On the House Floor, Chairman McGovern Urges Passage of Resolution Establishing a Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol
“For Congress to do nothing in response to a literal insurrection would allow our democracy to be chipped away at from the inside”
**Video of his remarks is available here**
WASHINGTON, DC — On the House Floor today, House Rules Committee Chairman James P. McGovern (D-MA) urged passage of H. Res. 503, a resolution establishing the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. It comes after Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and a majority of House Republicans recently opposed a bipartisan, bicameral commission to investigate the insurrection even though a resolution creating it included their recommendations.
Highlights from Chairman McGovern’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are included below and video is available here:
- “M. Speaker, 175 days ago, as we gathered here in this spot, the House Floor became a crime scene. The U.S. Capitol - this temple of democracy - was ransacked. Property was damaged, and more importantly, lives were lost. Insurrectionists tried to stop our democracy in its tracks. A mob wanted to prevent the certification of a free and fair election in America, and they resorted to violence to do it.”
- “I will never forget that day. I was one of the last Members off the Floor as we were being taken to a secure location away from the mayhem. As I was walking out, I looked over and I saw these people – homegrown terrorists I call them – literally smashing the doors with their bare fists and breaking the glass to try to get to us. They weren’t here to peacefully protest. They were fueled by rage and here to cause harm. I looked in their eyes and I saw hate.”
- “We must speak the truth of what happened that day, M. Speaker. Shockingly, there is an effort by some in this Congress to try to whitewash and minimize what went on. One of my colleagues even suggested it was somehow just a “normal tourist visit,” as if the facts don’t matter. As if we all didn’t see with our own eyes what happened.”
- “History will judge how we respond to the events of that day. And the glare of history should be cast most harshly on our minority leader, who worked overtime to prevent a bipartisan, bicameral commission from being formed to examine what happened on January 6th.”
- “It has been 25 weeks since an insurrection in our country. A commission should be already at work right now getting the facts about this attack on our democracy, so it never ever happens again. A majority of Republicans objected to that happening. They may have delayed uncovering the truth…but M. Speaker, the truth will not stay buried forever.”
- “That’s why we are here today. Because the facts matter. A select committee will finally get to the truth about the events of January 6th.”
- “I’m tired of the indifference and I’m tired of the delays…And quite frankly, I’m sick and tired of the fact that there are too many people in this chamber who continue to put party over country and propagate the lies, distortion, and falsehoods that led to January 6th. For Congress to do nothing in response to a literal insurrection would allow our democracy to be chipped away at from the inside.”
- “I pray we have the moral courage to do what is right. That we choose truth - and we choose to defend our democracy.”
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