Choice Before Our Country
Floor Speech
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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, there is a fundamental choice before our country today: Do we trust the American people, or do we trust Big Government?
Conservatives believe that freedom grows when the American Government gets out of the way. We believe in rewarding hard work, protecting free speech, securing our borders, lowering taxes, giving parents autonomy, and creating an economy where Americans can build, grow, and prosper.
The Democratic Party is moving in the opposite direction. Socialism was once dismissed as a fringe movement in American politics. Today, its ideas are increasingly becoming the agenda of the Democratic Party: bigger government, higher taxes, more spending, and more control over the daily lives of Americans.
Their own DSA movement openly calls for extending voting rights to noncitizens. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress continue to oppose commonsense election safeguards, like the SAVE America Act, even though more than 80 percent of Americans support requiring identification to vote. That tells you everything you need to know about the competing visions before us.
Republicans believe that American elections should be decided by American citizens. We believe taxpayers' dollars should serve hardworking American families and not pay for gender transition surgeries for people who entered our country illegally. We believe that Americans should keep more of what they earn. We believe a sovereign country must have a secure border.
President Biden and congressional Democrats gave us 4 years of chaos at our southern border. President Trump and House Republicans proved that chaos was a policy choice. We enforced the law, secured the border, and restored common sense.
There is an inverse relationship between the size of government and the freedom of its people. Democrats want to grow government and shrink freedom. Congressional Republicans want to shrink the reach of government and grow individual freedom. That is the choice before this country: government control or individual liberty, dependence or opportunity, socialism or free markets, crazy or common sense.
I know which side I am on. farewell tel
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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a dedicated public servant, a trusted member of my team, and a good friend, Tel Wittmer, as he concludes 3\1/2\ years of service to the people of the Big First District.
Tel is a Kansan through and through. He grew up in Holton, graduated from K-State, and, like me, had the privilege of serving as student body president at K-State.
From the beginning, I knew that Tel understood that leadership is ultimately about service. Tel first joined my office in Washington, where he quickly became someone who I trusted with some of the most difficult issues before the Congress. He brought tremendous thoughtfulness to his work as a legislative assistant, but he also brought personality and joy to the office.
My Washington, D.C., staff was incredibly sad to see him leave the Capitol when he and his wife, Madelyn, moved home to Kansas last February.
Fortunately for us, Tel was not leaving the team. He moved to Wamego and took on the responsibility of serving as my district director. Over the last 1\1/2\ years, Kansans across the Big First have gotten to know the same Tel who we knew in Washington.
His thoughtfulness is apparent to everyone he meets. He listens carefully, treats people with respect, and approaches every conversation with a sincere desire to help. He has represented me and his office extremely well, and now my district staff feels the same way that my D.C. staff did when he left Washington. They are going to miss him tremendously, just as I will.
However, the things I admire most about Tel go way beyond his work. He is a man of strong faith, a leader in his community, a devoted husband to Madelyn, and now a great father to their young daughter, Eve.
I thank Tel for the 3\1/2\ years that he has given the people of Kansas. I thank him for his friendship, his counsel, his leadership, and the care he has shown to every Kansan who walked through the door.
While we will miss having Tel on our team, I am grateful that he will continue serving our great State in a new capacity. I know that God has great things ahead for Tel, Madelyn, and Eve, and I look forward to watching the next chapter unfold.
May God bless Tel, and I thank him for his service to the Big First.
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