Date: 2016-01-07
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Congressman. thank you for taking your time and sharing with us. We are all familiar with the phrase. "putting your money where your mouth is." Mr. Speaker. a few weeks ago we voted for a bill to fund government programs and extend tax cuts. While that bill was an important step forward compromise. it was far from perfect. It put our environment at risk by selling petroleum overseas and made countless tax breaks for multinational corporations and special interests permanent. Although it did extend programs like the child tax credit. it didnt do nearly enough to protect working families or ensure a bright future for our Nation. We are in a new year. and we have got a chance for a fresh start. so lets make affordable child care part of that new start. Mr. Speaker. I want to switch gears now and discuss an equally important topic that those in control of this House have tried to ignore. a topic that the President took action on this week. Gun violence is one of the greatest challenges this Nation faces. Over the past 10 years. we have lost more than 100.000 people to guns. Millions more have been victims of assaults. of robberies. and of other crimes where a gun was involved. and many of the individuals in possession of these weapons shouldnt have had them in the first place. Three years since Newtown. just over a month since San Bernardino and Colorado Springs. and with the dark memories of shootings of every scale in every city hovering over us constantly. it is time for change. Gun violence in the United States runs the gamut of motivationsfrom mental illness. to religious extremism. to political extremism. to disastrous accidentsbut they all involve a firearm. Many of these incidents are suicide. but they are all linked by the simple fact that they involve a firearm because in the United States of America a group of ideologues have hidden behind misguided readings of the Constitution and make guns available to everyone imaginable. even folks on the terrorist watch list. The reality is that gun violence is an epidemic. and the NRA. along with those who blindly follow it. are deeply out of touch. When another tragedy strikes. my colleagues on the other side of the aisle reliably call for moments of silence right here on the floor. While I support remembering victims. I cannot support silence where action is needed. Silence. Mr. Speaker. is what keeps weapons on our streets. Silence is the reason we have lost friends. sons. daughters. brothers. and sisters. Silence is why we are the only developed nation in the world with this problem. The President has put forward a set of executive actions that make sense at the most basic level. from strengthening background checks and bolstering enforcement to improving mental health services and research on gun safety. The simple. commonsense measures President Obama announced this week will save countless lives. It is now up to us here in Congress to take the baton. Mr. Speaker. it is common sense that someone who is not allowed to fly because they are a suspected terrorist shouldnt be able to get a gun. It is common sense to ensure a standard uniform background check before someone can purchase a weapon. It is common sense that you should have to present identification to buy bullets. and it is time for our colleagues to stand up for common sense. As the President said. we need to do it with the fierce urgency of now. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.