strategic policy analyses. from the consumer bureau, from the public safety and homeland security bureau, and from the media bureau. with that, we call the vote. commissioner clyburn. >> i dissent. >> commissioner carr? chairman pai: the item is adopted with editorial privileges. >> in his weekly address, the president talked about the military and immigration laws. representative mike thompson from california delivered the weekly address, giving his reaction to the g.o.p. tax reform bill. president trump: my fellow americans, this week i signed the national defense authorization act, a historic step forward to rebuild our military. now, it is critical for congress to pass the clean government

appropriations bill that fully funds our military needs. we must not play politics with our troops. we should pass a clean funding bill and leave the politics aside. we must protect our nation. i'd also like to take a moment today to discuss our immigration system and how we can reform it to make it work for everyday americans. our current immigration system helps special interests but hurts american workers taxpayers and national security. for decades, now u.s. immigration rules have been based on an outdated system known as chain migration. under chain migration, foreign nationals can come to the united states and bring in unlimited numbers of foreign relatives. a single immigrant can begin a chain that could ultimately bring in dozens of increasingly distant relations. because these individuals are admitted solely on the basis of family ties, not skill or not merit, most of this immigration

is lower skilled putting great strain on federal welfare, and because there is no real selection criteria the current system is totally incompatible with national security. this week, a rest terrorist exploded a pipe bomb on a business subway package during rush hour in new york city, injuring innocent americans. this individual arrived through chain migration. in october another terrorist drove a truck through pedestrians and bicyclists. it is time to create a merit based emigration system that makes sense for the american economy, selecting those who can make positive contributions for american society. base it on love of our country.

we want people that come in that can love our country. this process begins with congress passing a bill to end chain migration and also end the visa lottery. i have called on congress to do exactly that. ending chain migration and also ending the visa lottery, will allow us to have common sense immigration rules that promote assimilation and wage growth. it also promotes, most importantly, safety. it will help americans, both old and new, to thrive flourish and prosper. thank you and god bless america. rep. thompson: i'm congressman mike thompson and i'm a member of the house committee on ways and means, the tax writing committee. this week, republicans continued to push their tax bill that would devastate middl