[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10179]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          SILENCE IS DEAFENING

  (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, between the time that 20 little children 
and 6 teachers were shot at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the 49 
people that were slaughtered in Orlando, we have stood on this floor 27 
times for a moment of silence. We send our condolences and our thoughts 
and prayers, and then the gavel sounds and we go back to business as 
usual. Well, 2 weeks ago, the Democrats in this House said no more 
silence. The silence has become deafening.
  In the city of Chicago, we lost 70 people in the month of June to gun 
deaths. There is no moment of silence for them. They are women, 
children, men, sons, husbands.
  We have the ability in the House of Representatives to save lives--
not every life, but a lot of lives--and the moments of silence, of 
doing nothing, have run out. It is time for us to act. We have two 
bills on our agenda that would begin to address the problem. 
Republicans have to join with us to act now. The silence is too 
deafening.

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