Condemning the attacks on Minnesota lawmakers in Brooklyn Park and Champlin, Minnesota, and calling for unity and the rejection of political violence in Minnesota and across the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 519) condemning the attacks on Minnesota lawmakers in Brooklyn Park and Champlin, Minnesota, and calling for unity and the rejection of political violence in Minnesota and across the United States, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, on June 14, a horrific tragedy was inflicted on America and the State of Minnesota.

Early that morning, a deranged assassin ambushed State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, both of whom were shot multiple times at their home while bravely defending their daughter.

Hours later, the same assassin broke into the residence of Melissa Hortman and murdered her and her husband, Mark, in cold blood. Melissa was the former 61st speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

These attacks were not random.

Recent evidence has revealed that they were part of a larger plot the assailant was planning that appeared to target public servants and their families across the State.

Such violence has no place in our country, especially political violence. Today, my colleagues and I firmly condemn these attacks and all who seek to harm our elected officials, regardless of party or ideology.

In this country, we resolve our differences through spirited debate, the ballot box, and by working through an intentionally designed constitutional system left to us as our Founding Fathers' greatest legacy.

The victims of this horrible attack were not just politicians. They were neighbors, parents, sons, and daughters. They believed in this Nation and their State enough to dedicate their lives to representing their constituents' interests and the pursuit of positive change.

I am confident that my colleagues share this sentiment and can agree that no American, whether elected official or private citizen, should live in fear of being targeted for their beliefs, their vote, or their service.

I would also like to recognize the valiant effort of law enforcement in tracking down and capturing the suspect in this case.

Despite knowing the danger the alleged murderer posed, for 40 hours, officers across numerous departments and agencies worked tirelessly to locate and stop the killer before he could strike again. Their courage and professionalism prevented further loss of life, and they deserve our deepest gratitude.

We stand with the people of Minnesota. We condemn these horrific attacks and denounce political violence in all its forms as contrary to the American Constitution and our way of life.

In moments like these, we must all come together to reaffirm our commitment to protecting the peace and civility that define the America that I know and love.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the majority leader.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Finstad).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I join my House colleagues in offering my deepest condolences to the people of Minnesota.

I particularly extend my sympathies to my House colleagues representing the Minnesota delegation. We mourn the loss of Melissa and Mark Hortman, remembering their lives and the lasting impact they had on the State they loved so deeply.

We send warm wishes of recovery to John and Yvette Hoffman, who have displayed true courage through this nightmare.

My prayers are with the families and friends of the victims who have had their lives upended and forever altered by these heinous acts.

We will not bend to intimidation or fear, and we refuse to tolerate the actions of those who would seek to usurp the will of the people and their representatives, advancing their own twisted agendas through violence and bloodshed.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage each of our colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Comer for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 519.

In the early morning hours of June 14, many of us woke up to the horrifying news of a targeted political attack that took the lives of former Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and which left State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds.

In the hours and the days following, the largest manhunt in our State's history ensued, with over 200 officers from local, State, and Federal jurisdictions working together around the clock to bring the shooter to justice.

I thank the officers who conducted this successful manhunt and ensured the safety and security of Minnesota lawmakers in the ensuing hours.

I also express my personal gratitude to members of the New Ulm Police Department, the Brown County Sheriff's Office, and Sheriff Jason Seidl. They worked to ensure the safety of my family and me in the hours following the attack.

I had the honor of serving with Speaker Emerita Hortman for 4 years during my time in the Minnesota Legislature. I will forever cherish the conversations and friendship that I had with her then and throughout the 20 years since.

When I look at my time serving alongside her, Melissa embodied the spirit of the hardworking people of Minnesota. She came from a blue- collar upbringing and had a work ethic that drove her to always seek out solutions rather than seeking out a spotlight for a political win.

Melissa was a principled public servant who led by example. When tough decisions had to be made, she put her politics aside and got the job done for Minnesotans.

As a lawmaker, Melissa brought her roll-up-the-sleeves, problem- solving approach to almost every issue. Along with it, she touched all of us with the witty humor that many of us will remember her for, including myself.

Melissa was a very special person, and I can say without hesitation that our State was better served due to her leadership. The halls of the Minnesota State Capitol will be a lot less bright without her.

Words cannot express the emotions that all of us across Minnesota have experienced in the wake of this tragic event: devastation, fear, grief, and outrage.

Whether we agree or disagree on policy issues, politically targeted violence like this must never be tolerated.

My wife, Jackie, and I teach our kids that it is possible to respectfully disagree with others. We have to do the same as a society. We have to lead by example and put civility back into today's political discourse.

Political disagreement is healthy. It is what our system of government was founded upon. We have our fair share of that political disagreement in Minnesota, and we even have it here in the House Chamber.

I was proud to join every Member of the Minnesota delegation on both sides of the aisle to call out this act of hatred, and we will continue to do so together.

Mr. Speaker, over the past week, I have been reminding myself that hope, faith, and resilience are the enemy of evil. I remind my fellow Minnesotans--not just the Republicans and not just the Democrats but my fellow Minnesotans--that hope, faith, and resilience are the enemy of evil. While one person's evil acts shook us to our core, it is up to each and every one of us to be the good.

I hope that all of us take time to lean on each other and find opportunities to

be more loving family members, kinder friends, and better neighbors because that is the good that overcomes evil.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Hortman and Hoffman families during this time of tragedy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise with a heavy heart but a deep resolve as we confront the assassination and attempted murders of multiple State legislators in Minnesota.

What we witnessed last weekend was an unspeakable act. This is a scary time for our country, and it comes at a time of increasing political violence. There have been assassination attempts, kidnapping plots, arson, and insurrection.

As elected Representatives for the people of the United States of America, we have to take responsibility for our roles in this moment. As elected leaders, we play a prominent role in setting the tone in creating the atmosphere and shaping the narrative in determining what becomes normalized.

This cannot be normalized.

Our words, our posts, our responses, they all carry weight and have serious consequences. This is our wake-up call. The escalation and normalization of violent rhetoric and political violence have gone way too far.

We, as elected Representatives, have to take the lead and be the first to speak out and to start to model a better path forward.

We can argue about who is to blame and which side is worse, but let's make this the moment where we unequivocally condemn and commit to ending violent rhetoric, full stop. We have to make this horrific act of targeted political violence a watershed moment for our country.

We have to take a hard look at where we are, and we have to remember who is watching us. Our children, the next generation of leaders, are looking to us to learn how to behave and how to treat each other.

That includes creating a world where people aren't scared by the hatred and division they see in their lives every day, creating a world where our children have kind, compassionate leaders to look up to and aspire to be.

Do we really want our children to live in a world where our elected leaders bully and lead with hatred and cruelty? Remember, political violence isn't just an attack on legislators. It is an attack on the American people. It is an attack on our democracy.

Political violence threatens your right to be represented, your right to have your voices heard. It threatens who will be willing to run for office. As someone who was a doctor for almost two decades before I got into politics, I am passionate about recruiting people from different backgrounds to run because we need more diversity in who represents us.

Our democracy depends on good people running for office, and I am deeply concerned that this will have a chilling effect if we don't stop it in its tracks.

As we prepare to vote on this resolution, I come to my colleagues with a solemn plea. Devastated by the loss of my friend and colleague but more determined than ever with a deep love for the unrealized promise of our country, I implore my colleagues to not only vote in support of this resolution but to commit together to live by these words every day. Stand up, speak out, and safeguard our democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank first the entire Minnesota delegation, in particular Congresswoman Morrison for introducing this important resolution. This is obviously a very sad time across our country, and of course our hearts and our prayers go to the family, and everyone impacted across the State.

I know that the events of June 14 were shocking and heartbreaking. Minnesota State House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, were assassinated. Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were critically injured.

I offer my love on behalf of this Congress and those across the country who have been impacted by these crimes, who have seen these crimes, and who all reject this political violence.

I want to take this time to thank State, Federal, and local law enforcement for their tireless work to bring the perpetrator to justice.

We should be clear: Political violence against anyone is an attack on our democracy and all of us.

We know that the shooter committed this terrible crime to terrorize and intimidate. He intended to spread his hate and violence toward many more public servants. The gunman had documents listing dozens of additional lawmakers targeted for assassination or for violence, including Congressman Krishnamoorthi who, of course, is a member of our Oversight Committee.

We have seen how our Members of Congress are facing more and more threats, but we cannot and will not be silent. It is important that we continue to push back against hate, fear, division, and misinformation in a bipartisan way.

Every elected official at every level must loudly call out and denounce these attacks because acts of political violence like these are a fundamental threat to our democracy.

Today, we will come together in a bipartisan way to condemn these senseless attacks and reject political violence.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Morrison), the author of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Craig).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Ramirez).

Mr. Speaker, we can all agree that political violence should be condemned whenever it happens. Public servants must be able to do their jobs and represent their constituents without fear. It is good to hear this bipartisan support today. Of course, our prayers and our thoughts are with everyone impacted.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Kentucky for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, a little over a week ago, America witnessed a horrific act of political violence that goes against everything the United States stands for.

On June 14, a deranged murderer disguised himself as a police officer to gain entry into the home of Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman. He shot the senator and his wife, Yvette, a combined total of 17 times as Yvette shielded her daughter, Hope, who then called 911.

Thankfully, Yvette Hoffman has been released from the hospital while John remains in serious but stable condition. He remains in our prayers.

The killer, still disguised as a law enforcement officer, then stopped at the homes of two other Minnesota lawmakers, one whom was fortunately not home, and the other who was perhaps saved by a timely law enforcement intervention.

He later arrived at the home of Minnesota State House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and assassinated her and her husband, Mark Hortman.

Law enforcement then led a 2-day manhunt before capturing the killer and finding a list of more than 45 lawmakers and potential targets.

As someone who has experienced political violence firsthand, this brings back a lot of emotions. The man who shot me on the ball field that day also had a list of lawmakers. I am grateful for the actions of the brave law enforcement officers who ran toward the danger and saved lives on the ball field that day and saved no doubt many lives in Minnesota on that day just a few days ago.

This was a methodically planned attack on the people's right to be governed by their duly-elected Representatives and should be universally condemned, Mr. Speaker.

America's differences must be resolved through debate and democracy, not through violence.

The resolution we are voting on today denounces these disturbing and anti-American attacks and mourns the tragic loss of Melissa and Mark Hortman.

H. Res. 519, introduced by the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Morrison), unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks on Minnesota lawmakers and their families in Brooklyn Park and Champlin, Minnesota, and calls for the rejection of political violence in Minnesota and throughout the United States.

Political violence will never have a place in America. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle must unite to reject political violence in all forms across the country.

Melissa Hortman was a dedicated public servant, and we join Minnesota and the Nation in honoring her life and the life of her husband, Mark. We also pray for the speedy recovery of John and Yvette Hoffman and for peace and unity in the face of tragedy and division.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the resolution.