Tuesday evening on the House floor, Congressman Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville successfully led a fight on the House floor against H.R. 549, a bill that would have given hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Venezuelans special eligibility to enter into and stay in the United States.
Brooks stressed what he felt was the irony of Democrats seeking to grant amnesty to illegal aliens fleeing a country economically destroyed by the evils of socialism when many Democrats now openly espouse adopting the nineteenth-century economic and governing model that failed in Venezuela and around the globe.
Brooks emphasized that, in any event, America’s dangerous $22 trillion debt coupled with unsustainable deficits make it financially imprudent for America to be the world’s orphanage for millions of children and adults America lacks the money to care for.
“Let’s be clear, Venezuela is one of the natural resource richest nation on the planet,” Congressman Brooks explained. “Oil, top five in reserves in the world. The problem with Venezuela is not its people— other than that they made mistakes in who they elected— and the problem is not the lack of resources that should empower those people to be wealthy. Rather, the problem in Venezuela is self-inflicted adoption of Socialism.”
“And, let’s be clear about the economic havoc that is now occurring in the Venezuela. We have starvation,” Rep. Brooks said. “In one recent study, average adult over a year’s period of time had a weight loss in excess of 20 pounds because they couldn’t get the calories needed to sustain their body weight. Riots have resulted. Inflation, a few years ago, was over 1,000 percent. Today, you have estimates that inflation in Venezuela is as high as 10 million percent. Of course, the currency is worthless and getting less so.”
“So, Venezuela as a country has been brought to its knees by the adoption of Socialism,” Brooks stated. “And, I find it ironic that so many in America now advocate the suppression of free-enterprise and the liberty on which it is based and the replacement of free-enterprise and liberty with Socialism and dictatorial nature that is inherent in the adoption of Socialist practices.”
“So, Venezuela is an excellent example why America must never go Socialist,” Brooks warned. “And, I want to emphasize one thing. While Maduro has been in charge of Venezuela, Maduro is not the cause of the economic hardship that is now being faced in Venezuela. Rather, it is the people’s adoption of Socialism,” Brooks explained.
“Now, let’s go to H.R. 549 and how it relates to what I just said,” Brooks added. “This bill proposes a tsunami of people coming to our country who are ill-equipped to support themselves. And, let’s put that into the perspective of where we are a nation. We just blew through the $22 trillion debt mark earlier this year. This year, we are looking at a roughly $900 billion deficit.”
“A deal that has been reached that will only increase our deficit by $2 trillion over the next two years pushing our debt up to $22 trillion,” Brooks added. “This is money we do not have, have to borrow to get, and cannot afford to pay back. How does that relate to H.R. 549? Well, let me share some numbers with you. Sixty percent of households with a lawful immigrant in them are on welfare, living off the hard work of others. Seventy percent of illegal alien households are on welfare, living off the hard work of others here in the United States of America.”
“Quite frankly, Madam Speaker, the United States of America can no longer afford to be the world’s orphanage for children and adults alike,” Brooks concluded. “We have to get our own house in order. And, this legislation helps to increase that disorder by increasing our deficit and debt, making it less manageable and further risking a debilitating insolvency and bankruptcy of a great nation.”
Congressman Brooks’ efforts were successful. H.R. 549 was killed on a House floor suspension of the rules vote.
Brooks has also introduced legislation that would reform TPS to make it expire and allow persons admitted into the country on TPS status be deported once back to their home countries when conditions improve there.
Mo Brooks is serving in his fifth term representing the Fifth Congressional District.
To see video of Brooks’ floor speech:
