Floor Statements

Mr. President, distinguished Senators, you just heard from my colleagues about the harrowing events that happened here at the Capitol on January 6 and saw that very disturbing video, and now I would like to turn your attention to what was happening on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House.

The truth is, the facts are that on January 6, Donald Trump did not once condemn this attack. He did not once condemn the attackers. In fact, on January 6, the only person he condemned was his own Vice President, Mike Pence, who was hiding in this building with his family in fear for his life.

In the first crucial hours of this violent attack, he did nothing to stop it, nothing to help us.

By all accounts, from the people that were around him, he was delighted. And here is the last thing Donald Trump said that day, and you might remember this from my motions presentation earlier in the week.

At 6 p.m. on January 6, after all the destruction that you just saw, Capitol Police and the National Guard fighting to secure this building, here is what Donald Trump tweeted:

These are the things and events that happen when a sacred

landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously

stripped away from great patriots who have been badly &

unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace.

Remember this day forever!

He got what he incited, and according to Donald Trump, we got what we deserve. Donald Trump's incitement of this insurrection, including his dereliction of his duty as Commander in Chief to defend the Capitol and the people in it, his complete refusal to condemn the attack while it was going on, and his continuing to incite the violence during the attack require impeachment.

Now, let's turn to then-President Trump's conduct that day. I want to start at the beginning, when he addressed his thousands of great patriots, as he called them that morning. Around noon, Donald Trump began speaking at his rally just down Pennsylvania Avenue. Even before Donald Trump finished speaking, his supporters began to walk down toward the Capitol, and they were already starting to chant ``stop the steal'' and ``storm the Capitol'' and ``invade the Capitol'' and ``fight for Trump.''

And by 12:53 p.m., they had violently forced their way through the barricades here at the Capitol. Now, about 1 o'clock that day, with this chaos just starting, Speaker Pelosi, as the Constitution requires, formally commenced the process by which this Chamber certifies election results.

Within 10 minutes, at 1:11 p.m., as if almost on cue, Donald Trump concluded his speech with his final reminder to the thousands gathered there: It was time to go to the Capitol.

Let's watch.

(Text of video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

President TRUMP. We're going to the Capitol, and we're

going to try and give--and we're going to try and give our

Republicans--the weak ones because the strong ones don't need

any of our help--we're going to try and give them the kind of

pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.

So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.

I want to thank you all. God bless you, and God bless

America.

Thank you all for being here. This is incredible. Thank you

very much.

(People chanting: ``Fight for Trump.'')

Now, you have seen what happened when these supporters, following his orders, arrived here at the Capitol. But we want to look at what happened next. Now, you will recall, during the speech, President Trump said, ``We're going to the Capitol,'' sort of suggesting he was going to go with this crowd. Of course, that was not true. But let's hear what he said.

(Text of video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

President TRUMP. Now it is up to Congress to confront this

egregious assault on our democracy. And after this, we're

going to walk down, and I'll be there with you. We're going

to walk down. We're going to walk down.

Any one you want, but I think right here. We're going to

walk down to the Capitol.

This, of course, was not true. He did not go with them to the Capitol. He left and went back to the White House, and while he was en route to the White House, violence began to grow here at the Capitol.

And within minutes of Donald Trump's speech ending, there were significant reports of escalating violence that began to surface. Buildings around the Capitol were starting to be evacuated, and by 1:15, an explosive device had been found at the DNC, and a pipe bomb had been found at the RNC about 15 minutes earlier. The House Sergeant at Arms had called for immediate assistance. At 1:34 p.m., the mayor of Washington, DC, called for additional National Guard troops.

I won't go through all of the details of violence that unfolded here. You just saw that. But as we walk through what our Commander in Chief did that day, I want to be very clear about exactly what was happening here at the same time.

For 40 minutes, while buildings were being cleared, pipe bombs were being found, and his supporters were literally breaching the perimeter of the Capitol and overwhelming law enforcement. You saw the violence that was occurring. We heard nothing from the President of the United States. We didn't hear anything from Donald Trump until 1:49 p.m., when, while all of this is unfolding, President Trump sent out a tweet.

This was the first thing he did when he learned the U.S. Capitol, with all the Members of Congress and his own Vice President, was under violent attack. What was that tweet? Nearly an hour after the rioters breached the Capitol perimeter at 1:49, Donald Trump released a propaganda reel of his ``Save America'' speech that he had given an hour before.

I want to be clear. The events I just described--the rioters breaching the Capitol, attacking law enforcement, the violence that is being broadcast all over the television for the whole world to see, including the President of the United States--I want to show you: This is what is happening right before Donald Trump sends that video out again and as he does it.

(Text of video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

President TRUMP. Our country has had enough. We will not

take it anymore and that's what this is all about. And to use

a favorite term that all of you people really came up with:

We will stop the steal. Because you'll never take back our

countr with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have

to be strong.

Even if President Trump claims he didn't know the extent of the violence that would follow his speech, it was now happening in plain view, broadcast on television. His supporters were attacking law enforcement. The mayor and the police chief were calling for help. Members of Congress and the Vice President were inside scared for their lives.

He doesn't send help, and he doesn't try to stop it. He doesn't even acknowledge the attack. Instead, our Commander in Chief tweeted the video of the speech that he had given before, that included language like ``our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore and that's what this is all about. . . . You have to be strong.''

Those around Donald Trump--this was later reported--were disgusted. His close aides, his advisers, those working for him, former officials, and even his family were begging him to do something. Kellyanne Conway, the President's close adviser, called to ``add her name'' to the chorus of aides urging Donald Trump to take action. Ivanka Trump, the President's own daughter, went to the Oval Office ``as soon as'' the rioting escalated, and as was confirmed by Senator Graham, ``trying to get [Trump] to speak out, to tell everyone to leave.''

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called Jared Kushner, ``pleading with him to persuade Trump to issue a statement'' or to do something. And Kushner, too, went down to the White House after that call.

And it wasn't just the people at the White House. Members of Congress from both parties, who were trapped here, were calling the White House to ask for help. Some Members even appealed directly to Donald Trump. These Members who had ``been loyal Trump supporters and were even willing to vote against the electoral college results, were now scared for their lives.''

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy repeatedly even got into a screaming match as the attack was under way,

demanding that Mr. Trump do something, issue a statement denouncing the mob.

I imagine many of you sitting here today picked up your phone and tried to reach somebody at the White House to ask for help. This wasn't partisan politics. These were Americans from all sides trying to force our Commander in Chief to protect and defend our country. He was required to do that.

Now, the extent of how many people tried to reach the President to get him to act is not known. But what is clear, what we know without any doubt, is that from the very beginning, the people around Donald Trump lobbied him to take command. What is also clear is what Donald Trump, our Commander in Chief, did in those initial hours to protect us. Nothing. Not a thing. He knew it was happening. The attack was on TV. We all know that President Trump had the power to stop these attacks. He was our Commander in Chief. He had the power to assess the security situation, send backup, and send help.

He also had incited these violent attacks. They were listening to him. He could have commanded them to leave, but he didn't.

The first critical hour and a half of this bloody attack, Donald Trump tweeted his rally speech and did nothing else. And we know why. We know his state of mind that prompted his utter, complete refusal to defend us. It was reported by those around him.

The President, as reported by sources at the time, was delighted. As he watched the violence unfold on television, President Trump was reportedly ``borderline enthusiastic because it meant the certification was being derailed.''

Senator Ben Sasse relayed a conversation with senior White House officials that President Trump was ``walking around the White House confused about why other people on his team weren't as excited as he was.''

Mr. Trump's reaction to this attack, reportedly, genuinely freaked people out. I understand why. We just suffered a very serious attack, an attack on our country. And we saw them--the people around him--do it. But when Donald Trump saw it, he was delighted.

Now, what President Trump did next confirms why he was so delighted, why he wanted this, because it shows that his singular focus that day-- the day we were attacked--was not protecting us, was not protecting you, was not protecting the Capitol, but it was stopping the certification of the election results.

The evidence is clear. Shortly after 2 p.m., as the siege was fully under way, then-President Trump made a call. This is the first call that we are aware he made to anyone inside the Capitol during the attack. He didn't call the Vice President to ask how he could help defend the Capitol. He didn't call the next two in line to succession of the Presidency to check on their safety or well-being.

Instead, he attempted to call Senator Tuberville. He dialed Senator Lee by accident.

(Text deleted.)

Let's be clear. At roughly 2 p.m., when Donald Trump was walking around the White House watching the TV delighted and spent 5 to 10 minutes talking to Senator Tuberville, urging him to delay the election results, this is what was happening in the Capitol.

(Video presentation.)

You saw Senator Lankford stop speaking and leave the floor quickly in that clip because the insurgents had broken through the barricades and entered the building. And as these armed insurrectionists banged on the doors, Members of Congress were told to put on their gas masks, to put bags over their heads for safety, and prepare to evacuate. And Donald Trump was calling to ask the Senator to delay the certification process. Let that sink in.

Donald Trump didn't get to finish that call. It was cut off because the Senators had to move to another location, for your security. And thank God they did because as the call was occurring, the rioters got closer to the Senate Chamber, and as we all know now, but for the heroism of Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman and other law enforcement officers who took them in a different direction to the police line, they very likely would have gotten here.

Think about that. Armed insurrectionists with guns, weapons, zip ties, brass knuckles, they were coming for us. They were inside the United States Capitol, trying to stop the certification process. The police were outnumbered. And but for the grace of God, they would have gotten us, all of us.

And our Commander in Chief makes a call about an hour after the siege began, not to preserve, protect, and defend you and our country and the Capitol but to join forces with the mob and pressure a Senator to stop certification. We just can't get numb to this kind of behavior.

There can be no doubt as to the purpose of Donald Trump's call, that he was not calling to assess the security threats or to check on the well-being of you or anyone else. Indeed, later on that evening, while all of the destruction and damage still continued, dozens of officers were being treated for serious injuries. Deaths were confirmed. About 7 p.m., the President's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, made a call, and just in case you don't think there was some coordination, he also called Senator Lee's phone trying to reach Senator Tuberville. We don't have to guess as to what Rudy Giuliani said in that voicemail because we have it recorded. So let's listen to what the President's personal lawyer said on the night of this attack.

(Text of audio presentation.)

Mr. GIULIANI. Senator Tuberville--or I should say Coach

Tuberville, this is Rudy Giuliani, the President's lawyer.

I'm calling you because I want to discuss with you how

they're trying to rush this hearing and how we need you, our

Republican friends, to try to just slow it down.

This was the singular focus of Donald Trump during this bloody, violent attack on the Capitol: stopping the certification.

Look, as I mentioned, I was a trial lawyer for 16 years. Sometimes, you have to ask a jury to use reasonable inferences to piece together a defendant's state of mind. We don't have to do this here. While our country was violently attacked by an armed mob, President Trump not only refused to stop the attack or even address the attack at all, he made clear his focus was on the same goal of the attackers he incited: to stop the certification process and prevent the peaceful transition of power. The only action we know that he took an hour into this attack was to call Senator Tuberville to ask him to delay the certification. This is as clear evidence as I have ever seen of what Donald Trump really cared about that day.

Now, look, the certification process, as we all know, includes debate and objections. Some of us disagreed, but we came here on January 6 to formally administer the certification process pursuant to our constitutional duties. At the end of it, Congress certified the results to ensure that we continue to be a country with leaders who are elected by the people for the people.

Donald Trump's objections to the certification are not on trial, but what is on trial is, while we were under armed attack and being evacuated, while our law enforcement officers were fighting for their lives, our Commander in Chief was calling not to determine how to best secure the building and the people in it but to continue to pressure Senators to stop the certification process and a peaceful transfer of power, just as he incited the mob to do earlier in the day. This was a breathtaking dereliction of his duty and a violation of his oath as our Commander in Chief.

Senators, before I hand this over to Manager Castro to walk through the rest of the day, please let me make one final point. These attackers stood right where you are. They went through that rostrum. They rifled through your desks, and they desecrated this place. And literally, the President sat delighted, doing nothing to help us, calling one of you to pressure you to stop the certification.

It can't be that the Commander in Chief can incite a lawless, bloody insurrection and then utterly fail in his duty as Commander in Chief to defend us from the attack, to defend our law enforcement officers from that attack, and just get away with it. Donald Trump abdicated his duty to us all. We have to make this right, and you can make it right.

Mr. Manager CASTRO of Texas. My fellow manager David Cicilline showed you what President Trump did and did not do in thos first critical hours of the attack.

He sent a tweet at 1:49 p.m., where he reposted a video of the speech that incited the attack, and he called a Senator to ask him to delay the certification as the Senator was being evacuated for his own safety.

We left off around 2:15 p.m. At this point, insurgents were inside the Senate and the House, and the Senate had been evacuated for everyone's safety. As you saw, Vice President Mike Pence and his family even had to be evacuated for their safety.

Now, you will recall Donald Trump had made Vice President Pence a target. He attacked the Vice President at the rallies, in speeches, and on Twitter. And during President Trump's speech that morning of the attack, he ramped it up again. After privately pressuring Mike Pence in front of thousands in the crowd, he called Mike Pence out 11 times, including saying:

(Text of video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

Mike Pence, I hope you're going to stand up for the good of

our Constitution and for the good of your country. And if

you're not, I'm [going] to be . . . disappointed in you. I

will tell you right now.

And this was the crowd's response to Donald Trump's days of relentless attacks on his own Vice President:

(Text of video presentation.)

(People chanting: ``Hang Mike Pence.'')

By 2:15 p.m., the crowd was chanting in unison ``Hang Mike Pence'' outside the very building he had been evacuated from with his family.

Now, even if President Trump didn't know that his inflammatory remarks about his Vice President would result in chants of ``Hang Mike Pence,'' by 2:15 p.m., he surely knew. The attack was all over television. They were doing this out in the open. This was a Vice President whose life, whose family's life, was being threatened by people whom the President had summoned to the Capitol. And what did President Trump do in response? Did he stop? Did he tell his base: No, don't attack my Vice President. Even when President Trump knew what his words were causing, he didn't do any of those things to stop the crowd. In fact, he did the opposite. He fueled the fire.

At 2:24 p.m., he tweeted:

Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have

been done to protect our country and our Constitution. . . .

USA demands the truth.

Over an hour and a half into the attack, and this is what he tweeted. And he still, even at this point, did not acknowledge the attack on the Capitol, let alone condemn it. Instead, he further incites the mob against his own Vice President, whose life was being threatened.

Well, some of you may say: Well, who was paying attention anyway? Well, that mob was paying attention.

(Text of video presentation.)

Unidentified Speaker. Mike Pence didn't have the courage to

do what should have been done to protect our country and our

Constitution, giving States a chance to certify or correct a

set of facts, not (inaudible) defraud ones or inaccurate

ones, which they were asked to previously certify. U.S.

demands the truth.

Unidentified Speaker. Mike Pence, anarchist. Mike Pence,

anarchist.

Unidentified Speaker. (Inaudible.) Can I speak to Pelosi?

Yeah, we're coming, bitch. Oh, Mike Pence, we're coming for

you, too, fucking traitor.

Unidentified Speaker. Donald J. Trump better (inaudible).

Unidentified Speaker. Full house.

Unidentified Speaker. (Inaudible) Mike Pence let us down.

Mike Pence let us down, people. If you want to get something

done, you are going to have to do it yourself.

The insurgents amplified President Trump's tweet attacking the Vice President with a bullhorn. They were paying attention, and they also followed instructions. In fact, the insurgents were at one point, as you saw, 60 feet away from the Vice President and the Vice President's family. Some of these insurgents were heard saying ``that they hoped to find Vice President Mike Pence and execute him by hanging him from a Capitol Hill tree as a traitor,'' and then they erected a gallows with a noose.

This is what Donald Trump incited. Please take a close look at that picture. It hearkens back to our Nation's worst history of lynching.

A President's words have the power to move people to action, and these were the results.

And why did the President incite such rage against the Vice President? He was fulfilling his constitutional duty, as we all were that day. Vice Presidents in this country have been carrying out this constitutional duty--overseeing the certification of election results-- without incident, without contest, without a word, for the entirety of our Nation. It is part of our peaceful transition of power in the United States.

The Vice President said he reviewed the Constitution and he could not block certification, as President Trump wanted him and was pressuring him to do. He told the President in a letter that morning, a few hours before President Trump's tweet:

[I will] approach this moment with [a] sense of duty and an

open mind, setting politics and personal interests aside, and

do [my] part to faithfully discharge our duties under the

Constitution. I also pray that we will do so with humility

and faith.

And the President's response to that statement was to attack Mike Pence while he was with his family under the threat of a violent mob. The Vice President was following his faith, his duty, and his oath to our Nation.

The Vice President and I don't agree on too much in politics, but he is a man who upholds his oath, his faith, his duty, and most of all upholds the Constitution. And Mike Pence is not a traitor to this country. He is a patriot. And he and his family, who was with him that day, didn't deserve this, didn't deserve a President unleashing a mob on them, especially because he was just doing his job.

As this was unfolding and the crowd grew more violent, the President, of course, was not alone at the White House, and the people closest to him--his family and advisers--who saw this unfolding in realtime, begged him, implored him to stop the attack.

An aide to Mark Meadows, the President's Chief of Staff, urged his boss to go see the President, saying: ``They are going to kill people.''

``They are going to kill people.'' That is what those around President Trump feared, and still nothing. It wasn't until 2:38 p.m., nearly 2 hours after the start of the siege, that Donald Trump even acknowledged the attack. And when he finally did acknowledge the attack, here is what he said.

On the right you will see what had been happening prior to that tweet and as he sent the tweet, and on the left you will see exactly what he tweeted.

(Text of video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

Unidentified Speaker. I'm going to stop you there for just

one moment because we do have some breaking news. We want to

bring in congressional correspondent Chad Pergram as this is

all developing right now. Chad, I understand the Capitol is

now on lockdown?

Mr. Pergram. They're definitely fired up. The chant, by the

way, I heard the most today was ``fight for Trump,'' and

that's clearly what many of them feel they're doing.

Unidentified Speaker. Hold the line.

(People singing: ``O, the land of the free.'')

That is what our President saw unfolding in realtime, broadcast all over television, and this is what he tweeted at 2:38 p.m.:

Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They

are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!

Much has been made of the fact that in this tweet he says, ``Stay peaceful.'' Senators, ``Stay peaceful''? Think about that for a second. These folks were not peaceful. They were breaking windows, pushing through law enforcement officers, waving the flag as they invaded this Capitol Building. This was a violent, armed attack.

``Stay peaceful''? How about: Stop the attack. Stop the violence.

``Stay peaceful''? How about you say: Immediately leave. Stop.

And he said: ``Please support our Law Enforcement.'' How about he actually support our law enforcement by telling these insurgents to leave the Capitol immediately, which he never did. He didn't because, the truth is, he didn't want it to stop. He wanted them to stay and to stop the certification. And his failure had grave and deadly consequences.

By 2:45 p.m., the warnings were tragically proven correct. Ashli Babbitt was shot by an officer as she tried to break through a glass door to reach the Speaker's Lobby.

At this point, the pleas to Donald Trump, publicly and privately, grew even more desperate. At 2:54 p.m., Alyssa Farah, a former strategic communications director, begged the President:

Condemn this now. You are the only one they will listen to.

For our country!

Mick Mulvaney, the President's former Chief of Staff, his right-hand man at one point, tweeted at 3:01:

The President's tweet is not enough. He can stop this now

and needs to do exactly that. Tell these folks to go home.

He can stop this now. Tell these folks to go home.

At 3:06 p.m., Representative McCarthy appeared on FOX News. Here is what he said.

(Text of video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

Mr. McCARTHY. I could not be sadder or more disappointed

with the way our country looks at this very moment. People

are getting hurt. Anyone involved in this, if you're hearing

me, hear me very loud and clear: This is not the American

way.

He is saying on FOX News, which the President watches: This is not the American way. Stop the attack.

Representative Gallagher, at 3:11 p.m., while secured in his own office, posted a video to Twitter.

(Text of video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

Mr. GALLAGHER. Mr. President, you have got to stop this.

You are the only person who can call this off. Call it off.

And then, when the President didn't answer his pleas on Twitter, Representative Gallagher went on live television.

(Text of video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

Mr. GALLAGHER. I mean, this is insane. I mean--I--I have

not seen anything like this since I deployed to Iraq in 2007

and 2008. I mean, this is America, and this is what is

happening right now. We need--the President needs to call it

off. Like, call it off. Call it off.

Representative Gallagher, you see there, said he had not seen anything like this since he was deployed in Iraq.

The message around the President was clear, from everyone: You need to call this off. Stop it.

But does he? No. His next tweet was not until about 3:13 p.m. Once again, it is important to consider what was happening between Donald Trump's 2:38 p.m. tweet and his next tweet at 3:13 p.m.

You will see footage from the attack during that time on the right and Donald Trump's tweet on the left.

(Text of video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

Unidentified Speaker. We've been informed that protesters

have penetrated the Capitol.

Unidentified Speaker. This is my fucking building.

Unidentified Speaker. I tell ya, the sentiment in the

streets is really getting to a different level. This is

spinning out of control. This is turning violent. This is

getting dangerous.

Unidentified Speaker. Stand up for America.

Unidentified Speaker. Don't touch me

Unidentified Speaker. Don't get in his way.

Unidentified Speaker. Get the fuck out of here.

This isn't 10 minutes into the insurrection. This isn't just after his speech earlier that day. That is what our Commander in Chief saw happening, and that was his response.

You will notice one of the things he says to his mob, to these insurrectionists, rather than to stop or to leave, was to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you for what? Thank you for shattering the windows and destroying property? Thank you for injuring more than 140 police officers? Thank you for putting in danger all of our lives and the lives of our families?

How about, instead of ``thank you,'' Donald Trump, on that day, acted like our Commander in Chief and stopped this, as only he could, and told those people to leave.

Here is what former Governor Chris Christie, his very good friend, said after that tweet.

(Text of video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

Mr. Christie. It's pretty simple. The President caused this

protest to occur. He is the only one who can make it stop.

What the President said is not good enough. The President has

to come out and tell his supporters to leave the Capitol

grounds and to allow the Congress to do their business

peacefully, and anything short of that is an abrogation of

his responsibility.

He is right. Chris Christie is right. We know how Donald Trump acts on Twitter and otherwise when he has a message to convey. In fact, I asked you to remember those tweets earlier this morning when he yelled on Twitter: ``STOP THE COUNT.''

When he wanted to incite his supporters to show up on January 6, President Trump tweeted 16 times between midnight on January 5 and his noon rally/speech the next day--16 times to get them to do something he wanted. And his message in those 16 times was clear: ``Fight.'' ``Stay strong.'' ``Be strong.''

But when the violence started, he never once said the one thing everyone around him was begging him to say: Stop the attack. He refused to stop it. And as Governor Christie and Representative Kinzinger and others made clear, only Donald Trump could have stopped that attack.

(Text of video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

Mr. KINZINGER. You know, a guy who knows how to tweet very

aggressively on Twitter, you know, puts out one of the

weakest statements on one of the saddest days in American

history because his ego won't let him admit defeat.

He was not just our Commander in Chief. He had incited the attack. The insurgents were following his commands, as we saw when they read aloud the tweet attacking the Vice President. They confirmed this during the attack too.

(Video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

Senators, ask yourselves this: How easy would it have been for the President to give a simple command, a simple instruction, just telling them: Stop. Leave.

This was a dereliction of duty, plain and simple, and it would have been for any President who had done that. And that brings me to my next point. You heard from my colleagues that when planning this attack, the insurgents predicted that Donald Trump would command the National Guard to help them.

There is a lot that we don't know yet about what happened that day, but here is what we do know: Donald Trump did not send help to these officers who were badly outnumbered, overwhelmed, and being beaten down. Two hours into the insurrection, by 3 p.m., President Trump had not deployed the National Guard or any other law enforcement to help, despite multiple pleas to do so.

President Donald Trump was at the time our Commander in Chief of the United States of America. He took a solemn oath to preserve, protect, and defend this country, and he failed to uphold that oath. In fact, there is no indication that President Trump ever made a call to have the Guard deployed or had anything to do with the Guard being deployed when it ultimately was.

Shortly after 3:04 p.m., the Acting Defense Secretary announced that the Guard had been activated and listed the people he spoke with prior to this activation, including Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Senator Schumer, and Representative Hoyer. But that list did not include the President. This omission of his name was reportedly not accidental. According to reports, ``Trump initially rebuffed requests to mobilize the National Guard and required interference by other officials,'' including his own White House Counsel. And later, ``as a mob of Trump supporters breached police barricades and seized the Capitol,'' Trump reportedly was ``disengaged in discussions with Pentagon leaders about deploying the National Guard to aid the overwhelmed U.S. Capitol Police.'' President Trump was reportedly ``completely, totally out of it. He made no attempt to reach [the National Guard.]'' And it was Vice President Pence, still under threat for his life, who reportedly spoke to the Guard.

President Trump's conduct confirms this too. At no point on January 6 did Donald Trump even reference the National Guard. The only thing that we heard connecting the President to the Guard was from his Press Secretary, who tweeted about the Guard being deployed at the President's direction over half an hour later, at 3:36 p.m.

We have seen what Donald Trump does when he tries to take credit for something, and yet, even when the National Guard was finally deployed, he didn't even acknowledge it. In fact, he didn't say a word about the National Guard the entire day. Think about that: the bloodiest attack we have seen on our Capitol since 1812 and our President couldn't be bothered to even mention that help was on its way.

These insurgents had been attacking our government for over 4 hours by that point. And we may have been the

target, but it was the brave men and women who protect our Capitol who were out there combating thousands of armed insurgents in a fight for their lives, and that is who Donald Trump left entirely unprotected.

(Video presentation of 1-6-2021.)

This is hard to watch, but I think it is important to understand what the Capitol Police were facing, how severely they were outnumbered while our Commander in Chief, whose job it was to protect and defend them, was just watching, doing nothing for hours, refusing to send help. If he wanted to protect these officers, if he cared about their safety, as he tweeted about, he would have told his supporters to leave. He would have sent help right away.

One brave officer was killed. Others took their lives after the attack. More than 140 police officers were injured, including cracked ribs, smashed spinal discs. One officer will lose an eye. Another was stabbed with a metal fence stake. They were completely and violently overwhelmed by a mob and needed help, and our Commander in Chief, President Trump, refused to send it.

Senators, you have seen all the evidence so far, and this is clear: On January 6, President Trump left everyone in this Capitol for dead. For the next hour after President Trump's 3 p.m. tweet, he still did nothing. Not until 4:17 p.m., over 3\1/2\ hours after the violence started, did our President send a message finally asking the insurgents to go home.

On the right, you will see what happened that day in the hours leading up to his prerecorded video. On the left, you will see his message. Let's watch.

(Text of video presentation.)

President TRUMP. I know your pain, I know you're hurt, we

had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide

election and everyone knows it, especially the other side.

But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have

to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in

law and order. We don't want anybody hurt. It's a very tough

period of time. There's never been a time like this, where

such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all

of us. From me, from you, from our country. This was a

fraudulent election, but we can't play into the hands of

these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you,

you're very special. We've seen what happens, you see the way

others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how

you feel. But go home and go home in peace.

This is the first time our Commander in Chief spoke publicly at all since the attack began, over 3\1/2\ hours after it started, and these are the entirety of the words the President spoke out loud to the American people or to the attackers that entire day.

Nowhere in that video, not once did he say: I condemn this insurrection. I condemn what you did today.

Nowhere did he say: I am sending help immediately. Stop this.

Here is what he said instead:

I know your pain, I know you're hurt. We had an election

that was stolen.

Even after all the things we witnessed, even after all of that carnage, he goes out and tells the same big lie, the same big lie that enraged and incited the attack. He repeated this while the attack was ongoing and while we were still under threat.

And here is what else he said:

Go home in peace.

We love you, you're very special.

Senators, you were here. You saw this with your own eyes. You faced that danger. And when President Trump had an opportunity to confront them as the leader of us all, as our Commander in Chief, what did he tell them?

We love you, you're very special.

This was not a condemnation; this was a message of consolation, of support, of praise. And if there is any doubt that his supporters, these insurgents, took this as a message of support and praise, watch for yourselves.

(Text of video presentation.)

Mr. Angeli. Donald Trump asked everybody to go home. He

just said--he just put out a tweet. It is a minute long. He

asked everybody to go home.

Unidentified Speaker. Why do you think so?

Mr. Angeli. Because we won the fucking day. We fucking won.

Unidentified Speaker. How did we win?

Mr. Angeli. Well, we won by sending a message to the

Senators and th Congressmen, we won by sending a message to

Pence, OK, that if they don't do as--as it is their oath

do, if they don't uphold the Constitution, then we will

remove them from office, one way or another.

I suspect you recognize that man. You will hear him say that ``we won the day.'' Who won the day? We know that at least five people lost their lives that day. The House and the Senate were in life-threatening danger, and so was the Vice President, and think of everyone else here as well. Who won on January 6? That is not a win for America, but it is a win for Donald Trump unless we hold him accountable.

Now, a little over an hour after that video, the brave members of law enforcement secured the Capitol, and we as a Congress got ready to continue certifying the results of our free and fair election.

A half hour after that, President Trump issued another tweet. In case there was any doubt as to whether he was happy with the people who did this, as to whether he had incited this, he commemorated what happened on January 6.

At 6:01 p.m. on January 6, he tweeted:

These are the things and events that happen when a sacred

landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously

stripped away from great patriots who have been badly &

unfairly treated for so long.

Ending with:

Remember this day forever!

My colleague Manager Cicilline started with this tweet because this tweet shows exactly how Donald Trump felt about what happened on January 6. ``These are the things . . . that happen.'' He is saying this was foreseeable. He is saying: I told you this was going to happen if you certified the election for anyone else, and you got what you deserved for trying to take my power away.

[G]reat patriots. . . . Go home with love & in peace.

Remember this day forever!

He is saying to them: You did good. He is not regretful. He is not grieving. He is not sad. He is not angry about the attack. He is celebrating it. He is commemorating it.

This is the entirety of what President Trump said to the public once the attack began--five tweets and a prerecorded video. On the day of the most bloody insurrection we faced in generations, our Commander in Chief, who is known for sending 108 tweets in a normal day, sent 5 tweets and a prerecorded video. That is the entirety of President Trump's public statements from when the attack began until he went to bed on January 6. That is all he did despite all the people we know who begged him to preserve, protect, and defend. That was our Commander in Chief's response.

He began the day with ``Our country has had enough, we will not take it anymore, and that's what this is all about,'' and he ended the attack with letting us know that we got what he forewarned that morning.

We will, of course, each of us, remember that day forever, but not in the way that President Trump intended, not because of the actions of these violent, unpatriotic insurrectionists. I will remember that day forever because despite President Trump's vicious attempts throughout the day to encourage the siege and block the certification, he failed. At 8:06 p.m., the Senate gaveled into session, and the counting of the electoral votes continued. About an hour later, the House followed suit. And close to 4 a.m., after spending a significant part of the day evacuated or on the floor or hiding, this great body fulfilled the will of the people and certified the electoral college vote.

And I am proud to be part of Congress. I am proud that we ensured that the will of the American people finally prevailed on that day. And I am proud that I and everyone in this room abided by our oath of office even if the President didn't abide by his.

President Trump, too, took an oath as President. He swore on a Bible to preserve, protect, and defend. And who among us can honestly say they believe that he upheld that oath? Who among us will let his utter dereliction of duty stand?

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation to ensure that America's workers have every opportunity to get ahead. Apprenticeships are a great way for hardworking folks to hone their trade or learn new skills and earn a higher wage because of it.

In fact, graduates of registered apprenticeship programs enjoy an average starting wage of $70,000. And 94 percent of graduates are employed upon completion. Yet, less than 1 percent of the American workforce have completed an apprenticeship. This disconnect disadvantages our workers and puts us behind other industrialized nations.

The National Apprenticeship Act will address this gap in our workforce development system by providing for almost 1 million new apprenticeship positions over 5 years. And here is the really important part, it will generate $10.6 billion net benefit to taxpayers.

So it is great for workers, great for our economy, and great for taxpayers. These investments will give our economy the booster shot it needs to recover from COVID-19 while giving a new generation of workers the skills they need to achieve their American Dream.

I know about this experience firsthand. In my State, the Laborers' International Union of North America has created really a national model for apprenticeship programs. It has improved the lives of thousands and thousands of Rhode Islanders.

I include in the Record a letter of support from the Laborers' International Union of North America.

LiUNA,

February 2, 2021.

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative: I write on behalf of the 500,000

hardworking men and women of the Laborers' International

Union of North America (LIUNA), to ask you to vote for H.R.

447, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, when it comes

to the House floor for a vote this week. LIUNA is proud to

support this important Bill to keep our union apprenticeship

programs strong.

Registered Apprenticeship Programs, like the apprenticeship

programs which LIUNA has implemented for decades, help

workers earn while they learn. H.R. 447 invests more than

$3.5 billion over five

(5) years in expanding opportunities and access to

Registered Apprenticeship Programs and Pre-Apprenticeships

Programs, among others. The Bill creates nearly a million new

apprenticeship opportunities on top of the current expected

growth of the apprenticeship system. It would also yield

$10.6 billion in net benefits to U.S. taxpayers in the form

of increased worker productivity and decreased spending on

public-assistance programs and unemployment insurance. The

rigorous standards in the Bill ensure top-quality

apprenticeship programs for workers.

At a time when our Nation's infrastructure needs are so

great, H.R. 447 will ensure that we continue to train the

best workforce in the world.

Again, I ask that you vote in favor of this important Bill

on the House floor. If any additional information is needed,

please contact Danielle LeClair, Assistant Director,

Legislative Department.

With kind regards, I am

Sincerely yours,

Terry O'Sullivan,

General President.

Again, I just want to say in closing, Mr. Speaker, that this is an opportunity to respond to the economic crisis that has been created by the COVID pandemic. Give people the skills that they need to become more successful and to earn greater wages. That is our job, after all, to make life better for those who we represent. This is an investment in the American worker. I urge all of my colleagues to join us in supporting this excellent piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in strong support of the budget resolution for fiscal year 2021.

It has been said that a budget isn't just a series of numbers on a sheet of paper, it is a statement of your values. Well, if that is true, then this budget is a bold statement of our values as Democrats. This budget paves the way for a landmark COVID-19 rescue plan. It delivers a simple message to the American people: Help is on the way.

Mr. Speaker, since the start of this pandemic, tens of millions of Americans have been infected. Nearly half a million have died, with almost a quarter of all deaths happening in the last month alone. Millions of Americans can't find work. It is getting harder and harder to pay for food and housing. Schools are closed. Kids are being left behind. The American people can't afford any more delays or half measures.

This is a time for bold action. That is why we have to pass this budget resolution and pave the way for President Biden's American Rescue Plan, an aggressive proposal that tackles our public health and economic emergencies.

The President's American Rescue Plan meets the crisis before us. It includes nearly $2 trillion for a new round of survival checks; a national vaccination program; the resources cities and towns need to safely reopen schools; direct housing and food assistance; expanding access to healthcare and safe and reliable childcare; extended and enhanced unemployment insurance; paychecks for the first responders, public health workers and teachers who are still on the front lines of this crisis; and critical support for the hardest-hit small businesses.

During this historic crisis, the American people deserve to know that help is on the way. This resolution does just that. We all know from listening to our constituents how much suffering is happening in this country, and that we need a response that responds to the gravity of the economic healthcare crisis that this pandemic has created. This resolution does it. Join us in this effort. Respond to the cries of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 335, which would provide a waiver to allow for full Senate consideration of General Lloyd Austin's nomination as Secretary of Defense. While I have great concerns over use of this process to appoint former military leaders to senior civilian positions at the Department of Defense, and I believe that civilian control of the military is critical to our democracy, I support this waiver for General Austin for several reasons.

The first is the need for clear and effective leadership at the Pentagon. The previous administration drastically politicized the Department of Defense and hollowed out existing leadership to put in place less experienced political allies to do former President Trump's bidding. This has left our nation even more vulnerable during a number of national and international crises, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the recent cyber attack on our government systems by Russia, and rising tensions with Iran and throughout the Middle East. General Austin brings a distinguished career in military leadership, an unwavering commitment to our nation's security, and the respect of our men and women in uniform and will provide a needed steady hand at the Department of Defense.

Second, Lloyd Austin possess the skills and temperament to address the challenges our country faces. President Biden noted when discussing his selection of General Austin that he played a vital role in bringing American forces home from Iraq using diplomatic skill and an ability to work cooperatively with his Iraqi counterparts, further noting that Austin had met every challenge in his career with ``extraordinary skill and profound personal decency.'' These qualities will be necessary as America works to regain its leadership on the world stage, rebuild alliances, and address the many challenges our country faces.

Third, General Austin understands the importance of civilian control of the military to our democracy and has expressed his commitment to this principle. Unlike the last time a waiver was sought when Secretary Mattis was prevented from testifying before Congress by President Trump and was unable to reassure American people about the importance of maintaining civilian control of the Department of Defense, General Austin did testify. During his confirmation hearing, General Austin expressed full understanding of the concerns over his appointment given he has been retired from active service for only four years. He highlighted his experience implementing civilian directives, and his understanding of the need for a different perspective as a civilian leader. I am confident that under the leadership of Lloyd Austin and President Biden, that principle will be preserved and protected.

Finally, General Austin's confirmation as Secretary of Defense would be a watershed moment as the first African American to hold that office in our nation's history. In a period where racial tensions have led to resentment among Americans, a rise in white nationalist extremism, and peaceful demonstrations in U.S. cities often turning violent, General Austin's appointment would demonstrate that America embraces the diversity of our country, and that representation in all facets of our government and national security structures matters.

Madam Speaker, for more than 220 years since George Washington yielded the Presidency to John Adams, the peaceful transfer of power has been a hallmark of our democracy.

In this country, the will of the American people reigns supreme over the ambitions of any individual. Every single President has honored and upheld these principles until now.

Donald Trump lost his bid for reelection last November. It was a free and fair election. In fact, President Trump's own election security director called it ``the most secure election in U.S. history.'' But for 2 months now, Donald Trump has refused to accept the will of the American people. Over and over again, he has told his supporters he didn't really lose; the election was stolen from him and from them. And as they grew angrier and angrier over this perceived injustice, he told them there was still a way to keep him in power.

As Congress prepared to meet for the sacred ritual of certifying the results of the President's election, the President made his move. He directed his supporters to travel to Washington for a rally to ``stop the steal.''

They did.

Then, once assembled, he had one final request: March on the U.S. Capitol. Do what it takes to help me hold on to power. ``We will never give up. We will never concede,'' he told them. ``If you don't fight like hell,'' he warned, ``you are not going to have a country anymore.''

The people on the Ellipse that day heard his message loud and clear. They answered his call for insurrection.

As the third-ranking Republican in this Chamber put it, he ``summoned the mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack.''

Armed with guns, pipe bombs, bats, shields, zip ties, and more, they set their sights on the U.S. Capitol. They stormed the citadel of our democracy. Hundreds of domestic terrorists did what Donald Trump wanted them to do. They seized the Capitol and tried to end our country's 234- year experiment in democracy, as the Trump family and White House aides watched gleefully on television.

They searched the Halls of this building for the Vice President, who they came to hang for treason. They overran the Office of the Speaker, who they came to assassinate. They sought, above all else, to seize control of our government in the name of Donald Trump.

Let that sink in: The terrorists who stormed this building planned to hang the Vice President, kill the Speaker, and topple our government.

They took down the American flag and replaced it with a Trump flag.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who are not planning to vote for this article: Is this the kind of country you want to live in? What are you going to tell your children and grandchildren when they ask what you did in this moment? Did you stand for the Republic or for this President?

Heed the words of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican President, who told our country that ``a house divided against itself cannot stand.''

This great House of which Abraham Lincoln served cannot and will not endure if we do not stand together now.

The President and the terrorists who stormed these Halls last Wednesday did not succeed in toppling our Republic. We must ensure they never do. I implore you to join us in supporting this article.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding and rise in strong support of the Lieu amendment.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of this amendment, which will prevent the sale of weapons to the Gulf without undergoing the proper congressional notification process.

This administration invented an emergency in the Middle East in order to circumvent the process of congressional review over arms sales, an egregious and legally questionable move, to put more weapons in the hands of regimes who are responsible for perpetrating horrific civilian casualties in Yemen, often with U.S. weapons.

The administration briefed this body on Iran just days before the supposed emergency was declared, yet never mentioned anything at the time about an emergency.

The administration claims that Iran poses such an imminent threat to our allies that emergency assistance is needed for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to defend themselves, yet most of these weapons are offensive weapons and much of the sale will be delivered months or years from now.

The logic doesn't make sense because there is no logic. This is an administration that has cozied up to Riyadh, sweeping aside gross human rights abuses, turning a blind eye to the Saudis taking a buzz saw to a Washington Post reporter, and supporting an intervention in Yemen that is causing famine, destruction, and mounting loss of life.

Just because you don't like the process doesn't mean you get to ignore it. This action has implications far beyond this current sale, and if Congress doesn't reassert our proper role in the process, we risk giving up our authority in the arms sale process entirely.

Mr. Chair, I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this excellent amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, the Republic of Cyprus is a strategic partner of the United States and has played a critical role in combating terrorism and nuclear proliferation in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The United States regularly participates in joint exercises with Cyprus, including annual multinational search and rescue and crisis management exercises, and we coordinate training programs for Cyprus in explosives management and disposal, cybersecurity, counterterrorism, and maritime safety and security.

Through information sharing, training programs, and other international and regional security initiatives, the United States and Cyprus work hand in hand to combat terrorist activity in Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean region. The United States also works closely with Cyprus to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and Cyprus has helped foster an effective international nonproliferation regime.

In 2015, the U.S. joined Cyprus, as members of the Proliferation Security Initiative, in cohosting a regional nonproliferation workshop focusing on inspecting and identifying proliferation material.

Yet despite the critical security partnership between our two countries, the United States has had an arms embargo in place against Cyprus since 1987. This policy was initially intended to prevent Turkey from using American weapons to occupy Cyprus and to provide space for reunification talks after Turkey's 1974 invasion of Cyprus and its subsequent occupation of the northern territory.

However, more than 3 years since the embargo was first implemented, Turkey still has more than 30,000 troops occupying the northern territory of Cyprus, reunification talks have not produced intended results, and the U.S. is unable to maintain a full security relationship with a key partner in combating terrorism.

Even today, Turkey continues to use its U.S.-backed military might to threaten Cyprus' energy exploration by continually harassing drilling vessels in its exclusive economic zone. And Turkey is not merely threatening the Republic of Cyprus, but significant American investments by ExxonMobil and Noble Energy and the interests of key U.S. allies in Greece, Egypt, and Israel, all of whom are partners with Cyprus on energy developments.

The outdated and ineffective arms embargo forces Cyprus, an EU member, and one of only three countries with a status of forces agreement with Israel, to obtain defense articles from countries like Russia that seek to undermine U.S. interests in the region.

We need to enact policies that strengthen our relationship with Cyprus and counteract dangerous elements in the region which threaten our national security interests and the interests of our allies and partners in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Our inability to provide Cyprus with necessary equipment needed to defend its sovereignty and its economic interests threatens our own national security.

Lifting the arms embargo will allow Cyprus to better establish itself as a frontline state for Western security interests, defend itself from external threats, and will ensure that Cyprus is no longer forced to seek assistance for its defense from countries like Russia. It will also make regional security cooperation smoother for the United States by making sure our partners can obtain compatible defense systems and training from the U.S. military.

My bipartisan amendment would repeal the ineffective embargo and ensure that Cyprus has the equipment necessary to continue to help the U.S. combat terrorism and international crime, and protect significant natural gas finds and the infrastructure that can bring this energy source to Europe.

The Senate has already taken up this issue and passed language to repeal the embargo with bipartisan support during its consideration of the NDAA. The House should follow suit and support passage of my bipartisan amendment.

Mr. Chairman, Cyprus is a vital and strategic international partner, and we need to make sure we are treating it as such. I urge adoption of the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his thoughts. I would only say that the best way to assist Cyprus in weaning itself from the reliance of Russian weaponry is to lift the arms embargo, and this is something that both Cyprus and the United States have studied for a very long time. The best way to strengthen this partnership and alliance is to repeal this embargo.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague, Congressman Gus Bilirakis, for cosponsoring this amendment and for his leadership on this issue.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the en bloc package, and I thank Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Thornberry for their support of two amendments that I have offered, particularly my amendment clarifying the statutory rights of servicemembers and their families under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

For too long, forced arbitration clauses buried deep within the fine print of everyday contracts have eroded workplace discrimination protections for servicemembers and blocked them from having their day in court to hold corporations accountable. Under these agreements, a servicemember can be called up for Active Duty, express to his or her employer a desire to return to his job following deployment, and then be fired on his last day at work before he deploys. This actually happened.

The servicemember would then learn that he or she has waived the right to due process because of the contract he or she signed, removing the procedures and safeguards afforded to individuals in our justice system. These forced arbitration clauses allow corporations to choose their arbiter and their venue and to deny servicemembers the right to press their claims for unjust termination.

This bipartisan amendment would end this shameful practice by clarifying that arbitration clauses are only enforceable if agreed to by the servicemember or their family after a dispute arises, thereby protecting their rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

I thank my colleagues, Congressman Guy Reschenthaler and Veterans Affairs' Committee Chairman Mark Takano, for their strong, bipartisan support for this amendment to protect our men and women in uniform. I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their support of this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, last week the Department of Justice tried to argue in Federal Court that the United States Government did not have to provide detained children with soap, toothbrushes, or even beds. The department refused to answer whether or not the children's ability to go to sleep was a requirement of providing safe and sanitary conditions.

This is another despicable example of this administration's harmful policies that are meant to do nothing more than strike fear in the hearts of those who come to our border.

They continue to try to hide this from the American people. They told Congress that there was no family separation policy. That was a lie. Now, they are trying to explain away the inhumane treatment of the very children they have chosen to separate from their families. I have been to the border. I have seen the cages and the foil blankets. I have talked to the children and the parents they have been separated from. This is a crisis.

Yesterday, thankfully, the House passed $4.5 billion in emergency funds to strengthen health and safety requirements for migrants of all ages, to protect parents from unnecessary separation or prolonged detention, and to help address the root causes that are forcing people to flee their own countries.

America is the greatest country in the world. There is no reason that children should be in cages or people should be dying in the custody of our government.

Mitch McConnell needs to do his job, pass this bill, and send it to the President's desk to be signed into law immediately.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the en bloc amendment which includes my amendment to prevent funding for the proposed Commission on Unalienable Rights at the Department of State which has been proposed by Secretary Pompeo in order to promote natural law and natural rights.

Now, I would wholeheartedly support a concerted focus on human rights by this administration.

Instead of any really coordinated human rights policy, this President and the Secretary of State have cozied up to dictators and made excuses for flagrant human rights violations, even by some of our supposed allies.

No, unfortunately, it is clear that this proposed commission is an attempt by the administration to co-opt American policy on human rights to give preference to an ideology that has been associated with discrimination against marginalized communities, including the LGBT community, women, and religious minorities.

The State Department already has an entire bureau--the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor--dedicated to defending human rights, yet the Secretary is proposing to bypass the official structure of the diplomatic corps to create an ideologically motivated commission, without congressional approval or oversight, to promote natural rights based on natural law.

These terms have no legal meaning and have deep associations with homophobic and discriminatory movements.

There should be no place for this at our Department of State, which should be a leading voice in the protection and promotion of human rights for all.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support the en bloc amendment, and I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

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

Mr. Chairman, a recent study found that only about 36 percent of Americans would be able to pass a multiple choice test with questions from the U.S. citizenship test on it, while another study found that only 26 percent of Americans are able to name all three branches of government.

These numbers are not only startling on their own, but they also correspond with historically low opinions of the Federal Government and record low voter turnout rates. Currently, only nine States in this country require students to complete 1 year of education in civics or government, while 10 States have no civics education requirement at all.

Across the country, school districts are expressing concern over the need for greater civics education. Last year, 74 percent of superintendents expressed that preparing students to become engaged citizens was a challenge.

In African American and Hispanic communities, students are twice as likely to score low on national civics assessment tests as White students. And a similar gap exists between wealthy and poor communities as well.

These are all signs that point to a growing crisis in civic and political engagement in younger Americans, and unless action is taken against students engaged in their government, disenchantment with the electoral process and disinterest in the issues that will increasingly shape their future and the future of our Nation will continue to grow.

Congress needs to show a commitment to strengthening civics education programs throughout our country in order to reverse the trend. My amendment would provide an additional $500,000 for national activities in civics and history education under title 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Evidence demonstrates that effective civics education can have a significant impact on young people. Students who receive effective civics education develop strong critical thinking skills, are more likely to take an active role in their government, and are much more likely to volunteer or become more involved in their communities. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, students who participate in civics education during high school are significantly more likely to graduate from college.

I am hopeful that this modest increase will show that we are ready to move in the direction of preparing young people in this country to be more engaged with the world around them and ensure that they are invested in strengthening our democracy.

I urge my colleagues to adopt the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act.

This legislation will protect 2.5 million people as American as everyone in this Chamber but for a piece of paper, young people who came here as children, brought by their families to pursue the American Dream. That is why we call them Dreamers.

They did what we would expect of any other good American. They worked hard. They served in our communities. They served in our military. They studied at our schools. They strengthened our communities.

We had a hearing of examples of Dreamers, these young people who did extraordinary things, who enriched the lives of their own communities, who are scholars, community activists, teachers, doctors, and lawyers, people making incredible contributions.

I have met with Dreamers in my home State, where 6,000 people will be protected by this legislation. They are valued and productive members of our community.

There is also protection in here for TPS designees. In the State of Rhode Island, we have the largest Liberian community, who make unbelievable contributions and live with such uncertainty.

We, of course, need comprehensive immigration reform, but protecting Dreamers is first.

We have heard a lot of arguments about other problems with our immigration system. We agree, but I haven't heard anyone say that these young people don't deserve protection in this debate today.

This bill doesn't solve all the problems, but it solves three specific problems: TPS, DED, and Dreamers. It is voting to give protections to these young people.

This is a very powerful symbol of our patriotism and our love of our country because we are a stronger and better America because of these young people and because of the magnificent contributions of these Dreamers. There is nothing more American than passing the Dream Act and ending the uncertainty in the lives of these young people and acknowledging they represent the best of America.

I wish everyone in this country could have watched that hearing of just some examples of the differences these young people have made in the lives of their communities.

Let's do the right thing. Let's pass this in a bipartisan way and give certainty to the lives of these young people who know no other country but this great country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Her Eminence Robiamny Balcacer, the Dominican Republic's first female Minister of Youth in the nation's history.

Since a young age, Minister Balcacer has been critical in youth political and social welfare activities within her community of Las Guaranas.

After graduating college with a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in public management and modern public administration techniques, she was elected councilwoman in 2006 and, eventually, elected president of the Councilmembers Board, becoming the youngest woman in history to lead it.

As Minister of Youth, she has quickly garnered praise for her work in low-income communities throughout the Dominican Republic. She has invested in social and workforce development programs intended to reduce crime and strengthen community relationships, including constructing brand-new community computing centers and playgrounds.

Her work has attracted the attention of Dominican American community leaders in my district and all across the country, and I had the honor of meeting Minister Balcacer this morning. I am glad that she is joining us today in the gallery as her work is being recognized here on the House floor.

Mr. Speaker, I welcome Minister Balcacer.

Madam Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 5, the Equality Act.

I have to stop for a second and take in this momentous occasion, for I have the honor of being on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, speaking in favor of a bill that I have worked on for the past 5 years that will finally give full legal equality to the LGBTQ community here in America. This is truly historic.

I want to thank Chairman Nadler, who has been an unwavering ally in support of LGBTQ rights throughout his career, and thank Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, and our whip, James Clyburn, who have all showed tremendous leadership in helping to get this bill to the floor.

I want to acknowledge and thank my LGBTQ Equality Caucus co-chairs, who have shown extraordinary leadership, not just in blazing a trail for future LGBTQ leaders, but in being friends and partners in this fight to get where we are today.

I also want to thank our colleagues in the Senate for their extraordinary leadership. And, most importantly, we wouldn't be here today without the determined efforts of the advocates and allies in the civil rights and LGBTQ rights community who banded together to fight for the common values of dignity and equality under the law.

Throughout my life, I have seen, firsthand, the struggles that many in my community have faced in achieving the American Dream. The right to live freely, without fear of persecution or discrimination, is one many in the LGBTQ community felt was an impossibility for so long.

The fact that we are here today about to vote on this legislation, which has the bipartisan support of 241 Members of the House is, in and of itself, an achievement. It was not easy to get here.

It was only 4 short years ago that the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, finally allowing members of the LGBTQ community to marry in every State.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell was the law of the land until 6 years ago, and today, the Trump administration is forcing the men and women in our Armed Forces back into the closet and taking steps to target the LGBTQ community in a variety of ways.

The forces working against progress are strong, but together, we are stronger. We have made great strides in fighting for LGBTQ rights under the law, but make no mistake, there are many people in this country, including in this administration, who are actively working to undermine our hard-fought gains.

That is why it is so significant that we have such strong and diverse support for the Equality Act.

And I don't just mean 241 bipartisan cosponsors in the House. Look at the 47 bipartisan sponsors in the Senate, the more than 200 businesses in every State in the country who have endorsed the bill, and the dozens of associations, advocacy groups, civil rights groups, and faith groups that back it.

The Equality Act has the support of a majority of the American people in every State. Let that sink in. In every single State in the country, the American people think it is time to protect the LGBTQ community.

There is nothing more central to the idea of America, nothing that has contributed more to the exceptionalism of our country and the prosperity of America than the guarantee of equal protection of the law for every single American.

They support this bill all across this country because it makes sense, it is common sense. It adds sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes through existing civil rights law, ensuring that the LGBTQ community enjoys the same protections as everyone else, nothing more and nothing less.

Madam Speaker, I want to take a moment to talk about what the Equality Act doesn't do. There has been a lot of misinformation about this bill floating around, and I want to ensure that my colleagues and the American people understand the facts.

The Equality Act doesn't force priests or other clergy to perform same sex marriages or any other religious ceremony against their beliefs.

It doesn't eliminate women's colleges, fraternities, or sororities, or other nondiscriminatory sex-segregated program.

The Equality Act doesn't prevent parents from having control of their children's medical decisions or force doctors to provide treatment against their best judgment or religious beliefs.

And the Equality Act doesn't eliminate women's sports.

The Equality Act doesn't force churches to act as public accommodations or eliminate the ability of religious institutions to accept Federal money.

Here is what the Equality Act does. It ensures that every child of an LGBTQ parent will not be turned away from the pediatrician's office.

It ensures that transgender teenagers can attend school without fear for their safety.

And it ensures that LGBTQ employees can't get married on Saturday, post pictures on social media on Sunday, and they get fired on Monday.

The Equality Act is quite literally a life-saving bill that addresses some of the fundamental inequalities that still exist in the American legal system.

The time is now. The moment is here. Future generations will look back on this day as the moment where our elected leaders showed what side of history they are on.

We are on the right side of history. Let's pass the Equality Act today with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the additional time.

Will the gentleman yield?

Yes, I would be happy to engage my colleague from Utah.

Yes, that is correct. H.R. 5 adds protected classes to title II of the Civil Rights Act but does not revise the exception for private establishments not open to the public, meaning houses of worship can continue their practices as before, including limiting admission or attendance to members of their faith.

Yes. H.R. 5 does not, nor could any legislation, supersede the First Amendment. H.R. 5 allows the standard set by prior civil rights law to not interfere with worship and religious practices by religious organizations.

Mr. Chairman, every day in kitchens and living rooms all across America, working men and women sit down and try to figure out how to pay for their prescription drugs. That is because 25 percent of the people in this country can't afford the medicine they have been prescribed.

Seniors are choosing between COPD and their the groceries. People with cancer are being forced to delay their treatment, cut pills in half, or even forgo treatment altogether. This is happening in the richest, most powerful nation in the history of the world. It is a disgrace.

If government is going to work for the people, then the people who serve in government need to end this crisis, and Democrats are committed to doing just that. We are taking on the big pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists, and we are going to get the job done.

That is why I am proud that my legislation, the CREATES Act, is included in this legislative package. The CREATES Act will save taxpayers $3.9 billion, according to the CBO, and bring down the cost of some prescription drugs by as much as 85 percent.

The CREATES Act does this by directly addressing the abusive delay tactics that big drug companies use to block or delay generic competitors from entering the market.

Over the past decade, some of the biggest drug companies have abused regulatory protocols so they can prevent the sale of affordable drugs. This lets them maintain their control of the marketplace, pull in monopoly profits, and keep their prices at inflated levels.

If it is signed into law, the CREATES Act will create a tailored path for generic drug competitors to obtain the samples that are necessary for regulatory approval of their lower cost formulations.

I am proud that this bill is not only backed by many of our colleagues, but it also has the support of a diverse coalition of healthcare providers, patient groups, and public interest organizations, including AARP and Public Citizen. And I am proud it is included in this package today.

The majority leader in the Senate likes to describe himself as the grim reaper for Democratic legislative proposals. I hope that won't be the case here. He needs to put the interests of the American people ahead of his obsession with fighting Democrats every step of the way.

The CREATES Act and these other proposals that are contained in this package deserve an up-or-down vote in the United States Senate. The American people deserve relief from these outrageous prescription drug prices, and this legislation will achieve that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in strong opposition to H.R. 312, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act. This bill will allow the Mashpee Tribe to open a massive off-reservation casino right on the border of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, nearly 40 miles away from their historic Tribal lands in Cape Cod.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe became federally recognized in 2007. Under the Indian Reorganization Act, the United States Department of the Interior is only allowed to take land into trust for Tribes recognized before 1934.

In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed this Federal standard in the Carcieri v. Salazar decision. In 2015, the U.S. Department of the Interior ignored the Indian Reorganization Act and the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling and took land into trust for the Mashpee Tribe.

A year later, the residents of Taunton, Massachusetts, sued and won in U.S. district court to stop the casino from being built in their town. The district court ruled that the Department of the Interior should not have taken land into trust for the Mashpee Tribe and instructed the Department to conduct a further review of the Tribe's eligibility.

After reviewing the Mashpee Tribe's application last year, the U.S. Department of the Interior rejected the Tribe's claim based on the finding that the Tribe was not under Federal jurisdiction in 1934, which meant the Department lacked authority under Federal law to take land into trust on their behalf.

Today's bill would reverse this final decision of the Federal court and the Department of the Interior and disregard the U.S. Supreme Court precedent in allowing the Tribe to build an off-reservation casino in Taunton, Massachusetts.

If H.R. 312 passes today, it would be the first time--I repeat, the first time--Congress ever reversed a final Federal court ruling that determined a Tribe did not meet the Federal standard to have land taken into trust by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The impact of this bill would be disastrous and would open a floodgate for Tribes to come to Washington to hire the biggest lobbyists they can to get their carve-out from Congress.

Do we really want to go down this road? Does Congress want to be in the business of picking winners and losers? That is exactly what this bill does.

The Tribal land system shouldn't depend on which Tribes hire the most expensive lobbyists. Instead, it should be based on fairness under our law and applied equally.

Instead of this bill directly benefiting the Tribe, as some have suggested, the bill will bail out Genting, the Malaysian hedge fund that is financing this deal. Even if this bill passes today and the Mashpee build a casino, it is very unlikely, according to all the experts, that the Mashpee casino will ever be profitable for the Tribe because they owe Genting a half-billion dollars.

Proponents of this bill have argued that Congress is the last hope for the Mashpee Tribe and that they will go bankrupt without this casino, but Genting Malaysia has already written off the half-billion dollars it gave to the Tribe as a loss on its financial statements. If today's bill fails, the Mashpee Tribe does not need to pay back this money because, under the agreement with Genting, it is contingent on the casino being built. The debt is erased.

Regardless of what happens with this bill today, the Mashpee Tribe will still be a federally recognized Tribe and will continue to receive Federal benefits.

Mr. Speaker, I started off opposing this bill because of the damage it would do to Rhode Island's economy. The casino in Rhode Island generates over $300 million in economic activity and is responsible for thousands of jobs in Rhode Island. I am very proud of my fierce defense for my State, and putting an off-reservation casino on the border will have a significant, negative impact on Rhode Island.

But the more I learned about this legislation, the more I realized the dangerous precedent this bill would set if it became law. H.R. 312 would reverse a Federal court ruling, undermine the Indian Reorganization Act, ignore a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and reject the 2018 decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Most perniciously, it is a special deal for a single Tribe, and that is just wrong.

I stand here in opposition to this bill not only because of the impact on my

State, and not because I am unsympathetic to the challenges the Tribe faces, but this legislation will continue their exploitation by a powerful foreign entity.

I urge my colleagues to defeat this bill, and I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Will the gentleman yield?

Yes.

I am not aware of the information they had.

Again, I don't know about the legal proceedings. I know that the litigation was begun by the people in the local community.