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House of Representatives

Providing for the Condemnation and Denouncement of Socialism in All Its Forms, and for Other Purposes

2026-09-01 Issue 138 Showing 21–23 of 23

Official Congressional Record ↗

Tom McClintock

Republican 5:00 p.m.

“Here's what I think. Capitalism is good. You help your neighbor. You figure out what they need. Socialism is bad. It takes from one person by force. Gives to someone who has not earned it. Freedom is good. It uses very little force. People are free to act. Socialism is bad. It needs crushing government force. In freedom, people vote with their dollars. In socialism, elites decide and impose by force. Free society helps both parties. Socialist society hurts one party. I think freedom is good and socialism is bad.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, when Tim Walz said that one man's socialism is another man's neighborliness, he got it completely backward. There is only one way to prosper in a capitalist society. You have to figure out what somebody else needs and get it for them better than they can get it for themselves. That might mean mowing their lawn. It might mean doing brain surgery on their child, but whatever it is, you have to help your neighbor. Socialism is the opposite. It is taking by force what one person has earned by helping others and giving it to someone who has not. If I take a dollar from Peter and give it to Paul, I have helped Paul in the amount of one dollar and I have hurt Peter by that very same amount. What I have really done is to rob both of them of one dollar's incentive of helping each other. Paul no longer needs to help Peter for his dollar and Peter no longer profits from helping Paul. Freedom requires very little force because people are free to act according to their own needs and judgment and to prosper for their own talents and labor. Socialism requires crushing government force because it must compel people to act against their own interests. In a free society, every person gets to vote every day with every dollar they spend on what the society will produce, who will produce it, and how much they are willing to pay, all voluntarily. In a socialist society, elites make those decisions for the people and then impose them on the people by force. In a free society, every transaction benefits both parties by definition. In a socialist society, every transaction benefits one party while it hurts the other. The lesson of history comes down to four words: Freedom rocks. Socialism sucks.

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Joseph D. Morelle

Democrat 5:00 p.m.

“Here's what I think. We should be talking about high gas prices. We should be talking about the high cost of groceries. But instead we are talking about socialism. We already talked about that. It's a waste of time. It won't do anything. I want to talk about how the other side is not helping families. I want to talk about how their bill would restrict voting access. I want to fight against them. We should make sure people can vote in November. I don't want this resolution to pass.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, on this floor this afternoon, we should be debating legislation to lower gas prices. We should be debating legislation to lower the cost of groceries. We should be debating legislation to rein in the most corrupt administration in the history of this country. That is what I heard when I went back home in Rochester and spent the last several weeks talking to people who are fearing for the futures of their families, who are fearing not being able to pay their medical bills, who fear not being able to pay their mortgage, who fear having to make tough decisions about childcare and putting food on the table. Instead, we are debating a nonbinding resolution. It is a nonbinding resolution which they said gives the sense of Congress. We have already given the sense about socialism less than a year ago. It has already passed this body, but we keep doing it. I guess we will keep saying it because we have nothing else to do and because we are not prepared to address the rising costs of gas and groceries and the challenges that families are facing. We are also calling for the enactment of a bill that has already passed the House. This is the important work this Congress is taking up today, passing a resolution that calls for the passing of a bill we have already passed and calling for the enactment of a resolution which we have already enacted. By the way, that bill, the SAVE America Act, would restrict access to the ballot box for millions of Americans, in particular, women, rural voters, students, and people of color. The SAVE America Act would effectively end vote by mail in the United States. It would force States to surrender private voter information to the Department of Homeland Security. If enacted today, the SAVE America Act would instantly throw the upcoming midterm elections into chaos. Mr. Speaker, House Democrats will continue to fight back because, despite the continued efforts by the President and his allies, our elections are safe. They are secure, and there is nothing more important in this moment than our collective efforts to ensure Americans are given every opportunity to render their verdict in November. House Democrats will make sure that happens, and I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Bryan Steil

Republican 5:00 p.m.

“I want this resolution to pass. It is important. I want people to know where their representatives stand. Do they support socialism or freedom? I think the left has bad ideas. They want government-owned grocery stores. That will make groceries cost more. They want a Green New Deal. That will make energy cost more. They want non-citizens to vote. They want to give amnesty to illegal aliens. They want to tax successful people. They want to get rid of the Senate. I don't like these ideas. I think we should have election integrity. We should not allow non-citizens to vote. I want to stand against socialism. I want to support freedom in America. That is what this resolution is about.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote for this important resolution. A lot has been said here on the floor, so let's try to re- encapsulate what has been discussed. It was just referenced about the importance of the price of groceries and the importance of the price of gas, and I couldn't agree more with the importance. If we look at the contrast between the policies of those of us on the right and how we want to reduce those with those on the left, I think the contrast becomes quite clear. My colleagues on the left and the Democratic Socialists of America want government-owned grocery stores. That will not lower the price of groceries. My friends on the left want a Green New Deal, and it is right here in the platform. They want to end the use of fossil fuels. That will drive up the cost of energy for hardworking American families. Instead, we should be continuing our work to unleash American energy, to lower the costs for American families. It is a clear contrast between those that support the socialist ideals and the socialist ideas and the Democratic Socialists of America's platform with those of our platform. We talked about election law. The Democratic Socialists of America start with the premise that America has never been a democracy. Mr. Speaker, America is the world's greatest democracy. The Democratic Socialists of America want to replace the popular vote for President with an executive chosen by Congress. That might be one of the scariest parts of the entire DSA platform. They want this body to choose the President of the United States of America, not the people. They want to strip that power away from American citizens and instill that power here in Washington, D.C. They want to allow noncitizens to vote. In their platform, they would allow all permanent noncitizens of the United States of America to vote. I believe, and my colleagues believe, that U.S. elections should be for U.S. citizens only. If we want to see how this plays out, I can look right here in our Nation's Capital in Washington, D.C., where under current law noncitizens residing in Washington, D.C., can vote in municipal elections. Let's just set this clear as to how extreme this is. An individual working in the Russian Embassy could walk out with a passport in their pocket, not need to show up because they don't require photo ID in our Nation's Capital, walk to the polls, and in 9 weeks from today cast their ballot for Mayor in Washington, D.C. That is the current law. Noncitizens are allowed to vote in municipal elections in Washington, D.C., and the DSA platform lays out what their plan is to allow noncitizens, millions of noncitizens, to vote in American elections, but they want them all to vote. How do we know that? You can turn the page to other sections of their platform where they want to provide amnesty for every illegal alien in the United States of America. They want to allow them to be a U.S. citizen then they can all vote. We can see exactly what the playbook is of the Democratic Socialists of America. The list goes on. They want aggressive taxes on successful individuals. They want to abolish the Senate. The list goes on as to where the Democrat ideas are, and they call it Democratic socialism, probably because stealing doesn't poll terribly well, Mr. Speaker. This is a stark contrast between where the radical left and the Democratic Socialists of America want to take this country and where we believe and know this country needs to go. In particular, I am making sure that we have election integrity. We can see in the platform of the DSA exactly how they would gut the election integrity provisions that we rely on. They want to allow noncitizens to vote. They want to drive forward a socialist agenda. As I remind everyone, it is very easy to vote socialism in. It is very difficult to remove socialism. It is why this resolution is so important so the American people know exactly where their Member stands. Shortly here today, we will be able to vote on this resolution and everyone in the United States of America will know where their Member in the United States House of Representatives stands. Do they stand with the Democratic Socialists of America who want socialism to drive forward in the United States of America, or do they stand with the freedoms and liberties that we know and cherish here in the United States of America? Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to vote for this resolution, to stand up against the evils of socialism, and to stand in support of the greatest country in the world, the United States of America. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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