Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Chair, I thank the distinguished gentleman from the great State of New Jersey for yielding and for his tremendous leadership.

Mr. Chair, the House of Representatives, of course, is the institution the Framers designed to be the closest to the American people. The first institution mentioned in the United States Constitution is the people's House, the place where President Abraham Lincoln declared that America is ``the last best hope of Earth,'' the place where FDR made clear the importance of defending democracy against the tyranny of Nazi fascism. It is the place where President Lyndon Baines Johnson talked about the importance of the Voting Rights Act and made clear to America that we shall overcome.

The House of Representatives is a special place.

Earlier today, I was told you need to get to the House floor to deal with a signature piece of legislation from the extreme MAGA Republicans in this 118th Congress. I wondered to myself, is it going to be about inflation, lower costs, housing affordability, public safety, dealing with the challenges at the border, Social Security, Medicare? What is it going to be about?

It turns out the signature piece of legislation for the extreme MAGA Republicans this week, this month, this year is the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act. This is what we are dealing with on this magical House floor, with all the challenges that the American people are confronting. Liberty for laundry, defending the dignity of dishwashers, fighting for freedom of refrigerators is what we are doing? You can't make it up. You can't make it up.

As House Democrats, we are going to defend democracy. Extreme MAGA Republicans are working on defending the dignity of dishwashers.

As House Democrats, we are going to protect and strengthen Social Security. Extreme MAGA Republicans apparently are interested in protecting gas stoves against phony accusations of oppression.

House Democrats are going to defend reproductive freedom. Extreme MAGA Republicans are focused on the freedom for refrigerators.

We believe in a woman's freedom to make her own reproductive healthcare decisions, period, full stop. We believe in women's healthcare, in protecting the women of America against extreme MAGA Republican overreach. Instead of leaning into the protection of reproductive freedom, instead of trying to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, my Republican colleagues want to criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban and then waste time on the House floor as it relates to the liberty of laundry. You can't make this up.

Mr. Chair, I urge my Republican colleagues to partner with us. If they want to push back against overreach, then push back against the pro-Putin extreme overreach on their side of the aisle that doesn't want to defend democracy and freedom here and abroad. It is undermining it.

We extend the hand of partnership, as we have repeatedly done, to solve real problems for the American people, but those problems have nothing to do with the dignity of dishwashers, the freedom of refrigerators, or the liberty of laundry.

Let's get back to doing the real business of the American people. Vote ``no'' against this legislation.

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