Luis Gutiérrez

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent from the chamber on Thursday, December 20, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on roll call votes 448, 455, 461, 466, 474, 475, 476, 477, 478, 479, 480, 481, and 482. I would have voted ``nay'' on roll call vote 467. Specifically, for roll call vote 448, the First Step Act, I would have voted ``yea'' enthusiastically in support of this legislation. Despite my delay in making it to the House floor, I would have supported this legislation due to the reforming of decades old policies that have plagued our criminal justice system.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent from the chamber on Wednesday, December 19, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on roll call votes 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444 and 445.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent from the chamber on Monday, December 10, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on roll call votes 426 and 427.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent from the chamber on Thursday, November 29, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on roll call vote No. 423. I would have voted ``yea'' on roll call vote No. 424.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent from the chamber on Friday, November 30, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on roll call vote 425.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, when I was born, separate but equal was the law of the land. Even in a northern city like Chicago, a young Puerto Rican kid knew where he could and could not go, which beaches and pools were open to him, and which were off-limits. Segregation and discrimination by race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation were deeply embedded in the customs and culture of our society, and upheld by the State and Federal Government. So as I prepare to leave office after 26 years representing the people of the Fourth District of Illinois, I think it is important to reflect on how far we have come and how far we still have to go before this country lives up to its lofty ideals enshrined in our most sacred documents and origin mythology. That a Puerto Rican born in Chicago in 1953, 65 years ago, the son of Spanish-speaking immigrants with little education who were driven by poverty from the mountains of Puerto Rico, would be able to speak into this microphone at all is perhaps a ringing endorsement for what this Nation stands for. But let us be clear: People sacrificed and died so that I could speak here today. People I never met, like Medgar Evers, Emmett Till, and countless others, died in the struggle against discrimination and American apartheid, and opened the path for me to be here today. The Voting Rights Act and other civil rights legislation passed in my lifetime on this floor were soaked in the blood of martyrs, old and young, who kept moving forward until everyone had the right to vote and every vote was counted. Even as the President and his party challenge the principles of the Voting Rights Act today, I have always tried to honor those who have given their lives to make America freer and stronger. To be blunt, were it not for the sacrifice of Black Americans, Black people in this country and their allies, who literally had their homes and churches bombed fighting to make this country live up to its own creed, I would not be here speaking to you today. That has always and will always guide me. When the Fourth District was created to give Latinos an opportunity in Chicago to have a voice in Congress, I was the first to win that seat. While the majority of my constituents then in 1992 were 65 percent Latino, on election day, the majority of voters were White. In 26 years and 13 elections, that has changed. Today, voters on election day in the majority Latino Fourth District, which I represent, are, in fact, Latino. Early on, I realized the constituent services in my district were not restricted to veterans' benefits and Social Security, although we work hard on those issues. In my district, helping people navigate the complex and expensive process of citizenship was a top need and became a top priority for my office. We helped more than 55,000 people--let me underscore that, 55,000 immigrants--become citizens, sponsoring workshops, helping people resolve issues, and setting a standard that I feel is unmatched by any congressional office. Just last month, I spoke with a woman who told me a remarkable story. Her daughter had assembled all of her documents and was prepared to apply for citizenship, and then she left the file on a Chicago subway system train. A few days later, this woman told me, a knock came at her door. Someone had found her daughter's folder, and they didn't give it to the CTA's lost and found, but, rather, they made sure it got to my office on Fullerton Avenue in Chicago. My office and staff were so associated with citizenship and helping the immigrant communities that this Good Samaritan felt there was only one logical place to return the documents. Indeed, we worked with her daughter to make sure all of her documents and fees were filed. Today, she is a citizen of the United States of America. When I walk through my district and talk with moms and dads, they tell me how my office touched their lives. Whether it was for citizenship or fighting someone's wrongful deportation, my office has done more than just help constituents. We have literally helped them preserve their families. It is the legacy of helping families and individuals, and making this country a more welcoming place for people, people a lot like my parents from rural Puerto Rico, that is what I carry with me as I leave. My work for America, her immigrants, and the character of our great Nation is not done. It is simply switching to private life. We who believe in freedom cannot rest. But to all of my colleagues, past and present, thank you for walking with me on this journey these many years.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent from the chamber on Tuesday, November 27, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on roll call votes 421 and 422.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent from the chamber on Tuesday, November 13, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted Yea on Roll Call votes 416 and 417.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, this bill does not come to the floor in a vacuum. The midterms are coming, and Republicans will try to pass whatever they can before they lose and pass the gavel to the new speaker. We know more indictments and guilty pleas are coming from Robert Mueller and his team. And we know Republicans are having a hard time defending tax cuts where 83 percent of the cuts went to the richest 1 percent and the rest of America got the leftovers. Don't forget the Republican agenda to systematically strip away healthcare coverage from American families who are struggling to make ends meet. No, the Republicans don't want to talk about tax breaks, billionaires, or foreign Russian alliances of this President, Trump. They want to talk about San Francisco and immigrants. Republicans will do anything to beat up on immigrants so that voters forget to beat up on Republicans who hold all the power. It is the oldest political hokey-doke trick in the book: Hey, look over there. Blame them, not us. It started with immigrants are rapists and murderers. Then it was immigrants are cheats and frauds. Then they said immigrants and their children deserve to be locked up. Then the President started pushing the biggest lie of all, that immigrants are a drain on the economy. The Attorney General, despite being humiliated--I mean humiliated--on a daily basis by this President is adopting a scorched earth, anti- immigrant agenda to ensure as many deportations as he can before he gets the axe. The American people are smart enough to see through this smoke screen. They see how Republicans deal with a woman's claim of sexual assault. They understand their taxes are going up at the same time taxes on the Republicans' favorite people, that is to say, corporations, are going down. They get the message that the President opposes immigrant families, except when it comes to his wife and her ability to make her own family citizens of the United States of America. They understand Republicans are opposed to legal immigration, refugees, Dreamers, and TPS holders. Republicans are not interested in the kinds of immigrants or the kinds of average American families, for that matter, who wake up early every day and have to go to work. Nope. Not the people who work at Mar- a-Lago, not the people who tend to the greens at Trump golf courses, not the people who clean rooms at Trump Tower. No, Republicans are not interested in people who work at Trump Tower, only the people who can afford to live there. Well, your time is up. The American people will make that real clear in a few weeks, regardless of how many of these resolutions you pass. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against this resolution.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I am a member of the Judiciary Committee in this body, and, unfortunately, the Framers of the Constitution didn't give my committee or this Chamber a role in vetting and confirming the President's nominee to the Supreme Court. But in the House, we pride ourselves as being the people's House because we are in constant contact with our constituents. So while I do not have a vote in the process, I do have a voice. As an elected Representative, I feel a sacred responsibility to raise my voice. First of all, I don't care when the allegations of sexual assault came forward. I don't care about whatever schedule Senator Chuck Grassley thinks is more important. I don't care about the impending fall term of the Court or the timing of Robert Mueller's next indictments in his investigation of the Trump White House and campaign. In the case of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, we should listen to the women. We should always listen to the women, but in this case, multiple women have come forward to risk their lives and reputations because they believe the truth about Judge Kavanaugh must come out before he is confirmed or rejected by the Senate. Women in this country should know that if you come forward to make credible allegations against anyone, you will be respected and you will be heard. Do you want to know why so few sexual assaults are reported in this country? Well, it is unfolding on the national stage: Why didn't she report it? Why didn't she do something more? Why didn't she say something earlier? It is always she, she, she, when we know that sexual assault is not her fault, and fear of coming forward is not her fault either. They didn't believe Bill Cosby's accusers until they did, or Harvey Weinstein, or Speaker Hastert's, or a hundred other people I could name here today, until we did. When the stakes are this high, we shouldn't be imposing deadlines or ultimatums or requiring victims to conform to our timetables, as Republican Senators have done. And by high stakes, I don't mean just the lifetime appointment of a judge, but this is an important moment for young men and young women in this country. They are watching, and they are learning. We should be leading by example and allowing victims to come forward, be respected, and be heard. Do I want my grandson to learn a lesson that sexual assault while he is in high school could follow him for the rest of his life? You are damn right I do. Do I want young men to learn that behavior that hurts other people, no matter how drunk or how high they are, is unacceptable? You are damn right I do. Do I want young women to not be afraid to come forward, no matter when they are ready to? You are damn right I do. Look, I am not saying you need to believe Judge Kavanaugh's accuser, but as a Congress and as a country, we need to listen to women. Now, I will admit that I would not vote for Judge Kavanaugh whether or not the current allegations are true or Republicans steamroll the victims to fast track his appointment. I believe in a woman's right to control their own reproductive system, regardless of what men think. So, yeah, you can bet I would vote against him. I believe freedom of religion should extend to all, including those of the Muslim faith, who should be able to worship and move around just like everyone else. So you can bet I would vote against Kavanaugh. I believe people should marry whomever they want, whomever they love. I oppose a judge who thinks a sitting President is above the law right now when we need as a Nation an independent judiciary to hold politicians, even the President, accountable, which is another reason I wouldn't vote for Judge Kavanaugh. But what is important right now is not how I feel about Judge Kavanaugh. What is important is that we lead by example. We need to be clear that the days of, ``Boys will be boys,'' or, ``It was just locker room talk,'' are over. Mr. Speaker, the Senate should take as much time as is needed to take very seriously this situation. They should take it seriously for our daughters, for our sons, for you, and for me, too.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent in the House chamber on Tuesday, September 25, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted Yea on Roll Call votes 400 and 401.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Madam Speaker, before I respond to President Trump's claim that the rescue and recovery effort in Puerto Rico a year ago after Hurricane Maria was ``one of the best jobs that's ever been done,'' I want to make a few things clear. First of all, everyone is praying for our friends and neighbors along the eastern seaboard who will be facing the wind and rain of Hurricane Florence today. I support them and the first responders who are helping and the people running shelters and delivering medicine to the sick and the injured; and I fully support FEMA, Homeland Security, and State and local governments for what they are doing, especially the brave men and women on the front line in harm's way today. Secondly, in the last few weeks, the official death toll of Hurricane Maria was raised to 3,000 based on a meticulous study by George Washington's Milken Institute of Public Health, and the number is based on facts and the truth. More people died in Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico than died in Hurricane Katrina and that died in the attacks on September 11. That is not fake news, Mr. President. The temptation is to fault FEMA and the job they did in Puerto Rico. I want to make clear, individuals at FEMA and FEMA as an agency did heroic work in Puerto Rico, and FEMA continues to do that work. I flew with FEMA pilots 10 days after the storm hit, and I saw their work up close. It is clear that they saved lives. But let me also be very, very clear. With 3,000 people dead, for the President to say that Puerto Rico was a success, a triumph of his Presidency, is simply delusional. Only in the President's mind could he give himself an A-plus. Only in the President's mind could we go a year without an apology to the American people for his incompetence in managing a crisis where 3,000 people died, Mr. President. And now he denies that they are even dead. It takes a man of humility, honor, and compassion to admit when he has made a tremendous and deadly mistake in caring for the American people; and we know we do not have a man in the White House who is capable of such emotions of empathy, of basic human decency. This Congress has failed to provide any meaningful oversight for fear they might embarrass the President with the facts. Thursday will mark 1 year since the storm hit, and think back a year ago. The popular and charismatic mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, called for help on national TV, saying people are dying. The President had a meltdown because he doesn't like being criticized by women, so the mayor's words were more than the President could take. Most of us knew at the time, and all of us know now a year after the storm, the mayor was right and the President was wrong. People died. He was dead wrong. Disasters require preparedness and rapid response, but FEMA was not fully prepared, and they were not fully supported in the rapid response by the Trump administration, which was then and is now a disorganized mess. And we don't need Bob Woodward to tell us that. Yes, the massive power of the storm was compounded by decades of neglect from Washington, which contributed to the debt crisis and infrastructure collapse. And to be clear, Puerto Rico's problems didn't happen overnight and didn't happen on President Trump's watch. But let us also be clear, it is his watch now. As President of the United States, he is responsible for Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory that belongs to, is a possession, property of the United States of America. Yes, islands are surrounded by water, Mr. President--in the case of Puerto Rico, deep water--but FEMA and Homeland Security never called the most powerful military in the world, the U.S. military, which has capabilities and capacities well beyond those of FEMA. From the beginning, the President's focus was on damage control from a political standpoint, not damage control from a human life standpoint. The sad truth is that, in trying so hard to make sure that the hurricane didn't become ``Trump's Katrina,'' we lost far more lives. This was a disaster mismanagement, and that lies at the feet of the President and his administration. What is offensive to many of us is that, even though the President dropped the ball, he is now doing a victory dance in the end zone--or should we call it the dead zone. I pray that his response to the current disaster unfolding along the East Coast will be better and more empathetic. He has a golf club in North Carolina and a winery in Virginia, so maybe the American people in those States will get more of the President's help than my fellow Puerto Ricans did. And I pray the response is more successful.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent in the House Chamber on Wednesday, September 12, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yea'' on roll call votes 394, 395, and 396.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I have been thinking about all the criminal investigations pointing directly at the President and his associates and the fact that, for many Americans, this has become a he- said/he-said debate. On the one hand, you have the President saying that this is all a witch hunt: Yes, I fired Comey and ordered to derail the investigation; yes, I knew about and helped conceal the Russia meeting; and, yes, I knew about the payments to keep people quiet. Then there is Robert Mueller, the former FBI Director, who really hasn't said a word this whole time, but his efficient, productive, and successful investigations keep rolling right along. I guess he lets his indictments do his talking. So in this battle of he-said/he-said, who would the oddsmakers pick? If you were a betting man or woman, a Vegas oddsmaker, or just an armchair quarterback, who would you go with? On the one hand, we have a conservative Republican who was the second longest serving FBI Director. Only Hoover served longer. On the other hand, we have the host of a reality TV show with no political or government or military or law enforcement experience whatsoever. Hmm, let's continue. On the one hand, we have a Vietnam veteran with a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. Director Mueller joined the Marines as a volunteer at the height of the Vietnam war after his high school teammate was killed in action. Mueller enlisted to honor his friend and out of a sense of duty, honor, and obligation to put oneself behind one's country as a matter of honor. On the other hand, we have the President, who avoided military service by claiming he had bone spurs in his foot, despite ample evidence that was a lie, a complete fiction made up to serve what? His own personal interests above those of the Nation at time of war. According to what I have read, Director Mueller was a good student at Princeton, and after earning his bachelor's and master's and after serving in Vietnam with distinction, he studied law at the University of Virginia, where he served on the Law Review, a prestigious accomplishment at any law school, let alone one of the best. The President went to business school and inherited millions of dollars and started a real estate business because his dad gave him the money. Director Mueller is a courtroom expert and veteran law enforcement leader. Think about this: He was a private litigator, a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office, and started serving at the Justice Department under Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, who was Ronald Reagan's and George H.W. Bush's Attorney General. To be sure, the President has a great deal of courtroom experience, too, but that is mostly related to depositions, civil lawsuits, and criminal cases when he sues people or threatens to sue them. On a more personal note, Director Mueller's service as FBI Director, as you may remember, was delayed at one point because he was fighting prostate cancer, which he beat. He is a man of integrity who married his high school sweetheart in 1966, and to the best of everyone's knowledge, it is the only marriage of either one of them. The President, well, I am running out of time, so I won't be able to discuss his long list of marriages and affairs, which have all become quite public. Finally, while the President characterizes the Mueller investigation as the most expensive witch hunt in history, I bet the oddsmakers would give a lot of weight to the following facts: The President's campaign chairman has been convicted; his National Security Advisor resigned and pleaded guilty; his personal attorney and long-time fixer in New York pleaded guilty on multiple counts; and people from inside The Trump Organization and inside the campaign and the White House are cooperating with prosecutors as we speak. And this was all despite the President's efforts and with the full cooperation of Republicans in Congress to prevent the truth from coming out. There are a lot of people in this body who are staking their careers on the President and his influence over their voters in their States or their congressional districts. Okay. You are betting on a guy who is up tweeting at 3 a.m. in the morning. Look, I am going to bet--when I look at the main protagonist in this legal drama, I will put my money on the law enforcement veteran who, at 3 a.m. in the morning, is working on who he is going to indict next.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I have written a letter to the President of the United States, which I am sending today, that carries a simple message on behalf of the American people: Mr. President, it is time for you to resign the office of the Presidency for the good of the United States and her people. It has become clear to Congress and the American people, especially those of us who do not exclusively watch sanitized versions on the President's most supported media outlets, that, for decades, the President led a vast criminal enterprise that went on to engage in criminal activity during the 2016 campaign for the White House and engaged in criminal activity since taking the office of President. The fact is clear. The President is the target of multiple criminal investigations on several fronts: Number one, the violation of Federal election laws, including the failure to report payments and contributions as required under campaign finance law; Number two, the violation of tax, banking, and fraud laws related to The Trump Organization and immediate business associates and family members of the President; Number three, apparent involvement and encouragement of the illegal hacking of political opponents during the 2016 campaign and efforts to derail investigations and inquiries since taking the office of President; and Number four, working and encouraging and collaborating with a foreign government, Russia, to interfere in the 2016 election in order to help the President's campaign, combined with efforts, while in office, to obstruct justice in the investigation of the campaign. Those are just four of the criminal conspiracies that point directly to the President of the United States and compromise his ability to continue leading the Nation. I have only 5 minutes to speak, so I don't have the time to enumerate the convictions in Federal court of close associates of the President's business interests and campaign, nor the guilty pleas, the plea bargains, or the immunity granted to the President's employees, friends, and business associates, including those directly managing his political operation and serving in his White House. And, yes, the investigations are still going on, as are the prosecutions, guilty pleas, and sentencing of the President's coconspirators in each of these four criminal matters. And we don't know; there may be many more shoes to drop from local, State, and Federal prosecutors, because when you start looking under the rocks piled around this President, you find ample evidence of systematic fraud, criminal activity, and coverup. For me, this has nothing to do with the President's racism, his misogyny, his homophobia and Islamophobia. It is different than his ties to and support for white supremacy or the voice he lends to the wildest and most discredited conspiracy theories the dark right web and talk radio can come up with. And as ugly as it was to hear, even his stark admission of sexual assault against women is separate from the systematic criminal activity he has clearly engaged in, much of which he, himself, has admitted unwittingly in television interviews. His policies are clearly damaging to the moral fabric of the American people, but this goes beyond the President's attacks on law enforcement, his giveaways to big polluters and operations, his defense of the superrich, his assault on Federal workers, the plundering of the economy, and the lasting damage he is doing on a daily basis to our most important international relationships with allies and foes alike. Vice President Pence, with whom I served in this body, is someone I disagree with on almost every issue of importance, especially his offensive views on homosexuality, women's rights, abortion, race relations, immigration, and almost anything else; but by comparison, he is better, even if he is wrong on many, many policy issues. Therefore, while I do not relish a Pence Presidency, at this point, I feel it is an absolute necessity for the good of the country, for the good of our people, for the good of the world, and America's place in that world. Mr. Speaker, in my letter, I humbly ask, as a proud American, patriot, public servant, a dad, a granddad, and a fellow human being, I ask the President to resign immediately. Please resign and spare the Nation from this ongoing nightmare. Don't do this to us. Don't make us go down with you. Step aside, sir, for the good of our country and for the good of the world. Mr. Speaker, I will include in the Record my letter to the President of the United States asking him to resign.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent in the House chamber on Tuesday, September 4, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Nay'' on roll call votes 380 and 381.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent in the House chamber for Roll Call votes 366 and 367 on Monday, July 23, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yea.''

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, when Democrats talk about immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, this is the mom and her children whom we are talking about. She is fleeing Central America to save the life of her children from violence, systematic corruption, extortion--yes-- rape, and kidnapping. But the other side wants to change the subject. On every TV screen this fall, Republicans will show pictures of tattooed gang members flashing gang signs, looking like murderers. We know. We get your strategy. You take your marching orders from Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson quicker than the President takes his marching orders from the Kremlin. In the same week that the President insulted the intelligence community of the United States, we are not going to let you insult the intelligence of the American voter. Immigrants, refugees, outsiders and outcasts, freed slaves, and survivors, just like this woman and her children, built this country. Some of us had our land stolen; some of us were stolen from our land; and some of us made a very smart decision that we had to get away from the land we were in so that we could survive. That is who we are. That is what America is. Every generation of Americans has had to withstand people in positions of power labeling the poor, the weak, the outsiders, and people of different races and ethnicities as criminals, threats, and the cause of all our problems, as the majority does today. Every generation of Americans has had to stand up to bullies and racists and power-hungry politicians and overcome their efforts to divide us as Americans. That is also the story of America's greatness: our resilience and our ability as a nation to overcome the worst instincts of some of our leaders. That is the story of America, and that is what we are doing today.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, the world witnessed the single worst performance by an American President on the world stage in world history. It was a culmination of the worst week an American President has ever had. As a citizen, I am shocked and embarrassed for our Nation. Given evidence, indictments, and facts, the President was given the choice of taking America's side or taking President Putin's side. The President chose Putin. I believe the American people, our Armed Forces, our allies, our lawmakers, and the President's own Cabinet deserve an immediate apology from the President for his actions. Having insulted and demeaned our closest military allies and trading partners, the President doubled down by insulting world leaders individually and in public, especially those who are most friendly to the United States. It was disgraceful. The President even went as far as to say that Germany is totally controlled by Russia, a comment that makes the President quite literally the laughing stock of the world. To then go on and take President Putin's side in defending the Kremlin's attack on the United States--an attack which this Congress, our intelligence and law enforcement agencies, our allies, and the American people know in fact took place--was nothing short of treasonous. The President has proven himself unable to separate his own personal interests from his current job as leader of the free world and has consistently, repeatedly, and now, in full view of the world, definitively put his own interests above those of the United States and the free world by siding with the petty, antidemocratic dictator of our international rival. The campaign of repression and the straight-up murder of political and business rivals by President Putin is well established. It is not something any American leader can or should debate. Using foreign agents to murder people overseas is the Kremlin's MO, and the President seems to feel that is okay. Let us not forget that Russia, on more than one occasion, has allowed paranoia, fear, and impunity to escalate to such a level that they have literally shot passenger airliners out of the sky, killing all on board. Invading other countries and using the pretext of national security to expand the Russian empire is not only condoned by this President, apparently, in some ways, he is seeking to emulate Putin's behavior by using national security as a pretext for trade wars with our closest allies and for policies to take babies, toddlers, and other children from people lawfully seeking asylum in the United States. Russia is not a government to be condoned; it is a government to be contained. Yet our President was unable to be critical of the dictator of our greatest rival in public--and God knows what he did in private. Mr. Speaker, it is well established that I believe our current President is a threat to American democracy, which is why I was one of the first Members of Congress to sign on to Articles of Impeachment last year. I have already begun consulting with my colleagues about whether those Articles of Impeachment can be expanded and updated to include the betrayal witnessed by the American people in the world this week. While it is already a full-time job, I will redouble my efforts to prevent the House of Representatives from taking actions to actively obstruct justice and undermine law enforcement and the FBI, while seeking to give the President cover and relief from a genuine, thorough investigation into the attack on our country by the Russians in 2016 and the attacks that are continuing to this day. This body, the House, the institution that I love so much and have served for more than 25 years, cannot be sullied or diminished by this President or his inability to see the facts about the attack on the United States. As a body, we must take action to relieve the President of his duties. Most Americans probably doubt that the House of Representatives is even up to the task of being fair, being honest, being impartial enough to call a spade a spade when it comes to Russian aggression. But I call on my fellow Democrats and my fellow Members on the other side of the aisle: If you still believe in truth, if you believe in democracy, if you believe in the rule of law and our Constitution, you will join me in holding this President accountable for his actions, in holding Russia accountable for the attacks on the United States and her people, and will stand up to defend your country and not just your party or your own income and career. This is a moment of destiny when the House as an institution must rise to the occasion. Mr. Speaker, the whole world is watching.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent in the House chamber for Roll Call votes 329 and 330 on Monday, July 16, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yea'' on both votes.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, I sent a bouquet of flowers and a big Puerto Rican flag to Mia Irizarry, a young Puerto Rican woman who lives in Chicago who celebrated her 24th birthday last month. My wife and I wanted to let her know that we support her and we admire her. You see, her birthday party at a park in Cook County, Illinois, didn't turn out the way she expected. By now, most of us have seen the video of that incident. A 62-year-old man, whom police have identified as Timothy Trybus, verbally abused and harassed Ms. Irizarry because she was wearing a shirt that depicts the flag of our U.S. colony, Puerto Rico. What unfolds over the 30 minutes is a man physically and verbally intimidating a very polite and poised 24-year-old American woman while a uniformed police officer stands by and does nothing to intervene or help. The officer has been identified as Patrick Connor of the Forest Preserve District of the Cook County Police Department. So an older racist yells at a young Latina because he doesn't like what she and other Puerto Ricans living in ``his'' community represent. Is that news? No. Sadly, no. While most police officers would have done the right thing in that incident, this guy was caught on tape doing the wrong thing or, more accurately, doing nothing at all. For me, this was very personal, because something similar happened to me, and something similar has happened to most Puerto Ricans, most Latinos, most people of color, and most people who are somehow different in this country, at one point or another in their lives. Twenty-two years ago, when I was a sophomore in Congress, I was entering one of the Capitol office buildings with my daughter, Omaira, and my niece, Maritza. I was new, and I was dressed somewhat casually, because we were just returning from a Puerto Rican celebration, and my daughter was carrying a Puerto Rican flag. The flag came unfurled as it went through the X-ray machine, and one of the officers wanted to stop us from coming in. I showed my official ID as a Member of Congress, to which the officer said: ``I don't think so,'' indicating that she thought my ID was a fake and that I couldn't possibly be a Member of Congress. She stated my ID was fake, in fact. There was also the comment at the end: Why don't you and your people go back where you came from? Twenty-two years after that incident, we are still seeing the same kind of bigotry, the same kind of misunderstanding about who Latinos and Puerto Ricans are, and the same fear that we are outsiders who don't belong here. Sadly, the same fear and otherness is extended to other people: the handicapped, gay and lesbians, transgender Americans, immigrants, Muslims, and people of color. The list just goes on. This is certainly not the first time, but, right now, we are in a moment in history when Americans are being told to fear other Americans. One of the reasons I think the video went viral is because it is emblematic of our times. Bullies who do not understand the first thing about their fellow human beings--Latinos, people of color, immigrants, or Muslims--are being taught to fear that something they have is being taken away from them. Some now feel it is their right, their privilege, and maybe even their duty to go off in public and take action. I wonder where they get such an idea. When our President calls Puerto Ricans lazy and expensive to help, it hurts our Nation. When he calls Mexicans rapists and murderers, or calls refugees fleeing violence with their children illegal immigrants, or calls transgender soldiers a threat to our country, and says good people on both sides of a racist rally where a woman was killed are the same, it filters down. Maybe the President is just reflecting back the fear, anger, and misunderstanding of the voters he wants to mobilize. But all the lying, hostility, and racism are clearly taking a toll on our country. I just hope that we are all as poised as Ms. Irizarry was, if and when someone gets in your face, whether you are wearing a pussy hat, or a hijab, or a rainbow flag, or a Black lives matter T-shirt. I hope we are all more willing than Officer Connor to take action when someone is trying to bully someone else. I know most Americans are not like Mr. Trybus, who is afflicted with fear, ignorance, and probably a substance abuse problem. But the video makes it clear that we all have to step up to defend the United States from this tide of misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia, and stand up for what America is really all about. Please, let's just do it all together. If you see hate, stand up and speak. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record my letter to the Civil Rights Division at Main Justice for an investigation into this matter. House of Representatives, Washington, DC, July 10, 2018. Hon. John M. Gore, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Washington, DC. Dear Acting Assistant Attorney General Gore: I watched video footage of a woman being harassed by an intoxicated male at a forest preserve in Cook County and I write to express my outrage and demand that the Civil Rights Division does all it can to investigate this incident. This past June, Mia Irizzary recorded her unfortunate encounter with an intoxicated male while at a Forest Preserve of Cook County park outside Chicago. An officer with the Forest Preserve looked on, avoided responding to the man and ignored the pleas for help from the woman who was being harassed. It is clear from the video that she was accosted by the man because of her ethnicity and wearing a Puerto Rican flag T-shirt. The man makes reference to his fear that Hispanics are coming to the United States to change him. What is even more unacceptable than the man's behavior is the unwillingness of a uniformed officer to intervene when the woman's civil rights were being challenged and the man used physical and verbal intimidation. I have learned that the man was eventually arrested by a different uniformed officer and the initial officer has been consigned to ``desk duty'' pending an investigation. Because of the seriousness of the encounter, the fact that it targeted the Puerto Rican community in and around my District, and growing number of anti-Latino and anti- immigrant hate crimes being reported, I demand the Civil Rights Division investigate to see if federal civil rights charges are warranted. I would like to remind you of your division's responsibilities which are to enforce federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin. I understand this incident on a gut level because almost exactly the same thing happened to me when I was a freshman in Congress. I was denied entry into the Capitol complex by U.S. Capitol Police despite being a Congressman with identification, because my daughter was carrying a Puerto Rican flag and the officer doubted that I could possibly be a Member of Congress. So this kind of incident is unfortunately not unusual and though we did not have viral videos 25 years ago, I wish I had done more then to stop the kind of behavior on display in Ms. Irizarry's video, so that we can prevent the cycles of hatred and bigotry that often repeat themselves today. Thank you and I look forward to your response. If you have any questions please contact me or Rafael Hurtado of my staff. Sincerely, Luis V. Gutierrez, Member of Congress.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent in the House chamber for Roll Call votes 314 and 315 on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted Yea.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent in the House chamber for Roll Call votes 291, 292, 293, 294 and 295 on Tuesday, June 26, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted Nay on Roll Call votes 291, 292, 294 and 295. I would have voted Yea on Roll Call vote 293.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent in the House chamber for Roll Call votes 289 and 290 on Monday, June 25, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted Yea.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Madam Speaker, the reelection strategy for every single Republican Member of the House is to stand strong with a President willing to take children from their parents in order to look mean and nasty and cruel to children who are fleeing for their lives. You own that. That is your campaign strategy. As of today, Republicans want to put the children in the same jails as the parents and fight to hold them indefinitely and demand we charge asylum seekers as criminals and jail them with their children. The more than 2,300 children who have been taken from their parents and put in a vast system spread over thousands of miles, we just don't know if those children will ever see their families again. You own that, too. That is what you are campaigning on to save your jobs this coming November. Taking DACA away from Dreamers: that is your policy, too. And then putting bills on the floor to cu legal immigration and build a wall are your strategies to blame Democrats for what you are doing. Republicans want to be both the arsonists and the firefighters, and you can't be both. I don't blame Speaker Ryan and Chairman Goodlatte. They are not bad people. They are both decent men of faith who have been put in a position of defending policies that are cruel, inhumane, and run deeply contrary to the will of the American people and the values of our Nation. This must be morally wrenching for them. But honestly, I have little sympathy. Each has made a devil's bargain to trade their reputation for Stephen Miller's agenda and Donald Trump's name. Legal immigration? No. An asylum policy that protects human lives? No. DACA to protect Dreamers? No. Policies that treat wife-beating, rape, and human trafficking as matters that require us to protect women? No. A nation of immigrants? No. All they want is a wall. Even though both are leaving office because the Republican Party is no longer home for decent men and women of values, faith, and conscience, both are leaving us with one last commitment: to put the needs of this erratic President above the will of the people and above the good of our Nation. At some point, someone needs to stop complimenting the emperor on his new set of clothes and start telling the President he is naked. Covering his rear end from all the lies, the deceit, and the soullessness is no longer sustainable.