On the House floor, Julie Johnson spoke out against the Gulf of America renaming.
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00:00The gentlewoman's recognized.
00:01Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the gentlewoman for yielding her time.
00:06I rise in opposition to this complete waste of time, the Gulf of America Act.
00:12While Americans are struggling with real problems,
00:15while Trump is trampling over the constitutional rights of the citizens he swore to protect,
00:21Republicans are wasting this chamber's time with performative nonsense.
00:26Here's the choice this comes down to.
00:28We could focus on helping 40 million Americans saddled with medical debt,
00:34or we could rename the Gulf of Mexico.
00:37We could ensure that 10 million children going hungry every night have enough food to eat,
00:44or we can rename the Gulf of Mexico.
00:49We could address our nation's highest maternal mortality rate,
00:53where women are dying in this country every day while giving birth,
00:59or we can rename the Gulf of Mexico.
01:03We could address our nation's lack of affordable housing where families are struggling to find safe shelter,
01:10or we can rename the Gulf of Mexico.
01:14We could make sure our veterans who are waiting for weeks for appointments at VA clinics get the desperate care they need
01:22after making such extreme sacrifices in the honor of service to our country,
01:27or we can rename the Gulf of Mexico.
01:31We can be protecting Social Security and Medicare,
01:35protecting Medicaid,
01:37finding affordable child care for the millions of children in this country,
01:41and reducing the high cost of living that so many families in all of our districts are struggling to afford basic necessities.
01:52Or, we can rename the Gulf of Mexico.
01:56Republicans have made their choice.
01:59They want to focus on renaming a body of water that doesn't need renaming,
02:04instead of the emergent needs that the people we all represent.
02:09And the bill's co-sponsor, the woman from Georgia,
02:14in her district, one in five residents live below the poverty line.
02:19Her district ranks near the bottom in Georgia for health outcomes.
02:22Opioid overdose rates continue to climb.
02:26Broadband access remains limited,
02:30and public schools are under-resourced.
02:33But again, instead of working on bills to bring down the high costs of health care,
02:39making broadband accessible for Americans all over the country,
02:43or helping families struggling with addiction,
02:47we are renaming the Gulf of Mexico as if it is the most important pressing issue facing this country.
02:55This is not governing.
02:57It's a distraction, it's political theater,
03:00and it's an insult to the intelligence of every American who expects us in Congress to do the serious work
03:06of solving real problems and making their lives better.
03:10But this bill does not achieve any of those ends.
03:15The American people did not send us here to troll and suck up to a president.
03:19They sent us here to legislate, leave, and make their lives better.
03:23I urge my colleagues to vote no on this stupid bill and focus on what matters to the American people.
03:30And I yield back.