Bears a sacred duty. Passed down to us through generations and afimmed in our oath of office to preserve and protect our constitution. Madam speaker, our nations framers recognized that this republic is fragile. And that extreme partisanship can be among the most severe threats to its survival. That is why in federalist 65 Alexander Hamilton wrote, quote, there will always be the greatest danger that impeachment, that impeachment decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties than by real demonstrations of innocence or guilt. Here, madam speaker, our democratic colleagues have been working to remove this president since the day he was elected. Searching for an offense on which they could impeach. Failing to find one, madam speaker, they have decided to assume one. Rather than attempting to enforce their subpoenas in court, they have also decided to declare it a high crime and misdemeanor when the president of the United States asserts his constitutional privileges. The democrats are asking members of this body to impeach despite the fact that they have presented no direct evidence of any impeachable offense. Let me say it one more time, madam speaker. They have presented no direct evidence of any impeachable offense. If anyone in this Chamber Still believes the democrats have proven their case, i would urge those members to ask the chairman of the intelligence committee, mr. Schiff, why he failed to appear to answer questions about his report. Before members vote for impeachment, they might want to know why the author of the impeachment report will not defend it under questioning. If the house impeaches here, madam speaker, it will create exactly the type of risk the framers cautioned us to avoid. It will mean that divided government can imperil a democratically elected president based on unproven allegations and innuendo in the absence of direct testimony. Despite all the rhetoric you have heard today, madam speaker, passage of these articles of impeachment may permanently damage our republic. From this day forward a hyper partisan, fair majority can cite this president precedent i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, madam speaker, think of our republic, think of the constitution, think of the oath that we all swore to protect and defend that constitution and vote wednesday these partisan, reckless, and dangerous articles of impeachment. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california. Mr. Schiff im proud to recognize the gentleman from michigan, mr. Levin, for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Madam speaker, today we proclaim that no person is above the law, not even the resident of the United States. Jonled j. Trump abused the power of his office and violated his oath of office by extorting a new and inexperienced president of a vulnerable foreign ally to dig up dirt on mr. Trumps domestic political opponents. He then obstructed the congress, this equal branch of our government, from undertaking our duty. Outlined in the constitution itself to investigate and check these violations. Today we do nothing more and nothing less than fulfill our duty to our country and to our constitution. Mr. Trump has allowed foreign powers to interfere in our Domestic Affairs. He has endangered our National Security and our democracy itself. For those reasons we must impeach this president. Thank you, madam speaker. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Madam speaker, at this point i have i yield for a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from oregon. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Walden i pose this resolution oppose this resolution on impeachment and ask my words be put in the record. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Collin i have a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from south carolina. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. I oppose these resolutions and i ask for my comments to be admitted into the record. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Collins i ask unanimous consent for the gentleman from mississippi. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Thank you, madam speaker. I oppose the articles of impeachment and like comments be entered into the record. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Collins i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from california. Mr. Schiff madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore who seeks recognition . Mr. Collins madam speaker, i ask of the gentleman is he ready to close . Mr. Schiff no, we have a few more speakers. Mr. Collins i reserve. Mr. Schiff i recognize the gentleman from new york, mr. Espaillat, for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Espaillat madam speaker, if you live in the village of harlem in my district, you are not above the law. If you live on west third avenue in the bronx part of my district, you are not above the law. If you live in washington heights, in my district, you are not above the law. So i submit to you that if you live at 1600 pennsylvania avenue, you are not above the law. And you will be held accountable. President donald trump asked ukrainian president to do us a favor and look into the bidens. Thats abuse of power. President trump used the official white house meeting to extort a ukrainian president. Thats abuse of power. President trump ordered white house staff to withhold 400 million in aid to the ukraine, thats abuse of power. President trump and his staff deny multiple defied multiple subpoenas from congress, thats obstruction of congress. He blocked witnesses from testifying before this body. Hats obstruction of congress. No one is above the law. I cast my vote for thip peachment. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins madam speaker, i yield for unanimous consent request for the gentleman from virginia. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to enter my statement into the record. Recording that i am opposed to this articles of impeachment on the basis they do not the speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Collins i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california. Mr. Schiff madam speaker, im proud to recognize the gentlelady from california, ms. Brownley, for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Brownley madam speaker, as the chair of the womens Veterans Task force, i see every single day the immense sacrifice our Women Veterans and all of our nations veterans have made in service to our country, in certificate chris to our commander in chief, our constitution, to protect our democracy, and for every single man, woman, and child in our country. When the president of the United States used 400 million meant to protect our National Security in order to cheat in our elections, he not only abused his power, he turned his back on the sacrifices of our veterans and their families have made for all that we hold so dear. That abuse of power is reprehensible, and it is exactly what impeachment was designed to prevent. We have a solemn duty to protect our constitution, to protect our democracy, and to honor all those who have laid their lives on the line for these United States of america. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time i yield for a unanimous consent request to the gentlelady from indiana. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Walorski thank you, madam speaker. I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record my opposition to these articles of impeachment. Mr. Collins i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california. Mr. Schiff im proud to recognize the gentlewoman from california, mrs. Davis, for 30 seconds. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Make avis madam speaker, no mistake. We are not impeaching this president. He is impeefing himself. Impeaching himself. If you are the president and you obstruct justice, try to bribe a foreign leader and threaten National Security, youre going to get impeached. Nd of story. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time i recognize the gentleman from North Carolina for a unanimous consent request. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record my opposition to these articles of impeachment. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Collins i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california. Mr. Schiff madam speaker, im proud to recognize the gentlewoman from new mexico, ms. Haaland, for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Haaland madam speaker, i stand before you as a representative of new mexico, a place where we believe in dignity and respect for all. In congress i have been fighting for them. We have been working to make health care more affordable, education accessible, and move our country forward for the people. But today this president has forced us into a serious debate. We are talking about a president who used the power of the presidency for his own political gain. Risking our National Security and putting the integrity of the next election at risk. Its a sad day when a president shows complete disrespect for congress as a coequal branch of government and for the American People who elected us. We collected the evidence and the facts are in disputable. We all took an oath to protect and defend our constitution. We have the solemn responsibility to hold this president accountable because its our job. I urge my colleagues to live up to our responsibility and show our fellow americans that no one, not even the president , is above the law. And i yield. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yield back. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time i yield to the gentleman from oklahoma for a unanimous consent request. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record my opposition to these articles of impeachment. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Collins i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california. Mr. Schiff i recognize the gentlelady from North Carolina, ms. Adams, for a unanimous consent request. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Adams thank you. Madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record my statement in support of the articles of impeachment against president donald j. Trump. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Schiff i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time i give five minutes to the gentleman from louisiana, the minority leader whip, mr. Scalise. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. Mr. Scalise thank you, madam speaker. Impeaching a president of the United States. This isnt about some solemn duty tonight. Lets talk about what this is really about. This has been about a political vendetta. A political vendetta that didnt just start with the zelensky call. It started long before that. Just listen to some of the quotes from democrats in this chamber. Speaker pelosi, quote, its been going on for 22 months. 2 1 2 years, actually. We cannot accept a second term for donald trump. Whats more serious is that he cant win. This isnt about some crime that was committed. Its about fear that he might win reelection. Thats not why you impeach a president. Al green, quote, im concerned if we dont impeach this president he will get reelected. The list goes on, madam speaker. In fact, there are some quotes that i cant even read on this house floor that some of our colleagues made. Keep in mind, more than 100 democrats on this house floor voted to impeach this president before the zelensky phone call. Just look at some of these articles of impeachment they voted for two years ago. 58 democrats voted to impeach the president over comments he made about nfl players kneeling for the pledge of allegiance. Impeaching the president over 50 democrats voted to impeach him for that. Just this summer over 90 democrats voted to impeach the president for comments he made about the squad. So he makes comments about some other members of congress who make a lot of comments about him, and 95 members vote to impeach the president of the United States. This is a political vendetta. It has nothing to do with the crime committed. There was no crime. Why dont we listen to some of the witnesss . We werent able to call of the witnesses we wanted, but there were witnesses. Gordon sondland, european ambassador to the european union, hes mentioned over 600 times in the schiff report. He was their star witness. And what did he say when asked . Quote, did President Trump ever tell you personally about any preconditions for anything . His answer, no. Any preconditions for the aid to be released . No. Any preconditions for a white house meeting . Under oath he testified no. Abuse of power, lets talk about that article of impeachment. George washington law professor turley, who admitted under oath that he voted against trump, spoke to this claim of abuse of power. In fact, he said, quote, if you make a high crime and misdemeanor out of going to the courts, it is an abuse of power, its your abuse of power. You are doing precisely what you are criticizing the president of doing. Abuse of power. Theres a house rule, madam speaker, that requires, not allows, but requires that the minority get a day of hearing, which we asked for multiple times. They broke this rule. They didnt allow us to have a minority day of hearing. They didnt want to hear the facts about this case. Because it was never about the facts. Because there was no crime. It is about a personal political vendetta. Now lets talk about obstruction of congress. As they make up these terms to impeach a president. Because they didnt find a crime and they were looking. Its been an impeachment in search of a crime. But they talk about obstruction of congress. Saying the president defied subpoenas. Subpoena after subpoena. Lets go through the departments. The department of state they subpoenaed. Do you know that literally just four days after the subpoena, the secretary of state himself responded to your subpoena . The department of defense, a week later responded to the subpoena. The department of energy responded to the subpoena. We can go on and on with all of these agencies. Thats an abuse of power, thats an obstruction of congress . Responding to your subpoena . Thats what they did. They responded. You might not have liked the answer, but thats not the way this works. You dont impeach a president because you dont like his Foreign Policy. As so many of those Foreign Policy experts came and testified. But this isnt just about donald trump. They dont just hate donald trump, madam speaker. They hate the 63 million americans who voted for this president. The forgotten men and women of this country who have been left behind. Dam speaker the speaker pro tempore the house will be in order. The gentleman may proceed. Mr. Scalise thank you, madam speaker. Its those forgotten men and women of this country that washington had left behind. Thats what president doing for them . Hes delivering for them. 600 jobs in pennsylvania. 1,000 jobs, workers in mingo junk, ohio. 750 million junction, ohio. 750 750 Million Investment for jobs across this country. Detroit news, chrysler, 6,500 new jobs. Thats what this president is doing to deliver for those men and women of this country who have been left behind. Its about time who had been left behind. Its about time someone stood up for them and President Trump did. It is a political vendetta. It theyre going to go through with this, madam speaker, impeachment will not just be a stain on this democrat majority, impeachment will be their legacy. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. Members are reminded to address their remarks to the chair. The gentleman from california. Mr. Schiff madam speaker, i rise ms. Kuster from New Hampshire for unanimous consent request for a unanimous consent request. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Cust cust madam speaker, i request ms. Kuster madam speaker, i request the consent, unanimous consent, for entering my statement into the record regarding the 75th anniversary of the battle of the bulge in favor of articles of impeachment. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Schiff madam speaker, it is now my pleasure to recognize the gentleman from maryland, the majority leader of the house of representatives, mr. Hoyer, for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Hoyer my colleagues the speaker pro tempore the gentleman will suspend. He house will come to order. The gentlemans recognized. Mr. Hoyer madam speaker, i have had the honor of serving in this house for over 38 years. Ive served during six presidencies. Ive been here through moments tremendous progress and terrible tragedy. I have seen periods of rank partisanship and patriotic bipartisanship. Ive seen our twoparty system work. And ive seen it break down. Never, in all my years of serving in this Great Institution that i love, and the people of my district, did i ever expect to encounter such an obvious wrongdoing by a resident of the United States. Nor did i expect to witness such a craven rationalization of president ial actions. Which have put our National Security at risk, undermined the integrity of our elections, and defied the Constitutional Authority of the congress to conduct oversight. Weve heard from republicans that this impeachment really has do with policy differences, or how we feel personally about the president. About his temperament. Or that we simply dislike him. Throughout the trump presidency, democrats have resisted p