[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11277]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 9, 2015

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, each day, as we begin our work in 
Congress, we pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of 
America, a flag that preserves our republic's promise of liberty and 
justice for all.
  This is not the message of the Confederate battle flag. We all know 
this flag represents hate, intolerance, and bigotry. Like the Nazi 
flag, the Confederate flag must be retired to history books and 
museums. It has no place in the public square.
  Unconscionably, House Republicans are defending the Confederate flag 
by blocking Democratic efforts to remove this rebel flag from the U.S. 
Capitol grounds. This comes just hours after House Republicans offered 
an amendment to undo Democratic amendments that bar the display of the 
Confederate flag in federal cemeteries, and bar the National Park 
Service from doing business with gift shops selling Confederate flag 
merchandise.
  It is a cold, cruel irony that just as South Carolina votes to 
finally remove the Confederate flag at their statehouse, House 
Republicans now seek to protect this symbol of hate at the federal 
level.
  Let us remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the U.S. 
Capitol. Doing so will honor our country and show respect for the flag 
of the United States of America, which is the symbol of freedom, 
justice, and democracy for all.

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