There is Still Time to Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. NICKEL. Mr. Speaker, Harry Truman famously labeled the 80th United States Congress the ``do-nothing Congress.''

Back then, Republicans controlled the House and Senate for the first time in a while, while Truman was in the White House.

Congress opposed all of Truman's Fair Deal bills but still saw some work on both the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. They also passed the Taft-Hartley Act over Truman's veto but generally did very little for the American people.

After that do-nothing Congress, Democrats were able to take back the House, take back the Senate, and reelect President Truman. I, of course, think of the famous photo of Truman standing with the newspaper that says: ``Dewey Defeats Truman.''

It turns out the American people like having a Congress working to solve problems. This is a job about results, and that Congress did very little.

That is a big reason why voters chose to send the Republican majority in the House and Senate packing back then. Now, we are in the 118th Congress, and we are on track to be one of the least productive Congresses in our Nation's history.

Mr. Speaker, 22 bills have been signed into law. At about this point in the last Congress, 81 bills had been signed into law. At this point in the 116th Congress, the Congress just before that, 107 bills had been signed into law.

Mr. Speaker, what have we accomplished for the American people? I will tell you what: Virtually nothing.

We have just 4 legislative days left this year, and we have very little to show for it. We have passed two CRs and raised the debt ceiling, but that is really about it.

To this date, we have been defined by the chaos and confusion in the Republican Congress and the 19 votes for the Speaker of the House so far this year. We are truly the do-nothing Congress.

We haven't passed funding for Israel or Ukraine. We haven't passed a farm bill or reauthorized the FAA. Border security and immigration reform are top-of-mind issues that need to be resolved. Yet, we will be facing another government shutdown when we come back in January.

Mr. Speaker, the clock is ticking, and the American people are counting on us to do what we were sent here to do--to vote, to get things done. The world is at a critical juncture, and our inaction speaks volumes.

In Ukraine, we have heard from our diplomatic and defense leaders about the precarious situation in Ukraine and in Israel. Right now, we risk Ukraine literally running out of bullets. If we do nothing by the end of the year, Vladimir Putin will win.

The silence in this Chamber is easily mistaken around the world as support for Moscow, and we cannot let that happen.

The majority of the Republican Conference, I believe, supports standing with Ukraine, but the vocal minority in the Republican Conference has been able to block all action so far this year. It is the tail wagging the dog, and it is disgraceful.

Let's talk about the cost. If we gift wrap Ukraine for Vladimir Putin this holiday season, we will spend 100 times more money down the road containing an aggressive Russia all over the world.

This is a national security issue for the American people. Support for Ukraine is in our national interest.

Let's talk about Israel. Like Russia, Hamas poses an existential threat to democracy. It is our duty to firmly stand with our democratic allies.

The majority of the Members of this Chamber support a clean security and humanitarian aid package to Israel, yet nothing has happened. It is shameful that our new Speaker has chosen to play partisan political games with support for Israel.

Listen, Mr. Speaker. Something has got to give in this Congress. Democrats have a narrow majority in the Senate; Republicans have a very narrow--soon to be even more narrow--majority in the House; and Democrats have the White House. We have to work together if we are going to get anything done. Until the Republican Conference begins to understand that, we will continue to accomplish nothing for the American people.

I believe we can work together. I believe we can pass a bill to support Israel and Ukraine, strengthen our southern border, and pass immigration reform, but only if we do it together.

That is the challenge we have, Mr. Speaker. There is still time to act. There is still time to vote. There is still time to come back next week to pass support for Israel and Ukraine. We need to do it. We need to get things done. We do not want to be defined as the do-nothing Congress.

I am here to get to work, and I encourage all of my colleagues to join me in reaching across the aisle and working together to get these things done.

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