the United States of America. And what I saw today was mob rule that spat upon the blood of my father that is in the soil of Europe and in the soil of Korea, and who gave us through that blood this sacred Constitution and the sacred ability to lead this world as a power that says we settle our differences not with mob rule; we settle our difference through elections. And when those elections are over, we have a peaceful transition of power.
Now, make no mistake to my colleagues on the Democratic side of the aisle, I will be passionate in my disagreement with you. I will be passionate in my ideas for the future of this country, and I will fight for my Republican ideas that I hold near and dear. But I will stand with you tonight and send a message to the Nation and all Americans that what we saw today was not American, and what we see tonight in this body shall be what we do in America, and that is to transfer power in a peaceful way.
Mr. Gottheimer. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. Reed. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.
Mr. Gottheimer. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding and for standing with me and with all of us.
Tom Reed is my co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus. He is a Republican, and I am a Democrat. When it comes to policy views, we often disagree. But at the end of the day, we are united as Americans. My good friend, like me, always puts country first.
Today, a group of lawless thugs sought to upend the Constitution and the peaceful transition of power because they didn’t like the outcome of the Presidential election. So, they tried to nullify it using improvised explosives, shattering windows, breaking down doors, injuring law enforcement, and even tearing down the American flag that rises above this beacon of democracy.
But their attempt to obstruct democracy failed. Their insurrection was foiled. The American people and the greatest democracy the world has ever known won.
Abraham Lincoln, who served in this very body, famously said: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” That is why, for the sake of this country, we must stand together, united, and celebrate a peaceful transition of power.
In 14 days, President-elect Biden will be sworn in. And despite all of our differences, I have faith that, for the American people, we will come together, Democrats and Republicans, committed to unity, civility, and truth. We will recognize our higher purpose to help America through these dark days.
That is the only way we will beat COVID, rebuild our economy, and stand up to threats at home and abroad.
Working together as Democrats and Republicans, I know our best days will always be ahead of us.
Mr. Reed. Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to always search their conscience and their souls. I respect my Republican colleagues and my Democratic colleagues, but today, let us pause and remember what happened here today. Let us pause that our tenure in this Congress will far surpass the time that we stay here. And let us pause and cast our votes today recognizing that what we do here today will set the course of this institution for years to come.
This institution, Madam Speaker, shall not fail because the United States of America shall forever be the beacon of hope, the inspiration to all.
May God bless our great country.
Mr. Zeldin. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the objection.
The Speaker. The gentleman from New York is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Zeldin. Madam Speaker, my constitutional oath is sacred, and I have a duty to speak out about confirmed evidence-filled issues with the administration of the 2020 Presidential election in certain battleground States.
Signature verification, ballot observation, voter roll integrity, voter ID requirements, and ballot collection protections were weakened on top of the millions of mailboxes that were flooded with unrequested mail-in ballots.
Many of my constituents have been outraged and demanding that I voice their objections here today.
This debate is necessary because rogue election officials, secretaries of state, and courts circumvented State election laws. They made massive changes to how their State’s election would be run. These acts, among other issues, were unlawful and unconstitutional.
Congress has the duty to defend the Constitution and any powers of State legislatures that were usurped.
Some claim today’s objections set new precedent by challenging State electors. That claim, of course, ignores that Democrats have objected every time a Republican Presidential candidate has won an election over the past generation. If you don’t have any observations today, that is your call, but don’t lecture about precedent.
Over the past 4 years, Democrats boycotted President Trump’s inauguration and State of the Union Addresses, pushed the Trump–Russia collusion conspiracies and investigations and knowingly lied about it, voted to impeach the President before even knowing what to impeach him for, and then actually passed Articles of Impeachment before Senate Democrats voted to remove him from office.
Today’s debate is necessary, especially because of the insistence that everything President Trump and his supporters say about the 2020 election is evidence-free. That is simply not true.
No one can honestly claim it is evidence-free. When I say that, in Arizona, courts unilaterally extended the legislatively set deadline to register to vote.
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The Arizona State Senate issued subpoenas post-election to get information from the Maricopa County board on various election matters, but the board and the courts refused to help at all to let the State senate complete its constitutional duties.
In Pennsylvania, where State legislators wrote us about their powers being usurped, the Democrat majority on the State supreme court changed signature, signature matching and postal marking requirements. The date to submit mail-in ballots was extended contradictory to the date set by State law.
The State legislature expanded no-excuse mail-in balloting without a constitutional amendment. Constitutions apply to the acts of all branches of government.
The issue was magnified by the voter rolls being so inaccurate that more voters submitted ballots than there were registered voters. Signature authentication rules for absentee and mail-in ballots were weakened by the Democrat secretary of the Commonwealth without authorization. Ballot defects were allowed to be cured in some counties but not others. There were poll watchers denied the ability to closely observe ballot counting operations.
In Georgia, the secretary of state unilaterally entered into a settlement agreement with the Democratic Party, changing statutory requirements for confirming voter identity. Challenging defective signatures was made far more difficult, and the settlement even required election officials to consider issuing training materials drafted by an expert retained by the Democratic Party.
In Wisconsin, election officials assisted voters on how to circumvent the State’s voter ID laws and signature verification laws, while also placing unmanned drop boxes in locations picked to boost Democrat turnout. The Democracy in the Park event in Wisconsin had over 17,000 ballots transferred that shouldn’t have been.
These are all facts and certainly not “evidence free”.
Americans deserve nothing less than full faith and confidence in their elections and a guarantee that their vote—their voice—counts and that their concerns are being heard. That is why we need to have this debate today, whether you like it or not.
This isn’t about us. This is about our Constitution, our elections. This is about our people and our Republic.
Mr. Gallego. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the objection.
The Speaker. The gentleman from Arizona is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Gallego. Madam Speaker, I am the proud son of immigrants. Growing up, I heard stories about parties,
