Virginia Foxx: “I thank my colleague from Oklahoma for yielding. Today is a dark day in the history of our country, and for that, I rise…”

“I thank my colleague from Oklahoma for yielding. Today is a dark day in the history of our country, and for that, I rise in opposition to H. Res. 965, partisan legislation that would upend more than 200 years of precedent and jeopardize the deliberative process of the House of Representatives. States have started reopening businesses, schools, and local economies. Congress should be following suit. Yet, this is the first time the House has come to semiregular order in over 2 weeks. Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats are holding the people's House hostage. They would rather erect and prolong a partisan blockade instead of doing the people's business in the open. Members of Congress should not be on the sidelines. We can and should get back to official business, especially committee work. Hearings and markups are a critical function of the people's House. Without passing ill-conceived legislation that jeopardizes our democratic institution, the House proved 2 weeks ago, and again today, that we can conduct business while following health guidelines. There is no reason congressional committees can't do the same. Sadly, the Democrats are using this pandemic to justify gutting the Constitution and our practices, and it is disgraceful. Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.”