[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 106 (Monday, June 24, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H5041-H5042]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Himes) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle know 
that I shy away from sharp partisanship in favor of the negotiation and 
compromise required for law to be made.
  I marvel every day at how rarely the pragmatic common sense of the 
American people is given voice in this Chamber. But, Mr. Speaker, there 
are moments for calculation, for prudence, for compromise, for the 
careful weighing of competing interests, and there are moments for 
clarity and conviction.
  This is such a moment. The time has come, Mr. Speaker, for the House 
of Representatives to begin an impeachment inquiry into President 
Trump. From the moment of his inauguration, this President has shown 
contempt for the truth, has attacked our institutions, and has ignored 
the Constitution he swore to defend.
  He has refused the oversight which is Congress' long-established 
right and duty. In recent weeks, he has refused to comply with 
subpoenas, he has ordered administration officials to refuse to 
testify, and he has asserted executive privilege of unprecedented scope 
with respect to attempts to alter the Census.
  That we have not slouched closer to autocracy is due to the strength 
of the democratic safeguards and protections that we have built and 
defended for two-and-a-half centuries. Most Americans sense the danger 
and have reacted, most recently, by electing a House of Representatives 
with the power and desire to check this President. The President has 
persistently refused to acknowledge or acquiesce to that power.
  Mr. Speaker, the Framers of the Constitution placed the power of 
impeachment, not in the courts, but in the Congress so that this body 
might consider not just the facts and the letter of the law, but the 
broader interests of the Republic. I have, until now, been conflicted 
about those interests.
  Impeachment, along with the right to declare war, is the most awesome 
power of the Congress. The politics of impeachment are messy and 
uncertain and might, in the short run, serve the President's narrow 
political interests.
  But look at where we are today. Republicans in this Chamber cheer, or 
justify, or stand woefully silent in the face of behavior for which 
they would have impeached a Democratic President many times over. Our 
best and most proven ideas cannot get even a hearing in the United 
States Senate. Unless we restore respect for the law, respect for 
truth, and respect for common decency, we cannot hope to solve any of 
our other pressing problems.
  The American people should understand that opening an impeachment 
inquiry is not removal of the President. Given the behavior of the 
United States Senate, that outcome is probably out of the question. An 
impeachment inquiry will be a fair consideration of the facts that the 
American people must understand with both sides fairly and openly 
represented.
  Mr. Speaker, I know that I will be asked if my motive today is to 
pressure the Speaker of the House whose leadership of this Congress has 
been superb. It is not. She leads us today in the epic mission of 
defending our democracy. That mission requires a vigorous debate and 
competing ideas, but it also requires care, discipline, and a measure 
of deference.
  I represent the people of southwestern Connecticut, the Constitution 
State. From my house, I can walk to the hill where General Israel 
Putnam made a daring escape from the British cavalry in 1779, so that 
Americans would never have to answer to a tyrant for their opinions, 
politics, or religious beliefs.
  Just up the road is the town of Ridgefield where General David 
Wooster and 20 young patriots died in April of 1777 so that Americans 
would be spared ever living under a capricious and arbitrary power.
  Mr. Speaker, there are moments for careful calculation, for weighing 
political expediency and conflicting interests, and there are moments 
for clarity and conviction. This is that moment.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

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