Bryan Steil · TranslatePolitics.com

House of Representatives

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

2026-09-01

“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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“I want to know how much time I have left to speak.”

“I want everyone to vote yes on this resolution. Socialism is bad. It makes everyone poor. We need to stop socialism. That's why this resolution is important.”

“I don't like what the other side wants. They want to change many things. I don't want those changes. I want to keep things the same. This resolution is good. It says that socialism is bad. I want to say that the other side is bad too.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman asked what we oppose. You can actually just pull out the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America, and it is like shooting fish in a barrel of what we oppose: defund the Department of Defense; free Palestine, with their capital in Jerusalem; provide amnesty to all immigrants, regardless of legal status. The list goes on. We oppose a lot of it. That is why this resolution is actually very relevant. The radical left is taking over portions of the Democratic Party. This isn't your grandfather's Democratic Party anymore. This is a new radicalized Democratic Party that wants to install socialism right here in the United States of America. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).

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“The resolution condemns socialism. I want it to pass. The other side talked about communism. This resolution is against communism too. The other side should vote for it. The resolution talks about election law. It is against the Democratic Socialists of America. They want to change how we elect the President and Senate. Socialism gives power to the government. Socialism is hard to remove. This resolution is good. It shows where people stand.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, per the comments that this calls out socialism and not communism, it calls out socialism in all its forms. So if the gentleman who just spoke dislikes communism, he has a great opportunity to vote for this resolution. Per the commentary about election law, this is a direct contrast between the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America who want to dramatically change the election process in the United States of America. The Democratic Socialists of America want to change how we elect the President of the United States. They want to abolish the Senate. They want to dramatically transform the democracy of the United States of America. Why? It is because socialism concentrates power. What they want to do is establish socialism, which is easy to elect but very difficult to remove. That is why this resolution is so important. It is so the American people will know where their Member stands. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) to speak on the resolution.

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“I took time to show this resolution is needed. People can see where they stand. The other side has bad ideas. They want to take your money. They want to take away your freedom. I want people to choose a side. You can be with us or against us.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I note my colleague said this resolution allows Members to state how they feel, where they stand. I think that is actually reasonably true. You can pull out the Democratic Socialists of America program, and you can flip to page 15 and read through some of the highlights: defund the Pentagon, free Palestine with Jerusalem as the capital, grant amnesty for all immigrants regardless of legal status. This is a chance, as my colleague says, to show how we feel and where Members stand. The American people will get to see. Do they stand with the Democratic Socialists of America or do they stand with democracy and freedom and oppose the socialist policies that we are seeing from the radical left? Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crank), the author of this resolution, to speak.

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“I want to say that socialism is bad. Socialists want to let non-citizens vote and get rid of the electoral college. That's wrong. We must have laws to make sure only citizens vote. Socialists killed many people in other countries. Socialism is bad. I want the government to say that socialism is bad.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crank) for authoring this very timely resolution. Mr. Speaker, let's set the stage. Socialism has no place in the United States of America. Hard work and merit are the backbone of American Dreams, not socialism in government outcome and government control. Our Nation is at a crossroads. Across the country, socialist policies are increasingly dominating democratic politics. Members of this body openly support key elements of the Democratic Socialists of America's platform. The mayor of our largest city is a socialist. The U.S. Senator who was a leading candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for President is a socialist. America has a choice. We can go down the path of Big Government socialism, or we can keep fighting to shrink government and help the American people keep more of their hard-earned money. The resolution condemns socialism, and it exposes the radical policies of the Democratic Socialists of America's platform. Let's quickly look through the platform. It supports giving the right to vote to 12 million noncitizens and criminals who are currently incarcerated. It supports ranked-choice voting for all elections. It calls for abolishing the electoral college and the United States Senate. These are radical policies, and they would undermine the integrity of the American election and destroy our democratic system. Now, contrast this radical agenda with what Republicans support. We believe that American elections are for American citizens only. We are focused on making it easy to vote and hard to cheat. Our goal is to strengthen election integrity. That is why we are pushing commonsense reforms like requiring photo ID and citizenship verification when individuals register to vote. Socialists are opposing these commonsense ideas because they fundamentally oppose securing our elections. Mr. Speaker, socialism is easy to elect, but it is nearly impossible to remove. That is because socialist ideology concentrates power in a way that has led to totalitarian rule, time and time again. Here at home, DSA leaders have repeatedly described our bicameral Federal Republic as inherently undemocratic. Make no mistake, if socialists are given the chance, socialists will abolish our democratic system. Mr. Speaker, socialist policies are responsible for the death of 100 million people worldwide. This resolution rejects and condemns this dangerous ideology. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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“I want the government to say that socialism is bad. I want us to talk about this now.”

House of Representatives

Authorizing the Use of the Rotunda of the Capitol for a Ceremony to Honor the Late Senator Lindsey O. Graham

2026-07-22

“I want to talk about a resolution. The resolution is about using the Rotunda for a ceremony. The ceremony will honor Lindsey Graham.”

House of Representatives

Stop Insider Trading Act

2026-07-22

“I want this bill to pass. It has two parts. The first part stops politicians from using secret information to make money. No stocks for them or their families. If they break the rule, they pay a big fine. The second part makes people show ID to vote. Some states already do that. This bill makes it the same everywhere. I think this is good. It will help people trust Congress. I want people to trust us. Let's pass this bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, as we close out today, I begin by thanking leadership for giving us this opportunity. Congress has not had a bill on the House floor on this topic with this opportunity before. I thank Speaker Johnson, Leader Scalise, Whip Emmer for their work on this. I also thank the Members of this body who have doggedly worked on this issue, in particular Congressman Chip Roy, as well as Brian Fitzpatrick, Tim Burchett, Anna Paulina Luna, and others for their feedback and work throughout the process to get to this point. Before us is the Stop Insider Trading Act. Mr. Speaker, I will touch on a handful of things that came up today about what is in and what is not in the bill. I think this is important for the American people to know. Some of the arguments made today are what I call a Goldilocks argument: The bill doesn't do enough. The bill does too much. Let's take this moment to take a real and substantive step forward. I will begin as I close by discussing what is in the bill. The bill ensures that Members and lawmakers cannot use their positions to profit off of insider information. Mr. Speaker, insider trading is already illegal, and individuals who engage in it should be held accountable by the full force of the law. However, as we know, prosecuting insider trading is actually quite difficult. It is why this bill is so important to provide a bright-line rule to remove even the appearance of impropriety that someone has leveraged their position for financial gain. Under this bill, Members, their spouses, and their dependent children are prevented from purchasing individual companies' shares of stock, period, full stop. The question then becomes: What if a Member arrives in Congress with stock in their portfolio? Say they are saving up for their retirement or their children's college education. We provide an opportunity with 7 days advance notice to be able to make that sale. That 7 days of advance notice tells the American people what is going on in advance rather than current law, which allows a 30-day filing after the fact. This prevents Members from being able to profit off of any insider information they may gain in this institution. Mr. Speaker, the violations and penalties associated with this bill are steep: a fine equal to $2,000 or 10 percent of the transaction, as well as a disgorgement of profits. Violators would be forfeiting any gain realized if they fail to comply with this legislation. The legislation is critical in restoring trust in this institution. One of the challenges we face is that this institution 15 years ago passed the STOCK Act, publicly disclosing any trade a Member of this institution makes. However, the disclosure rules lack detail and are filed a month after the transaction. When you couple that with the increased attention to Member trades, in particular, through social media accounts, it has fueled public frustration. I believe this is our opportunity where we can simply stop Members of Congress from trading individual stocks, period, full stop. Doing so removes even the appearance of wrongdoing. Americans should be confident that individuals working here are working on their behalf, not on behalf of their own financial interests. This bill is coupled with the Voter ID Act. In jurisdictions across this country, States that neighbor mine, like Illinois or Minnesota, or as far away as California or New York, voters can go to the polls on election day and cast a ballot without providing proof of their identity. Our Voter ID Act implements commonsense election integrity measures by requiring voters to show photo ID when casting a ballot in Federal elections. Mr. Speaker, 24 States already require some form of photo ID to vote. The bill simply takes this standard and makes it nationwide. Both of these provisions are commonsense reforms, but, in particular, the Stop Insider Trading Act is a moment when we can take a tremendous step forward in the ethics here in the House of Representatives, in the Senate, and in this institution. At a period of time when Americans are struggling to gain confidence in Congress, this legislation before us gives us that opportunity to begin restoring the trust. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues in this body today to vote in favor of the legislation before us, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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“I want to thank Mr. Roy. He worked hard on this stock trading ban. We would not be here without him.”

“I want to correct the record. My colleague was wrong about the spouse exception. This bill applies to a Member's spouse and dependent children. It restricts stock trades for them. There is a working spouse exception. If a Member's spouse's job involves stocks, they can keep working in that job. This bill restricts their stock trades for individual companies. My colleague said this bill has no restrictions on family members. That's not true. This bill restricts stock trades for Members, their spouses, and dependent children.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I want to go back to a comment that was just made by my colleague, in particular, what we refer to as the spousal exception. It is very important to know. The legislation before us on the Stop Insider Trading Act applies to a Member, a Member's spouse, and the dependent children of that Member. There is what we call the spousal working exception, so if a Member's spouse works in a capacity that engages in stock, think of a life insurance salesman, maybe your spouse is selling life insurance, Mr. Speaker, we want to make sure that individual can continue their work. Of course, they would be banned under this legislation from buying individual company's shares of stock. I think it would be incorrect if we didn't correct the record where it was not accurately stated that there are no restrictions on family members. This bill, specifically, takes that into account. It includes Members, their spouses, and dependent children. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford).

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“I want Congress to pass a bill. The bill will ban insider trading by Congress. The bill will also require voter ID. I think this will help clean up Washington. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Stop Insider Trading Act. There is a lot of talk in this town about draining the swamp and cleaning up Washington. Today, the rubber hits the road. Good governance matters, and the Committee on House Administration is leading the way. Under current law, Members of Congress are required to publicly disclose their stock trades. The disclosures lack details and are often filed months after a transaction. This lack of transparency and the continued practice of Members purchasing stock is fueling public frustration. It is time we ban Members of Congress from being able to buy individual companies' shares of stock. Doing so removes even the appearance of impropriety. Mr. Speaker, we have an opportunity to pass transformational congressional ethics reform. This is the first congressional stock trading ban to receive a vote on the floor of the House. Today, every American will know where their Member stands. If you want to day trade, there is a place for that. It is called Wall Street. If you want to come to Washington, you should be working on behalf of the American people. In addition, this bill also includes a commonsense proposal that we have advanced through committee on voter ID. Voter ID strengthens election integrity and is nonpartisan and common sense. In this country, you have to show a photo ID to fly, to open a bank account, to buy a beer, and, more recently, to enjoy a never-ending pasta bowl at Olive Garden. You don't have to show an ID to vote in States like Minnesota, Illinois, California, and others, which are literally not doing the job of securing our elections, when the easy task of photo ID is in front of us. Mr. Speaker, it is a simple concept: To vote in a Federal election, you need to show a photo ID. Twenty-four States already require a form of photo ID to vote. This bill, of course, allows provisional voting if someone forgets their ID when they go to the polls--again, common sense. That is why it is so popular with the American people. They understand it. They know the need for this commonsense reform. Photo ID will help strengthen election integrity, bolster voter confidence, and increase participation. That is a good thing for our democracy. Mr. Speaker, these two proposals will clean up Washington and strengthen the integrity of our elections. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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“I want to talk about a bill. The bill will restrict insider trading by Congress and their families.”

House of Representatives

Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2027

2026-07-22

“I want to thank my friend. He did good work. We need to change election rules. You should have to be a citizen to vote. You should have to show ID to vote. Some people who are not citizens voted. That's bad. It makes people not trust elections. We need to stop that. Our ideas will make elections better. People will trust them. More people will vote. It will be easy to vote. It will be hard to cheat. We can make elections better in every state. We should pass this bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Chair, I thank my friend, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), who is the chair of the Budget Committee, for his work in this regard. Mr. Chair, we are here today because we can advance commonsense election integrity. House Republicans have pushed two key commonsense reforms that are not yet across the line. First, Mr. Chair, you should be a citizen to vote in this country. You have to prove that when you register. Second, Mr. Chair, when you head to the polls to cast your ballot, you have to verify your identity with a photo ID. Mr. Chair, now is the time for election integrity. It was just revealed in New Jersey that 6,600 noncitizens were admitted and registered to vote. According to The New York Times, nearly 400 of those noncitizens cast a ballot. Federal law requires States to give voter registration materials to everyone when they get a driver's license. It is a problem. During the Biden administration, millions of illegal aliens poured into our country. In many blue States, of course, they can get a driver's license. What is to stop them from registering to vote? Currently, that is by checking a box that they are not a citizen. That is not enough. Stories like what happened in New Jersey undermine confidence in our elections. It is time to take action. Our commonsense proposals will boost voter confidence, increase voter participation, and ensure that it remains easy to vote but hard to cheat. We have a real opportunity before us to strengthen election integrity in all 50 States. Mr. Chair, I urge passage of this resolution.

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House of Representatives

Vacating Ordering of Recorded Vote on Reconsideration of House Resolution 1398, and Laying on the Table House Resolution 1377

2026-07-13

“I ask that we cancel the previously-ordered recorded vote to reconsider the adoption of two House Resolutions. Instead, let's table both resolutions and the motion to reconsider.”

House of Representatives

Fec Administrative Improvements Act

2026-07-13

“I thank my friend for working on this bill with me. We need to change our election rules. This bill does that. I want everyone to vote for this bill.”

“I want this bill to pass. The government should change rules about campaign spending. I want to thank my friends. The election system is old. We should change it. The changes will help the FEC. Groups can spend money in new ways. The government should pass this bill now.”

Official Congressional Record

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of H.R. 8738, the FEC Administrative Improvements Act. I thank my friends, Ranking Member Morelle and the chair of our Subcommittee on Elections, Representative Lee from Florida, for their leadership on this legislation. Our campaign finance system wasn't designed for the digital age. That extends to the statutes governing the work of the Federal Elections Commission. This bill implements several recommendations from the FEC to modernize their administrative operations and reduce outdated administrative burdens. The bill expands the electronic filing requirements to electioneering communications reports and allows political committees to make disbursements by methods other than checks. Madam Speaker, the work of the FEC is important to our Federal election system. This bill improves their efficiency and modernizes our campaign finance system for the digital age. I urge immediate passage of the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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“I want this bill to pass. I want the government to change election rules. The government should require electronic reports. The government should allow political groups to spend money in more ways.”

House of Representatives

Stop Foreign Funds in Elections Act

2026-07-13

“I am happy this bill will pass. I thank my colleagues for working on it. All members should vote yes. That is all.”