[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 358-359]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1330
                           WE ARE ALL CHARLIE

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise, as I know all Americans would rise if 
they were here, to express our solidarity with, our sympathy to, and 
our convictions for a strong alliance with the people of France.
  The despicable and tragic murder in Paris on Tuesday of journalists 
and those who protected them ought to be a reminder that we cannot and 
must not take for granted the freedoms we enjoy living in a democracy.
  The men and women who were targeted in Paris on Wednesday were 
cartoonists whose job was to use humor to make people question their 
leaders and their most cherished principles. Freedom of speech, 
protected in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States of America, which was read today on this floor, means nothing if 
that speech can be intimidated and shuttered by violence.
  The principles that we speak of were part of a long tradition in 
France and in this country of bringing the loftiest of people and ideas 
down to Earth through the power of satire.

[[Page 359]]

  Freedom of the press and free expression of ideas are a necessary 
check against tyranny and oppression. They are as much a part of 
democracy as the right to vote and due process in court.
  Mr. Speaker, in attacking these journalists, the terrorists made 
their target clear, and that is freedom itself--freedom in America, 
freedom in France, freedom throughout the world, freedom of conscience, 
freedom of speech, and freedom of dissent.
  The taking of innocent hostages at a kosher market today further 
demonstrated the terrorists' utter disregard for the ``liberty, 
equality, and brotherhood'' that are the foundation of the French 
democracy and the American democracy.
  The democratic nations of the world must continue to stand up to 
those who wish to stifle the basic freedoms that all people deserve. I 
know that all 435 Members of this Congress are united in that 
conviction. I join with all of my colleagues in offering my condolences 
to the families of the victims and to the French people.
  Mr. Speaker, in that regard, I articulate what has just been 
demonstrated by all by standing in silence, just as President Kennedy 
declared, ``Ich bin ein Berliner,'' and newspapers around the world 
after 9/11 read, ``We are all Americans.''
  Today, all freedom-loving people around the world join together in 
solidarity to say, ``We are all Charlie''--``Nous sommes tous 
Charlie.''

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