Elijah Cummings: “I think that we need to pause here for a moment. There is a songwriter who wrote a song that says, give me a higher…”

“I think that we need to pause here for a moment. There is a songwriter who wrote a song that says, give me a higher love. Mr. Speaker, the Framers of the Constitution did not entrust this House with the power to impeach the President of the United States in order to establish this body as a court of personal morality. Impeachment was supposed to be a constitutional shield, not a moral or political sword. For all of these reasons, we should step back from this edge of this dangerous cliff. Serious crimes have been committed that this Congress needs to address. Every morning children across the Nation go to school and sit in overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating and crumbling facilities, and Congress turns a blind eye. That is a serious crime. Every afternoon people find themselves lacking access to affordable health care, trying to figure out how to afford the prescription drugs they need. People are suffering, and even dying, even as we debate today. That is a serious crime. Every evening people sit at their dinner tables wondering how they will afford a college education for their children, whether they need or even if they will be able to get a second job. That is a serious offense. We should be leaving personal and moral sanctions to the courts, the branch of government where they properly belong. We should be doing the job we were elected to do. The wisdom of history, not the passions of this moment, must guide our actions.”