Mike Johnson

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the legislation that we are scheduled to consider on the floor tomorrow, the so-called American Rescue Plan. The sad truth, Madam Speaker, is that this bill does very little to address the real issues impacting communities across the country. Instead, the majority has elected to weaponize the reconciliation process to push through a Democrat wish-list of what are, frankly, left-wing policies. Only 9 percent of this bill actually goes to combating COVID. But Democrats have found the wisdom to insert $510 billion to bail out poorly run blue States; $470 billion-plus for a policy that we know will kill jobs; a $100 million earmark for a rail project in the Speaker's district; a $1.5 million earmark for a bridge to Canada for the Senate majority leader. All the while, there is still $1 trillion in unspent funds from previous COVID packages. Madam Speaker, these are just a few of the many deep flaws in the Democrat COVID bill, and I am grateful so many of my colleagues are coming forward to help highlight the shortcomings of this bill, and how we should move forward to best serve the American people. I urge everyone to oppose this monstrosity.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I am delighted to introduce another member of the Louisiana delegation for remarks in our Special Order tonight. We are going in, it seems to be, reverse order by seniority, but I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), my friend. He knew Luke very well, and I know he will bring some good thoughts to us tonight.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Colorado for her words. That was very appropriate. I was going to cite the same scripture. I will just say this as we close tonight: The night we got word of Luke's passing was December 29, and that word, the phone call we got shook my whole family, as it did everybody in the State. As we were putting our children to bed at night, I reminded my youngest son, my 10-year-old son, that while grieving is part of our human experience, the Lord mourns with us. We know that from Isaiah 53:4. And as Lauren just said, He always remains close to the brokenhearted. Psalm 34. So many are mourning this loss and so many remain brokenhearted. But I will close with these words from the Apostle Paul, as he wrote to the church in Rome, Romans 8:38-39: ``For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'' Luke believed that and he lived it, and he would want us to remember it, too. Madam Speaker, this concludes our Special Order tonight, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the whip for those great remarks and his great leadership, and I know Luke appreciated that as well. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Boebert).

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, Garret Graves of Louisiana, for those poignant words. The funeral service was like that, with recollections from close friends. We could have sat there all afternoon and reveled in it. Madam Speaker, I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the whip, my dear friend, and one of the guys who helped guide Luke on his path to get here.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Hinson), another classmate of Luke's.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, we have a few others from the class that Luke Letlow would have been proud to serve in, some of the rising leaders here. I will call on them in no particular order here, but I yield to another gentleman from Texas (Mr. Fallon), if he is ready.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership of the freshman class and for those kind remarks. I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger), another leader from that class.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Louisiana, Mr. Higgins, for his remarks. We sat together at the funeral of Luke, and it was a great service. There were so many kind words said about him. And he is remembered to just be the great spirit and the great Louisiana homegrown talent that he was. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice), who is also the freshman class president, the class that Luke of course would have been a part of.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, our Special Order tonight is to honor a dear friend, one who would have been a colleague of ours here, and a great tragedy. Congressman-elect Luke Joshua Letlow, from Start, Louisiana, passed away from complications due to COVID-19 on December 29, 2020. He had just been elected to Congress December 5, and he was only, as we know, weeks away from taking the oath of office and serving here with us. He was 41 years old. He was in the prime of his life and, so far as any of us could tell, otherwise the picture of health and energy and excitement and positivity. He was excited to serve with us here. His death came as a terrible shock to all the people of Louisiana and to millions of people around this country. Luke was known in Louisiana for having a servant's heart. He had a peaceful nature about him. When he talked to a constituent, or a friend, or anyone, he made them feel they were the most important person in the world. He was one of those guys who was a great statesman, and he would have left a big mark here. I have also been encouraged since his passing to know that my friend was guided by his faith in Christ. A good friend of ours told me shortly after his passing that Luke was drawn even closer to the Lord in his final days. In fact, he called this trusted prayer warrior to share briefly about an experience he had just a few nights before he passed away. He was in the hospital, and Luke said he felt the certain presence of God and his peace. Luke Letlow knew the truth of Christ and the peace of his salvation, and we all have taken great comfort in that. Luke leaves behind his devoted wife, Julia, and their two young children, Jeremiah and Jacqueline. He leaves his parents, Johnny and Dianne Letlow; his grandmother, Mary Taylor; his brothers, Paul and Matt, and their families; and a huge network of people who were like family to Luke and loved him as their own. He was raised in Start, Louisiana, just east of Monroe. For the people who don't know the geography, it is northeast Louisiana. Throughout his entire adult life, it was very clear how deeply he cared about the people of our State and those who live in the Fifth Congressional District, which is a sprawling 24 parishes, the largest by land area in our State. He worked for Bobby Jindal during Jindal's stint here in the U.S. House, and also later when Bobby was elected Louisiana's Governor. Luke also worked as chief of staff for his predecessor and our good friend, Dr. Ralph Abraham, who just retired and left the seat open. Throughout Luke's time in each of those positions, he made it a priority to work every day to benefit those that he served. He wanted to make life better for the people of his home State and, in those efforts, he worked closely with our farmers and the oil and gas industry and countless small businesses to ensure they were given every opportunity to succeed. Judging from his accomplishments and a remarkable record of public service, there is no doubt at all that he would have made an outstanding Member of Congress. Many people are aware now that there will be a special election in March, March 20, to fill that seat that he has left open, and we are delighted to tell you that his beloved bride, his widow, Dr. Julia Barnhill Letlow, will be running for that seat, and we expect that she will be taking her place here shortly thereafter. She is a native of Monroe, a dedicated mother, of course, and an education professional who has dedicated her life to promote and advocate for higher education, traditional family values, and our quality of life in Louisiana. We are excited to soon welcome her here to fill the giant void that our dear friend and brother, Luke, has left us. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins), another member of our delegation.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida, Mrs. Kat Cammack, another bright light in this class and my friend.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, we have a solemn responsibility today. We must vote to sustain objections to slates of electors submitted by States that we genuinely believe clearly violated the Constitution in the Presidential election of 2020. This is the threshold legal question before us, and it is an issue before us for the State of Arizona. We have to repeat this for emphasis because a lot of people seem to be confused. Because judges and not the State legislature changed the rules of the election, Arizona clearly violated the plain language of Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution in its selection of Presidential electors. The Framers of our Constitution recognized that elections were susceptible to corruption. We all know that. So, how did they fix it? How did they provide for that? They created the electoral college as a safeguard, and they expressly empowered State legislatures to ensure the integrity of our unique election system. Only the State legislatures, because they are a full body of representatives and not rogue officials, were given the authority to direct the manner of appointing Presidential electors because it was so important. The Supreme Court has acknowledged this over and over. They previously affirmed in Article II, Section 1, Clause 2: ``The appointment of these electors is thus placed absolutely and wholly with the legislatures of the several States.'' That authority can never be taken away or abdicated. The Arizona Legislature did enact detailed rules and procedures that the State was supposed to follow to choose its electors. But in the months preceding the 2020 election, as we have heard--and by the way, a thousand pages of evidence have just been submitted on the facts on this--those well-established rules and procedures were deliberately changed. They weren't changed by the legislature, friends. They were changed by judges. And those actions taken by the judiciary were not limited to mere interpretations of existing law. No, they were substantive, wholesale changes to those statutes. Madam Speaker, that is a usurpation of the authority that the legislature had. That usurpation was repeated across the country this year. It is the primary reason--it is one of the reasons why the election of 2020 became riddled with an unprecedented number of serious allegations of fraud and irregularities all over the country. National polls, it has been said, indicate that a huge percentage of Americans now have serious doubts about not just the outcome of this Presidential contest but also the future reliability of our election system itself. Since we are convinced that the election laws in Arizona and some other key States were changed in this unconstitutional manner, we have a responsibility today. The slates of electors produced under those modified laws are thus unconstitutional. They are not ``regularly given'' or ``lawfully certified,'' as required by the Electoral Count Act, and they are invalid on their face. That is just the conclusion that you have to reach. Madam Speaker, given these inescapable facts, we believe we have no choice today but to vote to sustain objections to those slates of electors. Mr. Raskin and others today have cited the 12th Amendment, and they cite Article II, Section 1, Clause 3--remember that, Clause 3. And they have asserted that Congress has only one narrow role today; we are just supposed to count the electoral votes that have been submitted. But those advocates have overlooked a critical first principle. Their assertion is only true so long as Congress first is convinced that the electoral votes were not produced by a process that violated the Constitution is there. We have to get through Clause 2 of Article II, Section 1, before we get to Clause 3 is the point. Look, in our unique system, Congress is positioned as the last bulwark in a Presidential election to ensure the Constitution has been followed. Indeed, just two decades ago, the Supreme Court spoke to this. They plainly acknowledged this important deliberative role of Congress. It was the famous Bush v. Gore litigation that everybody remembers from 2000. In a per curiam opinion--meaning all nine Justices, that it was unanimous--they noted strict adherence to the provisions of the Electoral Count Act may create ``a `safe harbor' for a State insofar as congressional consideration of its electoral votes is concerned.'' However, unanimously, the Court said since title 3, section 5 contains a principle of Federal law that would assure finality of the State's determination if they followed all the proscriptions there, if the will of the legislature is attempted to be changed by a State court, that is a problem. That, they said, Congress might deem to be a change in the law. That is precisely why we are here right now. Go read Bush v. Gore, and you will see this. Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Scalia and Thomas joined in a concurring opinion 8 days later, and they reiterated this point. A significant departure from the legislature's scheme for appointing Presidential electors presents a Federal question. It is a big problem for us, and it is one we cannot get around. That is why we are here. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues today to look at the facts, to follow the law, and to follow our congressional oath. We are supposed to support and defend the Constitution. That is what we do here today. I urge everyone to do the right thing.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the objection.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to my colleague, Congressman Doug Lamborn. He is so faithful every year to organize this Special Order series. And this year, we recognize, as has been mentioned, the 79th anniversary of National Bible Week. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to stand with all my Members and friends today to share our perspectives on why the Bible is so important to us and to our country. I am often reminded, I think about and reflect upon, and we quote all the time, the Founders. George Washington, who was the father of our country, and he famously said, ``Of all the disposition and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.'' They were the foundation of the very Republic. And John Adams is our second President. He comes next. He says, ``Our Constitution is made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.'' What he meant was that this is essential to who we are as Americans. Even more fundamental than that, who we are as human beings. And it was one of my favorite Presidents, Ronald Reagan, who said that, ``If we ever forget that we are one Nation under God, we will be a Nation gone under.'' Mr. Speaker, in the very short time I have, I would share one brief paragraph, a preface to a historic text that I have in my collection. Some of the guys have this as well. But this is a copy of a New Testament Bible study that was approved by and published for the public schools of Dallas, Texas, by its Board of Education in September of 1946. The preface was written by a gentleman by the name of Henry van Dyke. And it is a wonderful summary of what the Bible means to us and to the world. I will read that into the Record. ``Born in the East and clothed in Oriental form and imagery, the Bible walks the ways of the world with familiar feet and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. ``It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the hearts of men. It comes into the palace to tell the monarch that he is a servant of the Most High, and into the cottage to assure the peasant that he is a son of God. ``Children listen to its stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as parables of life. It has a word of peace for the time of peril, a word of comfort for the time of calamity, a word of light for the hour of darkness. Its oracles are repeated in the assembly of the people, and its counsels whispered in the ear of the lonely. ``The wicked and the proud tremble at its warnings, but to the wounded and the penitent, it has a mother's voice. The wilderness and the solitary place have been made glad by it, and the fire on the hearth has lit the reading of its well-worn page. ``It has woven itself into our dearest dreams; so that love, friendship, sympathy and devotion, memory and hope, put on the beautiful garments of its treasured speech, breathing of frankincense and myrrh. No man is poor or desolate who has this treasure for his own. ``When the landscape darkens and the trembling pilgrim comes to the Valley named of the shadow, he is not afraid to enter; he takes the rod and staff of Scripture in his hand; he says to friend and comrade; `Goodbye, we shall meet again.' And comforted by that support, he goes toward the lonely pass as one who walks through darkness and into light.'' Mr. Speaker, that is a pretty good summary about what the Bible means to us. I am delighted to honor National Bible Week and to stand with my friends here.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to call up H.R. 8265 to extend the Paycheck Protection Program to keep millions of employees on the payroll of America's small businesses.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I give thanks to both the gentlemen from Texas for organizing this Special Order tonight, to all of our colleagues who have spoken tonight, and to my dear friend Congressman Baird for all that he has given for his country. The words that he shared he means from his heart, and he has shown and proven that. We organized this Special Order to talk about protecting America's values and protecting our communities. There is a lot of outrage. There is a lot of alarm in the country today. And it is justified. It was just a couple of days ago, of course, in Los Angeles where two sheriff's deputies, a 24-year-old man and a 31-year-old young mother, were brutally attacked as they just sat in their police cruiser. As they were rushed to the hospital, protesters were blocking the entrances and exits to the emergency room, chanting: ``We hope they die. Kill the police.'' It is outrageous. It is alarming. This is just the latest example, of course, of the violence and vitriol going largely ignored by the Democrat majority in the House. Unfortunately, it is the predictable result of what happens when leaders make radical calls to defund the police. We have widespread unrest in major cities across this country right now. We have violent riots and businesses being destroyed and law enforcement officers being targets of heinous crimes, things that would have been unthinkable even a couple of years ago. In Portland, we have leftwing groups that set a police station on fire, besieged a Federal courthouse for weeks on end. In Seattle, leftwing activists created an autonomous zone, they said. They evicted police and occupied the abandoned precinct. In Chicago, 31 police officers were injured in riots that occurred in July and August. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, rioters exploited peaceful protests as a vehicle to incite violence and create chaos. Here in the Nation's Capital just up the street, leftwing groups staged a mock execution of the President of the United States and then harassed people as they left the White House. The economic fallout from all this, of course, will be disastrous. The human toll will take generations to recover. We have seen reports from minority-owned small businesses, for example, in these communities where a person has worked their entire life just to build a business, to build a legacy to pass along to their children and grandchildren, all to have it go up in flames because their city leadership refused to preserve law and order. We have seen the President's actions, and we know that he is doing all that he possibly can to restore order in these cities. But, of course, he is being rebuffed by these leftwing mayors at every turn. I mean, the Portland mayor has rejected offers of Federal assistance multiple times. The rioters who are actually arrested by local police are simply released by the district attorney so they can just return again to create chaos the next evening. Despite this stonewalling, Attorney General Barr is doing his job. Secretary Wolf is doing his job. They have been able to secure the arrest of dozens of bad actors, but we all know this is just the tip of the iceberg. The question remains, what do we in Congress begin to do to tackle this issue? I would suggest that my friends on the other side can start right here in this building by at least first acknowledging that there is a problem. I mean, it doesn't seem too much to ask to denounce the violence that is plaguing so many parts of the country. Mr. Speaker, you could imagine our dismay in the House Judiciary Committee when we heard our chairman call the Antifa violence in Portland a ``myth.'' I mean, he contends that all this chaos and destruction is merely a figment of our imagination. One month after the chairman made those remarks, a self-proclaimed Antifa member murdered a Trump rally participant in Portland in cold blood. We have been calling for weeks for the chairman to hold hearings in the Judiciary Committee to look into this widespread violence. We in the Judiciary Committee are uniquely situated, because of our jurisdiction, to dive into this crisis of leftwing violence and formulate policy solutions that will protect the life and property of all Americans. But the chairman would rather sweep things under the rug and brush it off as a mere myth. The Democrat silence and dismissiveness have turned into a real life- or-death situation for millions of Americans now. I know our side is ready and willing to act. This is not just idle discussion tonight. We are not just standing up here talking about America's values and the need to protect our communities. We are ready to act. It is time to call out these leftwing groups for what they are, to denounce specifically the violence and the chaos they create, and to restore law and order for the American people. This action is our responsibility, and it is long overdue. We will keep pushing on this side of the aisle to make this happen. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the time, and I appreciate what my friend stands for.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize two exceptional students from Louisiana's Fourth Congressional District, Zachary Cryer and Antavion Moore. Zach, from Benton, was recently named Louisiana's Middle School Student of the Year. Zach has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his time at Benton Middle School, and he has already scored a 28 on the ACT as an eighth grader. Tay, from Ringgold, was named the Louisiana High School Student of the Year, and he has already earned an associate's degree and a certificate of general studies. He plans to major in biomedical engineering in college and to become an orthopedic doctor. By being recognized as Students of the Year, Tay and Zach show a tremendous amount of dedication, excellent character, phenomenal leadership skills. Clearly, the best is yet to come for these young men. Louisiana's Fourth Congressional District is home to some of the brightest and most hardworking students in the Nation, just like Zach and Antavion. I am so proud to represent them here in Congress. Once again, congratulations, guys. The best is yet to come.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues in voicing my great concern with the substance of this bill and the broken process by which it was produced. As we have all agreed, the issue of updating and reforming the way in which our communities are policed and strengthening the relationship between those brave Americans who serve us in uniform and the communities they serve are matters of critical importance. The people of this country expect and deserve the Members of this body to rise to this occasion and work together to find common ground on solutions that will preserve the civil liberties of all people and protect and honor the legitimacy of law enforcement. These are not mutually exclusive pursuits. Madam Speaker, at our hearing in the Committee on the Judiciary 2 weeks ago, you heard a little bit about that. It is interesting the lens by which we see this. Anybody who watched that, I think they could see that we all heard moving testimony. George Floyd's brother, Philonise, was there. He testified in a very moving way. Their family attorney was there, and a panel of experts that we all heard from. At that committee hearing, I, and all my Republican colleagues in the markup that followed, expressed our sincere desire to work together and find common ground with the Democrat majority to solve these problems. We all agreed on the core reform issues. We talked a lot about transparency and improving training and improving termination ability for those rare individuals who serve in law enforcement and violate the law, and the legitimacy that upholds the character of our legal system. We could have built consensus around those and other key ideas to restore faith in our institutions and build trust in our communities. But, unfortunately, just 10 days after introduction of the bill, the majority marked up the final version that we are voting on today without any opportunity for input from Republican Members. They blocked us out of the room, and then denied us, as our ranking member, Jim Jordan, just said, they denied a dozen amendments--good-faith amendments--that we brought to that process. What a tragedy that is. Madam Speaker, you have to ask yourself, because my constituents are asking themselves, people back home are asking why. Why would they do that? Why would our colleagues on the other side shut us out of the room, when everybody acknowledges this is a real problem, that we need bipartisan solutions to it. My good friend, Senator Tim Scott, explained it well yesterday in his epic speech on the floor of the Senate after the Democrats on the other side spiked and killed his bill. He explained the process: That he went to Chuck Schumer, the leader over there, and the other Democrats, he went to each of them individually to find out what their concerns were with this bill to figure out how to fix it. He offered first, in good faith, five amendments to the bill, then 20. Then he said he would do a manager's amendment, basically to change much of the substance of his bill just to get something over the lines so we could solve the problem. And you know what happened? They gave him the stiff arm, to use our football metaphor. Why is that? Because they want to preserve this as a wedge issue for the elections in the fall. That is why. And Tim Scott said it better than we could--and I commend every American to watch the video of his speech on the floor. This reality leaves us at an impasse today, and it makes perfectly clear that this bill in its current form goes too far. As Congressman Jordan has explained, it ties the hands of American law enforcement, jeopardizes the safety of every American. We have to oppose it. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to do so, and it is a shame it has come to this.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained during votes on Wednesday, February 26, 2020. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 71--H.R. 35; YEA on Roll Call No. 72--H.R. 4852; and YEA on Roll Call No. 73--H.R. 2490.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 2382.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Willie Belton, a political leader, successful businessman, and decorated war veteran who passed away on January 8, 2020. Born and raised in Basile, Louisiana, Mr. Belton went on to serve in the United States Army and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart for his heroic acts of sacrifice. Later, he received the Louisiana Veterans Honor Medal in gratitude for his faithful service. Mr. Belton was also a monumental figure within the civil rights movement. In 1960, he was chosen to lead a local NAACP chapter and worked alongside some of history's heroes, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to put an end to racial discrimination and ensure equal opportunity for all. Mr. Belton was the first African American in Evangeline Parish to run for State representative in a predominantly white district. Even though he didn't end up winning that election, he made an enormous impact on the State of Louisiana by breaking down barriers, extinguishing fear, and paving the way for those who followed. Our prayers are with the Belton family as they grieve the loss of an American hero. His service to this country and his active commitment to social justice will never be forgotten. May he rest in peace.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding a moment. Mr. Speaker, here we are again, marking this tragic anniversary as we do every year. The reason we have such sorrow and such a burden is because it is such an unspeakable sorrow what has happened to nearly 60 million innocent, unborn children in this country. Our Nation's birth certificate is the Declaration of Independence, and it states succinctly what has been known as the American creed, and we know it by heart: ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'' The Founders recognized life first among those inalienable rights because they acknowledged that we are made in the image of a holy God, and because of that, there are some very serious implications that follow. It means every single human life has inestimable dignity and value. And our value is not related in any way to our socioeconomic status, the color of our skin, what ZIP Code we live in, how talented we may be, or what we can contribute to society. Our value is inherent, because, as our Founders acknowledged, it is given to us by our creator. Roe v. Wade tragically defied that American creed, and it has resulted, as we said, in the murder of more than 60 million innocent American children. How can we stand by and allow this to happen? We can't, and we will not. And I will just say this in the very brief moment that I have. Tonight we will continue to pray, we will continue to work, we will continue to legislate, we will continue to litigate, and we will continue to march and stand for women and children and the sanctity of every single human life until the promise of our Nation's birth certificate is realized.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the Founders of this country warned us against a single- party impeachment because they feared it would bitterly and perhaps irreparably divide our Nation. The truth is, in the 243 years of this Republic, there has never been a single-party, fraudulent impeachment process like the one being used today. Our Democrat colleagues have weaponized the impeachment provision of the Constitution to nullify the votes of 63 million Americans who elected President Donald J. Trump. This is not about a phone call or Ukraine or even his use of the executive privilege. You have to remember that 95 of the Democrats on this floor today voted to impeach Donald Trump before the July 25 phone call ever happened between President Trump and President Zelensky. Not only is this a single-party impeachment, it is also evidence- free. After all their Herculean efforts, they could only come up with two short Articles of Impeachment. On the first, the Democrats know there is zero direct evidence in the record of these proceedings to show that President Trump engaged in any abuse of power. As you will hear today, their entire case is based on hearsay, speculation, and conjecture, and there is not a single fact witness that can provide testimony to support their baseless allegations. The Democrats' second claim is that President Trump obstructed Congress by simply doing what virtually every other President in the modern era has also done, and that is to assert, Mr. Speaker, a legitimate executive privilege, which protects the separation of powers. And you know what? If they disagreed with that, the Democrats could and should have just simply gone a few blocks away to a Federal court to get an expedited court order compelling the extra documents and information they requested. That is what has always been done in the past, but they didn't do that here, because these Democrats don't have time for it. They are trying to meet their own arbitrary, completely reckless, and Machiavellian timeline to take down a President that they loathe. The real abuse of power here is on the part of the House Democrats as they have feverishly produced and pursued this impeachment 20 times faster than the impeachment investigation of Bill Clinton. They are trying to reach their predetermined political outcome, and along the way, they have steamrolled over constitutionally-guaranteed due process, previously sacrosanct House rules, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This must fail. This is a shameful day for the country.

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.