[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 23 (Thursday, February 27, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      TAKING ISSUE WITH COMMENTS MADE BY FELLOW MEMBER OF CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Edwards] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, in my 5 years at this House I have very 
rarely come to the well of this great body to criticize the comments of 
one of my colleagues. I have great respect for the bipartisan and 
diverse views of all Members of this House, and their right to express 
the views and concerns and ideas of the people they represent in their 
respective districts.
  But once in a while, a Member of this House makes a comment that is 
so irresponsible and so outrageous that I simply cannot remain silent. 
Yesterday one of my colleagues from Texas, the gentleman from Texas, 
[Mr. Paul] made a statement that I feel is so irresponsible that in 
good conscience I simply cannot remain silent.
  In his statement on C-SPAN's Washington Journal yesterday Mr. Paul 
said this:

       I fear and there are a lot of people in this country who 
     fear they may be bombed by the Federal Government at another 
     Waco. I mean, these people committed no crimes.

  Mr. Speaker, it is astounding to me that a member of this Federal 
Government, a Member of this Congress, would say publicly that he fears 
being bombed by the Federal Government. My fear is that kind of 
statement made by a public official of this Congress simply expands the 
hysterical paranoia of those around this country who might be hiding in 
their closets thinking that the Federal Government is somehow going to 
bomb them in the sanctity of their private homes.
  I think that is sheer lunacy, at best. At worst, it could create and 
engender the kind of hatred toward our Federal Government that leads to 
tragedies such as that we all sadly witnessed in Oklahoma City.
  Second, as the Member of Congress who represents Waco and the Waco 
area, and as someone who watched and followed very carefully the 
proceedings and the tragedy of the Branch Davidian compound, I must say 
that I am astounded that the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Paul], a Member 
of this House, would say, despite all of the facts on the table, would 
suggest that the Branch Davidians and David Koresh committed no crimes.
  At best, that is flat wrong and denies the fact and reality. At 
worst, it is a misrepresentation intentionally of what was done there.
  Let me say what the facts were. The facts were that David Koresh 
raped a 10-year-old girl. We heard that dramatic testimony of that 
girl, now 14, just a few months ago in the Halls of this House.
  Fact: The Federal officials who went into that compound found 48 
illegal machine guns and illegal hand grenades.
  I would suggest to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Paul] that the 
possession of 48 illegal machine guns and illegal hand grenades, I 
would suggest rape, arson, and murder are a crime in the book of every 
American family, if it is not a crime in the book of the gentleman from 
Texas.
  I think these statements, Mr. Speaker, deserve a response to the 
people of Waco, to the people of Mr. Paul's district, and to the people 
of this country. I would like to hear him explain his comments that he 
lives in fear of the Federal Government bombing him, and I would like 
to hear him explain how, despite all of the clear facts, the facts that 
the Branch Davidians lit the fires that killed, tragically, those 
children near Waco, I would like to hear him explain away those facts.
  Instead of saying, perhaps I made a misstatement, or I apologize for 
what I said, or I did not intend to say that, when Mr. Paul responded 
to my response yesterday in the Houston Chronicle he accused me of 
McCarthyism. Mr. Speaker, I hardly believe that saying that arson, 
rape, and murder is a crime in this country is anything close to 
McCarthyism. He went on to defend his contention that the Davidians had 
committed no crimes.
  I would challenge the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Paul], to meet with 
me in the well of this House during special orders and let us debate 
this. I believe good people of good will, both Republicans and 
Democrats alike, who look at the statements of the gentleman from Texas 
will see that they were irresponsible and dangerous to have been made 
by a public Member of this House.

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