[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 200 (Wednesday, November 17, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H6326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              THREAT TAGS

  (Mr. CLINE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, being a parent is a sacred responsibility, 
and every parent simply wants what is best for their kids. That is why, 
over the past year, we saw parents speak up at local school board 
meetings all across the country.
  Whether it was pushing back against the radical teachings of critical 
race theory or voicing their opposition to mask mandates or allowing 
boys in girls' bathrooms, parents were standing up for their kids.
  However, the National School Board Association deemed people 
exercising their First Amendment rights as domestic terrorists, and the 
Department of Justice used this narrative to launch investigations into 
parents.
  Now we are learning from a whistleblower that the FBI was using 
antiterror tools to monitor parents and adding threat tags to files to 
track them. This is absurd. We should never criminalize parents for 
speaking up for their children.
  To make matters worse, we now know the Attorney General lied under 
oath when he said there was no coordination between the DOJ and the 
National School Board Association. This administration has weaponized 
the DOJ for political gain and has chosen to stand with teachers unions 
over parents and students.
  These actions are tyrannical, and Congress must know the extent to 
which parents were spied on.

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