Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government

Floor Speech

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Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, as the designee of the majority leader, pursuant to House Resolution 5, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 12) establishing a Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government as a select investigative subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary, and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the title of the resolution.

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Mr. COLE. Res. 12.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 12, a resolution establishing the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

This select subcommittee is modeled on the famous Church Committee, which investigated the American intelligence community in the 1970s and uncovered and exposed a wide variety of abuses, including many directed against American citizens.

Similar to the situation that confronted America in the 1970s, in recent years we have witnessed abuses of the civil liberties of American citizens committed by the executive branch.

The select subcommittee will operate as a select investigative subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee and will be tasked with studying and reporting on the executive branch's authority to collect information on or otherwise investigate citizens of the United States.

It will investigate how executive branch agencies work with and exchange information with the private sector and other government agencies to facilitate action against American citizens; how executive branch agencies collect, compile, analyze, use, or disseminate information about citizens of the United States; the laws, programs, and activities of the executive branch as they relate to the collection of information on citizens of the United States; and any other issues related to the violation of the civil liberties of American citizens.

Mr. Speaker, it is undeniable that, in recent years, the executive branch of the Federal Government has abused its authority and violated the civil liberties of American citizens, often for political purposes. There are many examples to point to, ranging from a father being labeled a ``domestic terrorist'' for confronting a school board over the sexual assault of his daughter, to the Federal Government's role in suppressing information on Twitter, to the Department of Homeland Security's plans to create a Disinformation Governance Board, and to the revelations regarding the FBI's abuse of its Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act authority.

All these examples and many more demonstrate how prevalent such abusive actions have become.

Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve to have confidence in their government. They deserve to know that the broad powers granted through the Federal Government to the FBI, to the Department of Homeland Security, and to the intelligence agencies are not being abused. They deserve to know that the executive branch is not positioning itself as the final arbiter of what constitutes truth. They deserve to know that they will not be labeled a domestic terrorist for advocating for their children in front of a school board.

Mr. Speaker, it was Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis who stated that ``sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.'' At the end of the day, that is the purpose of the select subcommittee. It will bring abuses by the Federal Government into the light for the American people and ensure that Congress, as their elected representatives, can take appropriate action to remedy them.

I have confidence that this select subcommittee will accomplish that goal.

Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, with great power comes great responsibility. We entrust our Department of Justice, FBI, and intelligence community with great power to keep us safe. And yet, as long as these agencies have existed, they have violated everyday Americans' civil rights.

The security state believes itself to be above the Constitution and the laws passed by Congress, or perhaps the belief is only tacit. It is aware only of power, not authority--power.

The FBI spied on Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Muhammad Ali because they were national security threats-- celebrities, but everyday Americans as to their constitutional rights.

The intelligence community abused their power to spy on Presidential candidates, a sitting President, and Members of Congress and their staffs.

The FBI continuously coordinated with social media companies to moderate social content, the public square. So contemptuous and out of touch are they that when confronted with this just weeks ago, they said: We were merely engaging with our community partners.

Leading up to the 2020 election, the FBI worked hand in hand with Twitter and Facebook to silence the Hunter Biden laptop story. Concealment from everyday Americans. They have continued to censor in silence criticism of COVID policies and vaccine mandates to the harm of everyday Americans.

In 2013, the former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, lied to Congress about the NSA collecting data on millions of Americans. Yet, he has escaped a reckoning.

The NSA spied on groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and other NGOs. FBI contractors conducted thousands of searches on NSA databases. The intelligence community spied on journalists and political opponents in clear violation of the First Amendment.

Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. That is not just all illegal, it is un- American, and it cannot continue. The government's massive surveillance apparatus is well-documented, but there is still much more that we do not know. We owe it to the American people to reveal the rot within our Federal Government and cut it out so that it can no longer harm everyday Americans.

Mr. Speaker, today we are putting the deep state on notice: We are coming for you on behalf of everyday Americans.

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Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I would advise my friend that I am prepared to close whenever he is.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this resolution creating the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

In the 1970s it was apparent from revelations in the popular press that the American intelligence community had committed abuses as part of their activities. In response, Congress created the Church Committee which investigated these abuses and brought them into the light.

Today, it is again apparent that the Federal Government has been weaponized for political purposes. Like the Church Committee--which this subcommittee is modeled on--the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government will investigate the abuse of Americans' civil liberties and bring them into the light. I am confident that this subcommittee will do the American people a great service. They deserve to have confidence in their government, and that confidence starts with ensuring that the vast powers of the executive branch are not abused.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote ``yes'' on the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H. Res. 12, a dangerous resolution whose passage would Establish a Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government or, more accurately, a subcommittee that would threaten our nations safety, security, and freedom.

MAGA Republicans love to hide behind the idea that they are pushing an agenda that would help the American people, but let's see this for what it truly is, a blatant assault on our democracy, our law enforcement agencies, our justice system, and our intelligence community, and an attempt to shield the twice-impeached former president from ongoing investigations being conducted by the Department of Justice.

The establishment of this subcommittee would give Republicans the ability to investigate any agency that ``can collect information or otherwise investigate citizens of the United States'' and gives the most right-wing members of the Republican party access to confidential documents solely intended for the members of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

This gross misuse of power will have dangerous implications and unintended consequences and could potentially expose general operations of our national security infrastructure which will put American lives at risk.

The passage of this resolution would also give MAGA Republicans the ability to interfere in ongoing criminal investigations including those investigating the extremist insurrectionists who lead the brutal attack on this institution two years ago.

In this country, no one is above the law, and to suggest that some people should be, because they don't agree with the force of the law being applied to their activities, is contrary to the very fabric of fairness, justice and equality that America was founded on.

This is a blatant attempt by House GOP members to stifle the federal government's investigatory powers, claiming that conservatives are being prosecuted and silenced.

The new Select Subcommittee comes as federal agencies such as the Department of Justice are investigating the GOP and its allies in multiple criminal investigations.

Members of the Republican party have been on press tours announcing this new subcommittee and have laid out their agenda, but how would this subcommittee help the American people in anyway?

For a party that claims to be pro-law enforcement, the Republican party is now getting ready to undermine the hard work of our law enforcement and surveillance agencies.

Mr. Speaker what really is the intent here? I can tell you what I think it is. It is a back door effort to handcuff the current administration in their normal and usual course of operations.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to oppose this dangerous and a completely irresponsible Resolution that will put the lives of Americans at risk and is a political stunt to further advance their dangerous conspiracy theories.

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