Crucial Communism Teaching Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise on H.R. 5349, the so-called Crucial Communist Teaching Act.

Let me start by acknowledging that there is value in educating our students about the dangers of totalitarianism and the atrocities committed under communist regimes, but the truth is we are debating a bill that skirts around key historical lessons and only risks further politicizing education.

Rather than bringing forward substantive legislation to address challenges that our children face in the classroom, Republicans want us to focus on this narrowly tailored bill that leaves out important issues that we should be discussing about communism.

We should be taking action to address the actual challenges that our children are facing, like legislation to increase investments in early childhood education, closing achievement gaps in our schools, tackling the mental health crisis among our youth, increasing graduation rates, and making college more affordable.

These are the challenges that people are actually facing, but this bill--in fact, this entire session--has been silent on those issues.

Furthermore, the bill fails to provide a complete and comprehensive approach to teaching students about the full history of communism. If we truly want to educate students about the dangers of extremism, we should be teaching them about all forms, not just communism, but about fascism and other ideologies that have sought to strip people of their rights and freedoms.

Even with communism, the bill neglects to mention the long history of using the label ``communism'' to inflame, scare, and pit Americans against each other. The bill remains silent when it comes to specifics, such as the discussion about the history of the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Many fear that this approach will not only oversimplify this complex issue but also distort our students' understanding of history.

What is more troubling is that while we are debating this bill, Republicans are ignoring the actual efforts to invest in education and ensure that all children have the opportunities to succeed. We should be passing legislation that prioritizes their future, not creating distractions on divisive partisan messaging.

I urge my colleagues to come together to support legislation that would truly make a difference in the lives of American students. This legislation only directs an organization to create a limited curriculum on communism that public schools can adopt or not at the discretion of the local school system.

Let's focus instead on policies that improve academic achievement, close achievement gaps, increase graduation rates, and make higher education more affordable, issues that demand our immediate attention.

Mr. Speaker, I advise my colleague that I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close when the gentleman is prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, let's be clear. If this wasn't about politics, then it would also have included fascism as well as communism. While the majority pushes this bill forward, it narrowly focuses on teaching some aspects of communism. We are ignoring the broader issues that affect students every day.

We should be working together to improve academic achievement, close learning gaps, improve graduation rates, make college more affordable, and other important education issues.

Instead of pursuing this distraction, let's focus on the real challenges that students face in the classroom today. Let's pass substantive legislation that supports our educators with the resources to provide a safe learning environment and empowers our students to succeed and prepares them for the future.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to prioritize the actual needs of the students, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 327, nays 62, not voting 43, as follows: [Roll No. 492] YEAS--327 Adams Aderholt Aguilar Alford Allen Allred Amo Amodei Auchincloss Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Balint Banks Barr Barragan Bean (FL) Beatty Bentz Bera Bergman Beyer Bice Bilirakis Bishop (GA) Bishop (NC) Blunt Rochester Bonamici Bost Boyle (PA) Brown Brownley Bucshon Budzinski Burgess Burlison Calvert Cammack Caraveo Carbajal Carey Carl Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Cartwright Case Castor (FL) Chavez-DeRemer Cherfilus-McCormick Chu Ciscomani Clark (MA) Cleaver Cline Clyburn Cohen Cole Comer Connolly Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crawford Crow Cuellar Curtis D'Esposito Davids (KS) Davis (NC) De La Cruz Dean (PA) DeGette DeLauro DelBene Deluzio DeSaulnier DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Dingell Doggett Donalds Duarte Dunn (FL) Edwards Ellzey Emmer Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Ezell Fallon Feenstra Ferguson Finstad Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Flood Fong Foster Foxx Franklin, Scott Fry Fulcher Garamendi Garbarino Garcia (TX) Gimenez Golden (ME) Goldman (NY) Gonzales, Tony Gonzalez, V. Good (VA) Gosar Graves (LA) Green, Al (TX) Griffith Guest Guthrie Hageman Harder (CA) Harris Hayes Hern Higgins (LA) Hill Himes Hinson Horsford Houchin Houlahan Hoyer Hoyle (OR) Hudson Huffman Huizenga Hunt Issa Ivey Jackson (NC) Jacobs James Jeffries Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Kaptur Kean (NJ) Keating Kelly (IL) Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kennedy Khanna Kiggans (VA) Kildee Kiley Kilmer Kim (CA) Kim (NJ) Krishnamoorthi Kuster Kustoff LaMalfa Landsman Langworthy Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Latta LaTurner Lawler Lee (FL) Lee (NV) Lee Carter Leger Fernandez Lesko Letlow Levin Lofgren Lopez Loudermilk Lucas Lynch Mace Magaziner Malliotakis Maloy Mann Manning Mast Matsui McBath McCaul McClain McClellan McClintock McCollum McGarvey McHenry McIver Meeks Menendez Meng Meuser Mfume Miller (IL) Miller (OH) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Moolenaar Mooney Moore (UT) Moore (WI) Moran Morelle Moulton Mrvan Murphy Napolitano Neal Neguse Newhouse Nickel Norcross Nunn (IA) Obernolte Owens Pallone Palmer Panetta Pappas Pelosi Peltola Pence Peters Pettersen Pfluger Phillips Posey Raskin Reschenthaler Rogers (AL) Ross Rouzer Ruiz Rulli Ruppersberger Rutherford Ryan Salazar Salinas Sanchez Sarbanes Scalise Schiff Schneider Scholten Schrier Schweikert Scott (VA) Scott, Austin Scott, David Self Sessions Sewell Sherman Simpson Slotkin Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Sorensen Soto Spanberger Spartz Stansbury Stanton Stauber Steel Stefanik Steil Strickland Strong Suozzi Sykes Tenney Thanedar Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Titus Tokuda Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Trone Turner Valadao Van Drew Van Orden Vargas Vasquez Veasey Wagner Walberg Wasserman Schultz Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Wied Wild Williams (TX) Wilson (FL) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Yakym Zinke NAYS--62 Arrington Biggs Boebert Brecheen Burchett Bush Cardenas Carson Casar Clarke (NY) Cloud Clyde Collins Crane Crockett Davidson Davis (IL) Estes Foushee Garcia (IL) Garcia, Robert Gooden (TX) Green (TN) Greene (GA) Grothman Harshbarger Jackson (IL) Jackson (TX) Jayapal Johnson (GA) Kamlager-Dove Lee (CA) Lee (PA) Luttrell McCormick McGovern Mills Moore (AL) Nadler Norman Ocasio-Cortez Ogles Omar Perry Pocan Pressley Ramirez Rosendale Roy Scanlon Schakowsky Smith (WA) Steube Stevens Takano Tlaib Underwood Van Duyne Velazquez Waters Watson Coleman Williams (GA) NOT VOTING--43 Armstrong Blumenauer Bowman Buchanan Carter (LA) Casten Castro (TX) Crenshaw Duncan Evans Fletcher Frankel, Lois Frost Gallego Garcia, Mike Gomez Gottheimer Granger Graves (MO) Grijalva LaHood LaLota Lamborn Lieu Luetkemeyer Luna Massie Molinaro Moskowitz Mullin Nehls Perez Pingree Porter Quigley Rodgers (WA) Rogers (KY) Rose Sherrill Swalwell Waltz Wexton Williams (NY)

Messrs. COLLINS, JACKSON of Texas, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mrs. HARSHBARGER, and Mr. GROTHMAN changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''

Ms. ADAMS changed her vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''

So the bill was passed.

The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source