[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 159 (Tuesday, September 15, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4420-H4423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1815
    DEFENDING AMERICA'S VALUES AND PROTECTING AMERICA'S COMMUNITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Arrington) for 30 minutes.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous materials on the topic of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, today's Special Order, which I am proud 
to host, is about defending America's values and protecting America's 
communities.
  I have no doubt that the greatness of our beloved country can be 
found in ``We the People,'' and I would say that America is great 
because of the people and the values which they hold so dear: the 
things that we believe collectively, the ideals that we hold out and 
strive for as a nation, imperfect people striving for a more perfect 
Union. And those values distinguish this experiment in liberty and 
democracy.
  There is a reason that people from all over the world literally risk 
their lives to come here to be a part of this experiment in self-
government, and I would say those ideals consist, first and foremost, 
in the belief that the American people run the affairs of this country, 
and we believe in that doctrine of popular sovereignty.
  We believe that strong and healthy nations are nothing more than the 
cumulative effect of strong and healthy families; that is, the family 
is the cornerstone, at the cellular level it is the

[[Page H4421]]

strength of the fabric of this country, and we should not make any 
apologies for policies that strengthen that core fabric.
  We believe in the rule of law. We believe in the Constitution. We 
believe that we are a nation of laws, not of men. And we in this 
Chamber, in this great body of the people's House, should uphold, 
should promote, should defend these values; and when they are under 
assault and when they are not being lived up to, we should call that 
out. We should make sure that we are keepers of these values.
  I have a lot to say about one element that is a cornerstone of our 
democracy, and, quite frankly, it is a cornerstone of civil society 
anywhere, and that is law and order. That is justice.
  These are words, Mr. Speaker, that are easily found in the mission 
statement of our Federal Government, articulated, framed in the 
Constitution's preamble.
  Domestic tranquillity--nobody, I would submit, knows more about the 
importance of rule of law, justice, and domestic tranquillity than my 
colleague, Mr. Clay Higgins from Louisiana. He has been a decorated law 
enforcement officer.
  Like all of our men and women in uniform, he has put everything on 
the line to keep the bad guys away from our law-abiding citizens and 
their families and to make sure that we restrain evil and chaos so that 
we can continue the persistence of this great constitutional democratic 
Republic.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins), 
my dear friend.
  Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I 
thank you, Mr. Speaker, for recognizing me.
  My friend and colleague is discussing the deterioration of 
traditional American values in our Nation this evening, and I think it 
is appropriate that we as a nation take pause and reflect upon our own 
lives, our own families and our histories, the traditions and cultures 
which we represent, the men and women we strive to be as we seek, from 
bended knee, the very deepest part of ourselves, the whisper of our 
Lord Himself within us, His spirit that dwells there, to seek perhaps 
the best part of us, the undiscovered and sometimes difficult-to-
recognize truth that He has placed within our breast.
  During the course of my life--I am 59 years old. I was born in 1961, 
the seventh of eight children. I have witnessed the deterioration of 
traditional American values.
  As a failed and fallen man, arisen myself, redeemed by the blood of 
our Lord and savior, I have contributed to the demise and deterioration 
of our society in my small part. I struggle as a man.
  Our journey, if you will, is to recognize that we are imperfect and 
to seek that perfection, for our Nation itself was founded by imperfect 
men who were driven by perfect intent.
  The founding words of our original documents include, ``in order to 
form a more perfect Union.'' This is a very humble statement by men of 
wisdom and great stature of spirit. ``In order to form a more perfect 
Union'' are words that recognize that we are imperfect men.
  Therefore, during this time, this era of turmoil and tribulation and 
violence and mob rule, great division--included amongst that division 
is this Chamber--I think it is appropriate that my friend, that my 
brother brings this to the focus of the Nation today.
  Growing up in high school in the seventies, attended high school in 
the seventies, every vehicle in the parking lot, a country school, had 
a rifle or a shotgun in the back glass, maybe a pistol under the seat, 
maybe all three. We didn't have school shootings.
  When I began college in 1979 at LSU, I began to work my way through 
college as a carpenter. The company I worked for, we did historical 
renovations. In order to qualify, Mr. Speaker and my friend, for the 
historical plaque for that renovation, a certain process had to be 
followed. We had to determine the original structure of that residence. 
You could tell by the nature of the cut, whether it was a power cut or 
hand cut, how old it was; and with careful review and knowledgeable 
eyes, you knew exactly how that home was originally built. This is what 
fascinated me as a young man beginning college and working hard with my 
hands with the skills my father had taught me.

  Do you know what these houses built 100 years ago in the middle of a 
large city, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, do you know what they didn't have, 
Mr. Speaker and my friend?
  I will answer that question to observe the rules of the House.
  Do you know what those houses did not have 100 years ago? Locks. They 
had no locks.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I ask us all to reflect on what happened to that 
country. What happened to the country that was bequeathed unto us, a 
country where the parking lots of high schools were filled with 
vehicles with weapons and we had no school shootings, a country where 
homes were built in cities with no locks? What happened to that 
country?
  I am prayerful that the answer to what happened to that country lies, 
as it always has, deep within us as men and women, as children of God. 
And we must seek, as a nation and within this Chamber, by this body, we 
must seek the guidance of our savior, His whisper deep to guide us 
through these troubling times.
  I am thankful for men and leaders like my friend Representative 
Arrington, who has, by the grace of God, brought this topic to the 
floor today, and I am humbled that he would allow me to rise unscripted 
and address my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and the American 
people, whom I love.
  Let us return to the civility, love, and respect that founded our 
Nation, for therein is born courage and the will to move forward 
through any challenge.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful that my colleague and 
dear friend, Representative Higgins, joined this important 
conversation.
  It is clear, Mr. Speaker, my friend was not prepared or scripted 
formally, but he carries this great American story and the love and 
passion for public service and for a better, stronger, safer, freer 
America in his heart. If you cut this man, he bleeds red, white, and 
blue, and I feel blessed to serve alongside of him.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank him for his remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, as we talk about those values that have made America 
great and as we look out on the near horizon, we see a tremendous 
contrast and a distinct, maybe as definitive and distinct as we have 
ever had before the electorate of the vision, plans, and policies of 
one party versus another:
  One with vast greater authority and power in the government; one that 
would continue to treasure, defend, and promote free people in a free 
country.
  One would want to plan the economy from Washington, D.C.; the other 
vision and plan and policies would trust the ingenuity and the God-
given gifts of the American people to create value for their fellow 
Americans and the free exchange of ideas of services and products, the 
free enterprise system, which has made this country the most prosperous 
country on the face of the planet and in the history of the world.

                              {time}  1830

  Yes, Mr. Speaker, it is freedom. And it is our core values of in God 
we trust and out of many one that we have elevated the human spirit 
like no other system of self-governance.
  And I have friends here who are friends of freedom. They are 
champions of the Constitution. And they are keepers of the flame of 
these precious values that every day they take to the floor of the 
House to defend.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to Chip Roy, a fellow Texan, so he may come and 
share his heart. He was so eloquent in our first series on defending 
America's values. Today we have added to that defending and protecting 
our communities and respecting rule of law.
  Mr. Chip Roy from the Lone Star State.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas for yielding.
  I would note, my friend, I think we have got another little bit of 
time reserved on the back end that I will take and see my time, and I 
am happy to let others use that time as well, if we go over and blend 
that time together, and I would be happy to turn it over to my 
colleagues, as well.
  I just want to thank you for doing this.
  Again, this institution, we ought to be meeting here together with 
435

[[Page H4422]]

Members present. It is our obligation and our solemn duty to do so, but 
instead, we continue to play political games, political theater. And we 
are seeing the carnage on our streets in terms of businesses and in 
terms of real lives, in terms of law enforcement.
  Two deputies in Los Angeles shot point blank just this last week, and 
people egging it on, cheering it on and encouraging them to die. What 
kind of cultural rot do we have in our communities while this body sits 
here empty, putting on a show because that is what this body has 
become, putting on a show?
  So I would say to the Speaker of the House: Where are you? Why is the 
Speaker not here right now? Why is the majority leader not right here 
right now?
  We come back in to finally meet in September. We have had 19 days so 
far of voting on the floor of this body over the last 6 months. Think 
about that. It is absolutely irresponsible.
  I say: Where is the Speaker? Why aren't we here doing the hard work 
for the American people so that we can get our small businesses working 
again, get our economy back again?
  And why aren't we right here standing up unified, saying that we 
stand alongside the law enforcement community of the United States? Why 
aren't we standing up with the cops: Federal, State, and local? Why 
aren't we saying we stand with them, this body, the people's House?
  And that is what this is about, American greatness and standing up 
and protecting our communities, protecting those values, securing the 
blessings of liberty as articulated in the Constitution of the United 
States which reflects the Declaration of Independence which articulated 
the rights of mankind for the first time in human history.
  That is what this Nation is about, and I am glad to stand up, and I 
will join you in a little bit more.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, and I 
would just pose the question to the American people who are watching us 
in the people's House: Should we be focused on what our Speaker and 
Democratic colleagues suggest is an imperative in this time of 
unprecedented crisis, unprecedented lawlessness, to have a sense of 
Congress, or a House Resolution that condemns the use of the place of 
origin of this virus? Or should we have a sense of Congress uniting all 
Americans in condemning the lawlessness and the violence that is 
burning through the great American cities without nigh even a word.
  I would suggest my colleagues who remain silent are complicit as much 
as the local leaders who have abandoned their law-abiding citizens at 
such a time as this.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Roy for his love of country and 
his passion for public service.
  Mr. Speaker, I will pass the mike, if you will, to my colleague from 
the Peach State, who is--I think he would be okay with me saying that 
he works for the people of the 10th District of Georgia, but he serves 
the King of Kings. He was a minister of the gospel and will always be 
first and foremost a proud representative and ambassador of our Lord 
Jesus. Again, honored to serve with him.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to Georgia's 10th District Representative Jody 
Hice.
  Mr. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. 
I appreciate those kind words, and it is an honor, indeed, in every way 
to serve with you both here in the Congress and for the kingdom of our 
Lord.
  I go back, and I think of some of the words of our very first 
President. He said that there were two indispensable supports, 
indispensable supports, upon which this entire Nation rests. They were 
religion and morality.
  And about those things he said: In vain would that person claim the 
tribute of patriotism, who would labor to subvert these two pillars of 
human happiness. In fact, he said, you could not claim to be a patriot 
if you did not understand the role of religion and morality as 
indispensable supports of this great country.
  And the reason for that is because this concept of limited government 
can only work when the people are able to self-govern their own lives 
with an authentic understanding of right and wrong.
  It is when people are able to govern their lives properly that we are 
able to enjoy the blessings of liberty in a country with limited 
government overseeing and bearing down on our lives.
  And so these are indispensable supports, supports these days that we 
are chipping away at, chipping away at on a regular basis. We see the 
results of it as now night after night on television we are watching 
radical left groups hijacking our cities and turning them into war 
zones.
  We are watching the horror, the spectacle of the violence and the 
burning and the looting, the destruction of human lives and businesses, 
of dreams, of what America consists of. And here we sit in this place 
doing virtually nothing about it. The silence is not only deafening, it 
is frightful, as we sit here doing nothing.

  In fact, the chants continue. From the other side of the aisle it 
seems as though there is an embracing of these types of chants that all 
cops are bad, to defund the police. It is as though we don't realize 
that it is impossible to have law and order if in the mix of it 
somewhere we don't have law enforcement. These types of chants are not 
only idiotic, they are dangerous, and they have consequences. This type 
of rhetoric in and of itself lights a fire for more of it. And we are 
watching the consequences, as my friend just talked about a few moments 
ago, as police officers are killed and shot and cities destroyed.
  Is this the kind of country we want to leave to our children and our 
grandchildren? Do we want to pass this problem on to them and say: Tag, 
you're it; you go fix it?
  This is our country, both sides of the aisle. This is our country. 
These are our dreams. These are our values of life and liberty and the 
pursuit of happiness, and we are watching them burn down right in front 
of us while we do nothing about it.
  Now is the time for this Chamber to stand up and to be vocal that we 
as Americans, from both sides of the aisle, love those things that 
unite us as a Nation, as we continue down this path of opposition to 
the Judeo-Christian principles upon which our Nation was founded on. 
The truth is Marxism and anarchy have no place in America, and it is 
our responsibility to defend those rights, to defend those blessings. 
Now is the time to stand up and discontinue this assault on our country 
and the values that bring us together and bring people from all over 
the world to this great Nation, rather than for us to continue burning 
them down.
  I want to thank my friend. The reality is if we do not stand up for 
American values and these great principles, no one else will. It is our 
task in this Chamber to do the right thing. And I deeply appreciate my 
friend for leading the way on this issue and for allowing me a few 
moments to speak.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have Representative Jody 
Hice, a warrior for America's traditional values, for our Constitution, 
for our rule of law join in this important conversation with the 
American people in the people's House. I am honored to have you and 
grateful for your words.
  Who would have thought that we would be here while once great 
American cities are being terrorized by violent, mob thugs who kill law 
enforcement officers in cold blood and then go to the hospital for 
those who have survived and to cry death to the cops. These are men and 
women who risk their life and limb to make sure we have civil order, 
justice, and domestic tranquility at the heart of this great Nation, 
defense, safety, security for our fellow Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, Vicky Hartzler is another champion for the people of the 
Fourth District of Missouri. She is the chairwoman of the Value Action 
Team, so she is the lead keeper of that flame, and we are honored that 
she is here from the Show Me State.
  And after all is said and done in Washington--more is said than 
done--she is a show-me leader. She is a doer, and she is fighting every 
day for these American values and for the next generation of Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to Mrs. Vicky Hartzler.
  Mrs. HARTZLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Arrington for 
yielding and for hosting this event and focusing on our need to protect 
America's communities. With what is happening right now this topic is 
foremost in everyone's minds, and the need could not be greater.

[[Page H4423]]

  Daily we are shown footage of yet another riot in one of America's 
great cities. Mobs are destroying property, defacing buildings, 
breaking out windows of family-owned businesses, and looting the 
merchandise. Cars are being set on fire, and people are getting hurt.
  We need safe and secure neighborhoods again. We need law and order to 
be restored. We need peace to prevail in our hearts, in our families, 
and in our communities.
  That is where our peace officers come in. They are the ones who keep 
the peace. They are the ones who allow our families to live in safety, 
security, peace and quiet. We need that now. We need them now.
  They sometimes are called law enforcement officers. That is accurate, 
but I like another term, peace officers. Because that is what they are.
  Every year during Police Week, May 15 is designated as Peace Officers 
Memorial Day to pay tribute to the local, State, and Federal peace 
officers who have died or who have been disabled in the line of duty.
  Sadly, I have had a police officer from my district, whose name was 
added to this memorial. And sadly, many more names are going to be 
added to the memorial next year, including a selfless peace officer 
from Missouri named David Dorn.
  David had served his fellow man preserving the peace for over 38 
years. He was a loyal friend, a devoted husband, and a beloved member 
of the St. Louis community. And on the night of June 2nd he volunteered 
to help a friend in need who owned a small business, which was in 
danger of being destroyed by looters and rioters. He didn't want his 
friend's life's work to be turned into rubble, so he went down to help 
by sitting in front of the business and, hopefully, discouraging any 
harm from being done to his friend's business.
  Tragically, David was fatally shot by violent protestors, and left to 
die on the sidewalk. His execution was broadcast live on Facebook while 
his son watched at home. No arrests were made. His killer got away in 
the thicket of violence and riots.
  Nothing about this protest was peaceful. There are peaceful protests, 
and I commend them. There is a national conversation that is worth 
having to ensure everyone feels safe in our communities, but what we 
are seeing night after night in many of our cities is not a peaceful 
protest. It is thugs hijacking a legitimate cause to advance their 
agenda of personal gain, anarchy, and destruction. And it must end.
  We must work to bring peace back into our communities by restoring 
law and order, by valuing our selfless peace officers, and by 
establishing clear punitive consequences for those who incite violence.

                              {time}  1845

  We must deter and stop those who incite riots in any capacity, from 
organizing and promoting a riot to participating or assisting those who 
do. Those who loot and destroy must be held to account.
  That is why I am proud to support H.R. 8031, the David Dorn Act of 
2020. This bill increases the maximum imprisonment penalty for rioting 
to 10 years and sets the minimum fine to $1,000.
  It sends a clear message to rioters that their reckless actions are 
reprehensible and that we are committed to making sure not a single 
peace officer faces the same fate as David Dorn.
  The answer to this mayhem is not to defund our peace officers; it is 
to defend them and to give them the tools that they need to keep the 
peace.
  In the Commitment to America House Republicans announced today, we 
propose to increase funding by $1.75 billion for better police 
training, community policing, and more equipment, including 500,000 
more body cameras.
  This is the right way to secure the peace, not by destroying our 
neighborhoods.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on all Americans to work together to be 
peacemakers and restore peace and quiet and security to our 
neighborhoods and to embrace and defend the values that made America 
great.
  Now is our time of decision; now is when we will choose which road we 
will go on; and now is the time to stand up and to defend what we know 
is best and true and right and will truly bring security and peace to 
our neighborhoods.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman and dear friend 
from the Show Me State for showing us the right path to condemn this 
violence, to support our men and women in uniform who are risking life 
and limb to keep us safe and to keep the bad guys away.
  Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining on our Special Order? I fear 
my time is running short, as you stand from your chair.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has 15 seconds 
remaining.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I know we have 30 more minutes that the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy) was kind enough to share in the context 
of Defending America's Values.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Chip Roy for joining me tonight 
on the Special Order, and I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________