[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E153-E154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DECORUM AND MAINTAINING CIVILITY IN THE HOUSE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY J. PALMER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, February 7, 2020

  Mr. PALMER. Madam Speaker, I rise to respond to the assertion of the 
Majority Leader that the act of destroying the copy of President 
Trump's State of the Union address that the President--as required by 
the Constitution--presented to Speaker Pelosi was speech protected 
under the 1st Amendment. The Majority Leader should be reminded that 
not all speech that is protected under the 1st Amendment is allowable 
in the House chamber under the Rules of the House.
  Moreover, the act of destroying the official House copy of President 
Trump's State of the Union address in of itself is a violation of what 
is and should be expected for the conduct of every member of the House. 
The premeditated and wanton disregard of the rules governing decorum 
that we all commit to abide by diminishes the civility and undermines 
the

[[Page E154]]

order that is essential to the functioning of the House as a 
deliberative body and that is expected of every member of the House of 
Representatives including and especially the Speaker of the House. I 
would add that if such conduct is ignored and not addressed by the 
leadership of both Parties our ability to govern will be seriously 
compromised.

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