Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me. I also thank the ranking member and the committee in its entirety for working on this bill together. It is a sign of bipartisanship, one that I can be proud of and we can all be proud of.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1491, the Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act.

Every day, we are reminded of the significant sacrifices our troops make to protect us. As Members of Congress, I believe we have a responsibility to protect those who protect us.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act works to live up to this responsibility by addressing abusive debt collection practices specifically targeting servicemembers.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, approximately 40 percent of complaints filed by servicemembers concern debt collection, as compared to only 26 percent by nonservicemembers. These debt collection practices are manipulative and have negative career implications for soldiers, like contacting their superior officers or threatening them with rank reductions.

Unfortunately, these practices do not stop with the servicemembers. Debt collectors also target military spouses, unfairly burdening our military families who have sacrificed so much.

These tactics are egregious and must stop. Our servicemen and -women make extraordinary sacrifices on our behalf. The last thing they need is harassment from debt collectors who take advantage of their service, which is why I am pleased to rise in support of the bill today.

Specifically, my bill amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and prohibits a debt collector from communicating with a servicemember's chain of command or a dependent for the purpose of threatening to have their rank reduced or threatening to revoke their security clearance.

This legislation will help ensure that our military families are not unnecessarily targeted and shield them from bad practices from debt collectors. We recognize our servicemembers' spirit of service, and we must do our part to be of service to them.

Madam Speaker, I urge all Members, as they did last Congress, to support the Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Scott for leading and for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Paycheck Fairness Act.

It has been more than five decades since the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, yet a woman still earns only 82 cents on average for every dollar earned by her male counterpart. Women of color fare much worse. The Paycheck Fairness Act will ensure equal pay for equal work. It is just that simple and it is just that overdue. Gender and racial pay gaps persist, and earnings lost to these gaps are felt even more during the COVID-19 pandemic. This falls most heavily on women.

The Paycheck Fairness Act will update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act to help close this gap. Pay inequities not only affect women, it affects children and their families. Though we have made strides in the past, we know the issue of equal pay persists.

We must not pass this inequity on. I want my granddaughters, Aubrey and Ella, as well as my grandson, Sawyer, to live in a country where equal pay for equal work is the norm.

I thank chairwoman and champion Rosa DeLauro.

Mr. Speaker, last week, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan. Although the bill received no Republican votes, it has bipartisan support and will have a long-lasting bipartisan impact.

Many constituents in my district have already received relief checks, with as many as 90 million stimulus checks out this week.

Yet, this transformative legislation goes even further. It expands funding to get shots in arms and kids safely in school, and it cuts child poverty in half with an expanded child tax credit.

Additionally, we finally targeted relief to our local restaurants and eateries that have been devastated by the pandemic.

Let's not forget about our State and local governments. We will finally be sending them much-needed aid.

My home State of Pennsylvania will receive more than $13 billion. Montgomery and Berks Counties, where my district resides, will receive a combined $242 million.

The American Rescue Plan, and all it provides, is the responsible way to fully reopen all of our communities and Build Back Better.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to speak about Sleep Awareness Week, a week to remind us all of the importance of something we all need--a good night's sleep.

Sleep Awareness Week and World Sleep Day are internationally recognized and bring awareness to sleep and its important impact on our health.

The pandemic has taken a toll on all of us, including our sleep schedules. Increased anxiety and worries have made it harder than ever to get consistent and peaceful sleep.

Despite this fact, it is important we consider the instrumental role sleep plays in keeping our bodies and minds healthy.

A proper comprehensive view of good health must include the importance of rest. We all could use it.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure all American families, including 165,000 people in our country impacted by narcolepsy, have access to the healthcare they need.

Sleep, wellness, and health must go hand in hand.

Madam Speaker, yesterday, I was delighted to join my colleagues in voting in favor of the American Rescue Plan.

This transformative legislation will provide: shots in arms; kids safely in schools; needed cash in pockets; support to our small businesses, including restaurants and catering that have been hit the hardest; $13 billion to my home state of Pennsylvania; and $161 million to Montgomery County and $81 million to Berks County--where my district resides.

It should not be lost on us that we passed this relief in women's history month.

With over 2.3 million women forced to leave the workforce--including 1 million mothers--the time to invest and reinvigorate our economy for everyone is now.

As the first female Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, recently said, To avoid the long-term scarring of the economy later, the smartest thing we can do is to act big and so we did.

We acted big boldly. Sending resources to the poor and working poor, we passed $1.9 trillion for the people. Help is on the way.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to make clear that the motions to recommit that will be offered by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are procedural. They are not motions that are sending back the legislation with instructions. It is a procedural move. I want to be clear and read literally what the motion to recommit says.

Motion to recommit H.R. 8, offered by Mr. Jordan of Ohio, moves to recommit the bill, H.R. 8, to the Committee on the Judiciary. That is it.

Motion to recommit H.R. 1446, offered by Mr. Hudson of North Carolina, moves to recommit H.R. 1446 to the Committee on the Judiciary.

These are fake attempts to recommit these bills and to stop them from moving forward. They are sensible pieces of legislation that will save lives.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I am assuming our colleague on the other side of the aisle can pass a background check, so she will have no inability to have a gun.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, because even as we manage a deadly pandemic, gun violence continues to plague our Nation.

Every year, more than 130,000 people in this Nation are victims of gun violence. Some 38,000 dead, another 100,000 caught in the crossfire. In my home region in Philadelphia, 2,244 people were victims of gun violence in the year 2020.

Mr. Speaker, death by guns doesn't mean only murders. Sadly, it also means death by suicide using a firearm, which was the case in 62 percent of Pennsylvania's gun deaths last year. This is a public health crisis.

The Bipartisan Background Checks Act requires a background check for all gun sales, no loopholes, no backdoors, a commonsense solution supported by a majority of Americans, including 89 percent of Republicans and 87 percent of gun owners.

Mr. Speaker, let's find the courage to address the crisis. Let's save lives. Let's pass the bill.

Madam Speaker, any man's death diminishes me. We will never forget, the world will never forget, as we watched as a police officer knelt on George Floyd's neck for more than 8 minutes.

George Floyd cried out for his mother, saying ``Mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, I can't breathe. I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I am dead.''

As he was murdered by an officer sworn to protect and serve, Americans of all races and backgrounds flooded the streets all across this Nation, demanding long overdue accountability so that no one has to live in fear of the police.

They demanded that we recognize George Floyd's death and the deaths of so many others at the hands of the police. These killings have left the Black community and, much more importantly, our entire community traumatized and scared. Wounds cannot heal without accountability.

This is not an anti-police bill. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is for Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and so many more.

Any man's death diminishes me.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember a community leader, a constituent, and a friend, Ms. Valerie Ward, who passed away January 6, at the age of 80.

Ms. Ward devoted her life in service to others, as president of the Willow Grove branch of the NAACP, and as an Abington PAL board member.

Val had the heart of a teacher, spending her time mentoring younger generations well into her own retirement. Clipboard in hand, Val could be found most weekends spearheading community events, always leading by example.

Val was a woman of great faith, leading several ministries at her beloved New Bethel AME. As a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, she was proud to share her sisterhood with Vice President Kamala Harris.

She was known for her direct, no nonsense approach and her dry sense of humor, warm smile, and infectious laugh.

I join Ms. Val's family, friends, and the wider Abington community in mourning the loss of an incredible woman. The world is a better place for her life.

Mr. Speaker, I thank our chairman, and I thank Representative

David Cicilline for his tireless leadership in leading us to this day. All Americans deserve to be treated equally regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

I do have to wonder, Mr. Speaker, what are those on the other side who are arguing against this wise legislation afraid of? Equal treatment for their LGBTQ family and friends? Why would they make such arguments?

We must continue to strive for the equality of the LGBTQ community. Voting ``yes'' on the Equality Act furthers this fight and helps us live up to the promise of this Nation. As Bayard Rustin, an openly gay Black civil rights leader, said: ``Let us be enraged about injustice, but let us not be destroyed by it.''

The Equality Act is a necessary step in addressing injustice by advancing the rights of Americans nationwide because we are all God's children. The passage of this legislation is an important step in forming a more perfect Union.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jones).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. Bush).

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas).

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, control the balance of the time on our side.

Mr. President, esteemed Members of the Senate, it is my solemn honor to be before you today.

I am Madeleine Dean, Congresswoman from the Fourth Congressional District of Pennsylvania. I am a lawyer. I am a former professor of writing. I am a sister. I am a wife. I am a mother. I am a grandmother to three, with fourth on her way. I am a person of faith. And I am an American.

Along with Manager Lieu, I will present the actions of a desperate President, and we will present evidence today of a class of public servants who, standing up to enormous pressure from the President of the United States, did the right thing and upheld their oaths.

My colleagues just presented evidence of President Trump's months- long effort to incite his base, leading them to believe the election was stolen, that they needed to fight like hell to stop the steal on January 6.

These weren't President Trump's only efforts to overturn the results. Manager Lieu and I will present evidence of President Trump's relentless, escalating campaign to fabricate an election victory by ignoring adverse court rulings, pressuring and threatening election officials, attacking Senators and Members of Congress, pressuring the Justice Department, and finally bullying his own Vice President.

President Trump and his allies filed 62 separate lawsuits in Federal courts across more than half a dozen States and the District of Columbia, including Pennsylvania, my home State, as well as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, and Wisconsin. Of the 62 postelection legal challenges, he lost 61. Only one was successful, and that case involved ballot curing in Pennsylvania and had no impact on President Biden's 80,555-vote victory in our Commonwealth.

To be clear, not a single court, not a single judge agreed that the election results were invalid or should be invalidated. Instead, court after court reviewing these challenges said these cases were ``not credible,'' ``without merit,'' ``based on nothing but speculation,'' and ``flat out wrong.''

The judiciary resoundingly rejected Trump's fraud allegations and upheld the election results, but it was more than that. The court said these cases were different; they were dangerous to our democracy. For an example, in an opinion by United States District Court Judge Matthew Brann from Pennsylvania, he said:

[T]his Court has been presented with strained legal

arguments without merit and speculative accusations. . . . In

the United States of America, this cannot justify the

disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the

voters of its sixth most populated state. Our people, [and]

laws, and institutions demand more.

Because this Court has no authority to take away the right

to vote of even a single person, let alone millions of

citizens, it cannot grant Plaintiff's requested relief.

That decision by Judge Brann was affirmed on appeal by Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee who agreed and wrote:

The Campaign's claims have no merit. The number of ballots

it specifically challenges is far smaller than the roughly

81,000-vote margin of victory. And it never claims fraud or

that any of the votes were cast by illegal voters. Plus,

tossing out millions of mail-in ballots would be drastic and

unprecedented, disfranchising a huge swath of the electorate

and upsetting all down-ballot races.

Similarly, as Judge Linda Parker of the Eastern District of Michigan framed it--she said:

[S]tunning in its scope and breathtaking in its reach. If

granted, th relief would disenfranchise the votes of . . .

more than 5.5 million Michigan citizens who, with dignity,

[and] hope, and a promise of a [vote], participated in the

2020 General Election.

Donald Trump told his supporters: They are stealing the election. They took away your vote. It is rigged.

That was not true. According to judge after judge, the truth was exactly the opposite.

Trump was not suing to ensure election integrity; he was pursuing lawsuits that would, in effect, strip away American votes so that he could win. In other words, Donald Trump was asking the judiciary to take away votes from Americans so that he could steal the election for himself.

Then, after losing in all the courts, Trump turned to another tactic: pressuring and threatening election officials. You saw what happened in Michigan after Trump attacked the State and its election officials. His supporters surrounded the secretary of state's home, as you saw in the earlier slide, chanting, calling her a felon.

On November 17, the Board of Canvassers for Wayne County, MI, home to Detroit, unanimously certified the election results for Biden. That same night, after their vote to certify the results, Trump called the two Republican members of that board, pressuring them to change their minds. The call worked. The next day, both Monica Palmer and William Heartmann, the Republican board members, attempted to rescind their vote to certify Michigan's election results, but they simply couldn't.

President Trump didn't stop there. He then contacted majority leader of the Michigan Senate, Mike Shirkey, and the speaker of the Michigan House, Lee Chatfield, to lobby them to overturn Michigan's results. Trump invited Mr. Chatfield and Mr. Shirkey to Washington to meet with him at the White House, where the President lobbied them further.

Let's be clear. Donald Trump was calling officials, hosting them at the White House, urging them to defy the voters in their State and instead award votes to Trump. The officials held strong, and so Trump moved on to a different State, my home State of Pennsylvania. I am certain my Senators, Casey and Toomey, remember what happened there.

In early December, as he did in Michigan, he began calling election officials, including my former colleagues in the Pennsylvania Legislature, Republicans, Majority Leader Kim Ward

and Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler. Majority Leader Ward said the President called her to ``declare there was a fraud in the voting.''

Then, on November 25, President Trump phoned in to a Republican State senate policy hearing, trying to convince the Republican legislators, senators, and house members that there had been a fraud in the vote. He even had his lawyer hold a phone up to the microphone in that hearing room so the committee could hear him. Here is what he said:

(Text of audio presentation.)

President TRUMP. We can't let that happen. We can't let it

happen for our country. And this election has to be turned

around because we won Pennsylvania by a lot, and we won all

of these swing States by a lot.

This was a gathering--I have attended many, I have to tell you, as a former State legislator, a lot of policy hearings. I have to say with some confidence, that was likely the first time a President of the United States of America called in to a State legislative policy hearing.

And, remember, here is the President saying he won Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania had been certified, that Biden had won by more than 80,000 votes.

Less than a week after calling in to that meeting, he invited multiple Republican members of the Pennsylvania Legislature to the White House--the same scheme he had used on the Michigan legislators. It didn't work with those public servants either.

Think about it. The President of the United States was calling public officials, calling from the White House, inviting them into the Oval Office, telling them to disenfranchise voters of their State, telling them to overturn the will of the American people. All so he could take the election for himself.

And then in Georgia, a State Trump had counted on for victory, his conduct was perhaps the most egregious. On November 11, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed that he believed ballots were accurately counted for Biden.

Trump went on a relentless attack. Here are just a few examples. In all, Trump tweeted at Raffensperger 17 times in the coming weeks--there are just a few--calling him a ``disaster,'' ``obstinate,'' not having a clue, being played for a fool, and being a ``so-called Republican,'' all because Raffensperger was doing his job, ensuring the integrity of our elections.

And these attacks had consequences. Mr. Raffensperger and his family received death threats:

Your husband deserves to face a firing squad.

You better not botch this recount. Your life depends [upon]

it.

The Raffenspergers should be put on trial for treason and

face execution.

Just some of the threats they received. After these death threats, on November 25, Mr. Raffensperger wrote an op-ed, where he said:

My family voted for [Trump], donated to him and are now

being thrown under the bus by him.

But he also noted:

Elections are the bedrock of our democracy. They need to be

run fairly and, perhaps more [importantly], impartially.

That's not partisan. That's just American.

It is important to remember that this wasn't just a random attack. Trump wasn't just criticizing a politician over policy or saying he didn't agree. Donald Trump was savagely attacking a secretary of state because the official did his job and certified the State according to how the people in that State voted.

Donald Trump was trying to undermine our elections by taking votes away from the American people so that he could remain President, and he was willing to blame and betray anyone--anyone--even his own supporters, if they got in the way. Remember, Senators, those threats were to Mr. Raffensperger's family.

So some may say Trump didn't know his attacks against Mr. Raffensperger would result in death threats--except that all of this was very public. The secretary published his op-ed in USA TODAY, and major networks, including FOX, covered the threats against the Raffenspergers.

What did Trump do? Did he stop? Did he say: No, no, supporters; that isn't what I meant? No. He doubled down.

Let's see the evidence.

(Text of audio presentation of 11-26-2020.)

President TRUMP. This was a massive fraud. This should

never take place in this country. We're like a third world

country. Look at--look at Georgia. But I understand the

secretary of state who is really, uh, uh, he's an enemy of

the people. The secretary of state--and whether he's

Republican or not, this man, what he's done.

. . . this character in Georgia, who is a disaster.

Let that sink in. A Republican public servant doing his job, whose family had just received death threats, and the President of the United States labeled him ``an enemy of the people.''

And that is why this is different, because this was not just one attack or one comment. This was attack after attack in the face of clear threats of violence.

And on December 1, another official, Gabriel Sterling, a Republican who voted for Trump, made this point and appealed directly to our President to stop his dangerous conduct:

(Text of audio presentation 12-1-20.)

Mr. STERLING. Mr. President, it looks like you likely lost

the State of Georgia. We're investigating. There's always a

possibility--I get it--and you have the right to go through

the courts. What you don't have the ability to do--and you

need to step up and say this--is stop inspiring people to

commit potential acts of violence. Someone's going to get

hurt, someone's going to get shot, someone's going to get

killed.

Mr. Sterling put this perfectly. In this country, we can appropriately challenge a close count or go to the courts or disagree with others or make bold statements, but what Trump was doing was different.

Someone's going to get hurt, someone's going to get shot,

someone's going to get killed.

Mr. Sterling saw what Trump's conduct was fomenting. He warned him on live TV that violence was already happening and that more violence was foreseeable and inevitable. Sterling's pleas were played over and over on every network.

Rather than heed that warning, Trump escalated again. In early December, Trump called Brian Kemp, the Governor of Georgia, and pressured him to hold a special session of the State legislature to overturn the election results and to appoint electors who would vote for Trump.

A few weeks later, on December 23, Trump called the chief investigator for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, who was conducting an audit, an audit of the signature-matching procedures for absentee ballots. Trump urged him, ``[F]ind the fraud,'' and claimed the official would be a ``national hero'' if he did.

Let's call this what it is. He was asking the official to say there was evidence of fraud when there wasn't any. The official refused, and the investigation was completed. And on December 29, Raffensperger announced that the audit found ``no fraudulent absentee ballots'' with a ``99 percent confidence'' level.

On January 3, Trump tweeted about a call he had with Georgia election officials the day before. He said:

I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday

about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was

unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the

``ballots under the table'' scam, ballot destruction, out of

state ``voters'', dead voters, and more. He has no clue!

On January 5, the Washington Post released a recording of that call which had occurred on January 2--remember, just 4 days before the attack on the Capitol. Here is what President Trump said:

(Text of audio presentation of 1-2-2021.)

President TRUMP. It's more illegal for you than it is for

them because you know what they did and you're not reporting

it. That's the--you know, that's a criminal--that's a

criminal offense. And you know, you can't let that happen.

That's--that's a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer.

That's a big risk.

Let's be clear. This is the President of the United States telling a secretary of state that if he does not find votes, he will face criminal penalties--and not just any number of votes. Donald Trump was asking the secretary of state to somehow find the exact number of votes Donald Trump lost the State by.

Remember, President Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes. In his own words, Trump said:

All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes.

He wanted the secretary of state to somehow find the precise number, plus one, so that he could win.

Here is what he said.

(Text of audio presentation of 1-2-21.)

President TRUMP. So, look, all I want to do is this. I just

want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.

He says it right there, the President of the United States, telling a public official to manufacture the exact votes needed so he can win.

Senators, we must not become numb to this. Trump did this across State after State, so often, so loudly, so publicly. Public officials like you and me received death threats and calls threatening criminal penalties, all because Trump wanted to remain in power. These public officials exercised great political and personal courage in the face of unprecedented pressure from a President of the United States.

Senators, ours is a dialogue with history, a conversation with the past, with a hope for the future.

Senators, I thank you today for your kind attention

For me and for many Americans, January 6 is forever etched in our memories.

I went to work with a sense of excitement--the start of my second term in Congress and the first time I would participate in the certification of a Presidential election.

And then we all know what happened. I know many of us have similar experiences from that day, but I will briefly share mine. I stood with colleagues in the Gallery above the House floor to observe the Arizona challenge. Moments later, police radios reported a breach of the Capitol grounds. Someone shouted up to us, ``Duck''; then, ``Lie down''; then, ``Ready your gas masks.''

Shortly after, there was a terrifying banging on the Chamber doors. I will never forget that sound. Shouts and panicked calls to my husband and to my sons, instructions to flee, and then the constant worrying of the gas masks filtering the air--the Chamber of the United States House of Representatives turned to chaos.

For Donald Trump, it was a very different day. Earlier, I showed you Donald Trump's desperate attempts to maintain power: ignoring adverse court rulings, attacking elected officials, pressuring his Justice Department, even attacking his own Vice President. You saw a man who refused to lose, who was desperate to retain power by any means necessary. You saw a man willing to attack anyone and everyone who got in his way, and you saw a man who thought he could play by different rules.

He told his supporters, as my colleague Ms. Plaskett just showed you, exactly what he thought those different rules were--combat, fight, violence.

This was not just one speech. This was weeks and weeks of deliberate effort by Donald Trump to overturn the election results so that he didn't have to give up the Presidency.

The speech on January 6 builds on, refers to, and amplifies that same pattern--the pattern Trump had used and broadcasted for months: He refused to lose, his attacks on others, and his different rules.

The only thing different about hi speech on January 6 from all these other times that we went through was that he was no longer telling his base just that they had to fight to stop the steal. He was finally telling them: Now is the time to do it. Here is the place, and here is how.

For weeks, he had urged his supporters to show up at a specific time and place, and when they got there, he told them exactly what he wanted.

Let's start with his desperation. You saw how much planning went into January 6, and when the day arrived, Donald Trump's desperation was in full force.

Between the time he woke up on January 5 and the start of the Save America March that next day, he had tweeted 34 times. When Donald Trump wants to get his message across, he is not shy, as you all know. These tweets were relentless. And these tweets all centered on his singular focus--his drumbeat to motivate, anger, and incite his supporters--his big lie: The Presidential election had been rigged. It had been stolen from him, and they had to fight to stop it.

And the timing was no coincidence. He sent 34 tweets because this was his last chance to rile up his supporters before the big, historic, wild event he had planned.

Now, I won't go through all of these tweets, but let me just highlight a few. At 1 in the morning, he tweeted:

If Vice President [Mike Pence] comes through for us, we

will win the Presidency. . . . Mike can send it back.

This will look familiar to you because Mr. Lieu just showed you how Trump had privately been pressuring and publicly attacking his Vice President to stop the certification.

And when Vice President Pence refused, when he explained that the Constitution simply does not allow him to stop certification, Donald Trump provoked his base to attack him. The late-in-the-evening tweet was no different. It just got more forceful.

Let's be clear. What Donald Trump was saying--that Vice President Pence could send back the certification--was not true.

For one thing, all 50 States had ratified this election. And for another, Vice President Pence explained to him that he does not have the power to unilaterally overturn States' votes and just send certification back.

And Donald Trump knew this, but this was his last chance to get his Vice President to stop the certification, and so he was willing to say or do just about anything.

These tweets--attacking the election as fraudulent, attacking his Vice President, and urging his supporters to fight--continued throughout the morning.

Here is another example. At 8:17 a.m. he tweeted:

All Mike Pence has to do is send it back to the States, AND

Madam Speaker, 1 week ago today, I was trapped in this House Chamber as the banging on the doors began. I feared for colleagues, reporters, and staff. I feared for myself. The attack on the Capitol will never be forgotten.

The President and many in this Chamber have shamelessly peddled dangerous untruths about the election, despite the warnings of where those lies would lead. Last Wednesday, those lies and dangers found themselves inside this Capitol.

This hateful rhetoric is another deadly virus. It is time to remove it from its host. To heal, we need accountability and truth. That begins by acknowledging the President's dangerous lies and their deadly consequences. Removing Donald Trump is the beginning of restoring decency and democracy. What happened last week will not be forgotten, and what we do this week will long be remembered. Vote ``yes'' on impeachment.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the challenge.

Madam Speaker, this is a sad day for America--a day of shame, a day of ignominy, an attack on this Capitol, an attack on our country.

Madam Speaker, our words matter. Mobs, thugs, insurrectionists, domestic terrorists attacked our government with the aim of attacking our free and fair elections.

Make no mistake, these terrorists came armed, armed with false flags; armed with hate; armed with weapons; and, tragically, armed with lies force-fed to them by those at the highest level of government, including some from the legislative and, yes, the executive branches. Incited by the one at the highest level of government, they attacked people, property, this Capitol, this cathedral of democracy.

Words matter. In his last words to our Nation and to all of us here, our dear colleague, John Lewis, wrote last July: ``Democracy is not a state. It is an act.'' And each generation has an obligation to preserve its institutions.

Democracy is a series of acts, acts by you and by me, by citizens, one building upon the other and another--not acts that we have heard and seen and suffered today, words and acts to incite violence, acts that tear at the very fabric of our democracy.

Madam Speaker, yet, I have hope. We, too, are armed. We are armed with the facts. We are armed with the truth. We are armed with the love of our country. We are armed with our sworn oaths. And we are armed with our precious Constitution.

We have faced tyranny and insurrection before. We are here tonight to herald to America and to the world: We will defend our democracy, and we will endure.

Madam Speaker, when I came into work this morning, as I was preparing to come to the floor, I read Tom Friedman's op-ed, which began with the words from the Gospel of Mark: For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his soul?

For what shall it profit any man.

Madam Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to have the courage to uphold their oath, courage like that of Congresswoman Margaret Chase Smith, a lifelong Republican and the first in her party to speak out against McCarthyism. Putting duty over fear, she said: ``I do not want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny--Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear. Surely, we Republicans are not that desperate for victory.''

Madam Speaker, for today, we have seen the cost of victory by such means. It shook the very walls of this building. Our colleagues know there is no truth to this challenge.

For what shall it profit a man.

Madam Speaker, it has been my solemn honor to participate in this sad day. I pray for our country.

Madam Speaker, words matter. Decency matters.

Recently, President Trump told four Congresswomen of color to ``go back'' to their home countries.

Mr. President, they are home.

Three of these Congresswomen, my colleagues, were born in the United States. The fourth, also my colleague, is a naturalized U.S. citizen. They are as American as I am, as the President is, as the First Lady is or anyone else, period.

Telling people who look different to go back to where they came from is a refrain laced with hate. This rhetoric is neither new nor a surprise, but that doesn't mean we can allow it to stand. And it belies a fundamental misunderstanding of our Nation's promise, that we are all created equal and that everyone has a role to play in building a more perfect Union--not just White Americans, every American.

We hereby recognize these words for what they are: offensive, hateful. And the people we represent deserve better.

As a cosponsor, I believe we must call out hate wherever we see it, whether in our own houses or in the White House.

Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support the resolution. Words matter.

Madam Speaker, in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, we saw heroism and selflessness, especially the first responders who rushed toward danger, rescued survivors, and then spent months cleaning up the wreckage.

Their selflessness was on display again last month when first responders encouraged us, Congress, to reauthorize the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

This Congress and I were particularly touched by Detective Luis Alvarez, who traveled to Washington during the final days of his life. He said: ``I'm doing okay, but there are others out there who aren't doing okay.'' Detective Alvarez embodied the selflessness of so many.

On June 29, Detective Alvarez passed away, but he will be remembered and counted among those who gave their life for us.

Before he died, he said: ``The government has to act like first responders, you know, put politics aside and let's get this bill done.''

Detective Alvarez is right, and today we vote to permanently reauthorize VCF. First responders and their families must never again face uncertainty about whether their country will be there for them.