Veronica Escobar: “It is incredible to stand here and listen to our Republican colleagues talk about the risks and the dangers that exist…”

“It is incredible to stand here and listen to our Republican colleagues talk about the risks and the dangers that exist to the Supreme Court. I want to know where they were when the risks and the dangers existed for my community, El Paso, Texas, where 23 innocent people were slaughtered by a white supremacist with an AK-47? Where were they then? How about Uvalde? Where were they then? How about every other mass shooting? Buffalo? You name it. Last week, we brought to the floor legislation intended to protect millions of Americans, especially and including children. The vast majority of our Republican colleagues voted against those protections for vulnerable people who don't have access to 24-hour, round-the-clock U.S. Marshal protection. They don't have access to round-the-clock, 24/ 7 Capitol Police protection, which Supreme Court Justices have today. Supreme Court Justices have far more protections than Members of Congress do, but more importantly they have more than those innocent lives that were taken in innumerable cities across America. And as they rail about and clutch their pearls over the fact that it took House Democrats some time to get this bill to the floor, the reason it took that much time is because it was House Democrats that at least wanted to get one itty-bitty concession out of this bill to protect the staff of that institution, the United States Supreme Court. But they refused. The SPEAKER pro tempore.…”