Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I never had the privilege and blessing to meet Luke Letlow in person and to share our hearts and enjoy the blessed gift of fellowship. But to be honest, I still feel a bond and a connection and a friendship with Luke because we were both married to beautiful, successful women, and we certainly outkicked our coverage; we both had two children; and we both chose public service and eventually ran for Congress.

Luke left this world far too early, only 41. The scourge of an evil virus whose growth across the globe was fostered by the nefarious denial and negligence of a Communist regime in Beijing.

COVID-19 has claimed millions, 500,000 here at home, and it stole Luke from us. Luke Letlow, a man in his prime who had everything to live for, is now gone. And it shouldn't be that way.

He should be with us today. He should be with us here, voting, visiting, talking, learning, and leading. But COVID robbed our country and this Chamber of Luke Letlow.

This same scourge, Madam Speaker, crossed my path 3\1/2\ weeks ago, and it damn near killed me. I experienced the worst pain in my life. I had bacterial and viral pneumonia, along with the virus thriving in my body at the same time. I thought I was going to die. Prayers and terrific American medical care spared me. So I am not going to hold back, and I am just going to talk frankly and from the heart.

I am consumed today, right now, this very moment, with why. Why is Luke gone? Why was I spared? Why are 500,000 Americans dead? I don't know. But I do have a strong belief that we all have a purpose, and everyone in this Chamber has a purpose the Almighty has for us, and we just don't know what it is yet.

I feel, now that I have been gifted bonus decades, I want to know what I should do with those years. How should I lead my life? The bottom line is, we all should ask ourselves that question and exercise the power that we have within each of our souls to be kinder, to be gentler, to be more understanding, to smile when somebody walks on an elevator. It costs us nothing to do these things. We should live for others. And above all, we should love and never be ashamed to be vulnerable and love thy neighbor.

We want to honor Luke Letlow? You want to honor his legacy and his life? Then live and love and be joyous and be kind. Live for others with all of your hearts. I am not the least bit ashamed to say that I am going to try.

That is what we are here for, and that is our purpose. Let's acknowledge the bounties and the blessings and the very gift of life itself because life is short, and it is delicate, and it is fragile, and it is fleeting, and it is also so very beautiful.

Luke, we are praying for you. We miss you; we love you; and we are going to be there for Julia and your kids.

Madam Speaker, last summer, the antifa and BLM riots swept all over our country. Cities were burned, businesses destroyed, and lives violently stolen. And it wasn't just for an afternoon, like those horrible hours we had on January 6; but rather, they went for weeks and, in some cases, even months.

So if there is any silver lining in this dark cloud, it is that our friends from across the aisle have come to realize that riots are bad. We conservatives have known this all along.

This snap impeachment is a sham and it didn't go through the Committee on the Judiciary. It is not even about the President's actual words, but it is about how our Democratic colleagues want to interpret his words and fashion a particular meaning to them.

Now, this is just political grandstanding at its worst. The American people desperately want us to move on and tackle the issues and find solutions to them forthwith.

Madam Speaker, let's end this obsession and charade and let's get to work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak against this resolution. I am at a loss.

I can't believe the very first time that I have the honor and privilege to address this august Chamber is to talk about removing the President of the United States because he held a permitted, legal, and peaceful rally.

It is nothing but a wasteful political grandstand. Let's make no mistake: January 6 was a dark day in our esteemed Nation's history. It was a dark and sad day.

On the afternoon of January 6, a mob breached our sacred Capitol. Donald Trump didn't. A mob destroyed property and vandalized historic treasures and ran amuck on these grounds, but Donald Trump didn't.

A mob committed despicable, evil actions of violence against fellow Americans, but Donald Trump didn't. In fact, Donald Trump urged and, in fact, he demanded peaceful dissent and nothing more. Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle want us to unnecessarily remove a President when we are measuring the time he has left, not in years, months, weeks, or days--he has got 182 hours left in office.

You don't achieve unity by simply saying it. You achieve unity through actions. This resolution accomplishes not unity but, rather, is a waste of time, and fosters further divisiveness. I am going to vote ``no'' on this resolution.