On the recordOctober 23, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding to me. I also thank him and our colleague, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, for joining me at the Center for African American Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington last Thursday evening. It was a wonderful experience for me. President Vistasp Karbhari, Dr. Jason Skelton, and my longtime friend, Dr. Marvin Delaney, were perfect hosts. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month, Sergeant La David T. Johnson died a hero's death in a distant land on a mission few Americans know about or understand. This weekend, his grieving family, including his pregnant wife, took him to his final resting place in Florida. Sergeant Johnson's tragic death leaves this young family fatherless. Mr. Speaker, in his second inaugural address, President Abraham Lincoln called on our Nation to endeavor to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan. Unfortunately, rather than comfort Sergeant Johnson's grieving family, the current occupant of the White House has chosen to use them as his latest prop in his constant effort to sow discord and division in this country. The President and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, who happens to be a four-star general, have insulted and smeared an honorable public servant who happens to be a five-star Congresswoman, and, in effect, called her and her grieving widow constituent liars. Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson has been a champion for the people of south Florida for decades.…





