Providing for Consideration of H.R. William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year Providing for Consideration of H.R. Child Care is Essential Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Child Care for Economic Recovery Act; and Providing for Consideration of Senate Amendments to H.R. Taxpayer First Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished member of the Rules Committee, Mr. Perlmutter, for yielding me the time.

I also want to associate myself with the comments of all my colleagues who have remembered our dear friend John Lewis, the conscience of the Congress, indeed, the conscience of the country. John Lewis was a man of action who never gave up on fighting for a more just, fair, and decent country, and I think all of us can pay tribute to him not just with words but with actions.

Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of good ideas being considered as part of this debate. There will be a lot of debate over the next couple of days, but I want to discuss one in particular here today, an amendment by my colleagues Mark Pocan and Barbara Lee.

Because of their leadership, Congress will finally vote on whether to cut the Pentagon's bloated budget and reinvest that money in the American people here at home. All I can say is: It is about damn time.

COVID-19 has laid bare our Nation's failure to invest in programs that support our families and keep them healthy, but this debate was needed long before this pandemic hit because, for years and years, we have been told there simply isn't enough money to invest in our communities, in universal childcare, Medicare for All, or repairing our crumbling infrastructure.

We have been told that a Green New Deal is too expensive and that it is unreasonable to ask to cancel crushing student loan debt. But there is always enough money lying around to raise the Pentagon's budget. Decade after decade after decade, we shortchanged the American people while we shoveled more money into building more nukes or more military bases halfway around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I am sick and tired of it. This amendment is the least-- and I mean the least--we can do. Since the start of the Trump administration, in just the last 3 years, our defense spending has gone up every single year, over $100 billion in total. That is crazy.

Now, don't misunderstand me, Mr. Speaker. I support our troops. This amendment exempts from cuts military personnel, defense healthcare, and our Federal civilian workforce. But I do not support military spending so wasteful that it weakens our Nation; I don't support Congress funding weapons our troops don't want; and I don't support Congress funding forever wars that our country shouldn't even be involved in.

For me, this all boils down to a simple question, Mr. Speaker: What do we mean by ``national security''?

Now, some here in Washington think our national security ought to be measured solely by the number of bombs we have, but those of us who support this amendment think our national security must also be measured by the prosperity of our people, by whether our families have enough money to buy groceries, and whether we are investing in our schools and our libraries and our roads and all the things that strengthen our communities.

If we continue failing to invest in our people, what kind of country will be left for our military to defend 20, 40, 60 years down the road? What will we tell our children and their children when our military budget continues to balloon, yet our citizens cannot afford even the most basic necessities?

Budgets, Mr. Speaker, are moral documents. They represent our values, what we think is important. It is time for America to do the right thing and fundamentally alter our national priorities. That is what this proposal is all about.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule. There will be lots of debate on lots of subjects, but I urge them to support this amendment when it comes up for a vote.

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