It is the central principle of our American democracy that Americans through their votes can have a say in their government.

I co-sponsored the Resolution being discussed today because the Insular Cases doctrine denies democracy and equality and reflects abhorrent bias and have provided a justification for Congress to discriminate against American citizens…

At the core of the disenfranchisement of territorial residents are the racially charged series of Supreme Court decisions in the early 1900s, the Insular Cases.

At the core of the disenfranchisement of territory residents are the racially charged series of Supreme Court decisions in the early 1900s--the Insular Cases.

More than 3.5 million U.S. citizens are denied constitutional rights simply because they reside in one of the five U.S. territories.

It is a central principle of our American democracy that Americans, through their votes, can have a say in their own governments.

There is material doubt about how the courts will play the role of judicial review assigned by the Constitution.

As a resident of the Virgin Islands, it is of the utmost importance that we, as Members of Congress, confront our disenfranchisement.

The residents of the territories each have their own opinions about their relationship with the mainland.

I would like to submit for the record letters from Governor Lemanu Mauga and myself to our counterparts in other insular territories asking them not to support or endorse efforts to deny self-determination.

But Congress has authority to do that, right?

We simply cannot ignore the basic truth that the super majority of people actually living in American Samoa vociferously opposed the case.

House Resolution 279, which calls the Insular Cases racist, undemocratic, unconstitutional, unAmerican, and having no place in the America we know and love, is the first and important step to make amends.

It is not the Insular Cases that deny the residents of the territories voting representation; Articles I and II of the Constitution do.

If anyone is holding onto these racist Insular Cases as a way of keeping Article XII afloat, they may be holding onto an anchor, not a life preserver.

I offer my qualified support for House Resolution 279, which acknowledges that the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in the Insular Cases and the territorial incorporation doctrine are contrary to the text and history of the U.S. Constitution.

It appears to be on the minority side right now, at least within the leadership of that party.

Are we going to hold on to our own power, whether it means stopping the very things that the founders fought so hard for?

The problem that is happening within the Republican Party is that divisiveness is what is over democracy itself, over what makes us America.

They have just become a party of obstruction of no-ism. They are not a party that wants to get to yes, that wants to support the American people. They want to support themselves and their quest for power.

I do believe that the Republican Party itself, those in elected positions are more concerned about retaining their power than speaking the truth, more concerned about being a part of the G.O.P. than they are about the direction of this…

The Republicans are following what their message is. They have decided that their message is obstructionism, is a big lie, is divisiveness, is tribalism, is in some instances dog whistling, and in some corners of the Republican conference…

You know, a neo Nazi group, a white supremacist group by any other name is still the same thing.

I think what she said was, is that what she that that the proposal that was put out by (INAUDIBLE) was something that an outside group had presented to her and that they were going through the issues.

Kevin McCarthy is not interested in talking about voting rights, creating a jobs bill that will continue to lift this country out of the issues that it has, and why are we continuing to point the finger on individuals that are trying to…