Replacement of Bust of Roger Brooke Taney with Bust of Thurgood Marshall

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding the time.

And still I rise today, a proud graduate of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, a son of the segregated South, and a person who believes that this is a great day in the history of this country.

To have this legislation pass means a lot to my generation. To those of us who had to sit in the back of the bus, the balcony of the movie, and go to the back doors of restaurants, it means a lot.

It means a lot for me to simply say this: I associate myself completely, totally, and absolutely with the words of the Honorable Steny Hoyer.

I heard his speech. I was moved by what he said, and I came to the floor to let the world know that we have made a large, gigantic, huge step in terms of bending the arc of the moral universe toward liberty and justice for all.

I am grateful, and I thank the gentlewoman again for yielding time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois.

Mr. Speaker, it is inspiring to hear my colleagues from both sides of the aisle throughout any debate talk about their passions, talk about what matters most to their constituents. Mr. Green has always been passionate about what matters most to his constituents, as I hope I have been over the last 10 years.

Mr. Speaker, I have to apologize. This might be one of the last times that I stand up and offer remarks on the House floor. A lot of my colleagues here must have been praying together because finally, finally, I have lost my voice. I sound like Peter Brady from ``The Brady Bunch.'' My apologies.

I am so thankful for the friendships that I have been able to make over the 10 years that I have served in this institution. But I want to make sure that I address some issues that we are talking about today in regard to statue removals, in regard to how we ensure that history, even all the darkest parts, are taught to all Americans, because that is the way we learn.

I learned, because I lived it, Abraham Lincoln's history. I take for granted what we have available in my district that epitomizes the strength of Abraham Lincoln.

If you ever want to see our Nation's history in action, I invite you. Come to my district, and I will take you to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, where many of my colleagues that have come and taken me up on that offer have been able to walk into a room and see an original copy, an original. They didn't have Xerox machines or copy machines back then. They had to handwrite the original copies of the Emancipation Proclamation.

That is what Abraham Lincoln means to our Nation's history and society's history and the ills that even existed after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

We have to do better in this country. We can do better, and we are doing better. But in the end, we live in the greatest country in the history of the world that sends the most diverse people to our Nation's Capitol to stand here and debate freely how to govern our great Nation.

We will fight, and we will argue, but in the end, we will shake hands, disagree, walk away, and understand that we are better because we are not separated. We are not just Republicans and Democrats; we are Americans.

When tragedy hits the country, we come together in this House, and we stand together as Americans. I hope that continues even in the more polarizing environment that we have seen in this House in my lifetime.

I want to make a prediction that I hope doesn't come true. I hope that we can change that by setting an example in this House. I hope we don't try to continue to separate ourselves. I predict there will come a day when people will be allowed into a restaurant based upon their political affiliation or not. That is sad. I hope I am wrong.

I see so many opportunities in our Nation right now that are taken by those who don't want us to believe in each other. They are taken away by social media posts that will continue to try and divide us.

I came here 10 years ago and got the ability to have dinner when I was in freshman orientation in Statuary Hall. I looked down and saw the plaque that sits in Statuary Hall that says Abraham Lincoln, his desk sits here, when he served one term in the House of Representatives.

It hit me that day. It sent chills that I have some pretty big shoes to fill, representing some of the same geography that Abraham Lincoln did when he was here centuries ago.

I knew we had a lot of work to do, and I will tell you, this institution has done big things over my decade serving here.

There are things like this, though, that I hope send a message to our Nation that we will stand up against those parts of our Nation's history like Roger Taney, the most dreadful parts of our Nation's history.

Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone, especially my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, to please ensure that history continues to be taught in our Nation's schools, that we learn about people like Roger Taney so that people in America don't repeat the same disastrous decisions that we saw happen with the Dred Scott decision.

Mr. Speaker, I think I have said enough. I support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Chairperson Lofgren of the House Administration Committee, for her work on this legislation. I will tell the chair that while we didn't always agree on issues coming in front of our committee, and we didn't always agree on how to run this institution, I always enjoyed being able to serve with her. It may not be reciprocated, but that is okay.

But in the end, you have a great team that I really enjoyed working with. I sincerely hope that this institution becomes less polarized. I certainly hope this institution becomes an institution where we can all govern together and make this country even greater than it is today.

Vote for this bill.

Let's get rid of Roger Taney.

Let's make him a gone-y once again.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source