One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri for yielding.

Ronald Reagan said one time that no speech should be longer than 20 minutes, and unlike the Democrat leader, I am going to honor my colleagues' time and be a little more brief than that.

I just want to say something that many of us learned when we were children. We were taught: It takes a lot longer to build a lie than to tell the simple truth.

My friends and colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, have waited long enough. Some of us have literally been up for days now, but this day is a hugely important one in the history of our Nation. We have a big job to finish, and that is why we are here on the week of July Fourth, just days before--just a day before now America's birthday.

It was on that fateful day, as the Democrat leader acknowledged, that our Founders pledged their lives and their sacred honor to this grand experiment in self-governance that we are now here to steward. It is an experiment that falls to us to guard and to protect it. We take that very seriously on this side of the aisle.

In just a few moments, we will remind the world why the American experiment still endures today and why its best days are still ahead of us.

Mr. Speaker, with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act we are going to make this country stronger, safer, and more prosperous than ever before, and every American is going to benefit from that.

Today, we are laying a key cornerstone of America's new golden age. Now, listen, we have a few words of gratitude first. Scripture has been cited a lot this morning, I think mostly out of context, but what I will say, one thing we know about Scripture is that we are supposed to give honor where honor is due, and that is what we do on this side of the aisle.

I thank every single Member of the House Republican Conference for pouring their time and their heart and their expertise and experience into this process. I thank all of our amazing staff members, all of them. Their dedication, their endless hours, and their hard work made this all possible.

I thank the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, who have basically lived with us now for the last few weeks. Their patience and persistence and their professionalism is greatly appreciated. Our country's incredible Cabinet Secretaries have been involved, as well. They have assisted us in countless ways throughout this process.

Our Vice President, JD Vance, helped us navigate so many dire straits along the last several weeks through the House and the Senate, and of course, our bold, visionary, fearless President, Donald J. Trump.

President Trump is the creator and the champion of the America First agenda. We will deliver upon that today. We have come a long way. We began this process really about 15 months ago. We had a sense, and we believed that we would have unified government. We would have this moment where the Republican Party would be given control of the White House and the Senate and the House, and we determined to ourselves that we would not waste that historic opportunity.

We have had spirited debates. We have had months of deliberations, and now we are finally ready to fulfill our promise to the American people. That is what we are doing today. Before I respond to the allegations from across the Chamber, I just want to take us back to a day that most of us will remember so very fondly for the rest of our lives and that is November 5 of 2024.

That was election day, a fateful one for America. The reason that was so important, the reason it was such a turn in history is because the American people spoke with unmistakable clarity. We sensed it as we were all out campaigning. We saw that there would be a demographic shift in America, and that is exactly what the election yielded.

We, in our party, had a record number of Black and African-American voters come to the Republican Party. We had a record number of Hispanic and Latino voters come to the Republican Party, a record number of Jewish voters and union workers and suburban women and urban voters. They came out in record numbers to join the Republican Party and the America First agenda with President Trump.

That election was decisive. It was a bellwether. It was a time for choosing, and I will tell you what, the American people chose overwhelmingly. They chose the Republican Party. The reason they did that--they didn't come hesitantly. They came with hopeful anticipation. Do you know why?

They came because this is not your father's Democratic Party. They went so far full speed to the far left and their radical, woke, progressive agenda, that the nonsense that they tried to push on the people was rejected by the people.

These new voters that came to us had enough of the Biden-Harris madness and all the things they were trying to hoist upon the American people that they just don't believe in their hearts, and they were hopeful. They came to us with hope. They wanted us to restore common sense and accountability, and we promised them that we would do just that.

Those new demographics came to the Republican Party because of open borders wreaking havoc on their communities. They came because of weakness at home that fueled instability abroad, and because trillions in reckless spending put the price of gas and groceries further out of the reach for hardworking Americans.

It wasn't right. President Trump and our Republican majority in Congress are fixing all of that right now. President Trump said this week that we are the hottest country in the world again.

My friends, that is an objective truth. Hey, listen, how about all the wins for the President and this party? Here is just a sample from the last 2 weeks. The headline today will be: One Big Beautiful Bill Act passes the Congress.

You have to hold your applause. There are too many wins. Are you getting tired of winning yet?

The fourth jobs report in a row exceeds expectations.

A sample of the headlines: Lowest monthly border encounters in U.S. history. We closed the border.

In the last couple of days, there was a new trade deal with Vietnam, and all the countries around the world are lining up for that.

UPenn agrees to ban biological men from women's sports, and they ought to give a personal apology to every female athlete impacted by that nonsense.

Gas prices are at a 4-year low, my friends.

The Air Force and Space Force both hit their 2025 recruiting goals 3 months early.

Israel is agreeing to a 60-day cease-fire with Hamas. A successful strike on Iranian nuclear sites handles that problem. That is exactly right. Strength is back. America is back. It has resulted now in a cease-fire deal between Iran and Israel.

The NATO countries are increasing their defense spending, not just 2 percent but 5 percent of GDP.

The President got in charge and got a Rwanda-Congo peace deal.

The Supreme Court ended nationwide injunctions. How about that? That conservative majority on the Supreme Court also allows third-country deportations.

We have had a record-high stock market, and we are signing a China trade deal.

That is just the last 2 weeks, the last 2 weeks.

There are so many simple truths to share and so little time to do it because I want everybody to have a break here.

I just want to say this. It is really nice to hear Democratic colleagues suddenly take an interest in working Americans again. Did you pick up on that theme today?

Let's be clear: Working Americans stopped trusting Democrats a long time ago. That is a fact. They are looking to this side of the Chamber. They are looking to the Republican Party and our principles to deliver the relief and the reform that they have long demanded and most certainly deserve.

This One Big Beautiful Bill Act fulfills all the promises of the America First agenda. It is the people's bill. It is made for and shaped by the most diverse coalition of American voters in American history.

Today, we are making the dream of a government that puts the American people first a reality.

I would need this entire notebook to tell you all the great things in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It is aptly named, but I will just tell you a couple of the highlights: record tax cuts for hardworking Americans, and historic savings, at the same time, to end reckless spending. We have energy dominance coming back to power our future. We have a secure border to protect American families. We have a strong military to restore peace through strength. We have a government that is now accountable and responsive to the people once again.

That is what we are delivering. For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel, and they will feel much more when this bill is done. Families back home will have real relief, an average of $10,000 in their pockets, thanks to the largest working- and middle-class tax cut in the history of this great Nation. That is what we are doing today.

You have hardworking Americans like our waiters, our bellhops, and our hairstylists. They are going to keep 100 percent of their tips and overtime pay. That is money they earned. It does not belong to the government. It belongs to them, and they deserve to keep it.

Small businesses that want to build and expand new factories, do you know what they can do now? They can write off 100 percent of their investment. That will get us a lot more building.

Young families who want to buy a home will be able to, thanks to historic savings that will put our country on a stronger financial footing.

Pregnant women, children, seniors, single mothers, the disabled, and the low-income Americans among us receiving Medicaid and SNAP will have the peace of mind of knowing that we made these safety nets stronger with our reforms.

See, when Republicans are in charge, we bring common sense. We are going to make sure that Americans who do need and deserve those critical programs won't have to compete against people who can work but choose not to do so. That is not right.

This bill is going to put fairness back in the system. We are returning to common sense. We are returning to what is good and decent that people know in their hearts, and that is why they support it.

More Americans will be working, volunteering, and serving their communities because modest, commonsense work requirements will restore dignity and purpose to those on taxpayer-funded benefits.

The bill will also mean that safer streets are available in every ZIP Code around the country because our border will remain fully and totally secure.

The Republican Party stands for law and order, and this is the side that stands with law enforcement, the brave men and women who are on the front line. The idea that those who put their own lives on the line to protect us would be assaulted for doing their jobs is unconscionable.

I know you agree. I know. Amen.

Law enforcement will have the help of a border wall now that is 100 percent complete. Our immigration enforcement officers will get a boost from more manpower, resources, and detention space so that detained illegal aliens are not released back onto the streets like they were for the last 4 years.

Our homeland can rest soundly again under the protection of President Trump's Golden Dome. That is what we are investing in.

Look, any of these individual achievements would be historic victories for a Republican Congress or any Congress, and today, we are delivering on all of them in one big, beautiful bill.

That is what Americans can count on when we pass this legislation, and that is exactly what Democrats will vote to oppose today. That is a fact. We did not write this bill for the Democratic Party, the elites, or the media. This bill is for hardworking Americans, and they deserve it.

I am going to just say this as plainly as I can. This is the simple truth. If you are for a secure border, safer communities, and a strong military, this bill is for you. If you are for commonsense fiscal responsibility and reducing the deficit, this bill is for you.

If you are for fair and lower taxes, bigger paychecks, affordable gas and groceries, and restoring dignity to hard work, this is the bill for you.

It makes no difference whether our colleagues across the Chamber speak for 25 minutes or 25 hours, they can't change the truth. Today was about performance for some of them, but today for us is about results--a result that improves the lives of Americans regardless of their race, religion, color, or creed. It does not matter.

I tell you what Ronald Reagan used to remind us, you can always trust the American people. We do trust the American people. They can discern the difference. What they saw on display here today is that Democrats deliver performances and Republicans deliver results.

Today, my friends, we are ready now. We are going to deliver what we were sent here to do, and every American will benefit from it.

In 1793, just steps from where we stand today, President George Washington laid the first cornerstone of the United States Capitol. Over 50 years later, on July Fourth, Members of this body gathered once again to lay a second cornerstone.

Once more on July Fourth, at the height of the Cold War, Congress laid a third cornerstone. This week, with this vote today, with our Nation's birthday being tomorrow, we lay a fourth. With this bill, we can vote as stewards of that great legacy that we have inherited in this extraordinary Nation that we are blessed to live in.

We can lay another sturdy foundation for the future of this country, a future where working Americans can feel relief, where government can finally start living within its means again, and where the United States is safer, stronger, and more prosperous than ever before. That is right.

Now, I am going to say this as they mock America and mock everything and mock the bill, we will see how the people feel about that.

Listen, seriously, as friends and colleagues, really, across the aisle, what we celebrate tomorrow is the Nation's birthday. Let's put the politics aside for a minute and let's reflect on our blessings. No kidding, really. Tomorrow is the 249th birthday of our Nation. That is right.

I mean this sincerely: I thank my colleagues for standing, we all should be united in that. We are. We are. We have squabbles and we have partisan debates and all of this, but at the end of the day, we are all Americans, man. We have got to believe that. We have got to know it. We have got to recognize that we live in the greatest Nation in the history of the world. It is not even close.

My friends and colleagues, we are so blessed. We should not take it for granted. We live in the most free, the most successful, the most powerful, the most benevolent Nation that has ever been on the face of the Earth, and there is a reason for that.

The reason that we are the greatest Nation is because we were built on the ultimate foundation, and the bold declaration that my friend, Hakeem Jeffries, articulated earlier is true, we unite under that: the bold declaration that we do hold these truths to be self-evident.

What is a self-evident truth? It is something that is obvious. ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'' It does not say born equal, it says created equal. It is our creator, yes, that gives us our rights.

See, the powerful thing about that is we are the first Nation in the history of the world that acknowledged that our rights do not derive from government. They come from God himself.

You see those words up there, that motto, it says: ``In God We Trust'' right above the Speaker's rostrum. A previous Congress put that there in the early 1960s at the height of the Cold War.

There is a little visitors guide that people get when you do tours late at night, you have probably seen your constituents, visitors, and friends get the guide. If you turn, I think it is, about to page 21, it explains why that is there. It says: Congress voted to put that there as a rebuke to the Soviets' worldview at the height of the Cold War. Why? It is because Communism, Socialism find their roots in Marxism, and Marxism begins with the belief that there is no God. Marxism is wrong.

This Congress made a stand those many years ago, and we should do it again. We are different. We are distinct. We are exceptional because we acknowledge that right there, our motto.

It doesn't say in government we trust. It says: ``In God We Trust,'' and we better remember that. He has blessed us with this grand experiment in self-governance now for almost two-and-a-half centuries, and by God's grace, we are working hard and we are delivering on our promise to Make America Great Again.

This is, without a doubt, the most important vote of this Congress, and I think this one may be the most important vote that any of us take in our entire lifetimes and everybody better remember it, however you vote today.

My friends, the President of the United States is waiting with his pen. The American people are waiting for this relief. We have heard enough talk. It is time for action. Let's finish the job for him. Vote ``yes'' on the bill.

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