Issues of the Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, House Republicans are here, yet again, to urge President Biden to avoid the impending default crisis and strike a deal with House Republicans. We have to do this.

For over 100 days now, Joe Biden and Democrats have wasted valuable time refusing to offer a reasonable solution to raise the debt ceiling and prevent our Nation from default.

House Republicans did our job. We did it here. We passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act almost 3 weeks ago. Our bill is a really important measure because it will do a number of things. It will save taxpayers nearly $5 trillion. It will set commonsense caps on future spending levels. It will grow the economy, it will increase American energy production, it will lower prices on working families, it will defund this administration's aggressive expansion of the IRS, and it lifts the debt ceiling.

This is responsible legislation. We got together, and we did our job. The bill has not changed, and neither has our position. We will not, under any circumstances, accept a clean debt ceiling increase. We can't do that. We have stewardship responsibility.

Our fiscal house is not in order here, and this negotiation may be the only real opportunity that Congress has to address Washington's spending obsession and begin to get our debt under control until the next election cycle.

We are $31.7 trillion in Federal debt. Inflation is sky high, interest rates are only continuing to rise, and, yet, what does this President do?

Joe Biden can barely be bothered to address the threat of collapse of our financial system.

The entire debate is symptomatic of the unmitigated rot that has afflicted Washington. Our constituents know the parties have to negotiate; the markets know we need to negotiate; and until a decade ago, Joe Biden did himself.

We have all these quotes on record. I mean, as recently as 2011, when he was in charge on the Senate side, he was over here negotiating with the House. He said over and over how important this was, how important it is to the process, and how anyone who says it is only my way or the highway was being irresponsible.

Do you know what? He was right. We are just asking him to live by his own mantra. Look, I am confident that the White House will come to its senses soon. It has to. If not, Americans know there is only one person to blame. It is President Biden. Celebrating National Police Week

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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, while we are dealing with that, we also recognize and are delighted to celebrate National Police Week.

It is my honor to lead this group of speeches tonight honoring the men and women who risk their lives daily to keep our communities safe.

I am the son of a first responder who was critically injured and permanently disabled in the line of duty.

My dad was the assistant fire chief in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1984. September 17 of that year, he was burned over 80 percent of his body, third-degree burns.

He had about a 5 percent chance to live. He miraculously survived, and he struggled with those injuries for decades longer.

I lost him just 3 days before I got elected to Congress. I know personally the risk that first responder families face every single day.

Madam Speaker, we aren't just on the floor speaking tonight. We have work product to back up what we are saying. House Republicans have made support for law enforcement a central part of our agenda in this Congress.

This week, we passed multiple pieces of legislation to support these brave men and women. Today, we passed the POLICE Act, which makes assaulting a law enforcement officer a deportable offense for those in the country illegally.

This bill's passage could not come soon enough because, as we know, both illegal immigration and assaults on police officers continue to rise. Increased penalties like these will help deter future attacks against officers.

We also passed the Federal Law Enforcement Officer Service Weapon Purchase Act, which gives officers the option to purchase their service weapon at fair market value once they retire. It is just commonsense legislation.

Tomorrow, we are going to pass H. Con. Res. 40. This resolution condemns efforts to defund or dismantle local law enforcement agencies, and it also condemns attacks against police officers.

Just today, we watched sadly as Chicago laid to rest Officer Areanah Preston, who was tragically shot and killed outside of her home this month in a targeted attack.

Officer Preston was just 24 years old, fresh-faced and idealistic, eager to serve the people of Chicago, but her life was cut short due, in part, to dangerous antipolice rhetoric, rhetoric often used in these Halls, and it is a shame.

Madam Speaker, one would think that a resolution condemning attacks on police officers would pass through this House, of course, unanimously. Do you know what? That wasn't the case last night. Two Democrats in this body, one of which has paid astonishing sums of money for armed personal security, voted against this measure.

This problem goes far beyond just those two Members in question. As I have recounted multiple times in our House Judiciary Committee, dozens of members of the House Democratic Caucus have publicly called to either defund or dismantle police departments when America lost its collective mind during the summer of 2020.

This is exactly why it is so important that House Republicans lead the charge in support of law enforcement, and we will.

After 4 years of inaction and demonization of these heroic officers, the people's House now decisively backs the blue.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to be joined by a number of my colleagues, some of the stars of the House, and I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler).

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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for his compelling testimony. We took the House Judiciary Committee to lower Manhattan just a few weeks back, right in Alvin Bragg's backyard, the Soros-funded D.A. We let victims of crime tell their tragic stories. It was really something to hear. There is a lot to be said about this issue.

Madam Speaker, I yield to another great gentleman from New York (Mr. Williams).

Mr. WILLIAMS of New York. Madam Speaker, Americans demand that their elected leaders step up and do the work of the people.

Madam Speaker, 3 weeks ago, this body did exactly that. It passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act to avoid a debt default and to put in place commonsense controls on our out-of-control Federal spending.

The Limit, Save, Grow Act will reduce our Federal deficit by $4.8 trillion over the next decade and lifts the debt ceiling to avoid this looming crisis, all while protecting seniors and veterans.

We have demonstrated to the American people that we are committed to doing the work of the American people on critical issues, providing real solutions and working to retake our place on the world stage.

Yet, our bill was met by even more silence from the White House and childish derision from leadership in the Senate--no negotiation, no counterproposal. In short, not an ounce of work from the executive branch nor the other half of the legislative branch.

Maybe they were too busy. Maybe they were on vacation. Maybe they hadn't thought through the disastrous consequences of doing nothing.

No work, no solutions, no negotiations, no plan--the Biden-Schumer default is coming for your Social Security check because they refuse to show up for work.

Just remember, the Limit, Save, Grow Act restores funding to fiscal year 2022 levels. If you liked veterans' benefits in 2022, you will like them in our bill. In fact, the House GOP, through the Appropriations Committee, has announced our proposal to increase the budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs by nearly $18 billion.

For the record, I am a proud veteran, and I am insulted by our opponents' false accusations.

Now is the time to show Americans what true leadership looks like. I implore our President and our Senate colleagues to come to the table and do the work that the people have sent us here to do. Their inaction and inability to work to find common ground have not gone unnoticed by our citizens. I am here to do the work of the people. My Republican colleagues are here to do the same.

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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his good work and for his service, as well, and we will take care of the veterans. That is what Republicans do.

That bill passed out of the Appropriations Committee sends a strong message that that was, let's say, misinformation by the other side about the veterans' funding.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from the State of Utah (Mr. Owens), my dear friend and a Super Bowl champion.

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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend. That was so well said. I thank him for highlighting those specific examples of brave men and women in the State of Utah who put on the badge every day to do that really important job.

Madam Speaker, I yield next to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Strong), a great Member.

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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I thank him for his service. I didn't know that about his bio. That is impressive. I am really, really grateful, as we all are, for those who gave their lives in the line of duty, and we do pray blessings over their families and all those left behind.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Baird), somebody who knows a little bit about sacrifice, one of my favorite people in the world.

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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for his service in keeping us safe.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Kiley).

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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield next to another gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend for his comments and the really sad state of things in California with so much that is going on there. You are right, it is a blue State that really needs to get its act together. I am glad that we can come here and have this opportunity to honor men and women in law enforcement as you have, so I thank you for that.

Madam Speaker, as my friend was speaking here about officers lost in the line of duty, I was just looking over some statistics. On the web page that is titled: ``Officer Down Memorial Page'' they honor officers who are killed in the line of duty. They have a listing of the total line of duty deaths. So far this year we are sadly at number 42.

I did not realize this until I was just sitting here doing the research, but my State of Louisiana is in the lead by total deaths by State as they are all listed.

I would just close this Special Order hour by saying that there really aren't words. We can come to the floor of the people's House here, and we can share our thoughts and share our hearts. We can pray for the families of those who are lost in the line of duty and all those who serve so bravely each day, but words really do not do justice to the level of risk that is taken by those who put on the badge every day and go out and do that hard job. We need more of them. They represent the best of America, and we know that.

All of my House Republican colleagues honor those who have served. We honor their families for their sacrifices and certainly those who have been lost in the line of duty.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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