[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H854]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          THE STAIN ON THE SENATE AND OUR CONGRESS FOR HISTORY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, ``Corrupting an election to keep oneself in 
office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one's 
oath of office that I can imagine.''
  Yesterday, Senator Mitt Romney outlined what so many of us know to be 
the truth; that the evidence of this President's guilt is beyond any 
doubt; that despite silencing witnesses and shielding even more 
evidence, that this President abused his office to retain his slipping 
grasp on power.

                              {time}  1030

  Yet Senators voted to acquit, nonetheless. This will be a stain on 
the Senate and on Congress for all history.
  But lost beneath the headlines and the attempts to justify the 
unjustifiable lies, the true motivation that guided almost every single 
Republican Senator and every last Republican Member of this House--
fear, not just of losing a seat but of losing power; fear of what might 
happen if we allow this representative democracy to truly represent the 
interests and desires and agenda of all its people; fear of a country:
  Where we actually address climate change because it is devastating 
our planet and threatening our lives;
  Where women could have an unalterable right to bodily autonomy;
  Where everyone would get the healthcare they need when they need it;
  Where guns wouldn't shatter our schools and our churches and theaters 
and every place in between;
  Where working families wouldn't go to bed fearful of what tomorrow 
may bring;
  Where babies won't be ripped from their parents' arms and kids 
trapped in cages;
  Where freedom means the freedom to be you, whoever you may be;
  Where you count, no matter the God of your prayers, the color of your 
skin, the hand that you hold, the language that you speak.
  The good news is, however, that their power, our power, as elected 
officials is temporary. The people's power is not.
  It is our people who have always forced our Nation forward on civil 
rights, on healthcare, on justice, on war and peace, on liberty, on 
freedom. And it is our people who will hold every single person in 
Washington accountable for their actions yesterday, and that gives me 
faith. It gives me hope. It makes me sure that the best days of our 
democracy are still to come.

                          ____________________