Denouncing the Antisemitic Terrorist Attack in Boulder, Colorado

Floor Speech

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, as Mr. Goldman mentioned, I represent Boulder, Colorado, in the Congress. I live in Boulder County. My wife and I are incredibly blessed and lucky to be raising our family in this community.

Last week, I introduced a bipartisan resolution denouncing this heinous anti-Semitic terror attack in my community. H. Res. 476, a resolution that makes clear that we stand with the Jewish people, the Jewish community, and which explicitly calls for us to do more to address the scourge of anti-Semitism.

Mr. Speaker, that resolution is broadly supported by the members of Colorado's congressional delegation. Colorado has eight Federal lawmakers here in Washington. Six of the eight joined that resolution. I thank Republican Representatives Jeff Crank and Jeff Hurd for doing the right thing and joining that resolution so that we could speak in one voice in denouncing this attack.

There were two Members of Colorado's entire congressional delegation who refused to join this resolution. One of them, Mr. Gabe Evans of Colorado, instead decided to introduce the resolution that the House is going to consider today. This resolution is not bipartisan. It is not carried by the Member who represents this community. This a first, by the way, Mr. Speaker, in the precedence of this House, that the majority would not give the Representative who represents the victims the opportunity to speak on behalf of their community, but Mr. Evans decided to proceed anyway.

Mr. Speaker, of course, because Mr. Evans does not represent this community, the resolution that he has introduced is riddled with inaccuracies. That is not a surprise. It is why it is important for Members who represent communities that are besieged by tragedies like this one to have the opportunity to introduce a resolution and have that resolution considered on the floor.

Let me give you some examples, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Evans' resolution claims that there were 14 victims of this attack. He is wrong. There are 15 victims. Maybe he got that from Google or found it in a newspaper article, but had he been involved in the conversations with law enforcement, as I have, he would know that there were 15 victims of this terrible attack.

It is poor decorum to ask this body to vote on a resolution that lists the wrong number of victims. They are my constituents. They are real people who were burned half to death by a terrorist 7 days ago. The least you can do is list the right number.

Mr. Evans' resolution also says that ``reportedly one victim was a Holocaust survivor.'' She is not reportedly a survivor. She is a Holocaust survivor. There is no doubt to that. There is no allegation to that. I know because she is my constituent. The word ``reportedly'' should be struck from this resolution.

My colleague's resolution, Mr. Speaker--Mr. Evans' resolution, to be clear, because we are considering multiple resolutions today, so I am talking about the resolution from Mr. Gabe Evans of Colorado--does not mention once, not once, the Boulder Police Department, the officers who I represent who put their lives on the line to save members of the community 7 days ago.

The resolution that Mr. Evans has offered doesn't mention the FBI once, not once, whose swift response was so integral. The only law enforcement agency that Mr. Evans mentions is ICE, the one agency that was not in Boulder that day.

We should have the decency to recognize the Boulder Police Department and the officers who I represent who put their lives on the line 7 days ago. It is the least we can do. We have a resolution that does that in a bipartisan way. Had the House majority, the Republicans, done what Republicans and Democrats in this Chamber have done since time immemorial, since I have served in this body, which is allow a Member to put his resolution to the floor for a vote, mistakes like this wouldn't happen.

Now, I know that an earlier version of this resolution that Mr. Evans introduced, which he tweeted about, talked about the fact that this was because Colorado was a sanctuary State. He has removed that language from this resolution, so I am heartened that he now concedes that is an inaccurate claim, that that language is not in this resolution.

However, in times like these, I would have hoped that my colleagues would be willing to come together to properly honor the victims and to condemn anti-Semitism, as I have said, as our resolution does.

It is not hard to do the right thing, Mr. Speaker. The question that Mr. Evans should answer is: Why? Why not join his two other Republican colleagues in Colorado and join the bipartisan resolution that thanks the Boulder Police Department, that thanks the FBI?

The purpose of these resolutions is to unite the Congress, not divide it. The purpose is to unite us in condemning violent attacks like these, to make clear that we stand with the Jewish community today and always and that we will be there for them in the weeks and months ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage you, read the resolution that Mr. Evans introduced. You will not find a single reference--not one--to the victims' families, the people I met with over the weekend, the people I marched with. There is nothing in Mr. Evans' resolution about standing with the Jewish people. Nothing. The word ``Jewish'' is mentioned once in this resolution. The terrorist's name is mentioned 13 times. There is no mention of this being a hate crime. There is nothing in the resolution about the anti-Semitism that is metastasizing across the country that Mr. Van Drew and I agree is a scourge.

So much of what Mr. Van Drew said is in the bipartisan resolution that I introduced. None of it is in the one that Mr. Evans introduced. There is not one mention, Mr. Speaker, in his resolution of Run for Their Lives, the organization that was targeted by this terrorist, the organization that has been pushing for the release of the hostages. They couldn't include one reference to the organization that was targeted? One?

I have served in this body, as I mentioned previously, Mr. Speaker, for 6\1/2\ years, and I have seen a lot of partisan debate unfold on this floor, but I think it is disgraceful to not give my community an opportunity to see our resolution considered on this floor.

I don't know how the Republican majority can force a vote on a resolution like this that gets so many of the basic facts wrong. I had hoped that my Republican colleagues would choose a different course, but they have yet to do so. There is still time.

The Speaker, the majority leader could put our bipartisan resolution on the floor for a vote. They could fix the defects in the resolution that Mr. Evans has introduced. I would implore them to do so.

Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado for such moving and important remarks, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, just a few words first. I want to speak a little bit about Mr. Evans because he may not say it himself. He has served in our military, served proudly in our Army, and he has served in Colorado as a police officer. He has done more, not only served in one or the other, but served both, and did so with honor, decency, and respect. I think the benefit of having him here, he brings a lot to the table about this issue because I know that he has served and worked in Mr. Neguse's actual district, in his territory, as well. I hope maybe he will speak about that, although I know he didn't necessarily plan to do so. He is my friend and a good man. I know he cares deeply about this issue.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, very simply, can we amend Mr. Gabe Evans' resolution with the inaccurate information so that it reflects the accurate information about the number of victims? Can we just change the number from 14 to 15 and add the Boulder Police Department and the FBI? Then, the law enforcement agencies in my district, in particular, the Boulder Police Department, can be recognized by this House.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, there are three Republican Members in the Chamber: Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Crank, and Mr. Evans.

Res. 476, the bipartisan resolution condemning the anti-Semitic attack in Boulder.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I again simply ask Republican leadership to do the right thing and to bring H. Res. 476, the resolution I have introduced to condemn this attack in my community and in my district, to the floor for a vote. I think what the Republicans have decided to do is shameful. I couldn't be more disappointed.

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