Relating to A National Emergency By the President on February 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, the Democrats fought Republicans to require voter ID to protect the integrity of our elections, the cornerstone of our democratic Republic. Now they stand here today on the floor of the people's house, fighting the President in his effort to protect the lives of the American people against what is the most imminent threat and the number one cause of accidental deaths and drug overdoses.

We know where the drugs are coming from, pouring into our country and our communities, killing our friends, killing our families. I can't think of a greater security concern than this. The President has effectively and appropriately promoted and defended America's economic and security interests by the use of tariffs.

Today, Mr. Speaker, as a result, we have a lower trade deficit than we have had since 2009. By the way, the top 20 economies in the world that we do business with had twice the tariffs on our products, three times the tariffs when you measure agriculture products, and the deficit is going down. We have quadrupled revenue to strengthen America's balance sheet and pay down the tax on our children, which is the deficit. We have gone from 6.3 percent to 5.9, and exports are at an all-time high.

Now, what is the issue here? It is not about 301, unfair trade practices, although there are plenty of grievances against our northern neighbor in that regard. This isn't about USMCA. The USMCA products flowing from Canada to the United States are exempt. Eighty-five percent of the products, we are not talking about that. It is not about 232.

This is about one particular authority that this Congress empowered our commander-in-chief with to deal with unusual threats outside of the U.S. that would impact our national security, our foreign policy, and our economy.

Now, I can't think of anything more unusual, and I can't think of a bigger threat than a chemical warfare waged against the United States of America. Any President worth his salt, any commander-in-chief, would be derelict in their duty if they didn't use every tool at their disposal to stop it.

For my President to expect our neighbor from the north to have the same vigilance and the same urgency as he has because of the American people's mandate to stop this madness and protect our children, God bless him. God bless him.

For my colleagues to run to the floor, to raise their hands, and to scream foul that this President is somehow using tariffs in a way that has nothing to do with our interest, to talk about food security, we could go down the list. We wouldn't have food insecurity if we didn't have a cost of living crisis where the fuse was lit by unbridled spending. We could go down the list. Yes, we are doing something about that. We are bringing interest rates down. We are bringing real wages up. We are also preserving food stamps so they are not being defrauded or being spent on people here illegally.

Mr. Chairman, I would love to keep debating all day long. God bless America, and go West Texas.

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