{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2025-03-04-pt1-PgH966-3", "2025-03-04", 119, 1, null, null, "JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS PURSUANT TO HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 11 TO RECEIVE A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT", "HOUSE", "HOUSE", "ALLOTHER", "H966", "H973", null, "[{\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"HCONRES\", \"number\": \"11\"}]", "171 Cong. Rec. H966", "Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 41 (Tuesday, March 4, 2025)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 4, 2025)]\n[House]\n[Pages H966-H973]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                              {time}  2039\nJOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS PURSUANT TO HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 11 TO\n                  RECEIVE A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT\n\n  The recess having expired, the House was called to order by the\nSpeaker at 8 o'clock and 39 minutes p.m.\n  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms, Mrs. Seton Gardner, announced\nthe Vice President and Members of the U.S. Senate, who entered the Hall\nof the House of Representatives, the Vice President taking the chair at\nthe right of the Speaker, and the Members of the Senate the seats\nreserved for them.\n  The SPEAKER. The joint session will come to order.\n  The Chair appoints as members of the committee on the part of the\nHouse to escort the President of the United States into the Chamber:\n  The gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise);\n  The gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Emmer);\n  The gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. McClain);\n  The gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson);\n  The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler);\n  The gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore);\n  The gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Houchin);\n  The gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Hern);\n  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries);\n  The gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Clark);\n  The gentleman from California (Mr. Aguilar);\n  The gentleman from California (Mr. Lieu);\n  The gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse);\n  The gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene); and\n  The gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell).\n  The VICE PRESIDENT. The President of the Senate, at the direction of\nthat body, appoints the following Senators as members of the committee\non the part of the Senate to escort the President of the United States\ninto the House Chamber:\n  The Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Thune);\n  The Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso);\n  The Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton);\n  The Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford);\n  The Senator from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito);\n  The Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Scott);\n  The Senator from New York (Mr. Schumer);\n  The Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin);\n  The Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Klobuchar);\n  The Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker); and\n  The Senator from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin).\n  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms announced the Dean of the\nDiplomatic Corps, His Excellency Hersey Kyota, the Ambassador of the\nRepublic of Palau.\n  The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps entered the Hall of the House of\nRepresentatives and took the seat reserved for him.\n  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms announced the Chief Justice of\nthe United States and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court.\n  The Chief Justice of the United States and the Associate Justices of\nthe Supreme Court entered the Hall of the House of Representatives and\ntook the seats reserved for them in front of the Speaker's rostrum.\n  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms announced the Cabinet of the\nPresident of the United States.\n  The members of the Cabinet of the President of the United States\nentered the Hall of the House of Representatives and took the seats\nreserved for them in front of the Speaker's rostrum.\n  At 9 o'clock and 13 minutes p.m., the Sergeant at Arms, the Honorable\nWilliam P. McFarland, announced the President of the United States.\n  The President of the United States, escorted by the committee of\nSenators and Representatives, entered the Hall of the House of\nRepresentatives and stood at the Clerk's desk.\n  (Applause, the Members rising.)\n  The PRESIDENT. Speaker Johnson, Vice President Vance, the First Lady\nof the United States, Members of the United States Congress, thank you\nvery much.\n  And to my fellow citizens, America is back. Six weeks ago, I stood\nbeneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden\nage of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and\nunrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in\nthe history of our country.\n  We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations\naccomplished in 4 years or 8 years, and we are just getting started.\n  I return to this Chamber tonight to report that America's momentum is\nback. Our spirit is back. Our pride is back. Our confidence is back.\nAnd the American Dream is surging bigger and better than ever before.\n  The American Dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of\na comeback, the likes of which the world has never witnessed and\nperhaps will never witness again. There's never been anything like it.\n  The Presidential election of November 5th was a mandate like has not\nbeen seen in many decades. We won all seven swing States, giving us an\nelectoral college victory of 312 votes. We won the popular vote by big\nnumbers and won counties in our country--and won counties in our\ncountry 2,700 to 525 on a map that reads almost completely red for\nRepublican.\n  Now, for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe\nthat our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong\ndirection. In fact, it is an astonishing record 27-point swing, the\nmost ever.\n  Likewise, small business optimism saw its single largest 1-month gain\never recorded, a 41-point jump.\n  The SPEAKER. Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in\nthe\n\n[[Page H967]]\n\nHouse and to cease any further disruptions. That's your warning.\n  Members are engaging in willful and continuing breach of decorum, and\nthe Chair is prepared to direct the Sergeant at Arms to restore order\nto the joint session.\n  Mr. Green, take your seat. Take your seat, sir. Take your seat.\n  Finding that Members continue to engage in willful and concerted\ndisruption of proper decorum, the Chair now directs the Sergeant at\nArms to restore order.\n  Remove this gentleman from the Chamber.\n  Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House.\n  Mr. President, you can continue.\n  The PRESIDENT. Thank you.\n  Over the past 6 weeks, I have signed nearly 100 executive orders and\ntaken more than 400 executive actions, a record, to restore common\nsense, safety, optimism, and wealth all across our wonderful land. The\npeople elected me to do the job, and I am doing it.\n  In fact, it has been stated by many that the first month of our\nPresidency--it's our Presidency--is the most successful in the history\nof our Nation, by many. And what makes it even more impressive is that\nyou know who number two is? George Washington. How about that? How\nabout that? I don't know about that list, but we'll take it.\n  Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national\nemergency on our southern border, and I deployed the U.S. military and\nBorder Patrol to repel the invasion of our country. And what a job they\nhave done.\n  As a result, illegal border crossings last month were by far the\nlowest ever recorded, ever. They heard my words, and they chose not to\ncome. Much easier that way.\n  In comparison, under Joe Biden, the worst President in American\nhistory, there were hundreds of thousands of illegal crossings a month,\nand virtually all of them, including murderers, drug dealers, gang\nmembers, and people from mental institutions and insane asylums, were\nreleased into our country. Who would want to do that?\n  This is my fifth such speech to Congress, and once again, I look at\nthe Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing\nI can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud,\nnothing I can do. I could find a cure to the most devastating disease,\na disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers\nto the greatest economy in history or the stoppage of crime to the\nlowest levels ever recorded, and these people, sitting right here, will\nnot clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these\nastronomical achievements. They won't do it, no matter what. Five--five\ntimes I have been up here. It's very sad, and it just shouldn't be this\nway.\n  So, Democrats sitting before me, for just this one night, why not\njoin us in celebrating so many incredible wins for America? For the\ngood of our Nation, let's work together, and let's truly make America\ngreat again.\n  Every day, my administration is fighting to deliver the change\nAmerica needs to bring a future that America deserves, and we are doing\nit. This is a time for big dreams and bold action.\n  Upon taking office, I imposed an immediate freeze on all Federal\nhiring, a freeze on all new Federal regulations, and a freeze on all\nforeign aid.\n  I terminated the ridiculous green new scam. I withdrew from the\nunfair Paris climate accord, which was costing us trillions of dollars\nthat other countries were not paying. I withdrew from the corrupt World\nHealth Organization, and I also withdrew from the anti-American U.N.\nHuman Rights Council.\n  We ended all of Biden's environmental restrictions that were making\nour country far less safe and totally unaffordable. And, importantly,\nwe ended the last administration's insane electric vehicle mandate\nsaving our autoworkers and companies from economic destruction.\n  To unshackle our economy, I have directed that for every 1 new\nregulation, 10 old regulations must be eliminated just like I did in my\nvery successful first term.\n  And in that first term, we set records on ending unnecessary rules\nand regulations, like no other President had done before. We ordered\nall Federal workers to return to the office. They will either show up\nfor work in person or be removed from their job.\n  And we have ended weaponized government where, as an example, a\nsitting President is allowed to viciously prosecute his political\nopponent, like me.\n  How did that work out? Not too good. Not too good.\n  And I've stopped all government censorship and brought back free\nspeech in America. It's back.\n  And 2 days ago I signed an order making English the official language\nof the United States of America.\n  I renamed the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America, and, likewise, I\nrenamed for a great President, William McKinley, Mount McKinley again.\nBeautiful Alaska. We love Alaska.\n  We've ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion\npolicies all across the entire Federal Government and, indeed, the\nprivate sector, and our military. And our country will be woke no\nlonger.\n  We believe that whether you are a doctor, an accountant, a lawyer, or\nan air traffic controller, you should be hired and promoted based on\nskill and competence, not race or gender. Very important. You should be\nhired based on merit, and the Supreme Court in a brave and very\npowerful decision has allowed us to do so.\n  Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.\n  We have removed the poison of critical race theory from our public\nschools. And I signed an order making it the official policy of the\nUnited States Government that there are only two genders, male and\nfemale.\n  I also signed an executive order to ban men from playing in women's\nsports.\n  Three years ago, Payton McNabb was an all-star high school athlete,\none of the best, preparing for a future in college sports. But when her\ngirls volleyball match was invaded by a male, he smashed the ball so\nhard in Payton's face, causing traumatic brain injury, partially\nparalyzing her right side and ending her athletic career. It was a shot\nlike she's never seen before. She's never seen anything like it. Payton\nis here tonight in the gallery.\n  And, Payton, from now on schools will kick the men off the girls'\nteam or they will lose all Federal funding.\n  And if you really want to see numbers, just take a look at what\nhappened in the women's boxing, weightlifting, track and field,\nswimming, or cycling, where a male recently finished a long-distance\nrace 5 hours and 14 minutes ahead of a woman for a new record by 5\nhours. Broke the record by 5 hours. It's demeaning for women, and it's\nvery bad for our country. We're not going to put up with it any longer.\n  What I have just described is only a small fraction of the\ncommonsense revolution that is now, because of us, sweeping the entire\nworld. Common sense has become a common theme, and we will never go\nback, never. Never going to let that happen.\n  Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get\ndramatic and immediate relief to working families. As you know, we\ninherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an\ninflation nightmare. Their policies drove up energy prices, pushed up\ngrocery costs, and drove the necessities of life out of reach for\nmillions and millions of Americans. They've never had anything like it.\nWe suffered the worst inflation in 48 years, but perhaps even in the\nhistory of our country. They're not sure. As President, I'm fighting\nevery day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again.\n  Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control. The\negg price is out of control, and we're working hard to get it back\ndown.\n  Secretary, do a good job on that. You inherited a total mess from the\nprevious administration. Do a good job.\n  A major focus of our fight to defeat inflation is rapidly reducing\nthe cost of energy. The previous administration cut the number of new\noil and gas leases by 95 percent, slowed pipeline construction to a\nhalt, and closed more than 100 power plants. We are opening up many of\nthose power plants right now; and, frankly, we have never seen anything\nlike it. That is why, on my first day in office, I declared a national\nenergy emergency.\n  As you've heard me say many times, we have more liquid gold under our\nfeet\n\n[[Page H968]]\n\nthan any nation on Earth, and by far, and now, I fully authorize the\nmost talented team ever assembled to go and get it. It's called drill,\nbaby, drill.\n  My administration is also working on a gigantic natural gas pipeline\nin Alaska, among the largest in the world, where Japan, South Korea,\nand other nations want to be our partner with investments of trillions\nof dollars each. There has never been anything like that one. It will\nbe truly spectacular. It's all set to go. The permitting is gotten.\nAnd, later this week, I will also take historic action to dramatically\nexpand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the USA.\n  To further combat inflation, we will not only be reducing the cost of\nenergy, but we'll be ending the flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars.\nAnd, to that end, I have created the brand-new Department of Government\nEfficiency, DOGE. Perhaps you've heard of it, perhaps, which is headed\nby Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.\n  Thank you, Elon.\n  He's working very hard. He didn't need this. He didn't need this.\n  Thank you very much. We appreciate it, everybody here. Even this side\nappreciates it, I believe. They just don't want to admit that.\n  Just listen to some of the appalling waste we have already\nidentified:\n  $22 billion from HHS to provide free housing and cars for illegal\naliens;\n  $45 million for diversity, equity, and inclusion scholarships in\nBurma;\n  $40 million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary\nmigrants--nobody knows what that is;\n  $8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which\nnobody has ever heard of;\n  $60 million for indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian empowerment in\nCentral America, $60 million;\n  $8 million for making mice transgender. This is real;\n  $32 million for a leftwing propaganda operation in Moldova;\n  $10 million for male circumcision in Mozambique;\n  $20 million for the Arab ``Sesame Street'' in the Middle East--it's a\nprogram--$20 million for a program;\n  $1.9 billion to a recently created decarbonization of homes committee\nheaded up--and we know she's involved--just at the last moment, the\nmoney was passed over--by a woman named Stacey Abrams. Have you ever\nheard of her?\n  A $3.5 million consulting contract for lavish fish monitoring;\n  $1.5 million for voter confidence in Liberia;\n  $14 million for social cohesion in Mali;\n  $59 million for illegal alien hotel rooms in New York City--he's a\nreal estate developer. He's done very well;\n  $250,000 to increase vegan local climate action innovation in Zambia;\n  $42 million for social and behavior change in Uganda;\n  $14 million for improving public procurement in Serbia;\n  $47 million for improving learning outcomes in Asia. Asia is doing\nvery well with learning. I don't know what we are doing. We should use\nit ourself;\n  And $101 million for DEI contracts at the Department of Education,\nthe most ever paid, nothing even like it.\n  Under the Trump administration, all of these scams, and there are far\nworse, but I didn't think it was appropriate to talk about them, they\nare so bad. Many more have been found out and exposed and swiftly\nterminated by a group of very intelligent, mostly young people, headed\nup by Elon, and we appreciate it. We found hundreds of billions of\ndollars of fraud.\n  And we've taken back the money and reduced our debt to fight\ninflation and other things--taken back a lot of that money. We got it\njust in time. This is just the beginning.\n  The Government Accountability Office, a Federal Government office,\nhas estimated annual fraud of over $500 billion in our Nation, and we\nare working very hard to stop it. We're going to.\n\n  We're also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable\nfraud in the Social Security program for our seniors and that our\nseniors and people that we love rely on.\n  Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social\nSecurity members from people aged 100 to 109 years old.\n  It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119. I don't know any of\nthem. I know some people that are rather elderly, but not quite that\nelderly;\n  3.47 million people from ages 120 to 129;\n  3.9 million people from ages 130 to 139;\n  3.5 million people from ages 140 to 149, and money is being paid to\nmany of them, and we're searching right now.\n  In fact, Pam, good luck. Good luck. You are going to find it. But a\nlot of money is paid out to people because it just keeps getting paid\nand paid, and nobody does--and it really hurts Social Security and\nhurts our country.\n  1.3 million people from ages 150 to 159; and over 130,000 people,\naccording to the Social Security databases, are aged over 160 years\nold--we have a healthier country than I thought, Bobby--including, to\nfinish, 1,039 people between the ages of 220 and 229;\n  1 person between the age of 240 and 249;\n  And 1 person is listed at 360 years of age, more than 100 years--more\nthan 100 years older than our country.\n  But we're going to find out where that money is going, and it's not\ngoing to be pretty. By slashing all of the fraud, waste, and theft we\ncan find, we will defeat inflation, bring down mortgage rates, lower\ncar payments and grocery prices, protect our seniors, and put more\nmoney in the pockets of American families.\n  And today, interest rates took a beautiful drop, a big, beautiful\ndrop. It's about time.\n  And in the near future, I want to do what has not been done in 24\nyears, balance the Federal budget. We are going to balance it.\n  With that goal in mind, we have developed in great detail what we are\ncalling the gold card, which goes on sale very, very soon. For $5\nmillion, we will allow the most successful, job-creating people from\nall over the world to buy a path to U.S. citizenship. It's like the\ngreen card but better and more sophisticated.\n  And these people will have to pay tax in our country. They won't have\nto pay tax from where they came. The money that they've made, you\nwouldn't want to do that, but they have to pay tax, create jobs.\nThey'll also be taking people out of colleges and paying for them so\nthat we can keep them in our country instead of having them being\nforced out, number one, at the top school, as an example, being forced\nout and not being allowed to stay and create tremendous numbers of jobs\nand great success for a company out there.\n  So while we take out the criminals, killers, traffickers, and child\npredators who were allowed to enter our country under the open-border\npolicy of these people, the Democrats, the Biden administration, the\nopen border, insane policies that you've allowed to destroy our\ncountry, we will now bring in brilliant, hardworking, job-creating\npeople. They are going to pay a lot of money, and we're going to reduce\nour debt with that money.\n  Americans have given us a mandate for bold and profound change. For\nnearly 100 years, the Federal bureaucracy has grown until it has\ncrushed our freedoms, ballooned our deficits, and held back America's\npotential in every possible way.\n  The Nation, founded by pioneers and risk takers, now drowns under\nmillions and millions of pages of regulations and debt. Approvals that\nshould take 10 days to get instead take 10 years, 15 years, and even 20\nyears before you're rejected.\n  Meanwhile, we have hundreds of thousands of Federal workers who have\nnot been showing up to work. My administration will reclaim power from\nthis unaccountable bureaucracy, and we will restore true democracy to\nAmerica again.\n  And any Federal bureaucrat who resists this change will be removed\nfrom office immediately because we are draining the swamp. It's very\nsimple. And the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.\n  And the next phase of our plan to deliver the greatest economy in\nhistory is for this Congress to pass tax cuts for everybody. They're in\nthere. They're waiting for you to vote, and I'm sure that the people on\nmy right--I don't mean the Republican right, but my right, right here,\nI'm sure you're going to vote for those tax cuts because otherwise I\ndon't believe the people will ever vote you into office, so I'm doing\nyou a big favor by telling you that. But I know this group is going to\nbe voting for the tax cut.\n\n[[Page H969]]\n\n  Thank you. It's a very, very big part of our plan. We had tremendous\nsuccess at our first term with it. A very big part of our plan, we're\nseeking permanent income tax cuts all across the board. And to get\nurgently needed relief to Americans hit especially hard by inflation,\nI'm calling for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on\nSocial Security benefits for our great seniors.\n  And I also want to make interest payments on car loans tax\ndeductible, but only if the car is made in America.\n  And, by the way, we're going to have growth in the auto industry like\nnobody's ever seen. Plants are opening up all over the place. Deals are\nbeing made. Never seen--that's a combination of the election win and\ntariffs. It's a beautiful word, isn't it?\n  That, along with our other policies, will allow our auto industry to\nabsolutely boom. It's going to boom. Spoke to the majors today, all\nthree, the top people, and they're so excited.\n  In fact, already numerous car companies have announced that they will\nbe building massive automobile plants in America, with Honda just\nannouncing a new plant in Indiana, one of the largest anywhere in the\nworld.\n  And this has taken place since our great victory on November 5th, a\ndate which will hopefully go down as one of the most important in the\nhistory of our country.\n  In addition, as part of our tax cuts, we want to cut taxes on\ndomestic production and all manufacturing. And just as we did before,\nwe will provide 100 percent expensing. It will be retroactive to\nJanuary 20th, 2025, and it was one of the main reasons why our tax cuts\nwere so successful in our first term, giving us the most successful\neconomy in the history of our country, first term. We had a great first\nterm.\n  If you don't make your product in America, however, under the Trump\nadministration, you will pay a tariff and, in some cases, a rather\nlarge one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades,\nand now it's our turn to start using them against those other\ncountries.\n\n  On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico, and\nCanada--have you heard of them?--and countless other nations charge us\ntremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair.\n  India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 percent. China's\naverage tariff on our products is twice what we charge them. And South\nKorea's average tariff is four times higher--think of that, four times\nhigher--and we give so much help militarily and so many other ways to\nSouth Korea, but that's what happens.\n  This is happening by friend and foe. The system is not fair to the\nUnited States and never was. And so, on April 2nd--I wanted to make it\nApril 1st, but I didn't want to be accused of April Fools' Day. That's\nnot--just one day will cost us a lot of money, but we're going to do it\non April--I'm a very superstitious person--April 2nd reciprocal tariffs\nkick in and whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff\nthem. That's reciprocal, back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will\ntax them.\n  If they do nonmonetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then\nwe will do nonmonetary barriers to keep them out of our market. There's\na lot of that, too. They don't even allow us in their market.\n  We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars that create jobs\nlike we have never seen before. I did it with China and I did it with\nothers, and the Biden administration couldn't do anything about it\nbecause there was so much money. They couldn't do anything about it.\n  We have been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on Earth,\nand we will not let that happen any longer.\n  Much has been said over the last 3 months about Mexico and Canada,\nbut we have very large deficits with both of them. But even more\nimportantly, they have allowed fentanyl to come into our country at\nlevels never seen before, killing hundreds of thousands of our\ncitizens, and many very young, beautiful people, destroying families.\nNobody has ever seen anything like it.\n  They are, in effect, receiving subsidies of hundreds of billions of\ndollars. We pay subsidies to Canada and to Mexico of hundreds of\nbillions of dollars. And the United States will not be doing that any\nlonger. We're not going to do it any longer.\n  Thanks to our America First policies we're putting into place, we\nhave had $1.7 trillion of new investment in America in just the past\nfew weeks. The combination of the election and our economic policies\nthat people at SoftBank, one of the most brilliant anywhere in the\nworld, announced a $200 billion investment. OpenAI and Oracle, Larry\nEllison, announced $500 billion investment, which they wouldn't have\ndone if Kamala had won. Apple announced $500 billion investment. Tim\nCook called me. He said, I cannot spend it fast enough. It's going to\nbe much higher than that, I believe. They'll be building their plants\nhere instead of in China.\n  And just yesterday, Taiwan Semiconductor, the biggest in the world,\nmost powerful in the world--has a tremendous amount, 97 percent of the\nmarket--announced a $165 billion investment to build the most powerful\nchips on Earth right here in the USA. And we're not giving them any\nmoney.\n  Your CHIPS Act is a horrible, horrible thing. We give hundreds of\nbillions of dollars, and it doesn't mean a thing. They take our money,\nand they don't spend it.\n  All that meant to them--we're giving them no money. All that was\nimportant to them was they didn't want to pay the tariffs. So they came\nand they're building, and many other companies are coming. We don't\nhave to give them money. We just want to protect our businesses and our\npeople. And they will come because they won't have to pay tariffs if\nthey build in America. So it's very amazing.\n  You should get rid of the chip act, and whatever is left over, Mr.\nSpeaker, you should use it to reduce debt or any other reason you want\nto.\n  Our new trade policy will also be great for the American farmer--I\nlove the farmer--who will now be selling into our home market, the USA.\nBecause nobody is going to be able to compete with you because there's\ngoods that come in from other countries and companies, they're really,\nreally in a bad position in so many different ways. They're\nuninspected. They may be very dirty and disgusting, and they come in,\nand they pour in, and they hurt our American farmers. The tariffs will\ngo on agricultural product coming into America, and our--our farmers--\nstarting on April 2nd--it may be a little bit of an adjustment period.\n  We had that before when I made the deal with China, $50 billion of\npurchases, and I said, just bear with me, and they did. They did.\nProbably have to bear with me again, and this will be even better. That\nwas great. The problem with it was that Biden didn't enforce it. He\ndidn't enforce it. Fifty billion dollars of purchases, and we were\ndoing great, but Biden did not enforce it, and it hurt our farmers.\n  But our farmers are going to have a field day right now. So to our\nfarmers, have a lot of fun. I love you, too. I love you, too. It's all\ngoing to happen.\n  And I have also imposed a 25 percent tariff on foreign aluminum,\ncopper, lumber, and steel because if we don't have, as an example,\nsteel, and lots of other things, we don't have a military and, frankly,\nwon't have--we just won't have a country very long.\n  Here today is a proud American steelworker, fantastic person from\nDecatur, Alabama. Jeff Denard has been working at the same steel plant\nfor 27 years at a job that has allowed him to serve as the captain of\nhis local volunteer fire department, raise 7 children with his\nbeautiful wife, Nicole, and over the years provide a loving home for\nmore than 40 foster children. So great, Jeff. Thank you, Jeff. Thank\nyou, Jeff.\n  Stories like Jeff's remind us that tariffs are not just about\nprotecting American jobs, they're about protecting the soul of our\ncountry. Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America\ngreat again, and it's happening, and it will happen rather quickly.\nThere will be a little disturbance, but we're okay with that. It won't\nbe much.\n  No, you're not. Oh, and look--and look where Biden took us. Very low,\nthe lowest we've ever been.\n  Jeff, I want to thank you very much.\n  And I also want to recognize another person who has devoted herself\nto foster care community. She works so hard on it, a very loving\nperson, our magnificent First Lady of the United\n\n[[Page H970]]\n\nStates. Melania's work has yielded incredible results, helping prepare\nour Nation's future leaders as they enter the workforce.\n\n  Our First Lady is joined by two impressive young women, very\nimpressive: Haley Ferguson, who benefited from the First Lady's\nFostering the Future initiative and is poised to complete her education\nand become a teacher and Elliston Berry, who became a victim of an\nillicit deepfake image produced by a peer. With Elliston's help the\nSenate just passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act, and this is so important.\n  Thank you very much, John. John Thune. Thank you. Stand up, John.\nThank you, John. Thank you all very much. Thank you. And thank you to\nJohn Thune and the Senate. Great job to criminalize. The publication of\nsuch images online is terrible. Terrible thing. And once it passes the\nHouse, I look forward to signing that bill into law. Thank you. And I'm\ngoing to use that bill for myself, too, if you don't mind. Because\nnobody gets treated worse than I do online. Nobody. That's great. Thank\nyou very much to the Senate. Thank you.\n  But if we truly care about protecting Americans' children, no step is\nmore crucial than securing America's borders. Over the past 4 years, 21\nmillion people poured into the United States. Many of them were\nmurderers, human traffickers, gang members, and other criminals from\nthe streets of dangerous cities all throughout the world. Because of\nJoe Biden's insane and very dangerous open-border policies, they are\nnow strongly embedded in our country. But we are getting them out and\ngetting them out fast.\n  And I want to thank Tom Homan. And Kristi, I want to thank you and\nPaul of Border Patrol. I want to thank you. What a job they've all\ndone. Everybody. Border Patrol, ICE. Law enforcement in general is\nincredible. We have to take care of our law enforcement. Have to.\n  Last year, a brilliant 22-year-old nursing student named Laken Riley,\nthe best in her class, admired by everybody, went out for a jog on the\ncampus of the University of Georgia. That morning, Laken was viciously\nattacked, assaulted, beaten, brutalized, and horrifically murdered.\nLaken was stolen from us by a savage, illegal alien gang member who was\narrested while trespassing across Biden's open southern border and then\nset loose into the United States under the heartless policies of that\nfailed administration. It was, indeed, a failed administration.\n  He had then been arrested and released in a Democrat-run sanctuary\ncity, a disaster, before ending the life of this beautiful, young\nangel.\n  With us this evening are Laken's beloved mother, Allyson, and her\nsister, Lauren. Last year, I told Laken's grieving parents that we\nwould ensure their daughter would not have died in vain. That's why the\nvery first bill I signed into law as your 47th President mandates the\ndetention of all dangerous criminal aliens who threaten public safety.\nIt is a very strong, powerful act. It's called the Laken Riley Act.\n  So Allyson and Lauren, America will never ever forget our beautiful\nLaken Hope Riley.\n  Thank you very much.\n  Since taking office, my administration has launched the most sweeping\nborder and immigration crackdown in American history, and we quickly\nachieved the lowest numbers of illegal border crossers ever recorded.\n  Thank you.\n  The media and our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed\nnew legislation. We must have legislation to secure the border. But it\nturned out that all we really needed was a new President.\n  Thank you.\n  Joe Biden didn't just open our borders, he flew illegal aliens over\nthem to overwhelm our schools, hospitals, and communities throughout\nthe country. Entire towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio,\nbuckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like\nnobody's ever seen before, beautiful towns destroyed.\n  Now just as I promised in my inaugural address, we are achieving the\ngreat liberation of America. But there still is much work to be done.\nHere tonight is a woman I have gotten to know, Alexis Nungaray from\nHouston, a wonderful woman. Last June, Alexis' 12-year-old daughter,\nher precious Jocelyn, walked to a nearby convenience store. She was\nkidnapped, tied up, assaulted for 2 hours under a bridge, and\nhorrifically murdered.\n  Arrested and charged with this heinous crime are two illegal alien\nmonsters from Venezuela, released into America by the last\nadministration through their ridiculous open border. The death of this\nbeautiful 12-year-old girl and the agony of her mother and family\ntouched our entire Nation greatly.\n  Alexis, I promised that we would always remember your daughter, your\nmagnificent daughter. And earlier tonight I signed an order, keeping my\nword to you.\n  One thing I have learned about Jocelyn is that she loved animals so\nmuch. She loved nature. Across Galveston Bay, from where Jocelyn lived\nin Houston, you'll find a magnificent national wildlife refuge, a\npristine, peaceful, 34,000-acre sanctuary for all of God's creatures on\nthe edge of the Gulf of America.\n  Alexis, moments ago I formally renamed that refuge in loving memory\nof your beautiful daughter, Jocelyn.\n  So, Mr. Vice President, if you would, may I have the order.\n  Thank you very much.\n  All three savages charged with Jocelyn and Laken's murders were\nmembers of the Venezuelan prison gang, the toughest gang, they say, in\nthe world, known as Tren de Aragua. Two weeks ago, I officially\ndesignated this gang, along with MS-13 and the bloodthirsty Mexican\ndrug cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations. They are now\nofficially in the same category as ISIS, and that's not good for them.\n  Countless thousands of these terrorists were welcomed into the U.S.\nby the Biden administration. But now every last one will be rounded up\nand forcibly removed from our country or, if they are too dangerous,\nput in jails, standing trial in this country because we don't want them\nto come back ever.\n  With us this evening is a warrior on the front lines of that battle,\nBorder Patrol Agent Roberto Ortiz, a great guy. In January, Roberto and\nanother agent were patrolling by the Rio Grande near an area known as\ncartel island--doesn't sound too nice to me--when heavily armed gunmen\nstarted shooting at them.\n  Roberto saw that his partner was totally exposed, in great danger,\nand he leapt into action, returning fire, and providing crucial seconds\nfor his fellow agent to seek safety and just barely. I have some of the\nprints of that event, and it was not good.\n  Agent Ortiz, we salute you for your great courage and for your line\nof fire that you took and for the bravery that you showed. We honor\nyou, and we will always honor you. Thank you, Roberto, very much. Thank\nyou, Roberto.\n  And I actually got to know him on my many calls to the border. He is\na great, great gentleman.\n  The territory to the immediate south of our border is now dominated\nentirely by criminal cartels that murder, rape, torture, and exercise\ntotal control. They have total control over a whole nation, posing a\ngrave threat to our national security.\n  The cartels are waging war on America, and it is time for America to\nwage war on the cartels, which we are doing.\n  Five nights ago, Mexican authorities, because of our tariff policies\nbeing imposed on them--think of this--handed over to us 29 of the\nbiggest cartel leaders in their country. That has never happened\nbefore. They want to make us happy. First time ever.\n  But we need Mexico and Canada to do much more than they have done,\nand they have to stop the fentanyl and drugs pouring into the USA.\nThey're going to stop it.\n  I have sent Congress a detailed funding request, laying out exactly\nhow we will eliminate these threats to protect our homeland and\ncomplete the largest deportation operation in American history, larger\neven than current record holder, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a\nmoderate man but someone who believed very strongly in borders.\nAmericans expect Congress to send me this funding without delay so I\ncan sign it into law.\n  So, Mr. Speaker, John Thune, both of you, I hope you are going to be\nable to do that.\n  Mr. Speaker, thank you.\n  Mr. Leader, thank you. Thank you very much.\n\n[[Page H971]]\n\n  And let's get it to me. I'll sign it so fast, you won't even believe\nit.\n  And as we reclaim our sovereignty, we must also bring back law and\norder to our cities and towns.\n  In recent years, our justice system has been turned upside down by\nradical left lunatics. Many jurisdictions virtually ceased enforcing\nthe law against dangerous repeat offenders while weaponizing law\nenforcement against political opponents, like me.\n  My administration has acted swiftly and decisively to restore fair,\nequal, and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law,\nstarting at the FBI and the DOJ.\n  Pam, good luck.\n  Kash, wherever you may be, good luck. Good luck.\n  Pam Bondi, good luck.\n  So important. Going to do a great job.\n  Kash, thank you. Thank you, Kash.\n  They have already started very strong. They are going to do a\nfantastic job. You are going to be very proud of them.\n  We are also once again giving our police officers the support,\nprotection, and respect they so dearly deserve. They have to get it.\nThey have such a hard, dangerous job, but we're going to make it less\ndangerous. The problem is, the bad guys don't respect the law, but\nthey're starting to respect it, and they soon will respect it.\n  This also includes our great fire departments throughout the country,\nour firemen and -women are unbelievable people, and I will never forget\nthem. And besides that, they voted for me in record numbers, so I have\nno choice.\n  One year ago this month, 31-year-old New York Police Officer Jonathan\nDiller, unbelievably wonderful person and a great officer, was gunned\ndown at a traffic stop on Long Island. I went to his funeral.\n  The vicious criminal charged with his murder had 21 prior arrests,\nand they were rough arrests, too. He was a real bad one. The thug in\nthe seat next to him had 14 prior arrests and went by the name of\n``Killer.'' He was a killer. He killed other people, they say, a lot of\nthem.\n  I attended Officer Diller's service, and when I met his wife and 1-\nyear-old son, Ryan, it was very inspirational actually. His widow's\nname is Stephanie, and she is here tonight, Stephanie.\n  Thank you very much, Stephanie. Thank you very much.\n  Stephanie, we're going to make sure that Ryan knows his dad was a\ntrue hero, New York's finest, and we're going to get these cold-blooded\nkillers and repeat offenders off our streets, and we're going to do it\nfast. Got to stop it.\n  They get out with 28 arrests. They push people into subway trains.\nThey hit people over the head, back of the head, with baseball bats. We\ngot to get them out of here.\n  I have already signed an executive order requiring a mandatory death\npenalty for anyone who murders a police officer, and tonight, I'm\nasking Congress to pass that policy into permanent law.\n  I'm also asking for a new crime bill getting tough on repeat\noffenders while enhancing protections for America's police officers so\nthey can do their jobs without fear of their lives being totally\ndestroyed. They don't want to be killed. We're not going to let them be\nkilled.\n  Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our\npolice. His name is DJ Daniel. He's 13 years old, and he has always\ndreamed of becoming a police officer. But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed\nwith brain cancer. The doctors gave him 5 months at most to live. That\nwas more than 6 years ago.\n  Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his\ndream come true, and DJ has been sworn in as an honorary law\nenforcement officer actually a number of times. The police love him,\nand the police departments love him.\n  And tonight, DJ, we are going to do you the biggest honor of them\nall. I am asking our new Secret Service Director, Sean Curran, to\nofficially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service.\n  Thank you, DJ.\n  DJ's doctors believe his cancer likely came from a chemical he was\nexposed to when he was younger.\n  Since 1975, rates of child cancer have increased by more than 40\npercent. Reversing this trend is one of the top priorities for our new\nPresidential Commission to Make America Healthy Again, chaired by our\nnew Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.\n  With the name ``Kennedy,'' you would have thought everybody over here\nwould have been cheering. How quickly they forget.\n  Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our\nfood supply, and keep our children healthy and strong.\n  As an example, not long ago--and you can't even believe these\nnumbers--1 in 10,000 children had autism, 1 in 10,000, and now it is 1\nin 36. There's something wrong, 1 in 36. Think of that. So we're going\nto find out what it is, and there's nobody better than Bobby and all of\nthe people that are working with you. You have the best to figure out\nwhat is going on. Okay, Bobby? Good luck. It's a very important job.\n  Thank you.\n  My administration is also working to protect our children from toxic\nideologies in our schools. A few years ago, January Littlejohn and her\nhusband discovered that their daughter's school had secretly socially\ntransitioned their 13-year-old little girl. Teachers and administrators\nconspired to deceive January and her husband while encouraging her\ndaughter to use a new name and pronouns, they/them pronoun actually,\nall without telling January who is here tonight and is now a courageous\nadvocate against this form of child abuse.\n  January, thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.\n  Stories like this are why shortly after taking office I signed an\nexecutive order banning public schools from indoctrinating our children\nwith transgender ideology. I also signed an order to cut off all\ntaxpayer funding to any institution that engages in the sexual\nmutilation of our youth.\n  And now I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and\ncriminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that\nany child is trapped in the wrong body. This is a big lie.\n  And our message to every child in America is that you are perfect\nexactly the way God made you, because we're getting wokeness out of our\nschools and out of our military. And it's already out, and it's out of\nour society. We don't want it. Wokeness is trouble. Wokeness is bad.\nIt's gone. It's gone. And we feel so much better for it, don't we?\nDon't we feel better?\n  Our servicemembers won't be activists and ideologues. They will be\nfighters and warriors. They will fight for our country.\n  And, Pete, congratulations. Secretary of Defense, congratulations.\n  And he is not big into the woke movement, I can tell you. I know him\nwell.\n  I am pleased to report that in January, the U.S. Army had its single\nbest recruiting month in 15 years and that all armed services are\nhaving among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our\nservices. What a difference.\n  And, you know, it was just a few months ago where the results were\nexactly the opposite. We couldn't recruit anywhere. We couldn't\nrecruit. Now, we're having the best results, just about, that we've\never had. What a tremendous turnaround. It's really a beautiful thing\nto see. People love our country again. It's very simple. They love our\ncountry, and they love being in our military again. So it's a great\nthing, and thank you very much. Great job. Thank you.\n  We're joined tonight by a young man, Jason Hartley, who knows the\nweight of that call of duty. Jason's father, grandfather, and great-\ngrandfather all wore the uniform. Jason tragically lost his dad, who\nwas also a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy, when he was just a boy,\nand now he wants to carry on the family legacy of service. Jason is a\nsenior in high school, a six-letter varsity athlete, a really good\nathlete they say, a brilliant student with a 4.46--that's good--GPA,\nand his greatest dream is to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West\nPoint.\n  And, Jason, that's a very big deal getting in. That's a hard one to\nget into, but I'm pleased to inform you that your application has been\naccepted. You will soon be joining the Corps of Cadets.\n\n[[Page H972]]\n\n  Thank you. Jason, you're going to be on the long, gray line, Jason.\n  As Commander in Chief, my focus is on building the most powerful\nmilitary of the future. As a first step, I'm asking Congress to fund a\nstate-of-the-art golden dome missile defense shield to protect our\nhomeland, all made in the USA. And Ronald Reagan wanted to do it long\nago, but the technology just wasn't there, not even close, but now we\nhave the technology. It's incredible, actually. And other place they\nhave it--Israel has it. Other places have it. And the United States\nshould have it, too. Right, Tim, right? They should have it, too. So I\nwant to thank you. But it's very important. This is a very dangerous\nworld. We should have it. We want to be protected, and we're going to\nprotect our citizens like never before.\n  To boost our defense industrial base, we are also going to resurrect\nthe American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding\nand military shipbuilding.\n  And for that purpose, I am announcing tonight that we will create a\nnew Office of Shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax\nincentives to bring this industry home to America where it belongs. We\nused to make so many ships. We don't make them anymore very much, but\nwe're going to make them very fast, very soon. It will have a huge\nimpact.\n  To further enhance our national security, my administration will be\nreclaiming the Panama Canal, and we've already started doing it. Just\ntoday, a large American company announced they are buying both ports\naround the Panama Canal and lots of other things having to do with the\nPanama Canal and a couple of other canals.\n  The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for\nothers, but others could use it. But it was built at tremendous cost of\nAmerican blood and treasure. 38,000 workers died building the Panama\nCanal. They died of malaria. They died of snakebites and mosquitoes,\nnot a nice place to work. They paid them very highly to go there,\nknowing there was a 25 percent chance that they would die. The most\nexpensive project also that was ever built in our country's history if\nyou bring it up to modern day costs.\n  It was given away by the Carter administration for $1, but that\nagreement has been violated very severely. We didn't give it to China.\nWe gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back.\n  And we have Marco Rubio in charge. Good luck, Marco. Now we know who\nto blame if anything goes wrong.\n  No. Marco's been amazing, and he's going to do a great job. Think of\nit. He got 100 votes. You know, he was approved with actually 99, but\nthe 100th was this gentleman, and I feel very certain, so let's assume\nhe got 100 votes. And I am either very, very happy about that, or I am\nvery concerned about it, but he's already proven--I mean, he's a great\ngentleman.\n  He's respected by everybody, and we appreciate you voting for Marco.\nHe's going to do a fantastic job. Thank you.\n  Thank you. He's doing a great job. Great job.\n  And I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of\nGreenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future,\nand if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America.\n  We need Greenland for national security and even international\nsecurity, and we're working with everybody involved to try and get it.\nBut we need it really for international world security, and I think\nwe're going to get it. One way or the other, we're going to get it.\n  We will keep you safe. We will make you rich, and, together, we will\ntake Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.\nIt's a very small population, but very, very large piece of land and\nvery, very important for military security. America is once again\nstanding strong against the forces of radical Islamic terrorism.\n  Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American\nservicemembers and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during\nthe disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan. Not that\nthey were withdrawing. It was the way they withdrew, perhaps the most\nembarrassing moment in the history of our country.\n  Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the\ntop terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his\nway here to face the swift sword of American justice.\n  And I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping\narrest this monster. This was a very momentous day for those 13\nfamilies, who I actually got to know very well, most of them, whose\nchildren were murdered and the many people that were so badly--over 42\npeople so badly injured on that fateful day in Afghanistan. What a\nhorrible day.\n  Such incompetence was shown that, when Putin saw what happened, I\nguess he said: Wow, maybe this is my chance. That's how bad it was. It\nshould have never happened. Grossly incompetent people.\n  I spoke to many of the parents and loved ones, and they're all in our\nhearts tonight. I just spoke to them on the phone. We had a big call.\nEvery one of them called, and everybody was on the line, and they did\nnothing but cry with happiness. They were very happy, as happy as you\ncan be under those circumstances. Their child, brother, sister, son,\ndaughter was killed for no reason whatsoever.\n  In the Middle East, we are bringing back our hostages from Gaza. In\nmy first term, we achieved one of the most groundbreaking peace\nagreements in generations, the Abraham Accords, and now we're going to\nbuild on that foundation to create a more peaceful and prosperous\nfuture for the entire region.\n  A lot of things are happening in the Middle East. People haven't been\ntalking about that so much lately with everything going on with Ukraine\nand Russia, but a lot of things are happening in the Middle East. It's\na rough neighborhood, actually.\n  I am also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine.\nMillions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or\nwounded in this horrific and brutal conflict, with no end in sight. The\nUnited States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support\nUkraine's defense, with no security, with no anything.\n  Do you want to keep it going for another 5 years? Yeah? Yeah. You\nwould say. Pocahontas says: Yes.\n  Two thousand people are being killed every single week. More than\nthat. They're Russian young people. They're Ukrainian young people.\nThey're not Americans, but I want it to stop.\n  Meanwhile, Europe has, sadly, spent more money buying Russian oil and\ngas than they have spent on defending Ukraine, by far. Think of that.\nThey've spent more buying Russian oil and gas than they have defending,\nand we've spent perhaps $350 billion, like taking candy from a baby.\nThat's what happened, and they've spent $100 billion.\n  What a difference that is. And we have an ocean separating us, and\nthey don't. But we're getting along very well with them, and lots of\ngood things are happening.\n  Biden has authorized more money in this fight than Europe has spent\nby billions and billions of dollars. It's hard to believe that they\nwouldn't have stopped it and said at some point: Come on, let's\nequalize. You've got to be equal to us.\n  But that didn't happen.\n  Earlier today, I received an important letter from President\nZelenskyy of Ukraine.\n  The letter reads: Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table\nas soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace\nmore than the Ukrainians, he said. My team and I stand ready to work\nunder President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We\ndo really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its\nsovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and\nsecurity, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient\nfor you.\n  I appreciate that he sent this letter. Just got it a little while\nago.\n  Simultaneously, we've had serious discussions with Russia and have\nreceived strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldn't that be\nbeautiful? Wouldn't that be beautiful? Wouldn't that be beautiful?\n  It's time to stop this madness. It's time to halt the killing. It's\ntime to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to\ntalk to both sides.\n  Nearly 4 years ago, amid rising tensions, a history teacher named\nMarc Fogel was detained in Russia and sentenced to 14 years in a penal\ncolony--\n\n[[Page H973]]\n\nrough stuff. The previous administration barely lifted a finger to help\nhim. They knew he was innocent, but they had no idea where to begin.\nBut, last summer, I promised his 95-year-old mother, Malphine, that we\nwould bring her boy safely back home.\n  After 22 days in office, I did just that, and they are here tonight.\n  To Marc and his great mom, we are delighted to have you safe and\nsound and with us.\n  As fate would have it, Marc Fogel was born in a small, rural town, in\nButler, Pennsylvania--have you heard of it?--where his mother has lived\nfor the past 78 years.\n  I just happened to go there last July 13th for a rally. That was not\npleasant. And that is where I met his beautiful mom right before I\nwalked onto that stage, and I told her I would not forget what she said\nabout her son. And I never did, did I? I never forgot.\n  Less than 10 minutes later, at that same rally, gunfire rang out, and\na sick and deranged assassin unloaded eight bullets from his sniper's\nperch into a crowd of many thousands of people. My life was saved by a\nfraction of an inch, but some were not so lucky.\n  Corey Comperatore was a firefighter, a veteran, a Christian, a\nhusband, a devoted father, and, above all, a protector. When the sound\nof gunshots pierced the air--it was a horrible sound--Corey knew\ninstantly what it was and what to do. He threw himself on top of his\nwife and daughters and shielded them from the bullets with his own\nbody. Corey was hit really hard. You know the story from there. He\nsacrificed his life to save theirs.\n  Two others, very fine people, were also seriously hit, but\nthankfully, with the help of two great country doctors--we thought they\nwere gone, and they were saved. So, those doctors had great talent.\nWe're joined by Corey's wife, Helen, who was his high school\nsweetheart, and their two beloved daughters, Allyson and Kaylee. Thank\nyou.\n  To Helen, Allyson, and Kaylee, Corey is looking down on his three\nbeautiful ladies right now, and he's cheering you on. He loves you. He\nis cheering you on.\n  Corey was taken from us much too soon, but his destiny was to leave\nus all with a shining example of the selfless devotion of a true\nAmerican patriot. It was love like Corey's that built our country, and\nit's love like Corey's that is going to make our country more majestic\nthan ever before.\n  I believe that my life was saved that day in Butler for a very good\nreason. I was saved by God to make america great again. I believe that.\n  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.\n  From the patriots of Lexington and Concord to the heroes of\nGettysburg and Normandy, from the warriors who crossed the Delaware to\nthe trailblazers who climbed the Rockies, and from the legends who\nsoared at Kitty Hawk to the astronauts who touched the Moon, Americans\nhave always been the people who defied all odds, transcended all\ndangers, made the most extraordinary sacrifices, and did whatever it\ntook to defend our children, our country, and our freedom.\n  And as we have seen in this Chamber tonight, that same strength,\nfaith, love, and spirit is still alive and thriving in the hearts of\nthe American people.\n  Despite the best efforts of those who would try to censor us, silence\nus, break us, destroy us, Americans are today a proud, free, sovereign,\nand independent Nation that will always be free, and we will fight for\nit till death. We will never let anything happen to our beloved country\nbecause we are a country of doers, dreamers, fighters, and survivors.\n  Our ancestors crossed a vast ocean, strode into the unknown\nwilderness, and carved their fortunes from the rock and soil of a\nperilous and very dangerous frontier. They chased our destiny across a\nboundless continent. They built the railroads, laid the highways, and\ngraced the world with American marvels like the Empire State Building,\nthe mighty Hoover Dam, and the towering Golden Gate Bridge.\n  They lit the world with electricity; broke free of the force of\ngravity; fired up the engines of American industry; vanquished the\nCommunists, Fascists, and Marxists all over the world; and gave us\ncountless modern wonders sculpted out of iron, glass, and steel.\n  We stand on the soldiers of these pioneers who won and built the\nmodern age, these workers who poured their sweat into the skylines of\nour cities, these warriors who shed their blood on fields of battle and\ngave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom.\n  Now, it is our time to take up the righteous cause of American\nliberty, and it is our turn to take America's destiny into our own\nhands and begin the most thrilling days in the history of our country.\n  This will be our greatest era. With God's help, over the next 4\nyears, we are going to lead this Nation even higher, and we are going\nto forge the freest, most advanced, most dynamic, and most dominant\ncivilization ever to exist on the face of this Earth. We are going to\ncreate the highest quality of life, build the safest and wealthiest and\nhealthiest and most vital communities anywhere in the world.\n  We are going to conquer the vast frontiers of science, and we are\ngoing to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the\nplanet Mars and even far beyond.\n  And through it all, we are going to rediscover the unstoppable power\nof the American spirit, and we are going to renew unlimited promise of\nthe American Dream.\n  Every single day, we will stand up and we will fight, fight, fight\nfor the country our citizens believe in and for the country our people\ndeserve.\n  My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future because the\ngolden age of America has only just begun. It will be like nothing that\nhas ever been seen before.\n  Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America.\n  (Applause, the Members rising.)\n  At 11 o'clock and 4 minutes p.m., the President of the United States,\naccompanied by the committee of escort, retired from the Hall of the\nHouse of Representatives.\n  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms escorted the invited guests\nfrom the Chamber in the following order:\n  The members of the President's Cabinet;\n  The Chief Justice of the United States and the Associate Justices of\nthe Supreme Court;\n  The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2025-03-04-pt1-PgH966-3"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 4.92378999479115, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}