House passes resolution condemning ‘horrors of socialism’
Juliegrace Brufke
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The House passed a resolution on Wednesday denouncing the “horrors of socialism” in a 328-86 vote, with 14 members voting “present.”
The measure, led by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), includes language addressing humanitarian abuses committed under socialist leaders and argues that the policies implemented under the regimes have no place in the United States.
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The resolution specifically denounces past and present leaders ranging from Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin to Kim Jong Un and Nicolas Maduro.
It also highlights atrocities committed under past regimes, noting that “tens of millions died in the Bolshevik Revolution, at least 10,000,000 people were sent to the gulags in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and millions more starved in the Terror-Famine (Holodomor) in Ukraine.”
Republicans insist the measure is necessary to make clear that the United States does not condone policies that could lead to a “totalitarian state” and remove individual freedoms.
“As an immigrant who grew up in South Korea during the aftermath of the Korean War, I know firsthand the horror, the destruction, that socialism has brought to millions of families in the Korean peninsula under the evil regime of the Kim dynasty to now, Kim Jong Un,” Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) said on the floor ahead of the vote.
“Socialism divided my family and friends between North and South,” she added. “My mother-in-law, for example, she crossed over the DMZ and back multiple times to rescue loved ones from the tyrannical North Korean regime, and tens of thousands of war-torn families remain separated till this day,”
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During the House Rules Committee meeting on the measure, some Democrats raised concerns that the resolution was too vague in its wording on what constitutes socialist policies, with some calling for clarification on whether that includes programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
“This resolution is instead as divisive as it is insulting to the American public. It is trying to suggest that Social Security, Medicare, and even fire departments are anti-American,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said.
Republicans shot back at the accusation, saying the measure does not target Social Security and Medicare.
“Communism and socialism have limited freedoms, stymied economic innovation and opportunity, and limited prosperity and left the very people it claims to help in a permanent state of poverty and government dependence. Conversely, capitalism has lifted people from poverty to prosperity within a generation and made America the envy of the world. To be clear, this resolution is not about Social Security or Medicare, two programs with broad bipartisan support,” freshman Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said.
“It is about a sick ideology that has destroyed nations, ruined lives, and resulted in death and destruction around the world. Now, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are twisting themselves into knots trying to explain why they oppose this resolution,” he added. “The sad truth is, it’s because their party has been taken over by a radical socialist ideology that they are held hostage to. They can’t even muster the courage to denounce it. We are Americans. We should speak with one voice and denounce socialism, communism, dictators, and despots at every turn. I’m proud to support this resolution to denounce socialism and proudly embrace capitalism, American innovation.”