On the recordJuly 9, 2015
I thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey for yielding, and I stand with her and what she has just said. Mr. Speaker, sometimes, we forget how privileged we are, the Members of Congress, who have a chance to stand in this hallowed Chamber. We are the representatives of the people. We get elected to speak for the American people. We get elected to act on behalf of the American people. Very few Americans, throughout the history of our country, have had an opportunity to stand right here where we are today and say that we actually can get things done, not just for the American people, for the people of the world, because there has never been a democracy like the United States of America. There has never been a country that has had an opportunity to do so much for so many, and there has never been a democracy that has a chance to prove to the world that we know how to get this done and do it right. Mr. Speaker, as we stand here in this Chamber, we have to admit, we have to be prepared on behalf of the American people to stand up, to step up, to do what is right, and to do what the American people expect us to do. Now, they know we have to speak for them, but they don't want us just to talk. The time to just talk on so many issues has come and gone. Mr. Speaker, I think the American public would agree that the time to just talk about what to do about the Confederate battle flag has come and gone.…
