Floor Statements

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

Mr. Speaker, there is a crisis at the border. There has been a crisis at the border for weeks. And instead of addressing the crisis, instead of having a hearing in the committee, Democrats have passed bills that defund the police, restrict Americans' Second Amendment liberties, and federalize election law. And not one of those bills--by the way, not one of those bills went through committee.

In fact, the Judiciary Committee--74 days of this Congress, the full Judiciary Committee has yet to have a hearing on anything. We have asked to have a hearing on the border crisis, the real crisis. We asked to have a hearing on cancel culture, the attack on peoples' First Amendment liberties. We asked to have a hearing on conservatorships. No full committee hearing this entire Congress, but they can pass bills to defund the police, restrict Americans' Second Amendment liberties, Federalize election law. And now, while there is a crisis on the border, they bring a bill to the floor that gives amnesty to 3 million illegal aliens.

Seventy-four days of the 117th Congress, the Democrats have taken away the Republicans' right to offer a motion to recommit; they have kicked Marjorie Taylor Greene off a committee; two Democrats wrote a letter trying to cancel ``Fox News,'' ``Newsmax,'' and ``One America News.'' The Democratic chair of the House Administration Committee compiled a dossier on 140 Republican Members, and they are preparing to steal an election from Republican Congresswoman Miller-Meeks.

And today, they are going to pass a bill--try to pass a bill which, as I said before, gives amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants. We have got gang members crossing the border. We have got people whose name is on the terrorist watch list crossing the border. We have got COVID positive illegals crossing the border.

We have had 100,000 encounters with foreigners on the border in February alone. Housing illegal immigrants in the Dallas Convention Center; the administration sending FEMA in to help. Even though they refuse to call the crisis a crisis, they are sending in the disaster agency to help with the situation. If that is not a crisis, frankly, I don't know what one is.

A crisis that President Trump, 2 months ago, told us was coming. I want to read what President Trump said in January. Two months ago, this is what President Trump said: ``If our border security measures are reversed, it will trigger a tidal wave of illegal immigration, a wave like you've never seen before.'' Boy was that accurate.

If our border security measures are reversed. What has the Biden administration done? They placed a moratorium on deportation, they ended the Remain in Mexico program, and they have stopped building the wall. I think that is a reversal. I think that is a reversal of the measures that were put in place. What did it trigger? A tidal wave of illegal immigration, a wave like you have never seen before. It sure did. The tidal wave is here, and the Democrats' answer is amnesty. Wow. Such a deal for the American people. Such a deal for the American taxpayer.

Democrats answer: Defund the police, attack Second Amendment liberties of Americans, federalize election law, try to cancel ``Fox News,'' ``Newsmax,'' ``One America News,'' compile a dossier on Republicans, kick one congresswoman off of her committees, and try to take an election from another, all while they are creating a crisis on the border, and then respond to it all with, what? A bill that gives amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants. That is what this legislation does today.

Mr. Speaker, I hope we vote ``no.'' I hope we can stop this legislation. This is not what the American people bargained for. This is not common sense, and I hope we defeat this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), who is the ranking member on the Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Mr. Speaker, I would just point out that the majority leader is not accurate in what he said. Republicans, 2 years ago, had bills that were much more comprehensive than what the Democrats are bringing to the floor this week. We had a bill that dealt with merit- based immigration, E-Verify, added workers to enforcement border security. It is just not accurate to say our plan was not comprehensive. We had two bills, as the Republican leader mentioned.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the Republican leader.

Mr. Speaker, I will just point out, I was at the border 2 years ago, the Rio Grande; Mr. Roy was at the border last week; Mr. McCarthy was at the border this week. The previous speaker, Mr. Speaker, said that Republicans didn't come when she invited. We have all been down there and seen what goes on. Just this week, we have been down there to see the current crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Van Duyne).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garcia).

Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to the amount of time remaining for each side.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I will tell you what this bill does. Page 51, section 310: ``Grant program to assist eligible applicants. The Secretary shall establish, within U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, a program to award grants.''

So while there is a disaster on the border, so much so that we have to send FEMA there, this bill not only gives amnesty to illegals, it uses American tax dollars to help the illegals apply for amnesty.

Such a deal for the American taxpayer. That is what this legislation does. That is what this bill is about.

At a time when we have chaos on the border, this bill gives amnesty to 3 million illegals and uses American tax dollars to help those same illegals apply for the amnesty. I mean, the disrespect that the Democrats have for the American taxpayer is astounding to me. It is truly astounding.

I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Herrell).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. McClain).

Madam Speaker, if we adopt the motion to recommit, we will instruct the Committee on the Judiciary to consider the amendment to H.R. 6 to ensure that gang members do not receive any benefits under the underlying bill and are swiftly removed from the country.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include the text of my amendment in the Record immediately prior to the vote on the motion to recommit.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice).

Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the distinguished whip.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), the ranking member of the Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) to control the remainder of the time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Massie), the co-chair of the Second Amendment Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, no, it doesn't. The previous speaker said when this bill becomes law, it will stop some of the mass shootings-- all of the mass shootings that happen in this country. No, it won't. Nothing in this bill would prohibit, would have stopped any of those terrible things that took place.

What this bill does is stop law-abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment liberties, just as the gentleman from Kentucky mentioned a few minutes ago.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Spartz).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Boebert), the co-chair of the Second Amendment Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, the previous speaker talked about the increase in violent crime in her neighborhood last year. Maybe if Democrats actively supported our police and not

supported defund the police, maybe that wouldn't be the case.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy) an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Budd).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Massie).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Van Duyne).

Mr. Speaker, the previous speaker talked about Chicago's strictest gun laws in the country, but yet there was a record number of shootings and crime last year.

What could be the cause of that?

Maybe it is the fact they defunded their police, something we have talked about now, well, since the Democrats started doing it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gooden).

Mr. Speaker, can I inquire how much time we have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Donalds).

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).

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

Mr. Speaker, I think part of the point of the gentleman from Pennsylvania was this system is a mess. Over 110,000 people were denied access to a firearm when they went through the background check, but only 12 were prosecuted. Mr. Massie led off our debate by talking about this one. That tells you one or two things.

I think the main takeaway is, how many people were falsely denied? Or if they weren't, why weren't more people prosecuted?

If the focus is to make sure the bad guy doesn't get the gun, holy cow, over 110,000 were denied access to a firearm, not given a clearance. Yet only 12 prosecuted?

If you guys want to work with us on that issue, we are happy to do that. In fact, we have supported that and talked about that, but you don't want to do that.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, we can say we are opposed to the en bloc amendments for all of the reasons we have cited now in the last hour and a half on this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).

Mr. Speaker, the previous speaker indicated that you have to ask the government to exercise your constitutional right. That is the problem. What happened in Charleston was terrible, it was wrong, and wrong as wrong can be. But this bill is not going to stop--the FBI had 2 months. It didn't do it. It didn't stop this guy. They had 2 months.

What this bill does is shift the burden. It takes it from 3 days to 10 days, and the burden now becomes on the American citizen to be able to exercise their constitutional right. That is not what the Second Amendment is supposed to be about. Unfortunately, it is where the Democrats want to take our country.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Cawthorn).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cammack).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins).

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

Mr. Speaker, the FBI tells us, in a 4-year time period, 18,000 people who exercised their Second Amendment liberties to get a firearm who were denied got that reversed. Those are just the ones who went there and said, ``You know what, you guys screwed up. It is not really me.'' They had to work it out.

Mr. Speaker, 18,000 times, the system screwed up. In 2017, over 112,000 people were denied, but only 12 people were prosecuted, which means that, most likely, thousands of law-abiding people were falsely denied their right to exercise their Second Amendment liberty.

Now what do Democrats want to do? They want to say: Wait a minute. That all happened in a 3-day time period. We are going to extend that for 10 days because we know the government bureaucracy will get so much better in 10 days. We know it will work out if we just give them more time to screw up more things.

That is what is going to happen. Oh, by the way, that single lady who needs to protect herself, she is going to have to wait longer now for a system that had this many screwups to get the firearms she needs to exercise her Second Amendment liberties to protect herself and her family. That is what this legislation does.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the dean of the House.

Mr. Speaker, the previous speaker used the term ``reasonable.'' This legislation shifts the burden, so you are now telling an American citizen the burden is on you to exercise your Second Amendment liberties. They deny the background check, deny you your ability to purchase a firearm, and the burden is on you.

Mr. Speaker, I would think that a professor of law would understand that you don't shift the burden when you are talking about a fundamental liberty that we enjoy under the Constitution. It doesn't seem reasonable at all to me.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

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

Earlier, we had a couple of the folks who spoke on our side. Earlier they said the Second Amendment is right next to the First because it is pretty darn important. I think some of our folks said that.

But it struck me that, you know what, I don't know that the other side actually cares all that much about the First Amendment.

Think about what has happened this past year. Democrats have told Americans they can't go to church, can't go to work, can't go to school, can't go to a loved one's funeral.

Of course, the rules never apply to them. We had a Governor of one of our largest States--a Governor of our largest State--out at a 5-star restaurant, having dinner with friends and lobbyists at the same time he is telling folks in his State that they can't even have Thanksgiving dinner with their family.

We see the attack on free speech. I mean, just to laugh at this whole cancel culture phenomena. First it was Kermit the Frog and the Muppets, then it was Dr. Seuss. I think yesterday it was cartoon characters from the Looney Tunes. Tack on your right to speak, specifically to speak in any type of political nature.

We have had Democrat Members of Congress, Mr. Speaker, send a letter to carriers, asking those carriers not to have certain news networks on their system. That is frightening. You talk about chilling speech. That is as scary as it gets--just because they don't like what is being said on certain news networks? Scary.

And now they are coming after your Second Amendment liberties as well. I mean, think about your First Amendment rights, your right to practice your faith, your right to assemble, your right to petition your government, freedom of the press, freedom of speech. And then the very next right the Founders mention, your Second Amendment liberties, they are coming after that, too.

It wasn't enough to go after your right to practice your faith. It wasn't enough to go after your right to assemble and be with people you wanted. Think about some of the things we saw this year. We had Democrat leaders in States telling Americans you had to be in your home at a certain time with curfews. You had to be in your home by 10.

We had another State say, when you are in your home, you have to wear a mask. And then we had States say, well, when you are in your home, you don't have to wear a mask because you are not allowed to have anybody over.

Government was limiting your First Amendment right to practice your religion, your First Amendment right to assemble. And now they are coming after your First Amendment right to speak and speak in a political nature. And here we are today, coming after your Second Amendment liberties.

The Democratic Party is the party that says defund the police, open the border, attack people's Second Amendment rights to defend themselves while they are defunding the police and opening the border, and all the while they are undermining American's First Amendment liberties as well.

This should frighten everyone.

This should frighten everyone. This should frighten everyone wherever they want to go. It is scary. I certainly hope we defeat both of these bills today when they are offered.

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

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I oppose both bills and the amendments for all the reasons we have stated today. I think my colleague from Pennsylvania said it best. We are now going to have to wait 10 days to exercise your Second Amendment rights.

One of the previous speakers, Madam Speaker, on the Democrat side said that felons don't get guns. They are felons. They are not going to follow the law.

We all know what this is. This is going to make it more difficult for law-abiding Americans to exercise a fundamental liberty guaranteed in the United States Constitution, the second right they have, the Second Amendment to the Constitution. It is going to make it more difficult for them to exercise their fundamental liberty. That is what this is about.

The FBI had 2 months in the Charleston situation to get it right. They couldn't. Somehow we think now extending it from 3 days to 10 days, a system that messed up as much as it has, somehow that is going to help, and then shifting the burden so that if this system that has falsely denied people their right to purchase a firearm, time and time again, if the system does it again, the burden is on you.

Since when do we ever do that? When are you presumed guilty by the government? Only now. Only now are you presumed guilty. You are not going to be able to exercise your rights.

Those are our concerns with both of these bills and the amendments that are in front of us today.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber), a retired police officer.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Minnesota.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs), the ranking member of the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee.

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

The gentlewoman just said that there was no defunding of the police. I would just point out Democrat-controlled cities around the country:

Austin, Texas, $150 million cut;

Baltimore, Maryland, $22 million;

Boston, $12 million;

Burlington, $1 million;

Columbus, $23 million;

Denver, $55 million;

Eureka, California, $1.2 million;

Hartford, $2 million;

Los Angeles, $175 million;

Madison, Wisconsin, $2 million;

Minneapolis, $8 million;

New York, $1 billion;

Norman, $865,000;

Oakland, $14.6 million;

Oklahoma City, $5.5 million;

Philadelphia, $33 million;

Portland, Oregon, $15 million;

Salt Lake City, $5.3 million;

San Francisco, $120 million;

Seattle, $69 million;

Washington, D.C., $15 million cut.

That is what Democrats have done over the last year.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cammack).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gimenez).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Steube).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

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

Mr. Speaker, the majority leader just said: Enough, my colleagues, enough.

I couldn't agree more.

Last summer, Democrats called for unrest in the streets. They raised bail money for rioters. They called antifa a myth. They voted and pushed for defunding the police all across this country.

Guess what? When you call for unrest in the streets while there is unrest in the streets, guess what happens?

You get more unrest in the streets.

When you raise money to bail out rioters, guess what happens?

You get more rioters.

When you call antifa a myth, guess what happens?

You get more attacks on property and on people.

Guess what also happens when you call for defunding the police?

You get more crime.

And when you fail to condemn violence--all violence, whether it happens on January 6 or last summer--you get more violence.

Everyone understands that. Everyone should understand that, but it seems Democrats don't.

We had a bill in the House, just like Senator Scott's bill, and Representative Stauber was the sponsor. Last year, when we had a markup, we offered 12 amendments in committee. They wouldn't take any of them. Some of the amendments, the Democrats actually supported them. But nope, nope, got to be this bill.

They didn't want to work with us to deal with the real concern, because we all know what happened to Mr. Floyd was as wrong as wrong could be. We were willing to work, but, no, they wouldn't take any of our amendments and said the things they said last summer. We should work together on this, but they don't want to. They don't want to do it.

They want their own bill. They don't want Republicans to vote for it. They want to play politics. We would actually like to solve the problem. We would actually like to solve the problem.

You know what else happens when you call for defunding the police?

The police retire. There is a 72 percent increase in retirement of police officers in New York City alone. Think of what it is like around the country. That is what happens when you send the message that Democrats sent all last summer. It is wrong. We shouldn't stand for it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Fitzgerald).

Madam Speaker, I will just point out that the Speaker of the House said we should respect the police, but the Speaker of the House named an individual to conduct a review of the breach of the Capitol on January 6, and that individual has insulted the very police who protect us.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. Greene).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop).

Madam Speaker, the chairman of the committee has said several times that Democrats are not for defunding the police, but I would just point out the individual presiding over this session said that defunding the police is not a slogan, it is a policy demand.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Davidson).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford), a former sheriff.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Madam Speaker, Senator Scott had legislation, good legislation, but the Democrats wouldn't take it up; they filibustered.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis).

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

Madam Speaker, you said: Defunding the police is not a slogan; it is a policy demand.

Over 20 cities in this great country enacted that. They did that to the tune of $1.7 billion taken from the brave men and women who protect us all. That is our concern.

We would have loved to have worked with the other side. We had a bill. Senator Scott worked tirelessly on it. Representative Stauber, former police officer Stauber, on our side worked night and day on it. But Democrats wouldn't work with us, wouldn't take any of our amendments.

This is a partisan, political bill, unfortunately. That is why I urge a ``no'' vote.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, which is it? For 3 months, the Democrats told us the 2020 election was fine. There was no need for an investigation. It was flawless. But, today, they tell us we need to change election law with an 800-page bill. Think about it. We need all of this? 800 pages to fix a flawless election? Maybe something else is going on here.

Last year, COVID was the pretext for making changes to election law. Partisan courts and partisan secretaries of State went around State legislatures in an unconstitutional fashion and changed election law in some States,

and now they want to make sure those unconstitutional changes in a few States become the law in all States. That is what this is about.

This isn't the first time Democrats have tried to have it both ways, talked out of both sides of their mouth. Remember what they said.

Democrats said: Republicans tried to overturn the will of the people on January 6, 2021, when we objected to six States.

But on January 6, 2017, they objected to ten states. The Democrat chair of the Rules Committee objected to Alabama, a State President Trump won by 30 points. The lead impeachment manager objected to Florida, and the chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee objected to Wyoming. For goodness sake, a State that President Trump won by 40 points. They tried to overturn the will of the people in Wyoming.

We know what this is about. This is about raw politics, and we should all vote ``no.''

Madam Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Spartz).

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson), the ranking member on the Subcommittee of the Constitution and Civil Justice.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I will read from the bill, page 25 of their legislation.

The previous speaker, Madam Speaker, is just flat-out wrong. Here is what it says: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act shall not--shall not--provide a claim or a defense to a claim under the legislation or provide a basis for challenging the application of this bill.

They put it in the bill. You can't use the standards set forth in RFRA that was passed. You can't even use that as a defense. It is spelled out in the legislation.

As my colleague from Louisiana said, the very first right mentioned in the very first amendment to the Constitution, in the very first amendment of the Bill of Rights, is your right to practice your faith the way you see fit. And they put in their legislation: No, you can't. No, you can't.

That is what is in the bill. That is why they didn't want a hearing, as previous speakers said, because they didn't want us to be able to talk about this in a hearing where you have testimony, witnesses. They didn't want that.

They come to the floor, and as my colleague from Texas said, give this a fancy name while they are taking away American citizens' most fundamental liberty, the liberty the Founders chose to mention the very first right in the Bill of Rights.

That is why we oppose this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens).

Mr. Speaker, I would just point out that a few speakers ago, the gentleman from Maryland used the term ``religious garb.''

A physician's conscience, a physician's faith, which compels him or her not to take the life of an unborn child is not religious garb. That is a deeply held position of conscience and position of faith.

Mr. Speaker, to have a Member from the other side raise that argument when we have specifically pointed to the First Amendment, pointed to page 25 of the bill, which says ``the Religious Freedom Restoration Act will not apply,'' is ridiculous.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

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

Mr. Speaker, could I inquire about the amount of time remaining on each side?

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

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a statement from the Log Cabin Republicans opposing the legislation on the floor today.

LCR's official statement:

As part of the Democrats' hard shift to the left, they

continue to trample on the rights and freedoms of all

Americans in the name of equality and `equity.'

Today, House Democrats are ramming through their latest

version of the so-called ``Equality Act.'' We opposed this

legislation in the past, and we oppose it as it stands today.

This is a partisan piece of legislation--it has no Republican

cosponsors in the House. And the insidious nature of the

extreme changes it will make would irreparably harm America

and all of the accomplishments we've worked so hard for over

the last few decades.

Below, please find a complete review of this legislation

from our editorial and research teams at OUTSpoken.

Let me be clear--Log Cabin Republicans is not now, nor will

it ever retreat on our commitment for equality for the LGBT

community--the transgender community included. We stand for

protections in employment, access to quality healthcare, and

equal protection under the law for our trans brothers and

sisters.

But the so-called Equality Act goes to an extreme level to

eliminate the concept of gender, which is absurd, dangerous,

and way out of the mainstream.

We're going to work through this together as a community

and a nation, but the Equality Act is not the solution.

Thank you for your consideration we will keep you informed

of developments as they occur.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop).

I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Steube).

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

Mr. Speaker, I don't think anyone uses God. We have just cited what is in the legislation, which specifically says the Religious Freedom Restoration Act shall not provide a defense against what this bill is doing. That is all we have done.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Davidson).

Mr. Speaker, can I inquire about the amount of time left for each side?

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

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the last statement was ridiculous, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Herrell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Weber).

I yield an additional 10 seconds to the gentleman from Texas.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Moore).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, at the start of the debate, the sponsor of the bill said discrimination is wrong. It sure is. We shouldn't tolerate it.

But this bill makes how a person identifies more important than equality; makes it more important than

fairness; makes it more important than fundamental liberties like your right to practice your faith the way you think the good Lord wants you to.

And you would think a change of this magnitude would get a little more than 90 minutes debate on the House floor. That is why we should oppose this legislation. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, who is next? Who is next?

Everyone has said things they wish they didn't say. Everyone has done things they wish they didn't do.

So who is next? Who will the cancel culture attack next?

Former New York Times editor Bari Weiss--not a conservative--had to resign because of the environment at that paper. She had to resign--she coined this term--the ``digital thunderdome.''

You engage in wrong-think? You engage in wrong-speak? You are going in the thunderdome.

Today, it is Mrs. Greene. Who is it going to be tomorrow?

I have heard several times on the floor today from the Democrats, ``conspiracy theory.'' The Democrats peddled the biggest conspiracy theory of all time, the Russia hoax.

For the last 4 years, they peddled this theory. Two of those years, they spent $40 million, 19 lawyers, 40 FBI agents, 500 witnesses, 2,500 subpoenas, but came up with zero collusion.

The former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, he was going on television all the time, talking about the coordination and the collusion that was going on. But what did he say behind closed doors when he was under oath in the Intelligence Committee? He said this: I never saw any evidence that the Trump campaign was conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election.

No evidence, but they peddled this theory for 4 years.

And think about this: The guy who started the debate off today for the Democrats, the Democrat chair of the Committee on Rules, 4 years ago, guess who was the first person to object to the 2016 Presidential election? The guy who kicked off the debate for the Democrats today going after Mrs. Greene, the gentleman from Massachusetts. Guess what his reason was: the Russian hoax conspiracy theory.

And guess which State he objected to. Alabama.

That is right, January 6, 2017, the guy who kicked off the debate from the Democrats objected to Alabama, a State that President Trump won by 30 points. The first person to kick off the debate today 4 years ago objected to Alabama based on this Russian hoax conspiracy theory. And now, they are coming after Mrs. Greene.

I stood right here 3 weeks ago, and I said this cancel culture will not just come after Republicans; it is going to come after us all. It is going to come after us all. This is what is scary. And it took all of 13 days--all of 13 days--for that to be proven true.

Last week, Senator Dianne Feinstein Elementary School is no longer named after Senator Feinstein. That is how bad this is.

I hope this stops, and I hope it stops soon.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, in his opening remarks, the Democrat chair of the Rules Committee said that Republicans last week voted to overturn the results of an election.

Guess who the first objector was on January 6, 2017, the first objector? The Democrat chair of the Rules Committee. And guess which State he objected to? Alabama. The very first State called, Alabama. President Trump, I think, won Alabama with 80 points. Actually, he won it by 30 points.

They can object. They can object to Alabama in 2017 but tell us we can't object to Pennsylvania in 2021, Pennsylvania where the State supreme court just unilaterally extended the election to Friday; Pennsylvania where the secretary of state unilaterally changed the rules, went around the legislature in an unconstitutional fashion; Pennsylvania where county clerks in some counties, and you can imagine which counties they were, let people fix their ballots against the law, cure their ballots, their mail-in ballots, a direct violation of law. And they tell us we tried to overturn the election?

Guess who the second objector was in 2017? The individual managing the impeachment for the Democrats.

Americans are tired of the double standard. They are so tired of it. Democrats objected to more States in 2017 than Republicans did last week, but somehow we are wrong.

Democrats can raise bail for rioters and looters this summer, but somehow when Republicans condemn all the violence, the violence this summer, the violence last week, somehow we are wrong. Democrats can investigate the President of the United States, as Mr. Hoyer went through, tried to impeach him, investigate him for 4 years, but will not look at an election that 80 million Americans, half the electorate, 80 million, Republicans and Democrats, have their doubts about.

I said this last night. I do not know where all this goes, and this is frightening for the country. We should defeat this rule, and we should defeat the impeachment resolution when it comes up later this afternoon.

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

Nineteen minutes. Nineteen minutes. Four years ago on inauguration day, January 20, 2017, 19 minutes into President Trump's administration, at 12:19 p.m., The Washington Post's headline was ``Campaign to Impeach President Trump Has Begun.'' And now with just 1 week left, they are still trying.

In 7 days, there will be a peaceful transfer of power, just like there has been every other time in our country, but Democrats are going to impeach President Trump again. This doesn't unite the country. There is no way this helps the Nation deal with the tragic and terrible events of last week that we all condemn. Republicans have been consistent. We have condemned all the violence all the time. We condemned it last summer. We condemned it last week.

We should be focused on bringing the Nation together. Instead, Democrats are going to impeach the President for a second time, 1 week--1 week--before he leaves office. Why? Why?

Politics and the fact that they want to cancel the President--the President who cut taxes, the President who reduced regulations, the President who, prior to COVID, had the greatest economy, lowest unemployment in 50 years, the President who got us out of the Iran deal, put the Embassy in Jerusalem, brought hostages home from North Korea, put three great Justices on the Supreme Court, gave us a new NAFTA agreement, the Abraham Accords, the COVID vaccine, and who built the wall.

It is about politics. This is about getting the President of the United States. They spied on his campaign before he was elected. Nineteen minutes into his Presidency, they started the impeachment push: 3-year Mueller investigation, 19 lawyers, 40 agents, 500 witnesses, 2,500 subpoenas, $40 million to find nothing--impeachment round one, based on an anonymous whistleblower with no firsthand knowledge, who was biased against the President and who worked for Joe Biden. Now it is impeachment round two.

It has always been about getting the President, no matter what. It is an obsession, an obsession that has now broadened. It is not just about impeachment anymore. It is about canceling, as I have said, canceling the President and anyone that disagrees with them. The Ayatollah can tweet; the President can't.

Democrats can object on January 6, 2017, but Republicans aren't allowed to object on January 6, 2021. Democrats say antifa is a myth; Republicans condemn all violence all the time. The double standard has to stop.

Frankly, the attack on the First Amendment has to stop. Stop and think about it. Do you have a functioning First Amendment when the cancel culture only allows one side to talk? When you can't even have a debate in this country, this great country, the greatest country ever? It needs to stop because if it continues, if it continues, it won't just be Republicans who get canceled; it won't just be the

President of the United States. The cancel culture will come for us all.

America is a great country, the greatest country ever. It seems to me that we need to think about how great the people of this Nation really are, think about what we have accomplished in the past, and begin to come together as leaders who represent so many great folks across our districts.

Think about this. Think about this: In 1903, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, two guys fly this thing they called a plane 100 feet. Barely got off the ground. Barely got off the ground. Amazing thing. Forty- four years later, Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier. In 44 years, we go from two guys flying a contraption they called a plane a few hundred feet to Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier, and 22 years after that--22 years after that--another American steps on the Moon. Think about it. In one lifetime, in 66 years, two guys flying 100 feet to putting a man on the Moon. That is what this country is capable of. That is what we can do.

We, as the Congress who represents the people who did that, should start leading, should start understanding what really is going on here. So I hope--I hope--we defeat this. I hope we can begin to come together and recognize the greatness of the American people and focus on the things they want us to focus on.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Van Drew).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Buck).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz).

Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Florida an additional 40 seconds.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Boebert).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse).

Madam Speaker, could I ask how much time each side has remaining?

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Van Duyne).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Posey).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gooden).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Jackson).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, the statement from the President: I urge that there must be no violence, no law breaking, no vandalism of any kind. This is not what I stand for, is not what America stands for. I call on all Americans to help ease tensions and calm down.

I just put out that statement by the President of the United States.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).

Madam Speaker, could I inquire how much time each side has remaining?

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Steube).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Cawthorn).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. Greene).

Madam Speaker, can I inquire how much time is remaining?

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Spartz).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Fallon).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

So Democrats can say, ``I just don't even know why there aren't uprisings all over the country,'' while there are uprisings happening around the country, but they impeach the President of the United States for saying, ``Peacefully and patriotically, make your voices heard.''

Democrats can say, ``You know, there needs to be unrest in the streets,'' while there is unrest in the streets, but they are going to impeach the President for saying, ``Peacefully and patriotically, make your voices heard.''

Let's be consistent, all of us. All of us need to be consistent and condemn the violence all the time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Herrell).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, may I inquire of the time remaining for each side?

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from California an additional 30 seconds.

Madam Speaker, I yield 90 seconds to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Moore).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Armstrong).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, the Republican whip is prepared to close for us whenever that is appropriate. I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the Republican whip.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole) for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, this is scary. This is frightening, what is happening.

With less than 1 hour of debate, the Democrats bring a rule to the floor that says this: You can say anything you want about the President of the United States of America, no rules of decorum about what you say about the leader of our country.

In that rule, they say: If you don't wear a mask, you could get fined, no regard to whether you have already had COVID, whether you have had the vaccination. Your mask slips down a little bit, you get fined, in a rule with no debate?

In this rule, they say: To walk on the House floor, you have to go through a metal detector, a Member of the United States Congress walking on the floor to represent three quarters of a million people in our district?

And fourth, the rule is for the bill that says we should tell the Vice President of the United States to work to remove the President of the United States.

I have been here 14 years. I have never seen anything like this. And I do not know where this ends. I do not know where it ends, but it is dangerous where they are taking us.

You couple this with what we are seeing with the cancel culture mob out there, I do not know where this takes us.

I fear for the First Amendment. I fear for the Second Amendment. I fear for the Bill of Rights. I fear for the Constitution.

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where this takes us, but it is scary what they are throwing in a bill that we are going to debate for less than an hour, making these kinds of changes. I hope they reconsider.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from the great State of California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. Greene).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time each side has remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Steube).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Boebert).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Fallon).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Florida an additional 30 seconds.

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

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

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, this past year, government told Americans: You can't go to church, you can't go to work, you can't go to school.

One hour ago, Democrats told Republicans, new rules--new rules for the House.

Today, you can say anything you want about the President, no rule on decorum, no rule about attacking personality. They can say anything they want, and we see we have done that.

Today, on the floor, you have to wear a mask. If your masks comes below your nose, you are going to get fined.

And in order to come in here and debate and constitutionally represent

your constituents, the 750,000 people we all get the privilege of serving, you had to walk through a metal detector.

And they did all those changes with less than 40 minutes of debate.

And, tomorrow, they are going to impeach a President, a President who is leaving office in 8 days--8 days before there will be a peaceful transfer of power, just like there has been every other time in American history. But they are going to do impeachment. They are going to do it, again.

They have been obsessed with it. It is truly an obsession. People on the Democrat side started calling for impeachment the day President Trump was inaugurated. They attacked him before he even won the first election, before he won in 2016. They attacked him that summer when they started their investigation.

This is scary, where this goes, because this is more than about impeaching the President of the United States; this is about canceling the President and canceling all the people you guys disagree with. That is what scares me more than anything.

We have seen it play out over the past several days. I never thought I would see the things that we are now witnessing. I don't know where it ends, but I will tell you what: It should scare us all.

And I said this in the Committee on the Judiciary--and the gentleman from Maryland will remember this--the cancel culture doesn't just go after conservatives and Republicans. It won't just stop there. It will come for us all. That is what is frightening.

And I hope you all recognize that and that at some point we can unite and actually do things that help those folks back home that we all get the privilege of representing.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Herrell).

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Davidson).

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, what happened at the Capitol on January 6 was as wrong as wrong can be. It is not what America is about, and we condemn this violence. We commend the men and women of the Capitol Police for their bravery, and we mourn the loss of those lives that were taken last week.

Republicans have been consistent. We condemn the violence last summer; we condemn the violence last week. Democrats have been consistent about one thing: their endless quest to overturn the 2016 election. They are still trying to overturn the 2016 election after the 2020 election. This has been an obsession with the Democrats.

In the first round, the first impeachment was based on the anonymous whistleblower. The majority tried to remove the President from office based on a guy whom we weren't allowed to see, know who he or she was, and couldn't cross-examine; who was an anonymous whistleblower with no firsthand knowledge; who was biased against the President; and who worked, interestingly enough, for Joe Biden.

So continuing this quest is not, as has been said so many times on the floor tonight, what the country needs. It is not what the country needs, particularly after the year the country has lived through.

I hope we will not vote for this, that this thing will go down, and I urge my colleagues to vote against the resolution sponsored by the gentleman from Maryland.

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

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