Raising A Question of the Privileges of the House

Floor Speech

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Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, Al Green is my friend and, for that matter, so is Mr. Newhouse, though I don't know him quite as well.

I think this motion is a serious mistake. I sat here in this House the night that President Obama made his state of the Union speech, and Joe Wilson from South Carolina jumped up and said: ``You lie.''

Nothing was done about that.

Mr. Green engaged in conduct that I chose not to participate in, though I found that a number of my constituents wished I had joined him. He expressed his strong views in a way that I would not have voiced them myself, but he left this Chamber voluntarily after doing so. To censure him now sets us back. It does not move us forward toward a more bipartisan and a more respectful House.

Indeed, I think many Americans will be surprised that Republicans get upset about decorum on anything. There was no Republican objection when President Trump decided to pardon the criminals that were responsible for the deaths of police officers in this building when they defended us on January 6, sprayed them with bear spray, and harassed and harmed so many officers.

There has been no Republican concern about decorum when the President fired the head of the Office of Ethics at the White House, when he fired the watchdogs of about 17 different Federal departments and agencies, the inspectors general that are designed to uphold and check out corruption and waste in our government.

There has been no outrage when President Trump decided that he would take on General Milley for being the patriot that he is and seek to obtain revenge on him.

What Mr. Green was talking about was outrage about something that is very important. There are 700,000 seniors in Texas who rely on Medicaid and nursing homes.

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Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, half the children in my hometown, and probably more in Mr. Green's, are at risk of losing their care as seen in our Children's Hospital. Medicaid is a lifeline to individuals with disabilities.

He was passionate. He was emotional. He is deeply committed to protecting the vulnerable. He should not be censured for the way in which he expressed his passion and his concern and his love of justice.

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