[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 149 (Thursday, October 6, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H6656-H6657]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I offer the resolution 
previously noticed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Yoder). The Clerk will report the 
resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Whereas on October 2, 2011, the Washington Post reported a 
     story called ``Rick Perry And A Word Set On Stone'';
       Whereas upon reading that story the vast majority of people 
     in the United States were morally outraged;
       Whereas most of the facts in this resolution come from that 
     Washington Post story;
       Whereas Governor Rick Perry has described a childhood in 
     Haskell County in Paint Creek, Texas, as centered on Boy 
     Scouts, school, and church;
       Whereas Texas Governor Rick Perry is from West Texas and 
     was originally a Southern Democrat--often known as 
     Dixiecrats--who switched parties in the late 1980s to become 
     a Republican and is currently a leading Republican 
     presidential candidate;
       Whereas ranchers who once grazed cattle on the 1,070-acre 
     parcel in Throckmorton County on the Clear Fork of the Brazos 
     River--near where Governor Perry was raised in Paint Creek, 
     Texas--it has since become a hunting ground that was called 
     by the name ``Niggerhead'' well before Governor Perry and his 
     father, Ray, began hunting there in the early 1980s even 
     though there is no definitive account of when the rock first 
     appeared on the property;
       Whereas the use of the term ``Niggerhead'' to describe a 
     hunting retreat is morally offensive;
       Whereas Ronnie Brooks, a local resident who guided a few 
     turkey shoots for Governor Perry between 1985 and 1990, said 
     he holds Governor Perry ``in the highest esteem'' but said 
     this of the rock at the camp: ``It kind of offended me, 
     truthfully'';
       Whereas Haskell County Judge David Davis, sitting in his 
     courtroom and looking at a window there, said the word was 
     ``like those are vertical blinds. It's just what it was 
     called. There was no significance other than a hunting 
     deal''--in other words, the judge was morally vacuous;
       Whereas the name of this particular parcel did not change 
     for years and for many remained the same after it became 
     associated with Rick Perry, first as a private citizen, then 
     as a State official, and finally as Texas Governor;
       Whereas some local residents still call it by the morally 
     repugnant name ``Niggerhead'';
       Whereas as recently as this summer, the slab-like rock--
     lying flat, portions of the name still faintly visible 
     beneath a coat of white paint--remained by the gated entrance 
     to the camp;
       Whereas asked last week about the name, Governor Perry said 
     the word on the rock is an offensive name that has no place 
     in the modern world--implying that it may have been okay and 
     had an appropriate place in that community when he was 
     growing up;
       Whereas Mae Lou Yeldell has lived in Haskell County, Texas, 
     for 70 years and recalls the racism she faced in the 1950s 
     and 1960s in West Texas, when being called an offensive 
     name--like Whites greeting Blacks with ``Morning nigger''--
     was ``like a broken record'';
       Whereas Throckmorton County, where the hunting camp is 
     located near Haskell County, was for years considered a 
     virtual no-go zone for African-Americans because of old 
     stories told by locals about the lynching of an African-
     American man there;
       Whereas Haskell County began observing Martin Luther King 
     Jr. Day just two years ago according to a county commissioner 
     in Haskell County;
       Whereas Governor Perry grew up in a segregated era whose 
     history has defined and complicated the careers of many 
     Southern politicians;
       Whereas Governor Perry has spoken often about how his 
     upbringing in this sparsely populated farming community 
     influenced his conservatism;
       Whereas Governor Perry says he mentioned the offensive word 
     on the rock to his parents shortly after they had signed a 
     lease and he had visited the property, and they rather 
     immediately painted over the word during the next July 4 
     holiday, but seven people interviewed by the Washington Post 
     said they still saw the word on the rock at various points 
     during the years that the Perry family was associated with 
     the property through his father, partners, or his signature 
     on a lease;
       Whereas another local resident who visited the property 
     with Governor Perry and the legislators he brought there to 
     go hunting recalled seeing the rock with the name clearly 
     visible;
       Whereas how, when, or whether Governor Perry dealt with it 
     when he was using the property isn't clear and adds a 
     dimension to the emerging biography of Governor Perry who 
     quickly moved into the top tier of Republican presidential 
     candidates when he entered the race in August; and
       Whereas Herman Cain is the only Republican presidential 
     candidate to criticize Governor Rick Perry for being 
     ``insensitive'' when the word was not immediately condemned, 
     but we would remind Herman Cain that the word is not only 
     ``insensitive'', but is also ``offensive'': Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) calls on Governor Rick Perry to apologize for not 
     immediately doing away with the rock that contained the word 
     ``Niggerhead'' at the entrance of a ranch he was leasing and 
     on which he was taking friends, colleagues, and supporters to 
     hunt;
       (2) calls on Governor Rick Perry's presidential rivals, who 
     have not yet make strong statements of outrage over the rock 
     that contained the word, to do so;
       (3) calls upon Governor Rick Perry to condemn the use of 
     this word as being totally offensive and inappropriate at 
     anytime and anyplace in United States history; and
       (4) calls upon Governor Rick Perry to list the names of all 
     lawmakers, friends, and financial supporters he took with him 
     on his hunting trips at ``Niggerhead''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from Illinois wish to 
present argument on why the resolution is privileged under rule IX to 
take precedence over other questions?
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Very quickly, Mr. Speaker, just before you 
do rule, the House of Representatives does have a history of passing 
resolutions that have been privileged in the past on questions that are 
offensive and morally repugnant to many Americans.
  There was a minister on the south side of Chicago, for example, for 
which this House took up a particular resolution and denounced that 
minister for language that he used on numerous occasions against 
minorities in the United States.
  Consistent with the language with this resolution that I have 
offered, the House has taken a position in the past that allows Members 
of Congress to express their consciences and their sentiments about the 
matters that are in front of us.
  Now, as a Member of Congress and a member of this institution, my 
final argument is that each one of these Presidential candidates, 
whether they are on the Democratic side or on the Republican side, 
stands the chance to stand in front of us and provide us with a state 
of the Union address--a state of our country's fiscal health, its 
social health, its mental health, its physical health--and protect us 
from enemies both foreign and domestic.
  If my motion for someone who might stand in front of me as a Member 
of Congress and share with me their vision potentially of the United 
States fails today, it simply suggests that the Congress of the United 
States is painting over a profound problem that exists in this Nation.
  I know that my time has expired for making my argument; but I 
personally would be offended that the Congress of the United States 
would not understand the gravity of this resolution by granting Members 
an opportunity to vote on the specific arguments laid out by The 
Washington Post for which they've offered their story.
  Mr. Speaker, ``nigger'' is offensive.
  ``Niggerhead'' is offensive.
  And for a Governor of one of the great States of our Nation to hunt 
at Niggerhead Ranch, it's offensive; and I think that I am expressing 
the moral outrage of all Americans.
  I thank the gentleman for allowing me to make my argument.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair is prepared to rule.
  The resolution offered by the gentleman from Illinois makes several 
assertions about the Governor of a State

[[Page H6657]]

and proposes that the House call upon the Governor and others to take 
certain actions with regard to these assertions.
  In order to qualify as a question of the privileges of the House 
under rule IX, the resolution must address ``the rights of the House 
collectively, its safety, dignity, or the integrity of its 
proceedings.'' The resolution seeks to express the position of the 
House toward the actions of others outside of the House without any 
tangible connection to the House or its proceedings.
  A resolution merely asserting the position of the House with regard 
to an external issue cannot be the basis of a question of privilege. As 
articulated by the Chair most recently on September 23, 2010, according 
privilege to such a resolution would allow any Member to place before 
the House at any time whatever topic he or she might deem advisable. In 
such an environment, anything could be privileged, so nothing would 
enjoy true privilege.
  The Chair finds that the resolution does not affect ``the rights of 
the House collectively, its safety, dignity, or the integrity of its 
proceedings'' within the meaning of clause 1 of rule IX and, therefore, 
does not qualify as a question of the privileges of the House.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I appeal 
the ruling of the Chair, and I would hope that my colleagues would 
support my appeal.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is, Shall the decision of the 
Chair stand as the judgment of the House?


                            Motion to Table

  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I move to table the gentleman's motion to 
appeal the ruling of the Chair.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to lay the 
appeal on the table.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 231, 
nays 173, not voting 29, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 765]

                               YEAS--231

     Adams
     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Amash
     Amodei
     Austria
     Bachus
     Barletta
     Bartlett
     Barton (TX)
     Benishek
     Berg
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Bono Mack
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Brooks
     Broun (GA)
     Buchanan
     Bucshon
     Buerkle
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Camp
     Canseco
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Conaway
     Cravaack
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Cuellar
     Culberson
     Davis (KY)
     Denham
     Dent
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Dreier
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellmers
     Emerson
     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Flake
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Gardner
     Garrett
     Gerlach
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffin (AR)
     Griffith (VA)
     Grimm
     Guinta
     Guthrie
     Hall
     Hanna
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Heck
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Herrera Beutler
     Huelskamp
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurt
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan
     Kelly
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kline
     Labrador
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Landry
     Lankford
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lewis (CA)
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     Marino
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McKeon
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     Meehan
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Nunnelee
     Palazzo
     Paul
     Pearce
     Pence
     Petri
     Pitts
     Platts
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Quayle
     Reed
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Ribble
     Rigell
     Rivera
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross (FL)
     Royce
     Runyan
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schilling
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Schweikert
     Scott (SC)
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Southerland
     Stearns
     Stivers
     Stutzman
     Sullivan
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Turner (NY)
     Turner (OH)
     Upton
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walsh (IL)
     Webster
     West
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)
     Young (IN)

                               NAYS--173

     Ackerman
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bass (CA)
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Boswell
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Brown (FL)
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clarke (MI)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costello
     Courtney
     Critz
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     Deutch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Frank (MA)
     Fudge
     Garamendi
     Gonzalez
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hahn
     Hanabusa
     Hastings (FL)
     Heinrich
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Hochul
     Holt
     Honda
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson Lee (TX)
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kildee
     Kind
     Kissell
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Lynch
     Maloney
     Markey
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Moore
     Moran
     Murphy (CT)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Payne
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Richmond
     Ross (AR)
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Speier
     Stark
     Sutton
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz (MN)
     Waters
     Watt
     Waxman
     Welch
     Woolsey
     Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--29

     Bachmann
     Bass (NH)
     Blumenauer
     Bonner
     Boren
     Calvert
     Campbell
     Coble
     Costa
     Crowley
     Dold
     Giffords
     Gowdy
     Holden
     Hoyer
     Michaud
     Olson
     Olver
     Paulsen
     Pelosi
     Poe (TX)
     Polis
     Quigley
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Scott, David
     Shuler
     Smith (WA)
     Wasserman Schultz
     Wilson (FL)

                              {time}  1416

  Messrs. NEAL, HIGGINS, AL GREEN of Texas, Ms. EDWARDS, Ms. BERKLEY, 
Ms. SPEIER, and Ms. SCHWARTZ changed their vote from ``yea'' to 
``nay.''
  Messrs. STIVERS, HUNTER, MANZULLO, GINGREY of Georgia, DUFFY, KELLY, 
and Mrs. LUMMIS changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the motion was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated for:
  Mr. DOLD. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 765 I was unavoidably 
detained in Committee with Secretary Geithner. Had I been present, I 
would have voted ``yea.''
  Stated against:
  Ms. PELOSI, Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 765 I was detained at an 
official event. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, on rollcall vote 765, I was 
unavoidably detained by a conflicting vote and questioning occurring at 
the same time in the Financial Services Committee meeting. Had I been 
present, I would have voted ``nay.''

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