Ted Budd: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. He is a great chairman, but also a great friend. I thank him, also, for organizing…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. He is a great chairman, but also a great friend. I thank him, also, for organizing this Special Order. Over the past several months we have witnessed lawless anarchists take to the streets and destroy historic monuments, vandalize and burn small businesses, physically assault a U.S. Senator and his wife, harass regular Americans who are simply enjoying an outdoor dinner, and so on. The fact that this activity goes on and is tolerated by Democrat-run cities is outrageous and an insult to every law-abiding citizen of this land. We need to double the Federal penalties for those who riot and loot. We need to strip Federal funding from cities that refuse to confront this lawlessness in their communities. And we need to put those dithering local officials on the hook legally for the carnage that they allow to happen. There are people here in Washington who stand for law and order and are trying to regain control of our streets, starting with our President. Violence like this has no place in America. We have to get back to resolving our issues through debate and democracy, not through looting and lawlessness. If officials in Democrat-run cities won't stand up for all of their citizens, then under the leadership of President Trump, Republicans will.”