[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 213 (Wednesday, December 16, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H7161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REJECTING LIBERAL LOCKDOWNS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, liberal Governors across 
the country have shown they know nothing about good governance.
  Many times I have heard impassioned speeches from my Republican 
colleagues on how liberal Governors running their States have gone off 
the deep end. Today, I am here to share North Carolina's story.
  For months, Governor Roy Cooper has avoided numerous opportunities to 
keep North Carolina open for business. He imposed phases of reopening 
that only caused more businesses to go under while he claimed it was 
the best option.
  Now he believes a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew will somehow eliminate 
COVID-19 altogether. What this curfew will do in the end is remind 
North Carolinians that their Governor has no idea what he is doing.
  COVID-19 is not a creature that roams the streets in the dead of 
night and retreats to its burrow once daybreak hits. This is a virus. 
Necessary safety precautions can be taken to protect yourself, your 
loved ones, and those around you.
  But when ill-conceived directives from Governor Cooper come into 
play, North Carolinians begin to question where the ambition ends and 
where leadership begins.
  The American people hear time and time again that we must follow the 
science, but when we question the science that is used to justify 
lockdowns, we seldom receive true clarity.
  We can all agree that the imperative here is to protect people from 
the scourge of the virus. That is abundantly clear. However, that 
imperative becomes horribly diluted when State and local economies 
suffer, people lose their jobs, and ends can't be met because of 
lockdowns. That is the sad reality of what lockdowns can do.
  I have a message for Governor Cooper: Your abject failures during 
this pandemic have hurt the livelihoods of people who are proud to call 
North Carolina home. The last thing North Carolinians need is a 
bureaucrat sitting in the Governor's mansion who hands down blanketed 
mandates.
  Hopefully, Governors across the country, including yourself, will 
look to common sense as a guide moving forward; but based on what has 
been done to date, you would probably squander that opportunity, too.
  Leadership is not a foreign concept. So why not lead the right way 
and put aside your desire to see North Carolina closed for business?
  North Carolina is an economic powerhouse because of its hardworking 
citizens who show up to work and get the job done. It is high time it 
is treated that way.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their 
remarks to the Chair and not to a perceived viewing audience.

                          ____________________