Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes. Madam Speaker, I support this bipartisan resolution to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress because it is necessary to preserve the integrity of this body and of the Census. The Constitution mandates that we conduct a Census every 10 years, and that the Census count every person. A full, fair, and accurate account is critical to ensuring that we properly allocate Federal funding and congressional apportionment. I do not take this decision lightly. Holding any Cabinet Secretary in criminal contempt of Congress is a serious and somber matter, one that I have done everything in my power to avoid. But in the case of the Attorney General and the Secretary, Secretary Ross, they blatantly obstructed our ability to do congressional oversight into the real reason Secretary Ross was trying, for the first time in 70 years--in 70 years--to add a citizen question to the 2020 Census. Secretary Ross testified under oath that he added a citizenship question solely--I want you to concentrate on that word, ``solely''--to help the Justice Department enforce the Voting Rights Act. But we now know that claim was nothing but a pretext. And do not take my word for that, Madam Speaker. The Supreme Court said that. Our committee's investigation uncovered evidence that Secretary Ross launched a secret campaign to add the citizenship question within days of assuming his post.…”