[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 14, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H1741]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      COMMITTING TO RECONCILIATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Green) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, and still I rise because I love my 
country.
  And, Mr. Speaker, I rise today understanding that we are in mourning. 
Our country is grieving. There are many reasons for this, but we still 
haven't acknowledged that there is something we can do to eliminate 
some of the mourning and grieving.
  We are mourning because police officers are being murdered. Many have 
been murdered across the length and breadth of the country. We are 
mourning because persons are losing their lives at the hand of the 
police. Many have lost their lives. We are in a state of mourning, but 
it goes back far beyond George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, Sandra Bland. It 
goes back to really the founding of the country because we have not 
atoned for some of our transgressions. Literally, we have committed 
crimes against humanity for which we have not atoned.
  Slavery was a crime against humanity; we have not atoned. What we did 
to the indigenous population was a crime against humanity; we have not 
atoned. The internment of the Japanese, based upon our xenophobia, we 
have not atoned. Banning Chinese from the country, we have not atoned. 
What we did to Muslims, banning them from the country, we have not 
atoned.
  There must be atonement. We have to reconcile. We did not do so in 
1868, as it relates to slavery. We should have, but we had a President 
who was antithetical to it, Andrew Johnson.
  So, I am going to offer a resolution, a resolution to create a 
department of reconciliation such that we can accomplish our atonement, 
get out of this grieving, and bring our country together.
  When we had a systemic need for dealing with agriculture, we created 
a Department of Agriculture. When commerce was in need of some help, we 
created a Department of Commerce. We have a Department of Labor because 
labor needs the kinds of legislation and the kinds of benefits that a 
Congress can accord labor, the persons who actually work for a living. 
When we needed defense, we created a Department of Defense and a 
Department of Homeland Security.
  So, I am proposing that we have a department of reconciliation so we 
can deal with the issues that have haunted this country for centuries. 
A department of reconciliation with a secretary of reconciliation, 
a department of reconciliation with a budget, a department of 
reconciliation with under secretaries so that we can accomplish our 
atonement with a department of reconciliation. It can be done.

  I am not asking for a commission. This is about a commitment. A 
department indicates that you are committed to a cause. We were 
committed to labor; that is why we have a Department of Labor. We were 
committed to education; that is why we have a Department of Education. 
We now need a department of reconciliation, a commitment to ending this 
long, sorrowful grieving that we have suffered over the years so that 
we can understand each other better and work together better with each 
other.
  If we fail to do this, if we fail to reconcile, Dr. King's words will 
become our greatest nightmare. He indicated that we must learn to live 
together as brothers and, I would add, sisters, or we will perish 
together as fools. We need a department of reconciliation. I will 
introduce a resolution for such.

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