We Are Better Together
Floor Speech
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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today still in shock and saddened at the political assassination of Charlie Kirk. There is no place for political violence in our country, and it is antithetical to who we are as Americans.
The beauty of our Nation and the First Amendment is that anyone from anywhere has the right to express their beliefs, engage in dialogue, and disagree peacefully. That is the heart of our democracy. We need to get back to embracing that dialogue.
Charlie often said that when we stop talking, that is when violence happens. I don't want to live in a society where we don't talk to people we disagree with and resort to violence. Leadership is never easy, but it falls on us to lead the way by carrying on the mission that Charlie lived for of open debate in a free society in the greatest nation that the world has ever known.
When al-Qaida terrorists attacked our Nation 24 years ago, they had one goal--to destroy America. They didn't see us as Democrats or Republicans, red States or blue States. They just saw Americans, one nation under God, and their goal was to destroy us. When we lose sight of seeing the humanity in our fellow Americans who think differently than us and convince ourselves they are the enemy instead of our neighbor, we are feeding into the very thing our adversaries want, and destroy our great country from within. We are better than this.
America is the greatest country in the world. All 340 million of us have different perspectives, values, and beliefs. I can't count how many issues I disagree with my colleagues across the aisle on, yet we know we can disagree without turning to violence. Charlie Kirk was an example of this. He did things the right way, having healthy debates with people who saw differently than him and sparking a movement that transformed an entire generation. Charlie believed in the promise of America, and his life's work was making sure we lived up to that promise.
Audrey and I continue to pray for Charlie's wife, Erika, who has two beautiful young children, and his family, friends, and supporters. Last week, President Trump invited the Nation to commit to praying for the country for 1 hour a week ahead of our 250th birthday. I would encourage us to accept that challenge. It is hard to hate someone when you pray with them and for them regularly.
One of the greatest blessings of this job is that I get to know and spend time with Kansans all across the Big First District, and because of that, I know that we are better than this. America is still the greatest country in the world, and I am hopeful that we will all take the opportunity to follow Charlie's example by engaging on the issues with our neighbors and living up to the promise of our great country. Return to Regular Order
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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, today our national debt stands at $37 trillion. For years, elected officials from both sides of the aisle have come to Washington ringing the alarm on our national debt, and rightly so. The only problem is, often they get to the Nation's Capital, and there is little to no appetite to make hard decisions to get our spending in check.
At the start of President Trump's historic second term earlier this year, he did the unthinkable. He paused Federal spending, went line by line through the Federal budget, and seriously evaluated how we are spending our tax dollars. For some people in this town, it was heartburn. However, Mr. Speaker, Kansans in the Big First District welcomed this fiscal sanity.
The reality is, our national debt is unsustainable. If every single household was to contribute and bring our debt to zero, we would each be responsible for $289,000. Consider that the average mortgage in America is about $245,000. No one in this body would allow a loved one to make continuously poor financial decisions like this. Why do we do it with our government?
House Republicans have been clear that we would like to return to regular order, pass 12 individual appropriations bills, and get our spending under control. Despite this reality, the consensus among too many in Washington is that they would rather see President Trump fail than work together to fund the government responsibly. It is frustrating, and rather than coming to the table to work together, they prefer to grandstand to try to score some political points.
We are better than this, Mr. Speaker. I urge my Democratic colleagues to come to the table, return to regular order, and let's get our fiscal house back in order.
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