Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, this amendment stoops to the lowest level possible--in fact, 6 feet under. It is bad enough that under H.R. 4176, House Democrats seek to subject living people, including children, to intrusive and inappropriate questions related to their private sexual orientation and gender identity. It is especially troublesome that House Democrats would allow proxies to answer such sensitive questions on behalf of others, as this bill allows. But shockingly, this amendment expands that authority to allow proxies to answer survey or Census questions about sexual orientation and gender identity on behalf of dead Americans. If someone claims to be a ``knowledgeable proxy,'' this amendment permits that individual to answer a Federal survey on behalf of a deceased person who can no longer answer for himself or herself. With this amendment, someone who has guarded their personal privacy their entire life will have to worry that sensitive aspects of their personal life will be shared with the Federal Government after they die or worry that it could even be made up. How is collecting this information even useful at all? It is hard to imagine making the underlying bill much worse, but this amendment succeeds with flying colors. I urge my colleagues to reject this amendment and vote to protect Americans' ability to simply rest in peace. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”