September 15, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 159 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
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DEFENDING AMERICA'S VALUES AND PROTECTING AMERICA'S COMMUNITIES; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 159
(House of Representatives - September 15, 2020)
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[Pages H4420-H4423] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] {time} 1815 DEFENDING AMERICA'S VALUES AND PROTECTING AMERICA'S COMMUNITIES The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington) for 30 minutes. General Leave Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the topic of my Special Order. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas? There was no objection. Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, today's Special Order, which I am proud to host, is about defending America's values and protecting America's communities. I have no doubt that the greatness of our beloved country can be found in ``We the People,'' and I would say that America is great because of the people and the values which they hold so dear: the things that we believe collectively, the ideals that we hold out and strive for as a nation, imperfect people striving for a more perfect Union. And those values distinguish this experiment in liberty and democracy. There is a reason that people from all over the world literally risk their lives to come here to be a part of this experiment in self- government, and I would say those ideals consist, first and foremost, in the belief that the American people run the affairs of this country, and we believe in that doctrine of popular sovereignty. We believe that strong and healthy nations are nothing more than the cumulative effect of strong and healthy families; that is, the family is the cornerstone, at the cellular level it is the [[Page H4421]] strength of the fabric of this country, and we should not make any apologies for policies that strengthen that core fabric. We believe in the rule of law. We believe in the Constitution. We believe that we are a nation of laws, not of men. And we in this Chamber, in this great body of the people's House, should uphold, should promote, should defend these values; and when they are under assault and when they are not being lived up to, we should call that out. We should make sure that we are keepers of these values. I have a lot to say about one element that is a cornerstone of our democracy, and, quite frankly, it is a cornerstone of civil society anywhere, and that is law and order. That is justice. These are words, Mr. Speaker, that are easily found in the mission statement of our Federal Government, articulated, framed in the Constitution's preamble. Domestic tranquillity--nobody, I would submit, knows more about the importance of rule of law, justice, and domestic tranquillity than my colleague, Mr. Clay Higgins from Louisiana. He has been a decorated law enforcement officer. Like all of our men and women in uniform, he has put everything on the line to keep the bad guys away from our law-abiding citizens and their families and to make sure that we restrain evil and chaos so that we can continue the persistence of this great constitutional democratic Republic. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins), my dear friend. Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for recognizing me. My friend and colleague is discussing the deterioration of traditional American values in our Nation this evening, and I think it is appropriate that we as a nation take pause and reflect upon our own lives, our own families and our histories, the traditions and cultures which we represent, the men and women we strive to be as we seek, from bended knee, the very deepest part of ourselves, the whisper of our Lord Himself within us, His spirit that dwells there, to seek perhaps the best part of us, the undiscovered and sometimes difficult-to- recognize truth that He has placed within our breast. During the course of my life--I am 59 years old. I was born in 1961, the seventh of eight children. I have witnessed the deterioration of traditional American values. As a failed and fallen man, arisen myself, redeemed by the blood of our Lord and savior, I have contributed to the demise and deterioration of our society in my small part. I struggle as a man. Our journey, if you will, is to recognize that we are imperfect and to seek that perfection, for our Nation itself was founded by imperfect men who were driven by perfect intent. The founding words of our original documents include, ``in order to form a more perfect Union.'' This is a very humble statement by men of wisdom and great stature of spirit. ``In order to form a more perfect Union'' are words that recognize that we are imperfect men. Therefore, during this time, this era of turmoil and tribulation and violence and mob rule, great division--included amongst that division is this Chamber--I think it is appropriate that my friend, that my brother brings this to the focus of the Nation today. Growing up in high school in the seventies, attended high school in the seventies, every vehicle in the parking lot, a country school, had a rifle or a shotgun in the back glass, maybe a pistol under the seat, maybe all three. We didn't have school shootings. When I began college in 1979 at LSU, I began to work my way through college as a carpenter. The company I worked for, we did historical renovations. In order to qualify, Mr. Speaker and my friend, for the historical plaque for that renovation, a certain process had to be followed. We had to determine the original structure of that residence. You could tell by the nature of the cut, whether it was a power cut or hand cut, how old it was; and with careful review and knowledgeable eyes, you knew exactly how that home was originally built. This is what fascinated me as a young man beginning college and working hard with my hands with the skills my father had taught me. Do you know what these houses built 100 years ago in the middle of a large city, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, do you know what they didn't have, Mr. Speaker and my friend? I will answer that question to observe the rules of the House. Do you know what those houses did not have 100 years ago? Locks. They had no locks. Now, Mr. Speaker, I ask us all to reflect on what happened to that country. What happened to the country that was bequeathed unto us, a country where the parking lots of high schools were filled with vehicles with weapons and we had no school shootings, a country where homes were built in cities with no locks? What happened to that country? I am prayerful that the answer to what happened to that country lies, as it always has, deep within us as men and women, as children of God. And we must seek, as a nation and within this Chamber, by this body, we must seek the guidance of our savior, His whisper deep to guide us through these troubling times. I am thankful for men and leaders like my friend Representative Arrington, who has, by the grace of God, brought this topic to the floor today, and I am humbled that he would allow me to rise unscripted and address my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and the American people, whom I love. Let us return to the civility, love, and respect that founded our Nation, for therein is born courage and the will to move forward through any challenge. Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful that my colleague and dear friend, Representative Higgins, joined this important conversation. It is clear, Mr. Speaker, my friend was not prepared or scripted formally, but he carries this great American story and the love and passion for public service and for a better, stronger, safer, freer America in his heart. If you cut this man, he bleeds red, white, and blue, and I feel blessed to serve alongside of him. Mr. Speaker, I thank him for his remarks. Mr. Speaker, as we talk about those values that have made America great and as we look out on the near horizon, we see a tremendous contrast and a distinct, maybe as definitive and distinct as we have ever had before the electorate of the vision, plans, and policies of one party versus another: One with vast greater authority and power in the government; one that would continue to treasure, defend, and promote free people in a free country. One would want to plan the economy from Washington, D.C.; the other vision and plan and policies would trust the ingenuity and the God- given gifts of the American people to create value for their fellow Americans and the free exchange of ideas of services and products, the free enterprise system, which has made this country the most prosperous country on the face of the planet and in the history of the world. {time} 1830 Yes, Mr. Speaker, it is freedom. And it is our core values of in God we trust and out of many one that we have elevated the human spirit like no other system of self-governance. And I have friends here who are friends of freedom. They are champions of the Constitution. And they are keepers of the flame of these precious values that every day they take to the floor of the House to defend. Mr. Speaker, I yield to Chip Roy, a fellow Texan, so he may come and share his heart. He was so eloquent in our first series on defending America's values. Today we have added to that defending and protecting our communities and respecting rule of law. Mr. Chip Roy from the Lone Star State. Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas for yielding. I would note, my friend, I think we have got another little bit of time reserved on the back end that I will take and see my time, and I am happy to let others use that time as well, if we go over and blend that time together, and I would be happy to turn it over to my colleagues, as well. I just want to thank you for doing this. Again, this institution, we ought to be meeting here together with 435 [[Page H4422]] Members present. It is our obligation and our solemn duty to do so, but instead, we continue to play political games, political theater. And we are seeing the carnage on our streets in terms of businesses and in terms of real lives, in terms of law enforcement. Two deputies in Los Angeles shot point blank just this last week, and people egging it on, cheering it on and encouraging them to die. What kind of cultural rot do we have in our communities while this body sits here empty, putting on a show because that is what this body has become, putting on a show? So I would say to the Speaker of the House: Where are you? Why is the Speaker not here right now? Why is the majority leader not right here right now? We come back in to finally meet in September. We have had 19 days so far of voting on the floor of this body over the last 6 months. Think about that. It is absolutely irresponsible. I say: Where is the Speaker? Why aren't we here doing the hard work for the American people so that we can get our small businesses working again, get our economy back again? And why aren't we right here standing up unified, saying that we stand alongside the law enforcement community of the United States? Why aren't we standing up with the cops: Federal, State, and local? Why aren't we saying we stand with them, this body, the people's House? And that is what this is about, American greatness and standing up and protecting our communities, protecting those values, securing the blessings of liberty as articulated in the Constitution of the United States which reflects the Declaration of Independence which articulated the rights of mankind for the first time in human history. That is what this Nation is about, and I am glad to stand up, and I will join you in a little bit more. Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, and I would just pose the question to the American people who are watching us in the people's House: Should we be focused on what our Speaker and Democratic colleagues suggest is an imperative in this time of unprecedented crisis, unprecedented lawlessness, to have a sense of Congress, or a House Resolution that condemns the use of the place of origin of this virus? Or should we have a sense of Congress uniting all Americans in condemning the lawlessness and the violence that is burning through the great American cities without nigh even a word. I would suggest my colleagues who remain silent are complicit as much as the local leaders who have abandoned their law-abiding citizens at such a time as this. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Roy for his love of country and his passion for public service. Mr. Speaker, I will pass the mike, if you will, to my colleague from the Peach State, who is--I think he would be okay with me saying that he works for the people of the 10th District of Georgia, but he serves the King of Kings. He was a minister of the gospel and will always be first and foremost a proud representative and ambassador of our Lord Jesus. Again, honored to serve with him. Mr. Speaker, I yield to Georgia's 10th District Representative Jody Hice. Mr. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I appreciate those kind words, and it is an honor, indeed, in every way to serve with you both here in the Congress and for the kingdom of our Lord. I go back, and I think of some of the words of our very first President. He said that there were two indispensable supports, indispensable supports, upon which this entire Nation rests. They were religion and morality. And about those things he said: In vain would that person claim the tribute of patriotism, who would labor to subvert these two pillars of human happiness. In fact, he said, you could not claim to be a patriot if you did not understand the role of religion and morality as indispensable supports of this great country. And the reason for that is because this concept of limited government can only work when the people are able to self-govern their own lives with an authentic understanding of right and wrong. It is when people are able to govern their lives properly that we are able to enjoy the blessings of liberty in a country with limited government overseeing and bearing down on our lives. And so these are indispensable supports, supports these days that we are chipping away at, chipping away at on a regular basis. We see the results of it as now night after night on television we are watching radical left groups hijacking our cities and turning them into war zones. We are watching the horror, the spectacle of the violence and the burning and the looting, the destruction of human lives and businesses, of dreams, of what America consists of. And here we sit in this place doing virtually nothing about it. The silence is not only deafening, it is frightful, as we sit here doing nothing. In fact, the chants continue. From the other side of the aisle it seems as though there is an embracing of these types of chants that all cops are bad, to defund the police. It is as though we don't realize that it is impossible to have law and order if in the mix of it somewhere we don't have law enforcement. These types of chants are not only idiotic, they are dangerous, and they have consequences. This type of rhetoric in and of itself lights a fire for more of it. And we are watching the consequences, as my friend just talked about a few moments ago, as police officers are killed and shot and cities destroyed. Is this the kind of country we want to leave to our children and our grandchildren? Do we want to pass this problem on to them and say: Tag, you're it; you go fix it? This is our country, both sides of the aisle. This is our country. These are our dreams. These are our values of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and we are watching them burn down right in front of us while we do nothing about it. Now is the time for this Chamber to stand up and to be vocal that we as Americans, from both sides of the aisle, love those things that unite us as a Nation, as we continue down this path of opposition to the Judeo-Christian principles upon which our Nation was founded on. The truth is Marxism and anarchy have no place in America, and it is our responsibility to defend those rights, to defend those blessings. Now is the time to stand up and discontinue this assault on our country and the values that bring us together and bring people from all over the world to this great Nation, rather than for us to continue burning them down. I want to thank my friend. The reality is if we do not stand up for American values and these great principles, no one else will. It is our task in this Chamber to do the right thing. And I deeply appreciate my friend for leading the way on this issue and for allowing me a few moments to speak. Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have Representative Jody Hice, a warrior for America's traditional values, for our Constitution, for our rule of law join in this important conversation with the American people in the people's House. I am honored to have you and grateful for your words. Who would have thought that we would be here while once great American cities are being terrorized by violent, mob thugs who kill law enforcement officers in cold blood and then go to the hospital for those who have survived and to cry death to the cops. These are men and women who risk their life and limb to make sure we have civil order, justice, and domestic tranquility at the heart of this great Nation, defense, safety, security for our fellow Americans. Mr. Speaker, Vicky Hartzler is another champion for the people of the Fourth District of Missouri. She is the chairwoman of the Value Action Team, so she is the lead keeper of that flame, and we are honored that she is here from the Show Me State. And after all is said and done in Washington--more is said than done--she is a show-me leader. She is a doer, and she is fighting every day for these American values and for the next generation of Americans. Mr. Speaker, I yield to Mrs. Vicky Hartzler. Mrs. HARTZLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Arrington for yielding and for hosting this event and focusing on our need to protect America's communities. With what is happening right now this topic is foremost in everyone's minds, and the need could not be greater. [[Page H4423]] Daily we are shown footage of yet another riot in one of America's great cities. Mobs are destroying property, defacing buildings, breaking out windows of family-owned businesses, and looting the merchandise. Cars are being set on fire, and people are getting hurt. We need safe and secure neighborhoods again. We need law and order to be restored. We need peace to prevail in our hearts, in our families, and in our communities. That is where our peace officers come in. They are the ones who keep the peace. They are the ones who allow our families to live in safety, security, peace and quiet. We need that now. We need them now. They sometimes are called law enforcement officers. That is accurate, but I like another term, peace officers. Because that is what they are. Every year during Police Week, May 15 is designated as Peace Officers Memorial Day to pay tribute to the local, State, and Federal peace officers who have died or who have been disabled in the line of duty. Sadly, I have had a police officer from my district, whose name was added to this memorial. And sadly, many more names are going to be added to the memorial next year, including a selfless peace officer from Missouri named David Dorn. David had served his fellow man preserving the peace for over 38 years. He was a loyal friend, a devoted husband, and a beloved member of the St. Louis community. And on the night of June 2nd he volunteered to help a friend in need who owned a small business, which was in danger of being destroyed by looters and rioters. He didn't want his friend's life's work to be turned into rubble, so he went down to help by sitting in front of the business and, hopefully, discouraging any harm from being done to his friend's business. Tragically, David was fatally shot by violent protestors, and left to die on the sidewalk. His execution was broadcast live on Facebook while his son watched at home. No arrests were made. His killer got away in the thicket of violence and riots. Nothing about this protest was peaceful. There are peaceful protests, and I commend them. There is a national conversation that is worth having to ensure everyone feels safe in our communities, but what we are seeing night after night in many of our cities is not a peaceful protest. It is thugs hijacking a legitimate cause to advance their agenda of personal gain, anarchy, and destruction. And it must end. We must work to bring peace back into our communities by restoring law and order, by valuing our selfless peace officers, and by establishing clear punitive consequences for those who incite violence. {time} 1845 We must deter and stop those who incite riots in any capacity, from organizing and promoting a riot to participating or assisting those who do. Those who loot and destroy must be held to account. That is why I am proud to support H.R. 8031, the David Dorn Act of 2020. This bill increases the maximum imprisonment penalty for rioting to 10 years and sets the minimum fine to $1,000. It sends a clear message to rioters that their reckless actions are reprehensible and that we are committed to making sure not a single peace officer faces the same fate as David Dorn. The answer to this mayhem is not to defund our peace officers; it is to defend them and to give them the tools that they need to keep the peace. In the Commitment to America House Republicans announced today, we propose to increase funding by $1.75 billion for better police training, community policing, and more equipment, including 500,000 more body cameras. This is the right way to secure the peace, not by destroying our neighborhoods. Mr. Speaker, I call on all Americans to work together to be peacemakers and restore peace and quiet and security to our neighborhoods and to embrace and defend the values that made America great. Now is our time of decision; now is when we will choose which road we will go on; and now is the time to stand up and to defend what we know is best and true and right and will truly bring security and peace to our neighborhoods. Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman and dear friend from the Show Me State for showing us the right path to condemn this violence, to support our men and women in uniform who are risking life and limb to keep us safe and to keep the bad guys away. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining on our Special Order? I fear my time is running short, as you stand from your chair. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has 15 seconds remaining. Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I know we have 30 more minutes that the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy) was kind enough to share in the context of Defending America's Values. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Chip Roy for joining me tonight on the Special Order, and I yield back the balance of my time. ____________________
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