Jim Jordan

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the resolution for all the reasons we have articulated here this morning. I think it is important to go back and just remember, this is not about people of Asian- American descent. This is not about the Chinese people. It is about the Chinese Communist Party. It is about the Chinese Government, a government that lied to us about the origins of this virus, lied to the world, used the World Health Organization to continue to mislead the United States and the world. That has been where the criticism has been targeted by the President. But, again, 7 weeks before an election, Democrats don't care about the facts. They care about attacking the President, calling his supporters, as the Speaker of this House did, ``enemies of the state,'' bringing a resolution to the floor of this nature, but not being willing to condemn the violence and the mobs in the streets of our cities and certain places for over 100 days straight, looting and violence and rioting and attacks on our law enforcement officers. Nope, can't. We can't bring a resolution. We can't talk about that. When the Attorney General of the United States asked, the Democrat members of the Committee on the Judiciary won't even speak up then. Madam Speaker, I hope we defeat this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, we oppose this legislation. Everyone knows racism is wrong, but that is not what this legislation is about. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins).

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs), the chairman of the Freedom Caucus.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, again, we all know racism is wrong, but that is not what this is about. This is just another effort of the Democrats to attack the President. The third whereas in the resolution, the gentlemen just spoke about this. The third whereas in the resolution says you perpetuate anti- Asian bias if you use the terms ``Chinese virus'' or ``Wuhan virus.'' Well, someone should have told the media this. CNN called it the Wuhan virus. MSNBC called it the Chinese coronavirus. ABC and CBS called it China's coronavirus. CNBC called it the China coronavirus. So someone should have told the media that you couldn't use these terms. Frankly, someone should have told the Democrats a few months ago that a few months later the mob, the cancel culture, would say this is a term you can't use, because the Democrats used it on their committee notice. In the January 29, 2020, committee notice, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, Congressman Barrett, the chairman, says in the subject line of the hearing for the following week: ``Subject: The Wuhan coronavirus.'' Someone should have told the Democrats you can't use that term, but in the new woke world you can't state the truth. And as Mr. Collins pointed out: Did the virus start in China? Yes. Did the virus start in Wuhan, China? Yes. Did China lie to the United States about the severity and the origins of this virus? Yes. Did China lie to the world about the virus? Yes, they did. Did the World Health Organization lie to the United States? Yes, they did. Did the World Health Organization lie to the rest of the world? The answer to every single one of those questions is yes. But you can't say that, not in this world, not in the politically correct cancel culture. You can't state the truth. You can't state that the Chinese Government launched a disinformation campaign to cover up its role in exacerbating the spread of COVID-19. You can't say the coverup included punishing doctors, limiting the access of journalists, censoring the internet, spreading disinformation, and withholding information from the entire international community. You can't say that. You can't say a Chinese Government official publicly and falsely claimed that the United States Army brought it to Wuhan, the Chinese Government failed to institute a full-scale public response, and underreporting of COVID-19 cases and deaths propelled the virus on the course that it has been on. You can't say all that. You could a few months ago. You could have a few months ago, but you can't today. That is the cancel culture world. That is how the mob operates today. You used to be able to say, as Mr. Collins pointed out, the West Nile virus, the Zika virus, German measles, Spanish flu. Not today. Not today. They will attack you if you don't say it the way they want you to say it, and this is dangerous. You can't say China virus today, and tomorrow who knows what it will be. But, like I said, a few months ago, even the Democrat committee chairman used the very term that is in their resolution they are saying you can't use today because somehow it is anti-Asian bias. I think it has more to do with the fact that we are 7 weeks before an election, and this is one more way to go after the President. But we should all remember, this is dangerous when you start saying certain things can't be said. If you don't say it the way we, the politically correct, the cancel culture mob wants you to say it, you have to be quiet. Silence is the biggest threat to the First Amendment, and that is what we are seeing. And they want to just say--this is broader, this is bigger. I would say look at the sports world. Look at the sports world. Drew Brees says you should stand for the national anthem; he gets attacked. Mike Gundy, football coach at Oklahoma State, goes fishing with his kids and wears what the mob says is the wrong T-shirt; he almost loses his job. He wore a T-shirt that had a conservative news outlet on the T-shirt. Oh, my goodness. You can't coach football if you wear the wrong T-shirt with your kids, according to the mob. You can't say a term today that just a few months ago they used on their committee notice. You can't say it today because that is what the mob says. James Harden says ``Back the Blue'' on a mask. He has to answer for that. Last week, two high school football players--on 9/11--ran on the field with a Back the Blue flag and a flag supporting our firefighters, and they get suspended because today the mob says that is not okay. We need to understand the cancel culture restricting, limiting, telling you what you can and can't say is so darn dangerous, and it will never stop, because the mob never--it never quits. You don't believe me? Two weeks ago--2 weeks ago--the mayor of this city, our Nation's Capital, has a proposal to remove and relocate the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. This is how ridiculous--this is how ridiculous it gets. And maybe I will just finish with this. Maybe the most ridiculous thing is the last clause, the last page of their resolution. The last page says: ``recommits United States leadership in building more inclusive, diverse, and tolerant societies . . . to combat misinformation. . . .'' Now, think about this for a second. If you state the truth, the virus started in China, you are a bad guy. You are not allowed to state the truth. This resolution says that is misinformation. The very misinformation that happened was China misinforming the world, lying to the world. You are not allowed to talk about that. You have to do what--this resolution says you have to do it the politically correct, the woke way, the cancel culture way, and that is why this is so darn wrong, so darn wrong. I hope we don't continue to travel down this road. This is scary where the left wants to take the country, so dangerous for the First Amendment and free speech rights. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Was it a disgrace a few months ago when the Democratic chairman called it the `` Wuhan coronavirus,'' or is it just a disgrace now when we are less than 7 weeks before an election and you guys want to continue to attack the President? Which is it? Because it can't be a disgrace just now when you used the exact same language that the Democrat chairman, the Democrat staff used for their subcommittee hearing. So you can get all fired up and start yelling at us, but the truth is you guys used it, the same terms you are now saying, oh, are so bad in this resolution. The hypocrisy from the left and the mob of what you can say today and can't say tomorrow is ridiculous, and the American people see it. They see it. They know this is complete BS. They know it is completely about the election, which is 7 weeks away. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the Democrats talked about a slight delay in mail delivery the last several weeks. Well, of course. Would you want to deliver mail in Portland today, cities that have been under siege for 90-some days? I bet there are delays in Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York. I bet that is where the delays are. In fact, how do you deliver mail to a CHOP zone, to a CHAZ zone? How do you do that? They won't let them in. I mean, come on. We know the facts here. The facts are the post office has more money today than they had this time last year. They got a $14 billion cash reserve. They got a $10 billion line of credit we gave them in the CARES Act. And oh, the Postmaster General is moving some sorting machines and removing some mail collection boxes, the same thing every Postmaster General has always done. In fact, between 2011 and 2016, the Obama-Biden administration removed 12,000 mail collection boxes. Oh, my goodness. And it is happening again. We are moving some boxes, and somehow, that is a reason to give $25 billion to the Postal Service and create all this ``conspiracy theory''--not my words; The Wall Street Journal called it--that the Democrats are doing. What is really going on here? If you really wanted to focus on some concerns the post office has, we have a bipartisan bill that the late Chairman Cummings and Mark Meadows worked on. Mark Meadows, I don't even think the Democrats--I know the chairwoman hasn't even talked to him about this, the expert on this issue on our side. Oh, by the way, he happens to have a pretty important job in this town, a pretty important job, and you guys didn't even talk to him. They had a bipartisan bill. If you really want to work on bipartisan concerns and solutions to some problems in the post office, that is fine, but that is not what this is about. This is all about politics. You don't want to address real issues, too busy defunding the police, too busy not denouncing the mob that is running so many of our cities. This is all about politics. First, it was the Russian collusion. In this committee, it was the Michael Cohen hearing. I remember that, when he came, the first big hearing of this Congress. The first-announced witness of this committee came and lied to us seven times. Then, it was the Mueller report. Then, it was the Ukraine fake impeachment. And now, it is the White House is putting mailboxes in cages and whatever you are saying now. Mr. Speaker, the American people see this for what it is. They see this for what it is. If you want real solutions, we could have had them. You could have worked with Chief of Staff Meadows. You didn't want to do that. You wanted politics. This was said earlier: If anyone should know, it should be the chairwoman of this committee who had to wait 6 weeks after election day to get the results of her election. Imagine what the Democrats want to do is throw live ballots out there to everyone. That was just one congressional primary election. Imagine what they want to do--150 million live ballots. That is what the Democrats want. Imagine what that is going to be like. That is where these guys want to go. Mr. Speaker, we should be working on real solutions instead of this charade that the Democrats are putting us through.

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, during Wednesday's roll call vote on the motion to recommit H.R. 7027, I was participating in the Judiciary Committee's Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law Subcommittee hearing on online platforms. Had I been present, I would have voted in favor of the motion.

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, before yielding to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Kelly), I would just point out they are Federal law enforcement officials protecting Federal property in Portland, and they do identify themselves when they arrest someone, and they have identification on both shoulders. What else do you want them to do? If you come in in a marked car, you are going to get a brick through your window. Holy cow. They are behaving exactly the way anyone with common sense would and consistent with the rule of law that you would want them to behave in the situation they find themselves. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Kelly).

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I would just add that this is not just about identification, which the law enforcement do identify themselves with the insignia and patch on both shoulders. When they are arresting someone, they tell them what Federal agency they are from. This is also about limiting the President's ability to use the Insurrection Act. There are two parts to this amendment. Both are bad; both are wrong. Therefore, I would urge a ``no'' vote. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. For 53 days, 7\1/2\ weeks, Portland, Oregon, has been burning. Three weeks ago, we saw the Democrats' response on the House floor. The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Chairman Nadler, said antifa is imaginary. Tell that to the people of Portland, who have seen antifa for 53 days rioting, looting, stealing, destroying property, and attacking police officers. This amendment is no good. This amendment limits the authority of the President under the Insurrection Act when he needs to ``suppress insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.'' The Insurrection Act has been used by many Presidents to address domestic violence and riots, including Presidents Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Kennedy. Both parties have used it when necessary, but now that President Trump mentions using this to address the widespread violence and destruction across the Nation, the Democrat majority wants to put restrictions on it. I tell you what. The police chief in Chicago, where 49 officers were systematically attacked by the mob Friday night, just said he would welcome Federal help to deal with what the mob is doing. He knows antifa is not imaginary. And Andy Ngo, the journalist who was attacked by antifa, knows it is not imaginary. This amendment is not what we need to be adopting. This amendment would mean that the President cannot use non-Federal law enforcement resources under the law that authorizes him to suppress insurrection. Why in the world would we want to limit the options of the President to deal with the situation we find ourselves in? Under Federal law, it is a crime to incite, assist, or engage in such conduct against the United States. This amendment, as I said, would limit the President's available options and resources to address real threats to our Union. Mr. Speaker, I urge the defeat of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I am honored to commend to the House the admirable service of former Congressman Clarence J. ``Bud'' Brown, Jr., on the occasion of his 93rd birthday on June 18. Born in Columbus in 1927, Bud spent much of his youth in Washington, D.C., where his father, the late former Congressman Clarence J. Brown, Sr., represented Ohio's Seventh Congressional District from 1939 to 1965. Bud succeeded his father, serving in this House with distinction from 1965 to 1983. He was then selected by President Reagan to serve as the nation's fifth Deputy Secretary of Commerce. From 1992 to 1999, Bud served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the United States Capitol Historical Society, which is dedicated to preserving the heritage and history of the Capitol. The Society honored him with its Freedom Award upon his retirement. Bud and his wife, Joyce, are the proud parents of four children: Cate, Clancy, Roy, and Beth. Beth died at age seven after a three-year battle with leukemia. The foundation that Bud and Joyce established in her name has helped hundreds of high school graduates from Champaign County study medicine and related careers in college. Madam Speaker, Bud Brown has been a personal friend and mentor for decades. We are grateful that good men like Bud commit their lives to public service and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

Mr. JORDAN

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. It seems to me four principles should frame our work in putting together policies that help the country. First and foremost, we need to recognize, as we all do, the tragedy that took place in Minneapolis. The taking of George Floyd's life was just that, a tragedy. It never should have happened. As I have said before, it is as wrong as wrong can be, and his family deserves justice, as do others. The Republican leader mentioned Pat Underwood. His death was as wrong as wrong can be, and his family deserves justice as well. Second, we should condemn violence and also the creation of any type of autonomous zone that is separate from our great country. I said this earlier today. There is a big difference between peaceful protest and some of the things we have seen. Peaceful protest, that is First Amendment. We have all engaged in it. That is apple pie. That is America. But peaceful protest is different than the rioting we have seen. Peaceful protest is different than the looting we have seen. Peaceful protest is different than the violence we have witnessed, the attacking of people, the taking of people's businesses and destroying them. Peaceful protest is different than CHAZ and CHOP and these autonomous zones that are forming. Third, the vast majority--vast, vast majority--of police officers are good, good people doing great work, risking their lives every time they put the uniform on and serve their shift, do their duty. They are the guys who protect us here on Capitol Hill. They are the folks who rushed into the Twin Towers on 9/11. They are the guys and gals back home, men and women back home, who protect our communities, and we should remember that. Fourth, defunding the police is crazy, one of the most crazy ideas I have ever heard. You have the mayor of New York, as I said earlier today, the mayor of New York is going to cut the police a billion dollars. You have the mayor of LA, our second largest city, going to cut the police $150 million. You have a supermajority on the city council of Minneapolis that wants to abolish the police and so many other major cities where they are talking about the same thing. This Congress started off with Democrats saying abolish ICE. Then it moved to, no, let's get rid of the whole Department of Homeland Security. Now, we have Democrats in big cities around our country saying defund the police, get rid of police departments. It makes no sense. Those four principles seem to me should be common sense and should form the framework for us to work together and form policy. But unfortunately, the Democrats didn't want to work together. We saw it yesterday in the Senate. We saw it last week in the House, in the committee. We are seeing it today on the floor. Twelve amendments offered last week, none accepted. No amendments allowed on the floor today. Yesterday, we weren't even allowed to debate it, couldn't even move to debate in the United States Senate. But as I said, the only bipartisanship we have seen on this issue in the last several weeks on Capitol Hill was yesterday in the Senate when two Democrats and one Independent, tripartisanship, voted to move forward on Senator Scott's legislation. So let's hope, on this issue, this important issue and others, that we can begin to work together for the good of the American people, for the good of this great country--I would say the greatest Nation ever, not perfect, greatest Nation ever though. When you live in the greatest Nation ever, I think the people of this great country want us to work together to find the solutions that make sense, that make good common sense, and fit within those principles I talked about. That is what I hoped we could do. Over the last few weeks, unfortunately, that is not the course the majority has taken. I urge a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Armstrong), and I ask unanimous consent that he may control that time.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. King), who, for 28 years, has served his fine constituents.

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson).

Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I would just point out, the chairman of the committee said that Democrats rejected Senator Scott's bill yesterday. Not all of them. Not all of them. A couple of them voted for it--bipartisan support. In fact, that is the only proposal that has bipartisan support right now--Senator Scott's bill. In fact, it has tri-partisan support because one of the Independents in the Senate voted for it. So it is not accurate to try to characterize Senator Scott's legislation the way the chairman did. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson).

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gonzalez).

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.