Reaffirming the House of Representatives' Commitment to the Orderly and Peaceful Transfer of Power Called for in the Constitution of the United States
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of this resolution.
There has been quite a bit of discussion regarding partisanship from some of my friends on the other side of the aisle. I would offer the following quote, which was uttered 39 years ago: ``To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion, and yet, in the history of our Nation, it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority, as called for in the Constitution, routinely takes place as it has almost for two centuries, and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony that we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.''
Those words were uttered in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan, and his words couldn't have been more prescient.
It is a shame that we are here today, a shame that the current President has refused to affirm perhaps that most basic tenet of American democracy, the peaceful transfer of power after an election.
I don't believe that this should be partisan. We may be on different sides of the aisle; we have different solutions to some of the most pressing challenges that our country faces; but we all should, we all must, believe in this grand American experiment.
The peaceful transition of power is a hallmark of our Republic. For over 200 years, as President Reagan noted, every President has honored the orderly and peaceful transfer of power to his successor.
So, in my view, the House of Representatives must speak loudly here. We must meet the unrelenting insistence on undermining our democracy with the full force of the United States Congress by joining together today, on a bipartisan basis, to reaffirm our commitment to the peaceful transition of power, as our colleagues in the United States Senate did just last week.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Swalwell for leading on this issue, and I would urge every one of my colleagues in this Chamber, Republican, Democrat, and independent, to support this important resolution.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source