MANDATE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

On 2026-01-13, Representative Mark Harris (R-NC-8) delivered a floor speech titled "MANDATE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE" in the House. The speech addressed immigration and also covered abortion, taxes. It referenced legislation: HR2.

MANDATE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)] [House] [Pages H711-H713] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] MANDATE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Harris of North Carolina was recognized for 30 minutes.) General Leave Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of the Special Order into the Record. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from North Carolina? There was no objection. Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, in November of 2024, the American people didn't just cast votes. They issued a thunderous mandate. It was loud, it was clear, and it was unmistakable. They rose up, and they declared: Enough is enough. Enough of the reckless spending that mortgages our children's future. Enough of open-borders flooding our communities with chaos and danger. Enough of unelected bureaucrats and activist judges lording over a free people, and enough of weakness abroad and surrendering to our enemies while our adversaries laugh. The voters didn't send House Republicans back to Washington to warm chairs, cut ribbons, and play defense. They sent us here to fight. They sent us here to do government differently, to reverse the damage, and to restore what made America great. Now the moment of truth has arrived. What must the House Republican majority do in 2026, and why must we act boldly without apology and without hesitation? In 2026 the American people expect a Republican-led Congress to deliver results. Alongside President Trump, we must leverage our House and Senate majorities to advance a bold agenda fulfilling more of our promises. We must act urgently in the first quarter of 2026, using every tool available to compel the Senate to deliver now. The stakes extend beyond the next election. America's future depends on it. This evening I want to take a few moments to lay out that answer, four priorities, four commitments, and four reasons the future of the Republic depends on what we do next. {time} 2040 First of all, there must be a priority to cut spending because a nation that can't balance its books can't defend its future. The most fundamental duty of any government worthy of the name is stewardship of the taxpayers' hard-earned dollar. Families balance their checkbooks every month. Small businesses live within their means or they fail. Yet, for too long, Washington has acted as if math, morality, and accountability simply don't apply here. Today, right now, in January of 2026, our national debt stands at more than $38.4 trillion. Madam Speaker, that is not just statistics, it is a theft from our children. It is bondage for our grandchildren. It is a crushing burden that grows by billions every single day, while interest payments alone devour more than a trillion dollars a year. Please, let's be crystal clear with America. We do not have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem and a massive fraud problem in this country. Just look at the scandals exploding across this country right now. In Minnesota, Democrats allowed millions of taxpayer dollars to flow to fraudulent daycare centers, fake operations with misspelled signs, empty buildings, no children in sight. Yet, they pocketed huge sums from programs meant to help the vulnerable children. A viral investigation by independent journalist Nick Shirley has triggered Federal probes, payment freezes, and demands for accountability. Money that was intended for children, stolen by criminals exploiting government incompetence. Back home in my own State of North Carolina, a fresh Federal audit just revealed that 54 percent--more than half--of the State's nondomiciled commercial drivers' licenses were issued illegally, often to foreign nationals whose driver licenses were valid long after their lawful presence in the United States had expired. I submit to you, this isn't a clerical glitch. It is a systemic failure that is putting the lives of Americans at risk on our highways, wastes taxpayer resources, and, yes, threatens millions in Federal funding. Mr. Speaker, fraud is never victimless. It robs seniors of the benefits they earned. It shortchanges our veterans who sacrificed for this country. It burdens working families already struggling to get ahead, and it saddles future generations with debts they never agreed to carry. In 2026, I believe House Republicans must do what Washington has refused to do for decades: hunt down waste, fraud, and abuse, and shut it off at its source. That means oversight with real teeth, audits that trigger prosecutions, not just reports, and zero tolerance. Cut funding to any agency that refuses to clean house and deal with the situation. Only a year ago, several in my party were hyping up DOGE, the Department [[Page H712]] of Government Efficiency. I must ask, where is the enthusiasm now? Why are we not continuing to slash the waste, fraud, and abuse? We did it with USAID, NPR, and PBS, but, listen, we can't stop there. While we are wielding the budget ax, let's be unequivocal about what should never receive another dime of taxpayer money--no taxpayer-funded abortions, period. Full stop. The Federal Government must never force Americans of faith, or any Americans for that matter, to bankroll the destruction of innocent life. Life begins in the womb, and America must never apologize for defending the most vulnerable among us. There is one more pipeline that I believe must be severed: no funding for lawless jurisdictions. Cities and States that are defying Federal immigration law, harboring criminals instead of enforcing the law should receive not one more cent of Federal grants. We cannot, we must not continue rewarding sanctuary politicians who put American lives in the crosshairs. This past Saturday, on what would have been Laken Riley's 24th birthday, we paused to remember a bright, compassionate nursing student whose life was stolen far, far too soon. Laken was jogging on a college trail, doing what young Americans do every day, full of promise, full of faith, full of the future. She never made it home. My colleague talked about her killer tonight: an illegal alien with ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua who crossed our border, was released, and then brutally ended her life. Don't forget Laken, don't forget Rachel Morin, don't forget Joycelyn Nungaray, don't forget the countless American victims--daughters, sons, mothers, and fathers--who have been lost to the chaos of reckless open- border policies that have been pushed by the radical progressive Democrats. These same Democrats remain unashamed. They fight harder, they fight louder for violent criminal aliens than they ever do for the American families that have been left shattered. They shield sanctuary cities that harbor lawbreakers, defund enforcement, and turn their backs on our people. However, we remember, and because we remember, we must act. In 2026, House Republicans must keep fighting. No more Federal dollars for sanctuary jurisdictions that defy the law, and I mean no more excuses, no more American blood on the hands of politicians who choose criminals over citizens. Laken's memory demands it. America's safety requires it. We will not rest until justice is restored for Laken, for every victim, and for every family that deserves to feel safe in their own country. If a city wants our taxpayers' money, it must follow Federal law. If it chooses to act as a sanctuary for lawbreakers, let it do so on its own dime, not ours. Cut the waste. Cut the fraud. Cut the funding to lawlessness. That is how we will restore fiscal sanity. That is how we will restore public safety. That is how we will restore moral clarity to Washington, and I mean starting today. There is a second priority: to conserve our way of life, because a Republic only survives if its foundations are defended. The Bible says in Psalms 11:3 that if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? The second mission of the House Republican majority in 2026 is clear and nonnegotiable: We must conserve the American way of life. What good is economic prosperity if our freedoms, the very soul of our Nation, are eroded day by day? Let's start with the foundation of self-government. Yes, I am talking about our elections. Only American citizens should vote in American elections. This is not controversial. This is common sense. The House has already acted decisively. We passed the SAVE Act requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register for Federal elections. The need for the SAVE Act couldn't be clearer. Just in my own State of North Carolina last fall, the DMV admitted to registering an unknown number of noncitizens, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Americans, I believe, demand that we have secure elections, and yet the SAVE Act has been sitting in the Senate gathering dust. The question is clear: When will the Senate pass it? A nation that cannot secure its elections cannot preserve its liberty, and election integrity is not voter suppression, it is the bedrock of a representative government. {time} 2050 Now, let's talk about justice. We are witnessing a dangerous trend: rogue, unelected district judges legislating from the bench--you know it--issuing sweeping nationwide injunctions that overrule the will of the people, the President, and the Congress. That is not how our Constitution works. That is why the House passed the No Rogue Rulings Act, limiting injunction to the parties in a case, not the entire country. Yes, once again, it awaits Senate action. The question I raise, once again: When will the Senate pass it? Courts interpret the law; they do not make it. They do not govern the Nation

Referenced legislation: HR2