Censuring Representative Paul Gosar

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, my colleague just referenced the phrase ``any other environment'' that there would be some consequences. Well, this is not any other environment. This is the House of Representatives. We have constituents who elect us, send us to Washington to represent them, engage in debate, engage in often heated discussions with each other. This is not the same.

One of the fundamental problems we have as a Chamber right now is that it is being treated that way. It is being treated that way by the majority. Shutting down our ability to engage in actual debate; shutting down our ability to move about the Chamber wearing these masks; talking about right now with CMS and what is happening, as early as December 5, doctors in San Antonio, Texas, which I represent, being unable to perform their tasks as doctors, potentially resulting in loss of life and being able to carry out their livelihoods through vaccine mandates.

We have got untold harm occurring in South Texas with bodies in body trailers. We have got people dying. We have got actual consequences from these vaccine mandates causing people to lose their jobs, whether it is OSHA-related, private-sector jobs, military, defense, border patrol; all this happening as we head towards December 3 with a potential government shutdown. And this is what we are having an actual debate on the floor of the House for.

I have not seen this Chamber look like this since I have been in Congress where we are debating an issue and we have got 100 Members on the floor. We are down here usually giving speeches to an empty Chamber.

Now, look, let me be clear. I would not have posted that video. I would have told my staff I don't want to do that, if I knew what was in it, okay? But the video that was posted was an effort to make a point.

The SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE. The time of the gentleman has expired.

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Mr. ROY. And we are now getting into the business of chilling debate and discussion about censuring our Members and going down the road of pulling each other off of committees. Where is this going to end? When Republicans are back in majority, where is that going to end?

When my colleague, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, in January called my former boss and my good friend, Ted Cruz, an attempted murderer, and I sent a letter to the leader saying, I am not asking for her to be stripped from committees but just to apologize, it was met with utter silence.

I called then and I call now for us to drop that down and actually engage in debate on the issues that matter, actually engage in debate on what is occurring right now in America where people are getting harmed with vaccine mandates, tyranny, and open borders.

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