Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. I am opposed to it in its current form.

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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, before I speak on this amendment, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), who has been a strong advocate and leader on this issue, for an opportunity to say a few words.

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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in 1922, the only grandparent I would come to know came from Mexico to the United States. She was not a rapist or a murderer or an alien. She was a 6-year-old girl whose parents had died around the time of the Mexican Revolution, and the closest relatives who could take her and her sister in were in Texas.

I bet if we went around this Chamber, I know there would be beautiful stories, similar stories, of ancestors who came from Italy, Germany, Ireland, Africa, Asia, and every corner of the world. They are the immigrants to this country. They are the strength of this country.

Language matters. Recently, the Library of Congress decided to retire the term ``illegal alien'' because it is dehumanizing. For the first time in American history, today, the Congress is ready to interfere with the business of the Library of Congress.

In the years of the Congress and the Library, language has evolved. That is why we have done away with terms like ``Negro,'' ``Oriental,'' ``lunatic,'' and ``retarded,'' because we understand that even words that start off as neutral descriptors can, over time, become used as verbal weapons and knives to inflict pain and disrespect and sow division. That is the case today.

There are times in our country's history where our politics have also been a race to the bottom. Those Irish ancestors were greeted by signs that read ``no Irish need apply'' in cities like New York and Boston. The Japanese, German, and Italian Americans even were interned during World War II. Chinese were excluded from this country for decades. During the Eisenhower administration, many Hispanics in this country were rounded up and deported to Mexico even if they were American.

What I am asking is for us not to fuel the flames of this season and for us to take a better course and do the right thing. I am asking you to support this motion to recommit because the words ``illegal alien'' will be retired. This will change, whether it is now or 6 months from now or 10 years from now. The question for all of us is whether we, today, will do the right thing or whether a few years from now we apologize for doing the wrong thing.

Please support this motion to recommit and do the right thing.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

A recorded vote was ordered.

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