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[Page H1007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LET'S COME TOGETHER
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Woodall) for 5 minutes.
Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I remember standing in your chair over
these last couple of Congresses reading out that very same card at the
end. Whether the Obama administration or the Trump administration,
folks come down to the floor, they get caught up in the passions of the
moment, and we do have opportunities to come together.
I had not planned on coming down. I was actually in the Cloakroom
making some telephone calls, and I heard my colleague speaking. I heard
her with sincerity implore the President to come to his senses, come to
the negotiating table, and end this shutdown. Then I heard her with
sincerity implore the leaders of the Senate to come to the negotiating
table, to come to their senses, and to end this shutdown. Then in about
an hour and a half, I will be down here leading the debate on the rule
for the minority, and we will bring yet another of the exact same bills
we have brought to the floor that have gone absolutely nowhere in an
effort to reopen the government.
I would say to my friends that the secret to finding common ground
isn't to ask everybody else to come to where you are standing. That is
the new definition of compromise in this town. I have seen that, that
gravitate in the five terms that I have been here.
The definition of compromise is: Well, why don't you agree with me?
The truth is the only movement I have seen in this debate over these
last 32 days is the President this past weekend when he said: Do you
know what? We have called on every single Member in every single
Chamber to find a solution to the young men and women trapped in a DACA
status, those families who come here with temporary protective status,
and they are uncertain about their future--folks on both sides of the
aisle have called for that--he said: Do you know what? Maybe we can
broaden this debate, Madam Speaker. Maybe we can broaden the definition
of what success looks like, and maybe we can break this logjam.
Madam Speaker, I would just say to my colleagues: I will come back
down to the House floor as often as you all want me to come back down
to the House floor, and we can do exactly the same thing every single
day knowing we are going to get exactly the same result from the White
House and the Senate. Or, we can try to do something different.
Candidly, my constituents didn't send me here to do the same thing
over and over and over again with the same failed result. They sent me
here to get success. They don't care if I win. They care if I succeed
on their behalf. They don't care about Republican and Democratic
priorities. They care about their family priorities.
And I have to believe--though I don't know all of my freshman
colleagues as well as I would like--I have to believe that even with
all the new Members in this institution there is still more that unites
us than divides us in this country. I love that about this institution.
I love that about the men and women who are here.
So, Madam Speaker, I ask this: Let's try to do a little more
listening and a little less talking. Here in the rank and file, golly,
I have to believe if I could pick out a few colleagues here, I am
pretty sure that we could sit down at the table and solve this. I
confess it is beyond our reach as we sit here today. This is a White
House decision. This is a Mitch McConnell decision. And this is a Nancy
Pelosi decision. We ought to all as rank-and-file Members be outraged
when it does rise to that level because we lose control.
Our constituents lose their voice.
I am encouraging my leadership to be as open and honest and to be as
flexible and creative as they possibly can in finding a solution. Every
single one of us bears responsibility in this Chamber of what is going
on.
If Senate Democrats had let these appropriations bills move last
fall, then we wouldn't be in this mess. If Republicans had passed a
continuing resolution in December, we wouldn't be in this mess. There
are 1,000 different decisionmaking points where we could have done
things differently. We cannot change those, but we can change what is
happening here today.
I tell my constituents back home: If you want to understand what is
happening in Congress, listen to the 5 minutes in the morning, listen
to the 1 minutes at noon, and find out if the folks who are coming to
the floor are celebrating opportunities for success or simply
condemning their colleagues for not being invested in solutions.
I believe in the men and women of this Chamber. I believe in the U.S.
House of Representatives. I believe in self-governance in this Nation.
Failing the American people, Madam Speaker, undermines that confidence.
We have an opportunity to succeed, and I hope we will say yes to that
opportunity.
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