Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Colleagues Address Rep. Yoho's Verbal Assault

for what purpose does a gentlewoman from new york seek recognition madam speaker i seek recognition for a question of personal privilege the chair has been made aware of the valid base for the gentlewoman's point of personal privilege the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for one hour thank you madam speaker and i would also like to thank many of my colleagues for the opportunity to not only speak today but for the many members from both sides of the aisle who have reached out to me in support following an incident earlier this week about two days ago i was walking up the steps of the capitol when representative yoho suddenly turned a corner and he was accompanied by representative roger williams and accosted me on the steps right here in front of our nation's capital i was minding my own business walking up the steps and representative yoho put his finger in my face he called me disgusting he called me crazy he called me out of my mind and he called me dangerous and then he took a few more steps and after i had recognized his uh after i had recognized his his comments as rude he walked away and said i'm rude you're calling me rude i took a few steps ahead and i walked inside and cast my vote and because my constituents send me here each and every day to fight for them and to make sure that they are able to keep a roof over their head that they're able to feed their families that they're able to carry their lives with dignity i walked back out and there were reporters in the front of the capitol and in front of reporters representative yoho called me and i quote a [ __ ] [ __ ] these are the words that representative yoho levied against a congresswoman the congresswoman that not only represents new york's 14th congressional district but every congresswoman and every woman in this country because all of us have had to deal with this in some form some way some shape at some point in our lives and i want to be clear that representative yoho's comments were not deeply hurtful or piercing to me because i have worked a working class job i have waited tables in restaurants i have ridden the subway i have walked the streets in new york city and this kind of language is not new i have encountered words uttered by mr yoho and men uttering the same words as mr yoho while i was being harassed in restaurants i have tossed men out of bars that have used language like mr yoho's and i have encountered this type of harassment riding the subway in new york city this is not new and that is the problem mr yoho was not alone he was walking shoulder to shoulder with representative roger williams and that's when we start to see that this issue is not about one incident it is cultural it is a culture of lack of impunity of accepting of violence and violent language against women entire structure of power that supports that because not only have i been spoken to disrespectfully particularly by members of the republican party and elected officials in the republican party not just here but the president of the united states last year told me to go home to another country with the implication that i don't even belong in america the governor of florida governor desantis before i even was sworn in called me a whatever that is dehumanizing language is not new and what we are seeing is that incidents like these are happening in a pattern this is a pattern of of an attitude towards women and dehumanization of others so while i was not deeply hurt or offended by little comments that are made when i was reflecting on this i i honestly thought that i was just going to pack it up and go home it's just another day right but then yesterday representative yoho decided to come to the floor of the house of representatives and make excuses for his behavior and that i could not let go i could not allow my nieces i could not allow the little girls that i go home to i could not allow victims of verbal abuse and worse to see that to see that excuse and to see our congress accept it as legitimate and accept it as an apology and to accept silence as a form of acceptance i could not allow that to stand which is why i'm rising today to raise this point of personal privilege and i do not need representative yoho to apologize to me clearly he does not want to clearly when given the opportunity he will not and i will not stay up late at night waiting for an apology from a man who has no remorse over calling women and using abusive language towards women but what i do have issue with is using women our wives and daughters as shields and excuses for poor behavior mr yoho mentioned that he has a wife and two daughters i am two years younger than mr yoho's youngest daughter i am someone's daughter too my father thankfully is not alive to see how mr yoho treated his daughter my mother got to see mr yoho's disrespect on the floor of this house towards me on television and i am here because i have to show my parents that i am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men now what i am here to say is that this harm that mr yoho levied it tried to levy against me was not just an incident directed at me but when you do that to any woman what mr yoho did was give permission to other men to do that to his daughters he gave in using that language in front of the press he gave permission to use that language against his wife his daughters women in his community and i am here to stand up to say that is not acceptable i do not care what your views are it does not matter how much i disagree or how much it incenses me or how much i feel that people are dehumanizing others i will not do that myself i will not allow people to change and create hatred in our hearts and so what i believe is that having a daughter does not make a man decent having a wife does not make a decent man treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man and when a decent man messes up as we all are bound to do he tries his best and does apologize not to save face not to win a vote he apologizes genuinely to repair and acknowledge the harm done so that we can all move on lastly what i want to express to mr yoho is gratitude i want to thank him for showing the world that you can be a powerful man and a cost women you can have daughters and accost women without remorse you can be married and across women you can take photos and project an image to the world of being a family man and a cost women without remorse and with a sense of impunity it happens every day in this country it happened here on the steps of our nation's capital it happens when the when individuals who hold the highest office in this land admit admit to hurting women and using this language against all of us but once again i i thank my colleagues for joining us today and i will reserve the hour of my time and i will yield to my colleague representative jayapal of washington thank you madam speaker that was brilliance grace intelligence and complete dedication to what justice equality and dignity in the united states looks like that is our colleague alexandria ocasio-cortez and we are so grateful to her for her voice what my colleague from florida did was unacceptable it was violent it was sexist and i do believe he needs to apologize not because it's going to make our colleague miss ocasio-cortez feel any better but because he too needs to learn what unacceptable behavior looks like and rise to the level of the office that he has been elected to it does not dignify not just him but the 750 000 people that he represents and i thought madam speaker that it would be good to review for my colleagues a little bit of the history of the word that was used the word that begins with a b that's five letters and that rhymes with which that word from 1915 to 1930 madam speaker that word suddenly took off in usage in newspaper reports and articles and you know why because in 1920 this body gave women the right to vote and that was just a little too much power for too many men across the country and so all of a sudden that word rose in prominence because god forbid that women would have the right to vote that we would have power in this body that we would have power anywhere in this country god forbid that women would actually have a voice to speak out on issues that mattered and be the arbiters of what is fair and right and spoken with dignity and truism and so that is when that word started to take off now i want to be clear that this violent language is about power it is about power it's about exerting power it's about wielding power over people it is about fear of people who may well be smarter than you harder working than you and more dedicated to achieving justice than you it just may be that it may be that fear it is about diminishing and disrespecting when you have no other tools to do so and it's not new madam speaker you were right here managing time on this floor when i as a new member of congress was told by one of my republican colleagues that i was a young lady and i didn't know a damn thing about what i was talking about you were right here managing the time for our side and you helped me through that moment thank you and i did get an apology on this floor from my colleague across the aisle i was also told in judiciary committee to learn how to read by another one of my members across the aisle these are the things that happened to us all the time these are not jokes they're not little things not because they hurt us we are way too strong for that but because they say something about the caliber of person that is here in the united states congress do you know madam speaker out of the 11 000 people that have ever served in the united states congress there are only 79 of us women of color who have ever served in this body and yes we bring a new voice and so i say to my colleague representative ocasio-cortez thank you for your grace and for your brilliance and for your dignity and to everybody that is out there watching us and to our colleagues across the aisle let me say this we are not going away there are going to be more of us here there is going to be more power in the hands of women across this country and we are going to continue to speak up we are going to continue to say madam speaker we are going to continue to have a voice for people so that every day working people our sons our daughters and our mothers and our wives across the country understand that somebody is standing up for them and so madam speaker i believe mr yoho should apologize i've been on a trip with him across the across across the globe i never thought i would hear this kind of language from him i really didn't and i'm stunned and yet at the same time it's a pattern and it's an old pattern thank you madam speaker and i thank my colleague thank you representative jayapal and thank you in in giving the context of how these words in this language have always been levied towards the ascent of women and women who are ascending in power i now yield to another phenomenal leader from my own home state of new york representative media velazquez my friends at times like this it will benefit us all to remember what the word congress actually means congress means a coming together that is the entire point of this institution people from different regions of the country with varying political views individuals of different backgrounds ethnicities sexual orientations and yes genders come together to solve problems on behalf of the american people who elect us that is where the word congress originates from a coming together we will frequently disagree heatedly we argue on this floor and in committee hearings and meetings we may even disagree on the steps of the capital however let us disagree agreeably the words being discussed today did not live up to those ideals and the gentleman must must say that he is sorry he must apologize it is not to apologize to alexandria ocasio-cortez he must apologize to his wife to his daughters to women in this country today our political discourse is too often infected with an anger and a malice on becoming of our democratic institutions as elected officials we are expected to do better to act as an example of how we can debate passionately but treat one another with compassion dignity and respect it saddens me that the words that we are discussing today failed to live up to that standard for those reasons madam speaker i stand with my friend from new york in condemning the remarks that were made i asked all of us to do better we must do better and i yield back and i'd also like to to thank representative velazquez for her precedent and her leadership as well and before i was a young puerto rican woman upending an incumbent nida velazquez was as well and every single one of us as women have to stand on the shoulders and the and the efforts made by other women who had to fight fight hatred fight patriarchy fight hateful men in order to simply exist in bodies like this and so i'm also like to thank not only representative velazquez but representative lawrence who is a leader in the women's caucus ensuring that others and other women who will walk through these doors not just today but in generations to come continue to be protected and amplified and i i yield to miss lawrence i stand here today in support of women i stand here today condemning the words of unfortunately a colleague of mine i want to reflect on history the first african-american woman was elected in 1968 the first hispanic woman in 1989 ladies and gentlemen we are here to stay this year is the 100th year that women have the right to vote for far too long women and people of color have been subjected to being mistreated humiliated and trying desperately with words to minimize us women of color have traditionally been excluded from the halls of congress but i'm here today saying in a congress where we have the largest number of diversity in women in the history of this congress our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power you will see today speakers coming to this mic yes we're standing up because of the words of one member but i'm standing here today of generations of assaults generations of abuse and stand here proud as a survivor our constituents expect leadership not schoolyard bullying from their elected colleagues almost 100 years after the ratification of the 19th amendment to congress to the constitution and now at the most diverse that our body has ever been this is a time we should be celebrating each other thanking god that we have the opportunity to serve with legends like john lewis but instead we're trying to roll back the clock with behavior that's unacceptable i'm the little black girl from the east side of detroit who was raised by a woman who was a grandchild of an emancipated slave i'm not scared of you i will call you out and i demand respect and i will respect you and i yield back thank you thank you to my colleague from michigan representative lawrence and as i had indicated earlier that having a daughter does not make a decent man having a wife does not make a decent man but treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man and i'm incredibly thankful to have the honor and privilege to serve with decent men in this body each and every day and it is an honor and i am thankful to serve with representative al green who is a sterling example of such a decent man and i yield to him thank you madam speaker i thank you for this opportunity ocasio-cortez i thank you madam speaker i'm 72 years old i have no children but if i had a daughter i would name her alexandria because my name is alexander if i had a daughter i would want her to be bold i would want her to be courageous i would want her to speak truth to power i would want her to be just like alexandria ocasio-cortez the name means helper of humankind and that is what she's about the business of doing i salute her for the positions that she's taken madam speaker this is not the first time we've heard this b word used by people in positions of authority a higher office in this country has corrupted the discourse it came from a higher office and we all took it for granted we just assumed well that's just a person saying something s.o.b you're talking about the mother this is unacceptable it is absolutely unacceptable i believe that we must change the tide of discourse in the country and i believe that what mr ocasio-cortez has said is something that all of us should take notice of she spoke from her heart as she usually does by the way a brilliant head with a compassionate heart i'm proud of her i will stand with her not only today but in the future i don't have to agree with everything she says to respect her dignity to respect her humanity and finally this i grew up in a home where scatology was commonplace i don't think scatologist is a word but if such a word existed there were many scatologists in my home scatology is a word and i learned early on how that impacts the psyche of people we cannot allow what happened to go unnoticed which is why i am here today this scatology with the b word is something that demeans every woman when it is used i will stand against it and i will stand with the honorable alexandria ocasio-cortez i yield back the balance of any time that i have thank you representative greene um your words brought tears to my eyes i think that the relationship particularly between fathers and daughters is a very sacred one and it's a very special one but i also know if my father was publicly using that language to another woman particularly my age but any woman i would tell him that he needed to apologize that his behavior was reprehensible and embarrassing um i would like to yield to rep to representative jackie spear of california i thank the gentlelady i want to compliment you on a profound articulate and accurate statement of what is wrong with what is going on in this country and what is going on wrong in this body thank you as one of the co-chairs of the democratic women's caucus i stand here as the author of the letter along with my colleagues i'm calling on mr yoho to apologize demanding an apology from him to miss ocasio-cortez he didn't give an apology yesterday as miss ocasio-cortez indicated but we really are at a watershed moment in this body we have mourned the loss of two great leaders of this body john lewis we sat on this floor last night for hours on both sides of the aisle talking about his greatness and what did he call us he called us a family a family does not talk to each other as mr yoho had talked to miss ocasio-cortez we mourned the loss of congressman elijah cummings who said we are better than this and we are better than this we are the most diverse congress ever in the history of this country twenty four percent of us are women eight percent of us are women of color now where does this all come from it comes from the top it comes from the white house who calls women crazy nancy or such a nasty woman or a low iq person of a colleague of ours who serves as a chair of a committee a crazed crying lowlife our colleague mr yoho conducted himself like a hit-and-run driver and he does not want to take responsibility for his conduct i believe he must take responsibility for his conduct we are not as women in this house going anywhere we are here to say we belong here and we will demand respect for miss ocasio-cortez and every other woman in this house who has been demeaned by a colleague whether a democrat or a republican it is not right and we can do better i yield back yeah i now yield to mr pokan of wisconsin who is also the co-chair of the congressional progressive caucus and another wonderful champion for all people thank you very much for yielding uh earlier this week a member of this body attacked another member over their viewpoint but it wasn't the ordinary debate over ideology it turned personal and misogynistic all too quickly what was the egregious offense she said what we all know to be true that poverty is a leading path to crime that if you can't pay your rent or feed your family you will do whatever you have to do to survive and you could turn to crime so you aren't homeless or so your family doesn't starve that's called survival and thanks to our nation's disastrous response to covet 19 more people aren't working and that will cause poverty pretty simple honest logic well one member not only took offense to that truism but they also took offense to the person who said it in the most frightening manner they started to attack the person not just for their values but for who they are with the most antiquated view and response i have seen in this body by swearing at someone and calling them an effing b you don't denigrate the person you are attacking as much as you denigrate yourself and honestly this institution and by not properly apologizing for that incident you further dig yourself into a dinosaur sized misogynistic hole and for the republican party to not deal with that member swiftly and strongly you show a greater problem with your party it is likely not a coincidence that half of this body looks more like a madman episode than a representative governing body for the greatest nation on the planet i am so proud to serve with alexandria ocasio-cortez and every other woman and woman of color in this body this country is not just made up of older white wealthy men alone we are a rich tapestry of genders races sexual orientations economic backgrounds and more we can't be afraid to look like the very country we represent and smart women smart women of color shouldn't make you afraid they should make you proud of our nation and proud that we finally finally are starting to look more like it and if somehow the combination of truth if our actions in this body on issues like covid if done improperly can lead to joblessness and poverty and could lead to more hunger and homelessness and potentially crime if that truth combined with a truth teller that looks like the nation as a whole as opposed to this congress if that scares you well then learn how not to be scared or figure out your next career because we've got more of this coming truth telling and representative democracy and it couldn't be coming quickly enough thank you alexandria i yield thank you so thank you so much uh thank you so much representative pocon for pokken for your brilliance and you know i think you bring up such an excellent point something that we had all seen is that what we are seeing here is a resounding rejection of abuse and a costing of women but why is this only happening from one party this should not be a partisan issue yet when mr yoho walked down those steps and accosted me and used these words he was next to a republican colleague and that republican colleague did nothing not only did that colleague did nothing he pretended he didn't even hear it when he had in fact jumped in so not only did a person do it but a bystander did nothing and i have yet to hear from the leader of the republican party personally i have yet to have gotten a call from representative mccarthy addressing his members behavior i have yet to see republican colleagues standing up for their daughters and saying that this behavior was unacceptable so in the resounding standing and loud calls for justice equally loud is the silence and the pin drop from the republican party about this type of misconduct no matter because with that we have an incredible champion for women for men for gender non-conforming people and for justice and i am proud to call her my sister i yield to representative ayanna presley of massachusetts thank you madam speaker i rise today to condemn in the strongest form the vulgar language and blatant disrespect a colleague directed at congresswoman ocasio-cortez as the congresswoman stated we are not on the house floor today because of just one callous incident unfortunately what brings us to this moment are the structural and cultural conditions and yes the very men that have normalized the marginalization of women and specifically women of color since this nation's very inception madam speaker patriarchy it is a tool of oppression that's very much at home in the halls of this powerful institution not unlike the hostile working environments and harassment experienced by countless women across the nation who dare to speak truth to power today we rise for every woman that has dealt with these dynamics as a conflated part of their walk in life every woman that has repressed the painful rhetoric inflicted on our bodies and our lives so suffice to say that these tire tactics tactics to debase and marginalize are familiar and yet still we rise our former fathers and our foremothers rather the trailblazing women elected to congress before us equipped us to take on a world that was built on contradictions and injustice because of them we have learned how to walk with our heads held high our legacy defined by the laws we write and the good we do on behalf of those we serve i first set foot in this institution at the age of 19. my mother poured into me a sense of reverence for this institution of the awesome power that it held i walked through hallways and still do flanked by the statues of men that enslaved my ancestors in a building built by my enslaved ancestors madam speaker while there may still be some specters in this hallway set on upholding oppression and misogyny i know that when my 12 year old daughter walks through these hallways today she sees my name embossed on a plaque outside the door and lit up on the voting board above this house floor and she sees to leave and omar and chu and jayapal and escobar and trahan and underwood our very existence is proof that progress has been made and yet although in some instances we are better than we used to be we are still not who we can be and so with my eyes fixed clear on the challenges of the moment but clear still on the promise of the future i speak to our daughters for they are watching and carefully taking note of how we respond in this moment so in this moment i say to my cora and all our daughters you are powerful you are limitless your contributions to this world are brilliant needed and uniquely yours your ideas are substantive your lived experiences your kind heart and your critical eye belong at every single table where decisions are being made you deserve a life free from fear and filled with dignity and love you are not defined by your productivity or your chosen work we affirm these truths to be self-evident that women are the backbone of every family of our communities and we are nation builders we believe in you fully without reservation you have a right to show up in the world exactly as you are and who you are is always enough cora you belong everywhere and i will close with the words of reverend william barber who aptly points out that we find ourselves as a nation in a moment of reckoning a reckoning which calls for reconstruction old fights but this is a new day let's build the world that cora and all girls and women deserve and let us begin with this very institution thank you thank you so much representative presley and i now yield to representative judy chu of california i rise today in support of my friend and colleague representative ocasio cortez but most of all i rise in support of basic human decency i condem remarks that are respectful disrespectful and offensive and recent remarks reflected a hostility that should alarm my colleagues on both sides of the aisle it's not expected that everyone in this chamber agrees with each other it is expected however that we treat each other with dignity and respect there should never be a reason that anyone fails to meet this low bar turning policy disputes into personal disputes is dangerous as leaders we risk inciting violence in others as congress members it indicates a focus more on fighting than governing we should never utter comments that are misogynistic and hateful to any congressmember this week it was congress member ocasio cortez but if we don't speak out against this tomorrow it could be any congress member who is a woman or person of color and that's why this must end now if any such ugly curse words are uttered decorum dictates that there should be an apology a real apology a sincere apology not words that simply deflect and blame others on the great seal of the united states it says e pluribus unum out of many one disagreement and different perspectives were baked into this country and it is our ability to work with others that we do not always agree with that has allowed america to be the beacon of hope we should never betray these values of unity despite disagreement congress member alexandra ocasio-cortez deserves respect congress member alexandria ocasio-cortez deserves a real apology now thank you thank you representative chu and once again i'm so thankful to all of our colleagues who are coming and and standing up today again not just for a person for one incident but for all of us in this country um and i yield to representative debbie wasserman schultz of florida i thank the gentlelady for yielding and and stand here in in support of her courage i rise to remind every man and woman on this floor that we were sent to washington to destroy hostile work environments not build them few women here or watching have not felt a man's bullying breath or menacing finger in our face as we were told exactly what our place was at work i certainly saw and felt it as a 20-something lawmaker and had a highly public similar experience here on in in the halls of congress as a 30-something member once again from a then florida member of congress that former member was just elected as the chair of the republican party of texas by the way so bullies continue advancing unchecked today we take a stand for my colleague and friend ms ocasio-cortez and all women who endure this archaic behavior today we take a stand and say enough is enough sadly most capitals including this one endure this archaic behavior and we must stand shoulder to shoulder to say that today is the last day that we will tolerate it sadly most capitals including this one are still undeniably boys clubs but women have critical numbers now my friends and all of us women and men have had it with bullies the halls of congress are not middle school playgrounds we have serious business to do people across the country are sick dying unemployed and facing eviction yet misogyny was this member's highest priority messaging unbelievable i guess really not unbelievable it's a new day gentleman and i use that term loosely with some cases so just a reminder for those who still want to work wield the workplace tool of intimidation your time is up to my sisters on this floor and listening at home to my daughters listening at home we must not let those who may be intimidated by our strength scare us away i am proud of and proud to stand by my colleague and friend congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez today i yield back the balance of my time thank you and uh with that i would like to yield to representative lori trahan of massachusetts i thank the gentlewoman for yielding madam speaker we can disagree on issues that we face as a nation and we can disagree on the policies and the prescriptions that we develop to fix them in fact this very body was built on the belief that productive tension and spirited debate would force legislators to do the hard work of creating laws that will benefit all americans for centuries the house of representatives has rejected personal attacks like those hurled at congresswoman ocasio-cortez on the steps of the u.s capitol earlier this week this institution has maintained rules that hold us as members of congress to a higher standard because that's what the hard-working people we represent expect from us and that's what we owe to them madam speaker when we learn of the kind of personal attack levied against congresswoman ocasio-cortez we cannot sit idly by we cannot let it go unaddressed as many of us women have long been expected to do we must call it out we must demand accountability like we are here today that's what we owe to all women especially to our daughters we have to send the message loud and clear because apparently people still aren't getting it the days of bullying women you disagree with whether it's in a board room in a newsroom on a military base or in these hallowed halls of congress are over if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't believe me watch as we continue winning in districts across america watch as women band together to say enough to being publicly humiliated simply because they disagree and watch as we make up for a lost time by course correcting the behaviors that women like us have had to endure so that our daughters and yours will never have to i want to thank my fearless colleague for the grace the courage and the intellect that you bring to this chamber every day and with that i yield back thank you so much representative trahan and i'd like to yield to our majority leader who has stood up for every member in this body and decency across parties our majority leader representative hoyer madam speaker this is an issue of who we are as a people many women have spoken on this floor but this is an issue for fathers this is an issue for sons this is an issue for brothers i have three daughters two granddaughters and three great-granddaughters they must not be confronted with this kind of attack and that's what it was some have tried to demonize the gentle lady from new york who does in fact bring the intellect and the passion and the focus on issues surprisingly that the gentleman mentioned yesterday in his non-apology all the men on this side of the aisle are supportive of alexandria ocasio-cortez and all of her sisters and all of her mothers as well i yield back thank you thank you so much representative hoyer and i would like to now yield to representative cheryl of new jersey i thank the gentlelady from new york for yielding the 116th congress has the largest number of women serving in this body's history 101 women serving in the house 26 women in the senate and this historic class of women represents the broad and diverse america that we live in we are all public servants we all came here to serve our country and our communities i frequently disagree with colleagues but policy differences are no excuse for personal attacks and we know that some of the harshest personal attacks are often reserved for women of color furthermore telling a woman i'm sorry you heard it that way is a cliche as old as time to belittle and dismiss women after attacking them we have got to do better we are role models for our children i'm standing here not just for my two daughters but for my two sons we have got to do better thank you and i yield back thank you so much representative cheryl and i would now like to yield uh to representative barbara lee of california thank you very much uh first of all let me just say i rise today to support not only my colleague congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez but i rise in strong support of this privileged resolution as an african-american woman first let me just say i personally have experienced a lifetime of insults racism and sexism and believe you me this did not stop after being elected to public office it's past time that this body understand that women of color are here to stay congresswoman aoc is here to stay it is past time that this house recognized that women will not tolerate these personal attacks and insist that we be treated with respect do anyone in this house representing over seven hundred thousand people the impact of using this language against any woman dehumanizes women and girls and sends the message to other men that women are valued less than a human being now my mentor congresswoman shirley chisholm from brooklyn new york was the first black woman elected to congress and as a member of the late congressman ron delam staff i spent many years on capitol hill and witnessed the personal attacks and curse words against her as a black female member of congress but you know what just like yourself she would not tolerate such behavior and she had to fight often times alone such against such despicable language and behavior well congresswoman we are here today with you we are here supporting your right to speak out to represent your constituents and to be who you are a brave and bold member of congress which we know you to be now the gentleman from florida yes he must apologize to you congresswoman he must apologize though to all of the little girls who aspire to be who they are to be who they are without being called disgusting names and barriers to keep their voices silent i close with reading you just one verse of our beloved dr maya angelou's poem still i rise i'm reminded of you today she said you may shoot me with your words you may cut me with your eyes you may kill me with your hatefulness but still like air i'll rise so yes congresswoman you have risen once again much representative lee not just for your comments but for your leadership and with that i i yield to another incredible resilient passionate leader representative ilhan omar of minnesota madam speaker i am here not only to defend my friend and colleague alexandria ocasio-cortez i'm here on behalf of women around the world this is not just about one woman one incident or one purple assaulter this is about respect and fundamental equality like alexandria i was raised by a dignified man who told me that i didn't deserve equality that i deserved equality because i was an equal human being to my brothers i am appalled often like alex was when we hear men say i would never do this because i have a wife i have a daughter i have sisters you don't only respect women because they could be your mother they could be your wife they could be your sister no you respect women because they are an equal human being to you that's how my father raised me and that's how alexandria's father raised her nearly every woman in the world has experienced verbal abuse not just once but since they were little girls we experience it on playgrounds we experience it on workplaces we experience it on our social media feeds we see it coming regularly from the president of the united states and now we see it coming from his partisan lockheeds from birth little girls are sent the message that they don't matter in this body we have seen men who are afraid of muslim women like me and rashida talib because we say proudly that you cannot ban us from this country because we pray differently than you they are afraid of women everywhere fighting systems of recession and sexual harassment through the metoo movement they are afraid not just of us but losing their own power it is no accident that alex was verbally abused for speaking up for poverty in her district and its relation to unrest because when you push power power pushes back the people from marginalized community when we speak for people from marginalized communities we understand as people who come from those marginalized communities and that is a threat to those who wield power against marginalized communities so we are not we are here to say that we will not allow sexism misogyny and patriarchy to hold us back we will not apologize for advocating for women everywhere we will not apologize for claiming the power that women deserved for centuries and we will send a message to our daughters and their daughters that they deserve fundamental equality i yield back thank you thank you so much representative omar and thank you again to so many members who have shown up today in support and although not everyone has been able to speak representatives castro deloro barragan have have also risen along with many many others and i appreciate everyone's presence and with that i'd like to yield with representative clark from brooklyn new york oh the other clerk my apologies i yield to representative catherine clark of massachusetts we like that there are so many women and women named clark that we can be confused thank you representative ocasio-cortez as we all know sexism isn't new to congress it's not new to america it happens in homes in schools and in all places of work the behavior the language the assault wielded against my colleague was disgusting inappropriate and endemic of the toxic masculinity that permeates our culture and our country slurs like the one used by representative yoho are meant to degrade objectify and belittle women it was an attempt to dismiss her her role in this body and her position all together all women have experienced this to some degree but so often it is women of color who are singled out when we hear comments like this men and boys think it's appropriate women and girls expect it today we stand with our colleague we will not accept this behavior anymore we will not be made to be feel less than this is our house and we are claiming our space i yield back thank you representative clark and i yield to representative rashida talib of michigan thank you madam speaker i rise today as a proud member of this body and as a woman of color as a sister in service to my colleague congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez who was verbally assaulted by a member of this same chamber gaslighting my colleague in our country won't work here i rise to tell my sister in service i believe you i believe you not just because reporters happen to be standing there to hear the sex attack but because i believe women across our country when they tell us of the violence they experience at the workplace violence against women and politics specifically is a global problem i know i would invite any of my colleagues across the aisle to answer the calls into my office for just one day to hear the vile sexist remarks made about me and other women serving in this chamber when my colleague from florida made the remark in question he echoed and perpetuated those sexist violent calls madam speaker we must condemn in the strongest terms possible this kind of violent sexism sexism so that women and girls across the country know that there is no room in any workplace not in congress not anywhere thank you