[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 170 (Wednesday, November 18, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H8290-H8291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1215
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IS SCARED
(Mr. HIMES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, the House is scared today. You hear it in the
voices of my colleagues, and you hear it because the American people
are scared as they come to learn the capabilities of these evil
psychopaths at ISIS.
But, Mr. Speaker, this House, when we are scared, we do dumb things.
We spend time forcing the cafeteria to rename french fries freedom
fries. We invade Iraq because we are angry at what comes out of the
Middle East.
Mr. Speaker, on May 13, 1939, the transatlantic liner, the St. Louis,
sailed from Germany with almost 1,000 souls aboard, all Jews seeking to
flee the murderous wrath of Adolf Hitler. This ship went to Cuba with
the idea that it would come to the United States, but it was denied
entry into the United States.
[[Page H8291]]
The refugees were reported to be Communists and anarchists, and we
were scared of them--Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler.
The ship was turned back. Nearly a quarter of the 1,000 souls lost
their lives in Hitler's Holocaust. It was not a good moment for the
United States. It is a moral stain on our history.
So let's keep our people safe. We are the greatest country in the
world. We can do that while not trading our moral values.
Mr. Speaker, we are exceptional because we are good and because we
are moral. Let's not lose the moral part of that equation.
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