Rep. Garrett: Important Issues of Day
Which leads me to my next point, which is also not on the subject that I originally intended to address and that is, the statement of my distinguished colleague from
Now why am I hear tonight? Golly ned why am I hear at all? Who are we as a nation? I tell my children if you want to know what's the right thing to do in life when you're confronted with challenges, when you have a dilemma, ask yourself who do I want to be, not who am I, but who do I want to be, because I hope I never reach my aspirational goals, but I keep trying as long as I am here. I don't think that if you reach all your goals for who you want to be that you've aimed high enough. And if you ask yourself who I want to when you face that ethical or moral dilemma you will always then come up with the right answer when you answer what the person you want to be, would do. And so I grew up with a father who actually had a name for the belt that he wore around his waist, it was the enforcer. I had a mother who thought I could do anything I wanted to do and a father who would kick my tail if I didn't give it my best effort. I spent nearly ten years as a prosecutor and I can't tell you how many times I looked down the dais at the criminal defendant and thought, I wonder but there for the grace of God, go I. But for the fact that I was blessed with amazing parents who encouraged me who loved me and disciplined me and told me the things I could do, unlike so many in political office today who garner votes and support by telling people what they can't do, what they need done for them.
By gosh this country was built on a government dependent upon people, not a people dependent upon government. And that's who we are. Now, who are we going to be? Where are we going? A wiser person than I once said, "If you want to know where you're going, you should look where you've been." It's a relatively humbling thing to do representing the fifth district of
Everyone is entitled to an opportunity and everyone within the Jeffersonian construct of liberty that is my freedom extends to the point where yours starts, so long as you don't harm another you should be free to make decisions for yourself has an entitlement to define success for themselves. If you wanna be the world's best bee keeper, go be the world's best bee keeper. If you wanna be a great stay at home dad, by golly be a great stay at home dad. If you'd like to work to cure cancer, please do. If you wanna be a member of this body and try to perpetuate opportunity for our posterity, please do. If you wanna be a member of This body and try to perpetuate your own power or your own legacy, please don't. And so this brings me to the point of why I stand here today, I've been here 6 months not terribly long. Thank god, I've been unable to shake my citizen world view in favor a legislator world view. So as I walk into this chamber as I stand next to these women and men on both sides of the aisle I'm a little humbled. When I walk down the staircase on the edge of the original house chamber that's been worn by time by the footsteps of the likes on Kennedy, and Madison, and Monroe, and Eisenhower and Lincoln, I'm humbled. But I would revert back to the words that elitists observed over 150 years ago, and that is we will thrive until we attempt to begin to bribe the tax payers with their own money. And at some point things become unsustainable and at some point we need to recognize that we are about freedom of individuals to venture and fail and venture and gain and that we are a nation whose government should depend upon people, and not whose people should depend upon government. An hour and a half ago I stood on this very floor and I dropped at the clerks desk, HRS 458, house resolution 458 is a vehicle that would move to discharge past the normal process and procedures house resolution 1436, HR 1436 is a bill that was voted for by every republican member of this body in 2015 which would provide for a repeal of the broken promises that are the affordable care act. Just yesterday, in conference they showed us polling and it showed that the American people trusted republicans more on national defense, border security, jobs in the economy, but were kinda sketchy on healthcare, right? We can read a poll but I came here to do what I think is right I came here to do what I said I would do, and this plan that I think could reasonably be called the managed healthcare bailout program, the health insurance industry profit enhancement act has failed working Americans and that paradigm under which we have debated it has failed to be an honest one. But if I'm here not to enhance myself, or my legacy and if I'm here to do what I think is right, what I said I would do when I ran for office, then I need to stand up and do what I said I was gonna do when I ran for office, and that was to ensure that the decisions of Americans were left to Americans that we minimize the interference In individuals lives by the government, and that we recognize and ill paraphrase the Mr. Jefferson who was correct when he said the fruits of the working class are safest when the legislators not in session. Hm, I believe it was
I know to a metaphysical certainty that no side has a monopoly on good ideas. I would love to have some input, there will certainly be members who say "well I don't believe the federal government should have a large role." There will be other members that say we should have single payer. Well, right now we are stuck in a broken system because of political gamesmanship. And it burned me when I was on the outside and it burns me on the inside. What are the facts? What are the real facts? The average individual premium according to
So, I'm not only disgusted with and sick of such harsh rhetoric, but I think it's not been proven demonstrably false. We talk about who will be kicked off their plan. According to the CBO, 10 million people have lost their employer plans. Those are the plans that if they like they can keep. And roughly 15 million of the people who are now insured, by virtue of an individual mandate, that we have forcefully compelled American citizens to purchase a good or service at the risk of forfeiture of their money or their freedom. We live in a country where you can choose in many places to buy marijuana, you can choose to bungee jump, you can choose to sky dive. Heck, in some places you can choose to visit a prostitute. But you can't choose a healthcare plan that doesn't carry coverage for mental health or for maternity. You can't do that. That's against the law.
This is about choice. I served in the
I'm frustrated, but I'm fighting. A lot of people are frustrated, but they are fighting. I want to see our leadership succeed. I want to see this nation be, unequivocally, the greatest experiment in freedom that the earth has ever known. But, if we continue to try and parlay largesse and failed programs into political power, we won't, we won't. And the time to measure things based not on intentions, but results is nigh. In
Let's judge these things not by their intentions but by their outcomes. Let's not argue about who has coverage but who has access to affordable care. Let's support revision that drives down premiums and down deductibles. And let's trumpet our victories based on who we actually helped, not who we intended to help. In stand untied with the bulk of my colleagues. I know there are some who said we'd do one thing and now do another. This is an avenue by which we might find out who they are. But I don't for a moment question the individual motives of members. I think they have an opportunity to distinguish themselves by virtue of signing on to this resolution. I ask you again if your watching at home to contact your member if you agree with what we said. And ask them if they'll come to this bar, when we're in session, and sign their name to House Resolution 458 and demonstrate their willing to do the exact same thing now, when it counts, that they did dozens and dozens of times under the previous administration when they knew that they're actions would be met with a veto pen. And I don't do this to score political points. And I don't do this to make my name bigger. I don't do this to because it feels good. I do this because we owe it to the giants who's shoulders we stand upon, to Patrick Henry and
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