Michael Burgess: “Mr. Speaker, I submit that I was astounded to read that in the paper today. It seems that there are people in this House…”

“Mr. Speaker, I submit that I was astounded to read that in the paper today. It seems that there are people in this House who cannot get over the facts of the election that was held in the Year 2000, and the facts are that George W. Bush won that election. He won it in the constitutionally prescribed manner of a majority of electoral votes; he won on election day; and he won on every single recount held thereafter, until the Supreme Court said enough recounting 34 days later, and the counts were stopped. But the President even won in the Miami Herald's recount that came out, I forget, in February or March of 2001, well into the President's first term. The Miami Herald finally acknowledged the fact that indeed George Bush had won Florida's electoral votes and had indeed won the election. Those 34 days of transition time were critical to the start of this administration. We had an economy that was headed into a recession, and, as we found out later in that year, we had enemies of this country who were gathering strength and preparing to attack this country. Thirty-four days in transition were critical days that were lost.”