On the recordJanuary 6, 2016
What the new year gives us is an opportunity to refresh, to regroup, to look forward to opportunities in this instance and in this august body to protect the American people. So today I rise with a great deal of applause and enthusiasm, words that I think do not connote the presentation made by President Obama yesterday, for it is not often the American people can see the deepness of our hearts, the affection we have for them, and the concern that we have over loss of life. The President did all of that. In his teary expressions, he pierced the hearts of Americans, and he should have pierced the hearts of the Members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats. There is no doubt that thousands are dying from gun violence. There is no doubt that people with guns kill. There is no doubt that more people get guns who should not have guns. I am particularly excited by the President's thoughtful and collaborative work, along with that of Attorney General Lynch and a number of my colleagues, and of, certainly, the House Judiciary Committee, in particular our ranking member, John Conyers, those of us Democrats on the committee, and particularly those on the Crime Subcommittee, on which I have the privilege of serving as the ranking member. We have worked together to have an agenda on criminal justice. The issues dealing with guns deal with criminal justice.…
