Highlighting Issues with the Biden Administration

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, we may be starting a new year, but so far the problems remain the same. This week marks the 1- year anniversary of Joe Biden being sworn in as President of the United States, and, of course, also the 1-year anniversary of one-party, far- left Democrat rule in Washington.

This past year was one of unprecedented crises as a direct result. The American people face an economic crisis, an energy crisis, a border crisis, an education crisis, a crime crisis, a COVID-19 crisis, and a national security crisis as a direct result of Joe Biden and congressional Democrats' failed leadership and their far-left socialist agenda.

In this hour, a cross-section of my Republican colleagues will address and highlight these issues as we stand for the opposite policies, and we are very anxious to be returned to the majority so that we can solve these ongoing dilemmas.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, there are so many crises it is hard for us to keep count.

I yield to my dear friend from the State of Indiana (Mrs. Walorski).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, the gentlewoman is right, the sanctity of human life is one of the central principles that this country is founded upon, and it does get darkest before the dawn. There is hope on the horizon.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Van Drew).

Mr. VAN DREW. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and thank him for his leadership.

The President's most important job is to lead, to lead and protect our country. Yet time and again, all we have seen from President Biden is a failure to lead.

Biden's handling of Afghanistan led to the death of 13 American servicemembers and left hundreds more abandoned. This was a failure to lead.

Biden's handling of the border has been a disaster with more than two million illegal immigrants being apprehended at our border. This was a failure to lead.

Biden failed to shut down COVID-19 and has allowed more Americans to die from this disease, despite widespread access to vaccines. This was a failure to lead.

Inflation is at a 40-year high; supply chains are crippled; and labor shortages have hindered an economic recovery. This has been a failure to lead.

Soft-on-crime policy has resulted in 16 of America's largest cities suffering from new highs in homicide rates and a 115 percent increase in attacks against our law enforcement officials, all while President Biden and House Democrats demand to defund our police. This has been a failure to lead.

This is not the America I know. The America I know is strong, and it deserves a strong leader, not the worst President in our history, not one that continues time and again to fail to lead.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Those are not just Republican talking points. Politico had a story this morning. They asked Americans in a nationwide poll to give the President a letter grade, and 37 percent of Americans gave him an F--85 percent or more of Republicans, but also, they say, an alarming number of Democrats gave a D or an F grade.

So the gentleman is exactly right. It is a failure. An F-minus, says Mr. Van Drew.

Madam Speaker, I yield to my good friend from the State of Tennessee (Mr. Burchett).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for keeping me humble.

Madam Speaker, we have just come straight to the floor from a Members and media roundtable on the border and crime crises, and he led that so ably. I am delighted to hear what he has to say in his 2 minutes.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of Texas (Mr. Pfluger).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for that keen insight that he gained faithfully serving our country in the military. I thank him for his service.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber), another gentleman who has served us so well on the front lines of law enforcement before he got to Congress.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend. So well said, as always. I think one of the key words you said was purposeful. These crises are not happenstance. These are direct results of policy choices.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman), my good friend.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend. It is so well said. It is as if they are incentivizing lawlessness. That is exactly what we are seeing, and everybody knows it.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa), my friend.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend. It is not partisanship. We are sharing the facts. He is exactly right.

I would encourage my colleagues--there are so many who want to speak, and it is a target-rich environment with so many crises. We are going to try to stick to 2 minutes on these yields.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde), home of the new national championship football team.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Fitzgerald), another seasoned, very effective legislator.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gimenez), who we refer to as ``The Chief.''

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Obernolte).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Steel).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko), one of the true border states that sees all of these crises firsthand.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for her so well-said remarks.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas, (Mr. Mann).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for that plain talk from Kansas.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), who is one of the brightest and most respected Members of Congress.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, Americans do deserve so much better.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. I thank the gentlewoman for her principled leadership. It has been effective, and we are grateful she is here.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the State of Texas (Mr. Weber).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Brand `em. I like it.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller), who is another very effective legislator.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, the gentlewoman's remarks are well-said.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of Georgia (Mr. Carter). Georgia is the home of the new national championship football team.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Spartz), one of the smartest and hardest working Members of Congress.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her comments.

Madam Speaker, what my colleagues have illustrated here in this Special Order is the crisis that we have in this country. We are on the anniversary now of 1 year of far-left Democratic rule in Washington. We have a unified government. The far-left Democrats are in charge of the White House and both Houses of Congress. Elections have consequences. The American people can see it for themselves. Every poll across this country shows us. They know that it is crisis upon crisis upon crisis.

You have heard my colleagues illustrate so many of those here this afternoon. If we had hours upon hours we could continue all night.

The economic crisis last year: Inflation cost the average worker nearly two paychecks.

An energy crisis: The national average for a gallon of gas rose 49.6 percent for the year.

A border crisis: Because of the Democrats' open border policies, every State is now a border State.

An education crisis: President Biden promised to reopen schools in his first 100 days but his administration secretly worked with teachers' unions to keep the schools closed and label parents as domestic terrorists.

A crime crisis: Over a dozen U.S. cities had a record-high homicide rate in 2021.

A COVID crisis: Although President Biden promised to shut down the virus, many Americans continue to struggle to find tests, and, of course, many schools remain closed because of this.

A national security crisis: Because of President Biden's weakness on the world stage, our adversaries in Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow are stronger today and they are in power.

We could go on and on and on. I am out of time, Madam Speaker, but I will just point out again, the latest poll that was released just this morning didn't look at just numbers. They asked the American people to give a letter grade to the President. Thirty percent of Americans give the President an F, a failing grade, and more Americans give him an F than give him an A or a B. This is a failed Presidency. These are failed policies. We are living under the crises that they have created. It is time for this to come to an end.

We are grateful to the American people for recognizing this, and we look forward to bringing our solutions to bear at the election cycle this fall.

Madam Speaker, our Special Order hour has concluded, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source