Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that socialist proposals such as Medicare for All, student loan forgiveness, and the Green New Deal with a guaranteed job for all, are antithetical to American foundational values of self-responsibility and opportunity, and by guaranteeing these programs as "rights", we risk abandoning our actual rights.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 675 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that socialist proposals such as Medicare for All, student loan forgiveness, and the Green New Deal with a guaranteed job for all, are antithetical to American foundational values of self-responsibility and opportunity, and by guaran- teeing these programs as ‘‘rights’’, we risk abandoning our actual rights. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 31, 2019 Mr. WALKER (for himself, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. MURPHY of North Caro- lina, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. RIGGLEMAN, Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. BANKS, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. GUEST, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. EMMER, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. SPANO, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. KEVIN HERN of Oklahoma, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. LAM- BORN, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. COMER, Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, Mr. WRIGHT, Mr. BABIN, Mr. GOODEN, and Mr. MULLIN) submitted the following resolu- tion; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that socialist proposals such as Medicare for All, student loan forgiveness, and the Green New Deal with a guaranteed job for all, are antithetical to American foundational values of self-responsibility and opportunity, and by guar- VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\HR675.IH HR675 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 675 IH anteeing these programs as ‘‘rights’’, we risk abandoning our actual rights. Whereas, on February 7, 2019, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Edward Markey introduced H. Res. 109 and S. Res. 59, respectively, resolutions rec- ognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal; Whereas, on February 27, 2019, Representative Pramila Jayapal and Senator Bernard Sanders introduced H.R. 1384 and S. 1129, respectively, legislation to establish a Medicare-for-all national health insurance program; Whereas several Democratic Presidential candidates have proposed tuition-free college or wealth redistribution poli- cies; Whereas, in socialism, the value of States and municipal gov- ernment goes away and keeps government away from the people, instead favoring a centralized ruling body; Whereas increasing taxes for Americans to redistribute wealth would eliminate the incentive for the American in- genuity which has made the United States the most pro- ductive country in the world; Whereas eliminating private medical insurance options for nearly half of the population currently covered by employ- ers and replacing it with a government-run system would result in a decrease in the quality and availability of care; Whereas a guaranteed job for those who are unable or unwill- ing to work violates the treasured principle of self-respon- sibility and merit-based opportunity; Whereas the late Charles Krauthammer defined the dif- ference between political rights and economic rights, lik- VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR675.IH HR675 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HRES 675 IH ening political rights to examples of free speech, worship, and freedom from government overreach, and cultural and economic rights as social and economic services guar- anteed by the state; Whereas the idea of social and economic rights creates a de- pendence on the state for necessities and can begin to re- place the importance of political rights; Whereas there is no form of socialism, whether extreme or modified, that has worked in other countries due to civil unrest and economic hardship for citizens; Whereas the United States is a large robust country with enormous economic capacity due to the ability of citizens to live unencumbered by arbitrary taxes, fees, and man- dates from the Federal Government; and Whereas socialist proposals create government dependence for social services and neglect the identity of American polit- ical culture and freedom: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives that— 2 (1) the role of the United States Federal Gov- 3 ernment is to provide opportunities to increase indi- 4 vidual economic opportunity and self-empowerment; 5 (2) the proper role of the United States Federal 6 Government is governed and outlined by the United 7 States Constitution; 8 (3) current socialist proposals are working 9 against the defined role of government and abandon 10 the values which make us American; 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR675.IH HR675 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HRES 675 IH (4) capitalism is the pinnacle of American de- 1 mocracy and economic freedom; 2 (5) the aforementioned proposals promote so- 3 cialism and undermine the American founding prin- 4 ciples of individual freedom and liberty; 5 (6) despite any flaw in our political system, our 6 political representatives in this compound Republic 7 should be mindful and committed to promoting indi- 8 vidual responsibility and merit-based opportunity; 9 (7) our belief is in the individual; government 10 becomes dangerous when power shifts from the indi- 11 vidual to big government and the collective state; 12 (8) the United States House of Representatives 13 promotes capitalism and the free market as a way 14 to empower Americans across all walks of life to ac- 15 cess economic opportunities and political freedoms; 16 (9) the United States House of Representatives 17 should continue to focus on policies which enrich the 18 American identity by promoting self-responsibility 19 and fostering opportunities through the free market 20 and a healthy economy; and 21 (10) the Federal Government should only do 22 things that need to be done on the Federal level, like 23 interstate commerce and the collective defense. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR675.IH HR675 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS