Sheila Jackson Lee: “How grateful I am to be on the floor with the distinguished gentleman from New York and, of course, our distinguished…”

“How grateful I am to be on the floor with the distinguished gentleman from New York and, of course, our distinguished ranking member, who has really laid out the parameters of this legislation. I certainly acknowledge the manager of this underlying legislation and offer my thoughts, with a little bit of consternation. I cherish the Constitution and cherish the First Amendment. It is first for a reason: The Founding Fathers were wise enough, even with some of the failings of the Constitution, including the existence of slavery--but they were wise enough to understand that the core of democracy is, in fact, the freedom to express, the freedom to associate, the freedom to access, the freedom of religion. The First Amendment captures all of those elements. I am somewhat lost to connect this legislation to the protection of free speech. I do know that this is part of the unending obsession that my friends on the other side of the aisle have with Mr. Biden, President Biden, and his son. All investigations that are relevant and that are concerning the American people's integrity or national security are important, but how do you stretch this legislation to suggest that it is a question of free speech in the decisions being made to hold or not hold on purposes that may be business purposes, for all we know, Mr. Chair? It may not be free speech. I would say that there are many other instances that free speech has been stifled.…”