[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 144 (Tuesday, September 10, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H7586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE VICTIMS OF THE EL PASO SHOOTING

  (Ms. ESCOBAR asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ESCOBAR. Madam Speaker, I invite all Members to join me in the 
well who wish to stand in support with members of the Texas and 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus delegations.
  Madam Speaker, on Saturday, August 3, at a local El Paso Walmart, 
parents were shopping for school supplies, elderly couples were paying 
for their groceries, and kids and parents were fundraising for their 
soccer team. But that day, everything changed.
  A killer drove over 600 miles to my community. He massacred 22 people 
and injured another 26. He confessed to driving over 10 hours so that 
he could target Mexicans and immigrants. It was a horrific act of 
domestic terrorism fueled by America's gun violence epidemic and the 
hate epidemic.
  The killer's screed was filled with bigoted, anti-immigrant language 
that has been used by people in power and those with the most powerful 
bully pulpits.
  El Paso, as usual, rose to the challenge before us. We grieved 
together; we went to the hospital together; we prayed together; we 
buried loved ones together.
  My community has a long journey ahead, and I thank the first 
responders, healthcare providers, spiritual leaders, and all the 
community members who have shown tremendous courage during our darkest 
moment.
  I thank my colleagues and people from all over the country and the 
world who reached out to us, sent their condolences, visited with us.
  El Paso will continue to set the example for the Nation because we 
will continue to treat all people in our midst with kindness, 
generosity, and goodwill. We will always be El Paso Strong, and our 
resilience will guide the way.
  I ask for your continued support, but more importantly, I ask that 
this awful event be the turning point that our country so desperately 
needs and that Americans so desperately want.
  We must end the hate and gun violence epidemics because, for many of 
us, these issues have become a matter of life and death.
  I ask that all Members and guests in the gallery rise for a moment of 
silence, please.

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