On the recordNovember 17, 2016
First, I want to say that my colleague from Texas (Mr. Gohmert), who spoke just before me, mentioned a divided country and used a metaphor--I hope it will become a metaphor--for the coming Congress of the African American coach who coached a White team and seemed to be able to reconcile people. If this Congress doesn't learn the art of compromise, even though my Republican colleagues have captured the reins of government, they will still have trouble, without thoughtful compromise, getting matters through the House and the Senate. So I endorse the metaphor--that is what Mr. Gohmert meant--of Coach Williams as the kind of Congress we should be beginning in January if we want to override the last several Congresses which got very little done. It will take more than bringing all the reins of government under one party to get that done. I come to the floor this afternoon particularly to offer some background to new Members of Congress--but, I must say, to current Members of Congress as well--because there seems to me to be great mystery concerning what role Members of Congress should play when matters affecting a jurisdiction, not their own, come before them in this House. They know for sure that their own constituents didn't send them here to legislate for somebody else's district, so how come and what does it mean and how can we get on with the business of the Nation?…
