my district, they are scared about what 
President Trump and the Republicans are doing when it comes to their 
healthcare. They know that the Republicans want to take away their 
healthcare, and they do not know where to turn. We know that the 
Republican healthcare bill does not protect our family members and 
friends from preexisting conditions.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to tell you the story of a small businessowner in 
my district named Andrea. Andrea owns a small pet store, Spot's--The 
Place for Paws, in Narberth, Pennsylvania. Andrea left her Philadelphia 
law practice to pursue her dream of owning a small business. Andrea has 
type 1 diabetes, and without the ACA, she would not be able to get the 
well-priced coverage that covers her health expenses and medication and 
allows her to keep her shop open.
  We are talking about passing a bill that will make life harder for 
those

[[Page 11467]]

trying to get ahead. That is wrong, and that is a risk we cannot take.
  Even though the President has yet to deliver on a single promise in 6 
months, Pennsylvanians are still anxious and fearful of his plans for 
the future. President Trump has been in office for 6 months, and we 
have had 6 months of court cases, stalling, and tweets. Let me repeat 
that. We have had 6 months of court cases, stalling, and tweets.
  The Trump administration is still clearly not ready for prime time. 
From healthcare to the Russians, to the budget, the Republican party 
has left the American people with nothing but broken promises.
  Philadelphia and Montgomery County residents in my district deserve 
better. The American people deserve better. For 8 years, the ``Party of 
No'' constantly criticized President Obama. Yet, even with control of 
the House, the Senate, and the White House, they have yet to deliver on 
a jobs plan, healthcare, tax reform, and the list goes on.
  Our Federal workers who help secure our Nation's borders, protect and 
monitor our food supply, and support businesses through agencies like 
the SBA should not have to wait for Republicans to continue to make 
decisions that are not in the best interest of the country.
  Our neighborhoods have a lot to lose if we don't stand united and 
fight for what is right. It is time to roll up our sleeves and work 
across party lines to fight for sound economic policies that give our 
schools and students and our small businessowners and entrepreneurs, 
our seniors, and our veterans the resources they need to prosper and 
build stronger neighborhoods block by block,
  It is time for a better deal. We deserve a better deal and a better 
opportunity. It is clear to me that we need to build on that 
opportunity for the future, and the only way we can do it is we have to 
stop campaigning, Mr. President, and we have to begin to govern.
  The over 300 million Americans deserve all of us functioning 
together, and the Congressional Black Caucus, the conscience of this 
body, is prepared to lead.
  My colleague, who has been leading this effort, she has been 
demonstrating over and over again a message of hope and optimism. She, 
too, knows that we can have a better deal, and that better deal is an 
optimism of people working together.
  So I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your leadership and what you have 
demonstrated.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Evans so much for talking 
about the optimism of the American people. There is a better deal that 
is out there, and there is a better way that we all, as Members of 
Congress, need to demonstrate.
  I was looking at a fact Street Sheet that was put together talking 
about the 200 days of the 115th Congress by the numbers. This is a 
Congress that is controlled by the Republicans in the House, the 
Republicans in the Senate, and the Republican administration. You would 
think that so much legislation could get done, and we are a stalled 
body at this time.
  That is not what the American people brought us to Washington to do. 
We all represent people who are looking for a better deal, looking for 
an expansion of the American Dream, a realization of the American Dream 
in their own lives, and having security for their own children and 
their grandchildren to be able to realize that dream.
  When I looked at these numbers, I was aghast at what has not been 
done in this Congress and flabbergasted at the things that have been 
done by this Congress. Zero number of bills to create jobs have been 
brought to the House floor by House Republican leadership. Zero number 
of bills that have been considered under an open rule so far this 
Congress.
  The same open rule that, Mr. Speaker, you said that you would exact 
when you were a young gun coming to Washington, you said that you would 
use the open rule, but we have not seen that done in this 115th 
Congress.
  Three times, House Republicans blocked a vote on H.R. 685, Bring Jobs 
Home Act, which ends tax breaks for corporations sending jobs overseas 
and creates new incentives to create good-paying jobs here in the 
United States.
  There have been zero times that Speaker Paul Ryan has spoken out in 
opposition to President Trump's dangerous and unconstitutional Muslim 
and refugee ban. Zero votes on the expansion and correction to the 
Voting Rights Act.
  234 Republicans blocked a vote on H.R. 2933, a critical bill that 
promotes effective apprenticeships that gives students and workers the 
skills they need to find good-paying jobs.
  Twice, House Republicans voted against Made in America amendment 
requiring that specific infrastructure and construction projects use 
materials and equipment made in the USA.
  Mr. Speaker, 229 Republicans voted for a GOP antiworker, bait-and-
switch bill that undermines the existing right to hard-earned overtime 
pay, giving employers the flexibility to substitute overtime pay with 
comp time while giving employees no guarantee that they can use their 
comp time when they need it.
  Mr. Speaker, 217 Republicans voted for the disastrous TrumpCare bill, 
which would result in 23 million Americans losing their health 
insurance coverage, raises out-of-pocket healthcare costs for millions 
of American families, imposes a crushing age tax on those 50 to 64, 
shortens the life of the Medicare trust fund, and guts the protections 
for people with preexisting conditions.
  Mr. Speaker, 233 Republicans voted to gut the Dodd-Frank Act, Wall 
Street reforms, rolling back key consumer protections, and take us back 
to pre-2008 era of unchecked risky financial market abuses that 
resulted in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
  There have been zero amount of funding in President Trump's budget 
for Social Services Block Grants, which provide States with funding for 
services such as childcare and adult care programs. And there are 1.6 
million school-age children that would lose afterschool and summer 
programs as a result of the President's budget.
  When we talk about the President's budget, we need to discuss exactly 
what those numbers mean and how it is going to affect the American 
people--people, Mr. Speaker, that we say we represent, but that we are 
not standing up for against this administration.
  The budget would cut SNAP funding by over 190 billion--with a ``B''--
over the next 10 years, jeopardizing benefits for an estimated 44 
million Americans and reduce nutritional foods for women, infants, and 
children, the WIC program.
  The budget also includes SNAP policy changes that would charge food 
stores using USDA approval to accept food stamps, which could drive 
smaller food retailers out of the program.
  Why is this important?
  Because many people in urban areas that are using food stamps are 
doing so in virtual food deserts. They do not have transportation to go 
to the large suppliers, the large grocery stores. They go to these 
smaller grocery stores. They go to these small places to use the food 
stamps to be able to provide food for their families. These changes 
would cap benefits, require localities to pay 25 percent of benefits, 
and limit local waivers for Federal work requirements that many 
communities are not appropriate because there are no jobs, because we 
also are not supplying individuals with the job skills, the work skills 
to be able to find employment in some of these areas.
  The budget would reduce Education Department investments by $9 
billion, including through the elimination of preschool and afterschool 
programs, literacy grants, and funding to improve teacher and principal 
quality. It also proposes cuts to higher education programs, including 
elimination of grants for lower income students, low-interest Perkins 
loans, and cutting by half a program that helps students work to pay 
off their loans.
  The budget also calls for the elimination of NASA Space Grant 
education programs that prepare students, such as in my district at the 
University of

[[Page 11468]]

the Virgin Islands, for careers in science and technology industries.
  The budget would reduce USDA Rural Development funding by $9.2 
million, approximately 30 percent. This is vital in areas like my 
district in the Virgin Islands with the elimination of rural business 
cooperative services and rural water and wastewater disposal programs.
  The budget would zero out important rural housing assistance, such as 
single-family housing direct loans; would slash funding for rural 
broadband, distance learning, telemedicine, and needed community 
facilities improvement.
  Mr. Speaker, these are in rural areas that President Trump won in the 
election. You would think that he would want to support these rural 
communities in areas of housing, the most American of American ideals, 
home ownership.
  In the Labor Department, the budget would reduce Labor Department 
investments by $2.4 billion, including large cuts to Job Corps. Job 
Corps, a place that would allow young people to have training for jobs, 
activities meant to prepare disadvantaged youth, the same youth that we 
say we are concerned about being on the streets in these urban areas 
that are so dangerous, those are the individuals going to Job Corps, 
looking to be prepared for the workplace, and we are going to reduce 
that by $2.4 billion? That doesn't make any sense.
  The budget request for the Department of Energy would slash research 
funding and move away from investments in renewables, including a 70 
percent cut to the Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy and zeroing out its weatherization assistance in State 
energy programs that aid low-income families with reducing energy 
costs.

                              {time}  2015

  The Department's Office of Science would be cut by 17 percent. That 
budget slashing to NOAA coastal science programs includes eliminating 
NOAA's Sea Grants program, coastal research at our university, and the 
coastal zone management grants that aid with climate change 
mitigation--climate change mitigation--which is needed in areas that I 
live in, like the Virgin Islands, Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and in 
coastal areas that are seeing a tremendous loss of economy and loss of 
homes because our environment is, in fact, changing.
  The Environmental Protection Agency would be cut by approximately 30 
percent, partly through elimination of all EPA climate change programs, 
lead control programs, the Energy Star program that encourages energy-
efficient consumer products, and the environmental justice office that 
investigates the concentration of pollution in low-income communities.
  Now we want people to be in communities where pollution is greatest, 
those inner cities that our President has said he wants to fight so 
strongly for. We are going to keep them in polluted areas because we 
are cutting out EPA funding in some of those places.
  In transportation and housing, the budget would eliminate $500 
million per year in TIGER grants, Transportation Investment Generating 
Economic Recovery, which has been important to ports and transshipment 
projects around this country, in the Virgin Islands, and the Community 
Development Block Grant program that provides grant funding to 
localities for economic development activities.
  The Department of Housing would be cut nearly 20 percent, including 
elimination of several housing assistance grant programs and slashing 
its core rental housing program, Section 8 housing choice vouchers, 
which assists private rental housing, which is a win-win program. You 
allow individuals who have private homes, who are renting those out, to 
receive a voucher to support individuals who are looking to be placed 
in those homes.
  An estimated 250,000 housing vouchers would be taken away over the 
next fiscal year, vouchers which primarily benefit seniors and 
individuals with disabilities. Support for local public housing 
authorities would also see cuts.
  The budget would eliminate Commerce Department subdivisions that 
support businesses and entrepreneurship, such as the Economic 
Development Administration, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 
program, and the Minority Business Development Agency.
  Healthcare, of course we could go on for forever, but the budget 
calls for phasing out enhanced Federal matching funds for expanded 
Medicaid populations by 2020 for people living in territories and in 
other areas that are heavily relying on Medicaid. It would be far more 
expensive for those localities to cover individuals, and our hospitals 
would be faced with even more uncompensated care costs.
  The budget also proposes cuts of $1.3 billion from the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, and more than $7 billion from 
the National Institutes of Health, NIH. In the alternative, stronger 
budgets for NIH and CDC would benefit in preparation for public health 
threats and pandemics.
  These are the things that we, the members of the Congressional Black 
Caucus, are seeing that are happening in these first 6 months. We are 
concerned. We are not here just to bash the President. That is not the 
objective with bringing these issues out.
  The objective is to make the American people aware, to call on our 
colleagues here in this House, in the House next door to us in the 
Senate, to be better stewards of what the American people have given 
us: the ability, the right, the job of legislating, the job of being a 
check and balance to an administration which has been caught in a 
morass of ineffectiveness and inaction to support the American people 
of this great country.
  We are asking, Mr. Speaker, that we would wake up to what is 
happening, see with clear eyes, not with fake news, not with our own 
vision of what we would like things to be, but what things are and 
where this is taking us now, the people who are going to be left 
behind, that a better deal needs to be made for the American people who 
have sent us here to Washington to do what is right, to do what is good 
for them, to represent all the people, not the wealthy.
  Listen, I was raised in New York, and I don't have anything against 
New Yorkers, of course, but we can't just be looking out for those 
people who are living on the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side, in 
Tribeca and SoHo, the fat cats of Wall Street. We need to be for all 
Americans.
  I know that each one of us is here sent by the people who have sent 
us not just for ourselves and not just for our constituents, but for 
all Americans: those who can't vote, those who rely on us to be the 
stewards of this great legacy--the Constitution and all that America 
represents, the land of opportunity. People will be losing that 
opportunity based on what we have seen in these last 6 months.
  We, the Congressional Black Caucus, as the conscience of Congress, 
are relying and awakening the conscience of this Congress to wake up 
and see what is happening, to stand up for those who cannot stand up 
for themselves, and to do the right thing, to make a better deal with 
the American people--not with Pennsylvania Avenue, not among ourselves, 
not in our private little meetings, not with what can be done for us 
and for our small group, but for all Americans, those Americans that 
are going to be left behind by those billions and trillions in tax cuts 
that are coming to the social safety net of this country.
  It cannot be relied on by many of the States. Many of the States do 
not have the wherewithal to pick up that slack. And there will be even 
greater--greater--demise to this country if we continue to allow it to 
work this way.
  We have got to take up the call of those people who cannot speak for 
themselves and do what is right and tell our President that these 6 
months cannot continue for another 3 years. We cannot have it. We will 
not tolerate it. You must awaken to what is the best deal for all 
Americans, not just those within your inner circle.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague Congresswoman 
Plaskett for

[[Page 11469]]

hosting this special order for members of the Congressional Black 
Caucus (CBC) to speak about the first 6 months of Republicans' failure 
to govern in the White House and in Congress.
  Today marks 185 days since the inauguration of Donald Trump, and 203 
days since the start of this Republican Congress.
  Despite the countless promises Trump made to the American people, the 
Trump presidency has been defined by chaos and incompetence from Day 1.
  In addition to being mired in controversy, Trump lacks an agenda and 
has no major accomplishments to tout after six months in office.
  Following in the footsteps of their leader, Republicans in both 
chambers of Congress have utterly failed to produce legislation that 
actually improves the lives of everyday Americans in any meaningful or 
measurable way.
  Of the 43 bills that have been signed into law, 58 percent of these 
were noncontroversial suspensions and 33 percent were partisan GOP 
special-interest bills that strip vital protections away from the 
American people.
  The Republican leadership has demonstrated a remarkable incapacity to 
actually lead their respective majorities in the House and Senate; 
instead their ``leadership'' has been marred by empty legislation, 
regressive policies, and damage control to rein in each new scandal 
spiraling out from the White House.
  On January 20, 2017, Trump restated his trademark campaign promise to 
the American people: ``Together we will make America great again.''
  Six months later, and that slogan rings hollower with each passing 
day.
  Six months later, he has forged virtually no deals; he has not 
achieved his goal of ``insurance for everybody,'' nor has he put 
forward a single jobs or infrastructure bill, nor has he achieved tax 
reform, nor has he negotiated a single trade agreement.
  Donald Trump promised that his extensive business experience would 
lead to better deals for the American people, and that he would be the 
``greatest president for jobs that God ever created.''
  Six months later, he has taken no action to support job creation or 
grow the economy.
  Instead, the Trump budget includes draconian cuts to education, 
research, infrastructure, and other key areas that support job creation 
and the American economy.
  Before he entered office, Trump showed off his infamous ``deal-making 
skills'' when he promised to make Carrier Corp. keep their furnace 
factory jobs on American soil.
  On the 6-month anniversary of his inauguration, Carrier announced 
plans to cut 632 workers from the very Indianapolis factory Trump 
visited last December.
  These manufacturing jobs will move to Monterrey, Mexico, where 
minimum wage is $3.90; the White House has not addressed this failure 
of Trump's strong-man, isolationist economic policy.
  During his campaign, Trump claimed that he would save the coal 
industry--a sector that only employs 0.03 percent of the economy--and 
in June, 2017, Scott Pruitt of the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) declared that the U.S. had miraculously created 50,000 coal jobs 
since 2016.
  This staggering figure turned out to be a staggering lie; according 
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the coal sector has added about 
1,000 jobs since October, 2016; it appears as though Mr. Pruitt 
``miscalculated'' his estimate by 5,000 percent.
  Not only have Trump's predictions for unparalleled job creation and 
economic growth proved to be pipe dreams or outright lies--the White 
House's budget proposal cruelly imposes drastic cuts to food stamps, 
student loans, and disability payments among a host of critical 
programs.
  Trump promised that there would be no cuts to Social Security, 
Medicare, or Medicaid--that everybody was going to be taken care ``much 
better than they're taken care of now.''
  Six months later, the Republicans do not have a plan that would 
ensure all Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare.
  Six months later, the existing Trumpcare plan, which has completely 
stalled in the Senate, would make 23 million Americans lose their 
health coverage and increase costs for millions more.
  Trumpcare cuts Medicare and Medicaid, and his budget proposal cuts 
Social Security.
  Trumpcare would allow discrimination against Americans with 
preexisting conditions and imposes an age tax on older Americans.
  Thousands of Americans--both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives 
and liberals, old and young, healthy and sick--have cried out to their 
Congressmembers to keep the Affordable Care Act and to prevent 
Trumpcare from ever seeing the light of day.
  Americans oppose Trumpcare by a three-to-one margin, but this 
overwhelming majority sentiment seems to have fallen on deaf ears for 
Donald Trump and the Republican leadership.
  Trump also promised clean air and water in America.
  Six months later, the Trump Administration and G.O.P. Congressmembers 
are rolling back vital environmental protections.
  In a move that drew universal ire from the international community 
and concerned Americans, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate 
Agreement.
  He has signed executive orders rolling back the Clean Power Plan and 
Clean Water Rule, and 37 Congressional Review Act bills, several of 
which roll back environmental protections.
  His budget proposal would seek to inflict a 31 percent cut to the EPA 
and eliminates clean water programs for the Great Lakes and Chesapeake 
Bay.
  On the campaign trail, Trump made repeated declarations about 
restoring national security and being ``tough on Russia.''
  Six months later, Trump has failed to put forward a plan to defeat 
ISIS or strategies to address the situations in Syria, Iraq, Somalia, 
or Yemen.
  Every week, a new report indicating collusion between the Trump 
Administration and the Russian government seems to come to light.
  American citizens and lawmakers alike have responded to this growing 
list of scandals with growing anxiety, animosity, and exasperation.
  In this and a few other respects, Trump has excelled.
  For instance, he racked up 991 tweets since his inauguration; even 
more impressive, he has made 836 false or misleading claims according 
to the Washington Post's Fact Checker team.
  He has spent a record 40 days at his own golf properties.
  His approval rating is without equal at 36 percent--the worst of any 
president ever at the 6-month mark.
  To recap, Trump's legislative accomplishments total at exactly zero:
  No plan to lower healthcare costs;
  No jobs bill;
  No infrastructure bill;
  No tax reform;
  No plan to avoid defaulting on our debt;
  And no budget.
  By stark contrast, former President Obama had made great strides at 
this point in his presidency.
  By the 6-month mark, Obama had:
  Signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act into law to improve protections for the American 
worker;
  Outlined an extensive new energy policy;
  Published an op-ed piece in 30 global newspapers simultaneously to 
discuss the growing economic crisis;
  Passed an historic climate change bill through Congress;
  Set out a new approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan;
  Announced a new auto emission policy aimed at getting greener cars on 
the road;
  Launched his successful campaign to overhaul the U.S. healthcare 
system;
  And much more.
  Americans want a President who can inspire them; they want a 
President who can lead effectively, with all the dignity and tact 
befitting the most powerful office in the world.
  To our collective dismay and frustration, Trump and the Republicans 
have been their own worst enemy in preventing major, commonsense 
legislation from being voted on or signed into law.
  I commend my colleague, Congresswoman Plaskett, for hosting this 
special order examining the disastrous results that have resulted from 
6 months of Republican control over our federal government.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, as Congress draws closer to the August 
recess, we are no closer to considering comprehensive legislation to 
shore up our nation's crumbling infrastructure remains than we were 
when Republicans took control of Congress. Republicans in Congress have 
had control over both chambers since January, yet the American people 
are still left waiting more for a plan to repair our roads and bridges, 
bolster funding for the Highway Trust Fund, and provide stable funding 
to local communities for transportation projects.
  The costs of Congress' inability to act are staggering. The American 
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) estimates that every American 
household will lose $3,400 each year between 2016 and 2025, due to 
infrastructure deficiencies. Our failure to act will cost the U.S. 
economy nearly $4 trillion in GDP by 2025

[[Page 11470]]

through diminished productivity, lost jobs, and the increased cost of 
goods. The longer we wait, the more expensive it will be to repair our 
roads, electricity grid, and water and wastewater infrastructure.
  The Republican House has been in session for 110 days. I am deeply 
disappointed that the Republican leadership has chosen to ignore 
important bills that I have supported, such as H.R. 1664--the Investing 
in America: A Penny for Progress Act. H.R. 1664 would shore up the 
Highway Trust Fund through new Invest in America bonds and a modest 
increase in the fuel excise tax. Another bill, H.R. 1265--the 
Rebuilding America's Airport Infrastructure Act, would eliminate the 
cap on passenger facility charges, allowing local airports the ability 
to raise additional funds in order to build up more airport 
infrastructure such as new terminals and runways. H.R. 2510--the Water 
Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2017 would help bolster 
financing for new water and wastewater infrastructure projects all 
across the United States. These are real bills already introduced in 
Congress that we could consider today.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford to wait. There are a number of 
solutions already before us that this chamber could consider. It will 
take a display of political will by the Republican Party to consider 
these practical solutions to our nation's infrastructure woes. The 
American people are demanding that we act swiftly on these policies so 
that we can focus on what is most important--the efficient movement of 
the people, goods, and services which drive our economy forward. The 
time to act is now. I strongly urge my colleagues to support a 
comprehensive plan to shore up our nation's infrastructure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Dunn). Members are reminded to refrain 
from engaging in personalities toward the President.

                          ____________________