On the recordFebruary 4, 2021
Let me thank the gentlewoman from New York, first of all, for her courage and for convening us together. And I might say to the gentlewoman that we are not doing this for ourselves. We have taken an oath of office. I have said this many times today as we debated a question of the status of a Member. We took an oath to defend this Nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And we realize that that oath is really above our own personal safety; that if we were called upon by this Nation to defend her, to defend our constituents, I would venture to say that most Members would stand by their constituents and this Nation. This should not be taken as Members fleeing out of fear. But it should be taken as an explanation and an expose' of what happened in this place; how it was desecrated, undermined, diminished; how the American people watched this precious place. For those of us who have been here, I fled this place on 9/11. We were in a meeting, and all you could hear is a lot of noise. Members continuing to meet, not wanting to be disturbed, did not move until an officer or screaming came, and we heard the noise saying, we don't know what's going on, but get out. In that instant, we fled, and all we could hear was, run as fast as you can and hit the ground way on the other side near First Street and the Supreme Court. I could see the billowing smoke and the plane that had hit the Pentagon. And so, that fleeing, of course, was because we were told to do so.…
