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SWEARING IN OF SPEAKER
The Sergeant at Arms announced the Speaker-elect of the House of Representatives of the 117th Congress, who was escorted to the chair by the Committee of Escort.
Mr. McCARTHY. Colleagues, friends, and fellow Americans, it is my honor to welcome you to the first day of the 117th Congress. We are here with the support of our families and the faith of our neighbors to be their voice in Washington.
Since Congress first sat in this room, Americans have always found a way to ensure that their needs were top of the mind. In fact, when Abraham Lincoln served here, Members of Congress only had small desks on the House floor to store their work. One of those desks now sits in the Cannon Office Building tunnel. As Members traveled back and forth to the Nation's Capital, they were compelled to carry all of their work with them. There were no filing cabinets and no servers in the cloud or offices. Their desk was their office. Members rarely went anywhere without physically bringing their constituents' concerns with them.
These small desks are a timeless reminder to every American that the House is made to represent you, the people; and that is a responsibility I welcome and embrace every day. Today, however, it is easier than ever to neglect or ignore this responsibility. From social media to special interest groups, to the culture police, there are endless temptations to distract from why we are here and who is truly important.
Sadly, the last Congress suffered from this neglect. In this Chamber 2 years ago, the Speaker spoke of a new dawn for the middle class. But for the next 2 years, the majority was consumed with everything else. During some of the most challenging times for our country, I felt Congress was on the sidelines.
When the need for more pandemic relief was obvious, did we deliver in a timely manner the lifeline America needed?
Or did we say nothing was better than something until politics dictated our actions?
When unrest filled into the cities and communities across the country, did we deliver safety that Americans wanted?
Or did we let calls to defund the police intimidate us from protecting life, liberty, and property?
When Americans relied on essential workers to keep our country moving, did we serve the people's House in a way Americans deserved?
Or did we shrink and reward Members who stayed home, skipped work, and still got paid?
The unfortunate answers to these questions underscore why the last Congress was the least productive Congress in 50 years.
It has been said that a house divided cannot stand. If there are any lessons that Americans have learned in the last 2 years, it is this: a House distracted cannot govern.
I wish I could say that the majority in Congress is committed to changing for the common good and focusing on what really matters, but I am concerned that the early actions are pointing in the wrong direction.
Tomorrow, this majority of the new 117th Congress plans to adopt new rules that would silence our constituents' voices in Congress. Those rules throw away more than 100 years of representation in our Nation's Capitol and effectively kill the key opportunity to amend legislation.
Worse, they would penalize any Member who shares news or views that maybe their allies in the media deem fake. They actually make it an ethics violation, which is usually reserved for such unbecoming conduct as bribery or corruption. Under these rules, all Members are equal, but some are more equal than others. For our constituents, it means freedom of speech is silenced, good ideas are stifled, and dissent is punished.
Why would an American political party use this as your first action in Congress?
Perhaps they feel an urgency to protect their political careers. Given the message that the American people sent to Washington, the grip is slim and the majority is slimmer. Two months ago to this very day, the American people said, Enough. Enough with politicians who dictate what you can say, where you can eat, or whether you can go to church; enough with politicians who ignore the stay-at-home lockdowns they impose on the rest of us; and enough with arrogance and hypocrisy.
Americans are fed up with it, and we Republicans are too. As the party of Lincoln, Republicans understand what it means to carry our constituents' concerns with us at all times. We are a growing, working class coalition of proud Americans who are more energetic, united, and confident than ever before. We believe in the exceptionalism of this Nation and are not afraid to say it. We have listened to our constituents. We heard how things needed to change, and we made a commitment to America to restore our way of life, rebuild the economy, and renew the American Dream.
That is what we campaigned on. That is what we offered in every district. And if the voices of the people matter, that is how we plan to govern.
The response from the American people to our commitment was resounding. Even though we were outspent in district by district, no Republican incumbent was defeated--none. All across this country, voters endorsed common sense, not conflict. It was a referendum against a radical agenda to defund the police and punish hard work. It was a wake-up call.
The question I ask of this Congress is: Were we listening?
As we enter the new Congress, I ask every Member to step out of your office, go to the Cannon Office Building tunnel, look at that small desk, and ask yourself: What is in your desk?
Here is what is in mine: As the son of a fireman, I know how our police officers and first responders put everything on the line to keep us safe. I will never, never, never vote to defund them.
Can we make that same commitment to America?
As a former small business owner, I understand how tough things can be even in the best of times. As we battle the coronavirus, our small businesses are battling lockdowns that are destroying livelihoods and making it impossible to beat the odds. So I will not hike their taxes.
Can we make that same commitment to America?
As a fourth-generation Central Valley Member from California, I represent farmers and oil field workers who rise at the dawn to go to work; who pray to God; and who raise the next generation of good, decent citizens. I will respect their individuality and their freedom, and I will not forget them.
Can we keep that commitment to America?
No more misplaced priorities. The American people deserve better. America is worth fighting for. Americans' rights are worth fighting for. Their dreams are worth fighting for; their voices are worth fighting for; and, most importantly, their voices are worth being heard on this floor.
During the darkest days of the Civil War, when this Nation was literally burning with division, Abraham Lincoln advised us to strive
``to maintain the government and institutions of our fathers, to enjoy them ourselves, and to transmit them to our children and our children's children forever.''
He was right then and he is right now. For the sake of the many generations to come, we need to succeed now.
With that, I want to congratulate the Speaker.
Madam Speaker, as I hand you this gavel, I just ask that you keep in mind that all the people in America will have a voice on this floor.
{time} 1730
Ms. PELOSI. Members of Congress, families, friends, welcome all.
As Speaker of the House, it is my great honor to preside over this sacred ritual of renewal as we gather under the dome of this temple of democracy to begin the 117th Congress.
Thank you, Leader McCarthy. Congratulations on your election as leader. I look forward to working with you to meet the needs of the American people during this great moment of challenge.
As the leader knows, usually on this day, the day of our swearing-in, there is a bipartisan church service that we all attend, and we pray together for America. Until that is possible again, let us all pray personally, pray that there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with us. That is our recurring theme. And our prayers, as we all know, are very needed now.
As we are sworn in today, we accept a responsibility as daunting and demanding as any previous generation of leadership has ever faced. We begin this new Congress during a time of extraordinary difficulty.
Each of our communities has been drastically affected by the pandemic and its economic crisis: 350,000 tragic deaths, which we sadly carry in our hearts; over 20 million infections; millions without jobs--a toll beyond comprehension.
To our new Members--and we will be welcoming them soon to swear them in--welcome and congratulations on your election to the United States House of Representatives. As our Founders intended, our democracy will be reinvigorated by the vibrancy and dynamism of the communities that you represent.
To our returning Members, congratulations to you and your families upon your reelection.
As we open the new Congress, we grieve the passing of Congressman-
elect Luke Letlow. We send our deepest sympathy to his wife, Julia, and their children, and we are praying for them at this sad time. We carry this symbol of Louisiana, in a bipartisan way, in his honor.
Our Congress also suffered another sad loss this week with the passing of Jamie and Sarah Raskin's son, Tommy. Our hearts are broken for them, and I hope it is a comfort to them that so many mourn their loss.
Each of us comes to this Chamber, of course, strengthened by our constituents but with the love of our families. Thank you to the families of our Members for sharing your loved ones with the Congress and with the country. It is a sacrifice, we know.
Personally, I want to thank my husband, Paul; our five children, Nancy Corinne, Christine, Jacqueline, Paul, and Alexandra; our nine grandchildren; and my D'Alesandro family from Baltimore, Maryland. With me in spirit are my mother and father and my brother, Tommy. My parents taught us through their example that public service is a noble calling and that we all have a responsibility to help others. Italian American, proud of our Italian heritage, fiercely patriotic Americans, devoutly Catholic, and staunchly Democratic, we saw that as connected.
In that spirit, I thank my constituents in San Francisco, California, who have entrusted me to represent them in the spirit of Saint Francis, the patron saint of our city, whose anthem, the ``Song of Saint Francis,'' is the anthem of our city: ``Lord, make me a channel of thy peace.''
I thank my Democratic colleagues in the Congress for the confidence you have placed in me in electing me Speaker. I will endeavor to meet the moment with courage, unity, and grace.
I especially thank our distinguished chair of the Caucus, Mr. Jeffries, Chairman Jeffries, for his very generous nomination.
Thank you, Mr. Jeffries.
It gives me great pride to serve as Speaker of the most diverse House of Representatives in the history of our country with a record-
shattering 122 women--122 women, you can applaud that--100 years after women won the right to vote.
Now, let us take a moment to give thanks to our courageous servicemembers in uniform, and our veterans and their families and caregivers, whose service makes us the land of the free and the home of the brave. Our promise to them is that Congress will continue to work in a bipartisan way to build a future worthy of their sacrifice.
As we look forward to the new Congress, let us take a moment to remember three champions of democracy we lost during the 116th Congress, each honored by a lying-in-state ceremony in the United States Capitol.
In the fall of last year, we said good-bye to Mr. Chairman, Elijah Cummings, our North Star, who said: When we are dancing with the angels, the question will be asked: What did you do to be sure we kept our democracy intact?
He is dancing with the angels now.
This past spring, we said good-bye to our beloved colleague John Lewis, the conscience of the Congress, who would say, when you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you must speak up, and he would remind us to make good trouble.
In the fall, we memorialized Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the most brilliant legal minds in our history and a champion for equality, who once said right here in the Capitol--some of you were there, perhaps, in the Statuary Hall--she once said, right here in the Capitol, about women: Once the door is open, there is no stopping us.
Each of their memories is a source of strength and inspiration to us as we approach the challenges ahead. Scripture tells us that to everything there is a time, a season: a time for every purpose under the heavens; a time to build, a time to sow, a time to heal. Now is certainly a time for our Nation to heal.
Our most urgent priority will continue to be defeating the coronavirus, and defeat it, we will. Defeat it, we will.
Two weeks ago, we passed an emergency relief package to crush the virus and put money in the pockets of workers and families, which is now the law, but we must do more to recognize our heroes. Let us thank our heroes: our healthcare workers; our first responders; our police and fire, who we have denied support by denying help to State and local government; our transportation, sanitation, food, and social workers; and our teachers, our teachers, our teachers. They make our lives possible at the State and local level and will facilitate the distribution of the vaccine in a fair and equitable manner. We owe them more.
Many of our essential workers are from communities of color and low wealth, which have been devastatingly and disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. They have been there for us; we must be there for them.
With President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris, who were elected 2 months ago from today, the House will continue our work to save lives and livelihoods, to build back better in a way that advances justice in America.
Indeed, the pandemic has pulled back the curtain and shown even worsened disparities in our economy and our society. We must pursue justice: economic justice, justice in health, racial justice, environmental and climate justice--the list goes on.
Every morning in this Chamber, we take the pledge: One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
``Liberty and justice for all.'' Every day, this Congress must live up to that pledge.
To advance justice, I am establishing the bipartisan Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth to combat the disparities of income and wealth that undermine faith in America's promise for a better future for our children. Working with the committees of jurisdiction, the select committee will recommend proposals that power fair economic growth to make our economy work for everyone.
In all that we do, let us be For the People, recognizing the beautiful diversity of America so that no one is left out and no one is left behind. We do so guided by the vision of our Founders, the sacrifice of our military and their families, and the aspirations that we all have for the children.
To do so, we need God's blessing. May God bless all of us. God bless all of you. God bless our men and women in uniform, our servicemembers and their families, our veterans. And may God bless America.
Thank you all very much. It is my honor.
As Speaker, I am now ready to take the oath of office. I usually do so surrounded by children, but, of course, COVID has prevented that. But they are our purpose--for the children.
I ask the dean of the House of Representatives, the Honorable Don Young from Alaska, to administer the oath of office.
Mr. YOUNG. Madam Speaker, before I issue the oath, I would like to take privilege on the floor as the dean.
I have been in this House longer than anybody else. I have served with you longer than anybody else has served with you. I love this institution. I will be honest: I do not like what I see. It is time we hold hands and talk to one another.
Madam Speaker, I say this with all sincerity: You will be the Speaker of the House, not of a party.
And that may hurt some of you. The job of our Nation is for the House of Representatives to govern this Nation. It was never meant to be the executive branch. It was never meant to be the judicial branch. It is this House that raises the money and dedicates how it shall be spent. And we are representing the people, as we were elected.
{time} 1745
And I say this with all sincerity, Madam Speaker, that when you do have a problem or there is something so contentious, let's sit down and have a drink and solve those problems for the good of this Nation, for this institution, and, as you said, for the future children of this great Nation. We can do it as a body. As the dean to the new Speaker, I ask you to try to attempt to do that. With our leader, we can do it together.
If the gentlewoman from California will please raise her right hand.
Mr. Young then administered the oath of office to Ms. Pelosi of California, as follows:
Do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you God.
(Applause, the Members rising.)
Mr. YOUNG. Madam Speaker, Congratulations.
The SPEAKER. I thank the dean.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 1
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
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