Respect for Marriage Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, what is our job here?
We are going to take an oath in a couple of weeks here really outlining our job: supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic.
I took that oath as a member of the military; I have taken that oath numerous times as member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. House of Representatives, a bicameral body, 435 of us, are meant to do the work of protecting we the people of the United States of America who elect us, and I want to quote our colleague on the other side, Ms. Scanlon, who was talking about what we don't have time for here as our colleague, Chip Roy, was asking for amendments to ensure that we the people's religious freedom was not prohibited, that the free exercise thereof was not prohibited.
Adopting an amendment by our colleague, Chip Roy, she said, would unsettle the Senate. God forbid the work that we do here in the House of Representatives unsettles the work that is done in the Senate. Our job must be to just do their bidding of what they decide in the Senate and not represent as 1 of 435.
But, no, that is not the real case. Our job is to represent our constituents, we the people, not to worry about whether we unsettle or don't unsettle the Senate.
Let me give you another quote from our colleague about why we don't have the time to prohibit or to prevent prohibiting the free exercise thereof. She said that this Congress is coming to a close, and we don't have time to make changes to this legislation.
We don't have the time? Wait a second. In the U.S. House of Representatives, our oath is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. It is our singular job here, and we don't have the time to do it?
That is what the majority is telling us: We don't have time to make changes to the bill, to ensure that the free exercise thereof, of our people's religions, is not infringed upon. They are saying we don't have time.
What the hell are we doing here if we don't have the time to do it? What the hell are we doing?
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