H.Res. 680House111th Congress (2009-2011)In Committee

Calling upon President Obama to retract his initial public remarks and apologize to Cambridge, Massachusetts, Police Sergeant James M. Crowley for having unfairly impugned and prejudged his professional conduct in this local police response incident.

Legislative Activity

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HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

July 27, 2009

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

July 27, 2009

HouseIntro Referral

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H8853)

July 27, 2009

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

July 27, 2009

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.Res. 680 on the floor

1 Republican

Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotterR-MI-11 · Jul 27, 2009

Mr. Speaker, tonight I have introduced H. Res. 680, calling upon President Obama to retract and apologize for his remarks regarding the conduct of Cambridge, Massachusetts, police officer James M.…

Mr. Speaker, tonight I have introduced H. Res. 680, calling upon President Obama to retract and apologize for his remarks regarding the conduct of Cambridge, Massachusetts, police officer James M. Crowley, Jr. Mr. Speaker, I view this as a Presidential issue.

After admitting his bias and inadequate grasp of the facts, the President nevertheless stated Sergeant Crowley had ``acted stupidly'' when carrying out his duties as a law enforcement officer. Subsequently, in a public remark, the President said that Sergeant Crowley had ``overreacted.''

On his part, Sergeant Crowley has steadfastly denied any inappropriate conduct.

Mr. Speaker, this is the crux of the problem, and it is a situation patently unfair to Sergeant Crowley and his standing regarding potential legal and professional consequences. Therefore, I ask the President to retract his premature judgment, apologize for it, and allow the appropriate authorities to resolve this issue through due process.

With my view, Kenneth E. Grabowski, legislative director of the Police Officers Association of Michigan agrees. I quote Mr. Grabowski: ``After admitting a bias against the police officer and an ignorance of the facts, the President used his bully pulpit to help a well-connected friend by unfairly accusing an officer of misconduct in the performance of his duties. It must not stand. If it does, what officer will be next?''

And I would add, what citizen will be next?

Mr. Speaker, tonight I have also introduced H.R. 3347, the Freedom Trade Act, which applies human rights as a criterion of trade with the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I believe H.R. 3347 is most timely, for today, in the Ronald Reagan Building, President Obama stated how ``the relationship between the United States and China will shape the 21st century, which makes it as important as any bilateral relationship in the world.''

On my part, I believe it is therefore imperative that this relationship be built upon a common and unbreakable commitment to every human being's God-given rights to liberty, including the rights of the free exercise of religion and speech and to the ability to form free and independent labor unions.

That is why this bill is necessary. It will show all our potential partners throughout the world that the United States remains a beacon of freedom that will never forget Natan Sharansky's warning that ``how a government treats its own people cannot be separated from how that government could be expected to treat other countries.''

Mr. Speaker, with this I wholeheartedly concur.

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Introduced in HouseIssued July 27, 2009

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. RES. 680

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 27, 2009

Mr. McCotter (for himself, Mr. King of New York, and Mr. King of Iowa) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

RESOLUTION

Calling upon President Obama to retract his initial public remarks and apologize to Cambridge, Massachusetts, Police Sergeant James M. Crowley for having unfairly impugned and prejudged his professional conduct in this local police response incident.

Whereas, on July 16, 2009, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Police Sergeant James M. Crowley responded to a 911 call from a neighbor of Harvard University Professor Henry Louis (“Skip”) Gates, Jr. about a suspected break-in in progress at his residence, which had been broken into on a prior occasion;

Whereas, on July 22, 2009, in responding to a question during a White House press conference President Barack Obama stated “Skip Gates is a friend, so I may be a little biased here. I don’t know all of the facts” involved in this local police response incident;

Whereas President Obama proceeded to state Sergeant Crowley “acted stupidly” for arresting Professor Gates on charges of disorderly conduct;

Whereas, as a former Constitutional Law Professor, President Obama well understands that all Americans are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and their actions should not be prejudged prior to being fully and fairly judged by an appropriate and objective authority after due process;

Whereas President Obama’s nationally televised remarks may likely detrimentally influence the full and fair judgment by an appropriate and objective authority after due process regarding this local police response incident and, thereby, impair Sergeant Crowley’s legal and professional standing in relation to said incident;

Whereas President Obama appeared at a daily White House Press briefing on July 24, 2009, to address his denouncement of Sergeant Crowley and stated “I could have calibrated those words differently” but “I continue to believe, based on what I have heard, that there was an overreaction in pulling Professor Gates out of his home to the station.”; and

Whereas President Obama refused to retract his initial public remarks and apologize to Sergeant Crowley and, instead, reiterated his accusation impugning Sergeant Crowley’s professional conduct in the performance of his duties: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives calls upon President Obama to retract his initial public remarks and apologize to Cambridge, Massachusetts, Police Sergeant James M. Crowley for having unfairly impugned and prejudged his professional conduct in this local police response incident.