[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14966-14967]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           KNEELING IN RECOGNITION OF THE GLORY OF OUR NATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, last evening, I took to kneeling on 
this floor in recognition, first of all, of the glory of this Nation, 
the pride that I have in representing the Nation in faraway places as a 
Member of Congress, and visiting heads of states, and visiting with the 
people of other countries who have such an admiration for the purity of 
our freedom.
  I also take great pride in Texas being a State that is home to any 
number of military bases and reservists and Active Duty and veterans. 
We interact all the time. Our military liaison in my office is a 
veteran of the Iraq and Afghan wars.
  There is no lacking in sense of pride, and not one of us remembers 
missing the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance as children 
growing up in our daily activities as we went to school. But I also 
have come to understand what those symbols mean. They are not just 
cloth or music. They, in fact, represent ideals and values, and many 
people interpret them in different ways.
  I abhor spitting or burning or destroying of the flag. I have not 
done any of those. Colin Kaepernick's kneeling in the early months past 
was no disrespect of his love of this country, but a recognition that 
people were hurting and people were losing their lives, and we needed 
to reform systems of justice to be able to respond to the grieving 
mothers who lost children, in many instances--I would say all the 
instances--that we can recall of the recent 2 years, unnecessarily.
  It did not mean that we did not have, again, the greatest respect for 
our men and women in blue. I will take no backseat to my honoring them, 
fighting for them, working alongside them during Hurricane Harvey, 
thanking them for the first responders and enormous work they did, 
working alongside them as we rescued a group of individuals in a church 
who have fled for their lives during Hurricane Harvey.
  We must understand each other as people, and it is unfortunate that 
the Commander in Chief has taken to a distraction that wants to peel 
away our unity and report in the news: They like it, don't they? He is 
really, working for his base.
  I don't know anything about a base. I know about Americans. I see 
them all the time, and they don't look like me. They disagree with me. 
They have different opinions. I still respect that opinion, but I do 
believe that we can all come together.
  That knee was in respect of Colin and the young men who have now 
successfully taken to their knees, and the owners. Yes, I know that 
what they have done does not feed people; does not work on your 
retirement; does not get us something better than the Graham-Cassidy 
bill, which will destroy and undermine healthcare for millions of 
Americans, those with preexisting diseases, those who suffer from the 
lack of income, and those who need good healthcare--the very promise 
that was made by the President and all of us as Members of Congress 
that there should be some structure.
  There is no structure in the Graham-Cassidy bill. All it does is 
throw it over to the State and say: If you don't have the money, forget 
about it. Don't worry about them. Take the money and give tax cuts to 
the rich.
  That is not the American way.
  I rise today to say that I remain on bended knee in spirit with all 
of those young men. I look forward to working with the NFL and all the 
sports as we explain that these young men are vital parts of the 
community. Thank you to J.J. Watt and the Texans and all of those who 
have contributed.


                   Humanitarian Crisis in Puerto Rico

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, now, what is the most important 
message?
  My people are suffering--and my constituents--still in Texas. They 
are suffering in Florida. They are suffering now extraordinarily in the 
U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
  Your eyes should burn and your hearts should be struck by the 
absolute

[[Page 14967]]

humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico. As I listened to my colleagues this 
morning as I was coming to this floor already on these issues, they 
pierced my heart even more because Puerto Rico is under water. The 
disease is rising. People with medicine are losing it because they do 
not have refrigeration, yet the idle talk and idle hands of the 
administration are, in fact, not doing anything sufficient enough to 
save those lives.
  I, too, have people in my district who are unhoused, but I am here 
because we are unified, and we must be able to speak about the whole of 
America. I have been to Puerto Rico on a number of issues. I know the 
leadership of the former Congressperson, and I believe that it is high 
time--if this is water that Hurricane Harvey was, imagine the disease 
of being hit by 155 miles per hour. It is now time to put a military 
czar in Puerto Rico.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Send the C-130s, send the ships, help these people 
be rescued. This is a disgrace. I am talking about foolishness. Be a 
leader and be the Commander in Chief and stop all of this.
  When are we going to get the kind of leader that is deserving of the 
American people?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. I am sick and tired of it. I want a President. I do 
not want the person that fools around while people are dying.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman is no longer recognized.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. * * *
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

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