[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 183 (Monday, November 6, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5425-H5426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   NOTICE OF INTENTION TO OFFER RESOLUTION RAISING A QUESTION OF THE 
                        PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Ms. JACOBS. Madam Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I 
rise to give notice of my intention to raise a question of the 
privileges of the House.
  The form of the resolution is as follows:
  H. Res. 846 censuring Representative Brian Mast.
  Whereas, Representative Brian Mast served honorably in the United 
States Army with distinct sacrifice, dedication, and bravery;
  Whereas, Representative Brian Mast has repeatedly made inflammatory 
statements regarding innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza who are in 
harm's way through no fault of their own as a result of horrific 
terrorist attacks conducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023;
  Whereas, Representative Brian Mast 's refusal to distinguish innocent 
Palestinians from Hamas terrorists is false, misleading, dehumanizing, 
dangerous, and unbecoming of a Member of Congress;
  Whereas, on October 19, 2023, during a House Foreign Affairs 
Committee markup, Representative Brian Mast emphatically asserted that 
any urgently needed humanitarian aid for innocent Palestinian civilians 
who are in harm's way through no fault of their own ``should be slowed 
down'' and that there should be ``every effort made to slow down any 
perceived assistance'';
  Whereas, on October 19, 2023, during the same House Foreign Affairs 
Committee markup, Representative Brian Mast stated that terrorism is 
``absolutely supported by the Palestinian people, from elementary 
school all the way up into the elderly'';
  Whereas, on November 1, 2023, during a speech on the House floor, 
Representative Brian Mast inexcusably compared innocent Palestinian 
civilians, including children, who are often used as human shields by 
Hamas terrorists, to Nazi collaborators that perpetrated the Holocaust 
against the Jewish people;
  Whereas, the horrific crime against humanity perpetrated by Nazis 
that resulted in the murder of more than 6 million Jews during the 
Holocaust should never be trivialized;
  Whereas, on November 1, 2023, during a speech on the House floor, 
Representative Brian Mast stated that ``there are very few innocent 
Palestinian civilians'';
  Whereas, on November 2, 2023, Representative Brian Mast again 
incorrectly conflated innocent Palestinian civilians with Hamas 
terrorists by tweeting a video of a Hamas leader and asserting that ``a 
two-state solution means making a state out of these murderous 
terrorists who are openly calling for the atrocities of October 7 to be 
committed over and over again'';
  Whereas, Representative Brian Mast's repeated conflation of innocent 
Palestinian civilians with Hamas terrorists sends a message to the 
world that violence against all Palestinians is legitimate and risks 
the incitement of brutal attacks across the Middle East region, 
including settler violence in the West Bank and Hezbollah aggression in 
northern Israel;

[[Page H5426]]

  Whereas, instances of anti-Arab hate and Islamophobia have been on 
the rise, including the hate-fueled murder of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-
year-old Palestinian American who was stabbed to death in his home in 
Illinois on October 15, 2023, because of his identity; and
  Whereas, Representative Brian Mast's comments regarding innocent 
Palestinian civilians in Gaza are dehumanizing, inflammatory, 
unacceptable, and can be reasonably construed as inviting the targeted 
murder of innocent Palestinians, fanning the flames of violence in the 
Middle East, and violating the international rules of war:
  Now, therefore, be it resolved that Brian Mast be censured.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under rule IX, a resolution offered from the 
floor by a Member other than the majority leader or the minority leader 
as a question of the privileges of the House has immediate precedence 
only at a time designated by the Chair within 2 legislative days after 
the resolution is properly noticed.
  Pending that designation, the form of the resolution noticed by the 
gentlewoman from California will appear in the Record at this point.
  The Chair will not at this point determine whether the resolution 
constitutes a question of privilege. That determination will be made at 
the time designated for consideration of the resolution.

                          ____________________