Discussion · House of Representatives
Adam Smith Democrat
“I do not support this defense bill. The president is pushing harmful policies, like tariffs on our allies and strikes on Iran without a plan. Congress needs to stop this and write a sensible budget together.”
“Mr. Chair, if we just stick at it long enough, we will be done. There is no plan. There is no plan to bomb a target that is going to make Iran change their mind. We have to stand up and say, no, we can’t do those things, and I say all of that again. I want to get us back to a reasonable place where we can have a bipartisan agreement, and I hope in the next couple of months we will get there. I really want people to understand how unprecedented this moment is that we are in. The President is taking us down a bitterly partisan and divisive road and pushing policies--I didn’t even talk about the tariffs that he slaps on our allies at a whim. Look at Canada. Apparently, there are fires up in Canada, and the wind is blowing south, so it is Canada’s fault, and we have to slap a 50 percent tariff on them. This is the way we govern? It is insane, and we need to rein it in. We in Congress need to stand up and say: No, we are going to begin to get some of this under control. At a minimum, let’s have a sensible budget. Let’s stop the war in Iran. I can’t support this bill. It profoundly hurts me because I believe in this process. It is the last thing I will say. I will continue to want to work with any reasonable person who shows up in the Trump administration. I don’t want to shun them because this body has to work. If we don’t pass legislation, then the President has even more power. If the legislative branch shuts down, that simply consolidates more power in the executive branch. We have to find a way through this, but it is not going to be easy. I want to make sure people understand the unprecedented nature of where we are at, and we all begin to work together to get ourselves to a better place. Mr. Chair, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.”
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Mr. Chair, if we just stick at it long enough, we will be done. There is no plan. There is no plan to bomb a target that is going to make Iran change their mind. We have to stand up and say, no, we can’t do those things, and I say all of that again. I want to get us back to a reasonable place where we can have a bipartisan agreement, and I hope in the next couple of months we will get there. I really want people to understand how unprecedented this moment is that we are in. The President is taking us down a bitterly partisan and divisive road and pushing policies--I didn’t even talk about the tariffs that he slaps on our allies at a whim. Look at Canada. Apparently, there are fires up in Canada, and the wind is blowing south, so it is Canada’s fault, and we have to slap a 50 percent tariff on them. This is the way we govern? It is insane, and we need to rein it in. We in Congress need to stand up and say: No, we are going to begin to get some of this under control. At a minimum, let’s have a sensible budget. Let’s stop the war in Iran. I can’t support this bill. It profoundly hurts me because I believe in this process. It is the last thing I will say. I will continue to want to work with any reasonable person who shows up in the Trump administration. I don’t want to shun them because this body has to work. If we don’t pass legislation, then the President has even more power. If the legislative branch shuts down, that simply consolidates more power in the executive branch. We have to find a way through this, but it is not going to be easy. I want to make sure people understand the unprecedented nature of where we are at, and we all begin to work together to get ourselves to a better place. Mr. Chair, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.