House GOP Introduce Legislation Against Critical Race Theory Press Conference Transcript

Dan Bishop: (00:00) Thank you very much for joining us. I'm pleased to be joined by a number of my colleagues who will speak to you in turn and by Russ Vought of a renewing America. Critical race theory is a divisive ideology that threatens to poison the American psyche. All who love freedom and revere the foundational principles of our constitutional Republic have a duty to inform themselves of the origins and thought underlying this dangerous ideology and to oppose it, openly and robustly. Critical race theory espouses that America is an irredeemably racist society in its origins and in its present condition, that American should be balkanized into identity groups, according to race, sex, ethnicity, and other distinguishing characteristics. That Whites are an oppressor race and other identity groups are oppressed. It further advances the claim that civilizational ideals that America has progressively pursued over her history, including individual liberty equal opportunity to pursue happiness and judging people on the content of their character are invalid, cynical, and a mirror smokescreen for racism. Dan Bishop: (01:26) The roots of this ideology are unmistakable. Just as Karl Marx advocated a social critical ethic of societal classism, oppressor versus oppressed. This is neo-Marxist ideology, cultural Marxism, masquerading as history and designed to mislead. Cancel Culture is one of its weapons, mob-like attacks on free expression, intimidation. For the sake of our children's future, we must stop this effort to cancel the truth of our founding and our country. States around the country, Legislatures are undertaking this effort. North Carolina announced only yesterday that it is taking the issue up as well and the Legislature there. And I'm pleased that it is. Dan Bishop: (02:19) We must do the same in the federal government. And I am offering legislation co-sponsored by a number of the folks with us and others will be offering legislation on the subject shortly. And we'll talk about that today, That legislation, which undertakes that purpose. And at this time, what I'd ask is for Russ Vought to come and address you Russ, as you know, was Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump Administration. And there he led the Trump Administration's confrontation of the issue of critical race theory within federal agencies. Now at renewing America, Russ is a leading voice as our country undertakes to confront and to learn about this dangerous ideology. Russ. Russell Vought: (03:15) Thank you. Thank you for that. In some respects, this debate is very simple. We are here today because we are opposed to the notion that fundamental American principles should be discarded. And that American principle is that for the vast majority of our history, that individuals, human beings, citizens of this country would be judged on the content of their character and not the color of their skin. We stand opposed to a liberal intellectual framework that threatens to upset that, that posits, that we need to look through a racialized prison towards equality of outcome under the form of equity, not equality under the law, but equity. And that as a result, individuals are treated differently based on the color of their skin. As a country, we've rejected that, we've moved on from that. We have lived up to our ideals and we continue to live up to our ideals. Russell Vought: (04:12) I want to read to you some of the examples for those who might think this is not real. California third-graders were made to deconstruct their racial identity and rank themselves according to their power and privilege in school. Teachers told the students to live in a dominant culture of white middle-class cisgender, educated, able- bodied, Christian, English speakers. Second examples, the US Sandia Labs, this is the federal government held a reeducation camp for white male employees, forcing them to write apology letters to people of color and women. The training materials claim that devastating elements of white male culture, rugged individualism, a can-do attitude, hard work, and striving towards their success are problems. Third example, the US Department of Homeland Security held microaggression trainings that claimed individualism, the protestant work ethic, capitalism monotheism, the written tradition and believing that the most qualified person should get the job are racist attributes. Russell Vought: (05:11) So this is real it's impacting our schools, our institutions, our employers, we're seeing it across the country. People are rising up and speaking out against this issue. This is the beginning of the federal effort to continue the work that President Trump did with the executive order to make certain that it is defunded throughout the federal government, that contracts are written so that they could not use this device of training. And that grants are similarly restricted from being able to propagate this theory and to make sure from a government-wide perspective, we have eradicated this view that is dividing our country and is fundamentally un-American. Dan Bishop: (06:01) Thank you, Russ. And I'm going to briefly describe the two pieces of legislation that I'm offering this week, and then ask others of us to come and address you. So again, there are two bills. The first is the Combat Racist Training in the Military Act, and it is a house companion bill to the bill introduced by Senator Tom Cotton in the Senate. It prohibits the United States military from using materials to promote critical race theory. And it stands for the idea that CRT does not belong in our armed forces. That bill, as we file, it will have 39 original co-sponsors. The stop CRT act, Stop Critical Race Theory Act will be the most comprehensive legislation to restrict the spread of CRT. In September 2020, as you know, and I propose Mr. Vought's presence here today, President Trump signed an executive order, banning federal agencies from indoctrinating their employees with these ideas. Dan Bishop: (07:08) Joe Biden has revoked this executive order as soon as he took office, but it was the right thing to do. This bill when passed would codify the Trump executive order, banning critical race theory from being used in federal agency trainings. But the legislation will go further, it will ban any federal funds from being used to promote critical race theory, anywhere. That legislation has at this point 31, original co-sponsors both bills are supported by the Center for American Renewal, Heritage Action, the Claremont Institute, and Freedom Works. And with that, I'd like to ask Congressman Chip Roy of Texas to come up. Chip Roy: (07:50) Thanks Dan. Well, I want to thank my friend, Dan Bishop of North Carolina for leading this effort and my friend Russ Vought for being here and for being a strong advocate on this issue. The Center for Renewing America is a great new addition to the fabric of the discussion here and they're leading a lot of the important ideals and initiatives that were advanced during the Trump administration's America first agenda. And I appreciate Russ being here and for his service as our Director of the Office of Management and Budget. We're just down the mall here, right? We have the Jefferson Memorial, I'm a proud graduate of the University of Virginia. We understand the importance of the founding principles of our nation. That's what we're here to reflect and to advance. We know that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, but importantly, that we are created equal, right? Chip Roy: (08:50) That's the fundamental principle that we all adhere to. And I think back growing up and learning and listening to Dr. Martin Luther King and being judged by the content of our character, not the color of our skin. When I think about Chief Justice Roberts in 2000, I think five or six, the Supreme Court opinion talking about the sordid business, it is of divvying us up by race, or divvying up our entire country by race and teaching our children that America is evil. It's happening right now. If there is one upside or bright spot to the last year of operating under the pandemic rules, and a lot of the silliness that has caused so much destruction and killed jobs and sent our children unable to go to school. It's that the veil has been lifted on a public education system that is corrupting the very ideal of being American. It is happening right now with federal tax dollars, being taxed, borrowed, or printed recklessly with $6 trillion over the last year, that money is being funneled directly into public education institutions, K through graduate school, that are teaching our children that America. Chip Roy: (10:03) K through graduate school that are teaching our children that America is evil, divvying us up by race, teaching our children that they should be apologetic for their race. It's happening. This is real. Go look, you're the press. Go dive into this, go look into schools, ask them to see their curriculum, dig into it. Be the press. That's your job to go seek the truth, wherever it may lead. One of the fundamental principles also in our founding. Chip Roy: (10:33) These things were true in Evanston, Illinois, students listened to the book, Not My Idea. A book about whiteness and parents were asked to discuss the book with their children at home. The book states that whiteness is a bad deal and always was, and that you can be white without signing on to whiteness. Your schools, ladies and gentlemen, Americans, your schools, your tax dollars, your $30 trillion of debt being borrowed to fund those schools. Chip Roy: (11:07) I was taken aback by the woman who approached the issue. I think it might've been in Georgia, I don't know Marjorie, I mean it was somewhere where she was aghast at what was going on in the schools and what was being taught. And to lot of parents out there, I hope now that the veil has been lifted, you start asking the question, "Why am I allowing my child to be indoctrinated by an education establishment that wants to teach my child, that my country is evil." Chip Roy: (11:34) We need to end it and we need to end it now, and that's why we're here. And I appreciate Dan's leadership. Our friend Burgess Owens, who couldn't be here. He's at a funeral. I've also introduced legislation and it's called the combating racist teaching act. And it will make sure that all of our federal dollars, that not $1 can be used to fund a K through graduate school education if they're teaching any of these theories. Chip Roy: (12:01) Any of this critical race theory stuff, any of it. No federal dollars. And I think we ought to stand on that as Republicans, because we stand for equality. We stand for equal justice under law. It's written on that building right across the street in the Supreme Court. And with that, I'll turn it over to my friend, Ralph Norman, from South Carolina. Ralph Norman: (12:20) Thank you so much. I want to thank Dan, Bishop, Russ. Thank you for your comments today at our conservative opportunities. Folks, we're in a cultural warfare today. Some of the terms that some of my colleagues have mentioned, it's now about press versus the oppressor tearing down, quality means equity. Now examine that, let's put it in a sports figure. Imagine telling Michael Jordan, whether it was at North Carolina or the Bulls that he couldn't start off because it was not equal. Ralph Norman: (12:52) Imagine telling Tom Brady that he was not going to be able to start off because it's not equal. Folks, this is a serious flaw that is cheap said, you all need to research. Find out what's being taught. And I ask everybody to look into what this represents. Look in what this critical race theory is teaching our young children from kindergarten, all the way up through college. Ralph Norman: (13:15) In simplistic terms, this is Marxism. Those who are wealthy and those who aren't, those who own businesses versus the workers. There are no solutions being offered. It's just separations, splitting this country. What about telling what's great about this country, that's what's made it free. If not America, what country do you go to? Where do we go? Why not being positive about America, particularly with what's going on today. Ralph Norman: (13:47) We've got a board of us being overrun. We got gas lines that people are not only filling up their cars, but a paying ungodly prices for every product that's delivered by trucks that don't run on solar panels folks, they run on gas and oil. It separates the two classes of people, people who are white and everyone else. How ridiculous is that? It frequently refers to whiteness or white beliefs. Critical race theory asserts that people with white skin are inherently racist, not because of their actions, words, or what they actually believe in their heart, but by virtue of the color of their skin. Ralph Norman: (14:26) Folks, that makes no sense. We are all Americans. We're here to protect and defend a Republic that has owned the verge of going socialistic. And it starts with a Marxist theory of CRT. Do your homework, ask questions, and then tell people now, it's we the people who need to be involved with our churches, we need to be involved with our school boards. And we need to be involved and defend against this. We've got a group of patriots behind me that are willing to do that. We're willing to fight because what's going on is only dividing a great country. We need to have solutions, we need to make America greater. Thank you so much. Marjorie Taylor Greene: (15:12) Well, I'm honored to be here with my colleagues who stand with me along with most Americans against racism. I think the question everyone needs to ask themselves is who stood in line before they were born and got to pick the color of their skin? No one. The very idea that we should divide any of us, especially our children based on our skin color is wrong. It's racist, it's immoral and that tears people apart. Teachers should never, ever put down a child or make them feel bad about themselves based on any characteristic about their body. Marjorie Taylor Greene: (15:56) Their skin color, what kind of hair they have, what their face looks like, tall or short, how good they are at something. Teachers are supposed to bring our kids together and build them up, not tear them apart based on their skin color or what they're telling them about their skin color. That's awful. Any mom and dad knows that I'm really happy I am a mom, that's the greatest blessing in my life. You know that when your children go to school and they play with the other kids on the playground, they're just playing games. Marjorie Taylor Greene: (16:29) They're not picking their friends based on the color of their skin. At least that's not the America that I know. And I don't know anyone that lives in that kind of America. The critical race theory, 1619, this is a project that is destroying our country. These are the things that we overcame in the civil rights era and I'm so proud that we did. I'm thankful for my colleagues that are introducing strong legislation against the critical race theory. Marjorie Taylor Greene: (16:59) I ask everyone to join together, Republicans, Democrats, independents, and I don't cares, to stand together against racism of all kinds, of every kind of racism and stand against this kind of racism, the critical race theory. Thank you very much. Chip Roy: (17:15) I want to thank my friend, Dan, for this. Russ Vought for helping with this important legislation. So let me start by just sharing a few important facts. One, the United States is not a racist country. In America, we judge our fellow citizens by their own merit and not by the color of their skin, in America we strive for equality of opportunity for all. Now, until recently, these were not controversial statements. Chip Roy: (17:48) But according to the radical far left ideology known as CRT or critical race theory, our country is flawed, it's hopeless and it's evil. Critical race theory states that America is systemically racist, and that we must define each other based solely on race and then pass laws that reflect that. Now we're standing here today because corporate America, big tech, and Hollywood are pushing critical race theory in institutions all around the country. Critical race theory is even infecting the military. Chip Roy: (18:23) It's being taught at the US Military Academy at West point, it's being taught at the US Naval Academy. They've even got suggested readings based on critical race theory. So think about that. Instead of teaching our fighting men and women to unite around a patriotic love for our country, they're instead being taught that our country is inherently not good and not exceptional. And that our troops are being taught rather than to unify, they're being taught to divide themselves based on skin color and on background. Chip Roy: (18:57) So that's why these bills are essential. They would keep these un-American and frankly racist in and of themselves theories out of our schools, out of our federal workforce and out of our military. So look, here's what we need to be teaching our fellow citizens. We need to teach them that this nation is special, we need to teach them that our country is blessed by God. We need to teach them. We embody the ideals of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness and that we are all endowed, I mean, all endowed by our creator with equal rights that no man or no government can ever take away. Chip Roy: (19:36) And that's the truth about the United States of America. So I want to thank again, Congressman Bishop, my friend, Russ for leading legislation to help preserve this truth and our armed forces, in our federal agencies and institutions all across this country. Thank you. Lauren: (19:57) America is the greatest country this world has ever seen. Lauren: (20:02) ... greatest country this world has ever seen. And we are created in God's Holy image. And our founding fathers had it right, that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. They had it right in letting everyone know that these rights come from God Almighty, not from corrupt politicians. Because it's so clear, as soon as politicians have too much power they destroy everything. We are seeing what's happened with the Democrat run House, Senate, White House, may as well have the Supreme court. They have the so-called fourth branch of government and those three-letter agencies. They are fundamentally transforming America. We want the American dream to remain for generations to come. I'm a mom of four boys and their freedom, their future is absolutely my motivator. All I ever wanted to be was a mom, but their future motivated me to do so much more. Lauren: (21:16) I stand before you all today because of the American dream, because we all have equal opportunity, not equal outcomes, and that's okay. I'm not afraid of a challenge. I'm not afraid to throw my hat in the ring and try to accomplish something better. But I want that opportunity to be there for everyone in America. I charge the men and women at home, watching this, get involved. Get involved at a local level. Show up to your school board meetings, listen to what is taking place. Have an opinion on the curriculums that are being taught to our children. If you feel compelled, run for office. Be on the school board. That is the most important part of government, especially right now. Our children are so valuable. Their future is so valuable and we cannot lose it to something like this racist, critical race theory. Racist Democrats have always been after our children. Lauren: (22:25) They pushed for segregation in schools in the '60s and now they're pushing this critical race theory in our schools, which is nothing more than modern day racism. Democrats want to teach our children to hate each other. This radical theory brings division, not unity. It advances hate not love and it puts a person's skin as more important than the content of our character. President Lincoln once quoted the words of Jesus, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." We are the United States of America, not the divided states of America. America will not fall to its knees from an outside threat, not to China, not to Russia and certainly not to North Korea or ISIS. They are too weak and we are too strong for them. If America falls, it will be because we destroyed ourselves from within. It will be because we were taught to hate instead of love, we glorified division over unity, we praised communism over freedom. Lauren: (23:41) We have people marching in the streets, demanding that our rights be taken from us. In what country does that happen? That will be the end of America. And I am proud to be here today, to stand with my colleagues in the freedom caucus and to say, hell no to this racist propaganda. The Democrats want to fundamentally change America. They've told us believe them because that's what they're doing. And they want to destroy this shining city on a hill. If we don't stop teaching critical race theory, then in the words of President Reagan, "We will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men and women were free." I hope you all take a stand at home today, and I hope you all in the media do your job in reporting this. Our children depend on you. Thank you to my friend Dan Bishop for putting this together. And I now yield to the chairman of the freedom caucus, Andy Biggs. Chip Roy: (24:54) Thank you, Lauren. And thank you to Congressman Bishop for putting this legislation together that I wholeheartedly support. I think it's important legislation. 10, 12 years ago when I was working on a book, I had to read a chapter on critical race theory. And I spent extensive amount of time researching and writing that chapter. And I submit the book to the agent and the agent said to me... This is why you don't need to look it up because it was never published because the agent said, "This is very interesting. No one will buy your book." And so I think that might've been true, but I couldn't have imagined 10 or 12 years ago when I was working on that particular chapter that we would come to a point where I'd be standing in front of the United States Capitol because critical race theory had spread beyond the microcosm that I was studying to be ubiquitous in our culture, whether it's our navy, our armed forces or our schools, it's ubiquitous today. Chip Roy: (25:51) I was thinking about Eldridge Cleaver, one of the original founders of the Black Panther movement. And I met Eldridge Cleaver and got to hear him speak a number of times after he came back to the United States. He was in exile for a long period of time because they believed in critical race theory. He killed somebody, he was wanted. He fled the country and moved to those nations that ostensibly were Marxist in character. Indeed they were Marxist in character. But what he found there was inequitable treatment. He found prejudice. He found hatred and it was a miserable life. And he said, "I would rather spend the rest of my days in the United States prison than in a Marxist society." Critical race theory is based on the Marxist manifesto that there will be eternal class warfare based on economy. That didn't work out so well because when you got to free markets, we saw massive growth in a middle-class. People from all races could succeed and gain economic parody. Chip Roy: (27:14) It was remarkable. Then we saw this movement, think post Frankfurt School, think actually before that. Think of [inaudible 00:27:23] think of critical theory. And you saw this movement to replace economic Marxism with cultural Marxism. That's exactly what you have presented in critical race theory. It's presented as some kind of great equalizing philosophy, but it is anything but. What it is, it's meant to bring en-foment, dissent, confusion, chaos, and ultimately control into a nationalized central government. That is critical race theory. Well, I am grateful for Dan Bishop's leadership on this. This is something we have to fight because it is in your schools, ladies and gentlemen of America. You've been paying attention elsewhere while those who would advance this pernicious philosophy have been gaining ground so they might indoctrinate your children. I am pleased to stand here, our good friend, Russ Vought, working outside of Congress, Dan Bishop, and my colleagues behind me and others who have signed on will continue to fight this very devolutionary, reactionary philosophy, critical race theory. Thank you. Dan Bishop: (28:41) Thank you, Congressman Bigg. And again, we thank you for being here. Be glad to take a couple of questions. Miss Rose. Rose: (28:50) There was some concern about the protective order when it came out, that it could potentially have First Amendment issue. Could be government sort of dictating [inaudible 00:29:00]. Can you speak to that, sir? Dan Bishop: (29:02) I'm going to let Russ speak to it because he's the architect of it. I will say that government can decide in the exercise of its programs what speed you can have government speech. And I must say that what we're talking about when you talk about critical race theory, you're talking about ideas that are inimical to basic constitutional principles, to the modern interpretation of the 14th Amendment, for example. And so if someone were to advocate for separate but equal, we shouldn't permit that. And it belongs to a bygone era. It's been appropriately reviled, and it would be within the competency of the federal government to say we're not going to endorse that. Russ, you may want to add something more. Russell Vought: (29:50) I think that's one part of the answer with regard to how it works with the federal government. I mean, these are future contracts that people are entering into. These are grants that would go out and the federal government has the ability to put terms on- Russell Vought: (30:03) The grants that would go out, and the federal government has the ability to put terms on contracts to be able to make sure that it applies based on the principles of the American people. And as we see it across the country, we're not talking about banning all conversations about race. We're talking about banning indoctrination, about telling people that the same way that we say that the earth is round, we are asserting that that's fact. And in the same way, critical race theory is making assertions of fact about this country and about people that are not true. And those are the indoctrination trainings that we are trying to get out of the federal government. Dan Bishop: (30:38) Mr. Lance? Mr. Lance: (30:39) So Marxism as an ideology is a concept that's foreign to most Americans. How would you educate people and introduce this concept to them so that they can first identify it? Dan Bishop: (30:50) It does sound a little bit exotic to people. And it is interesting, I was reflecting on this. Back in the '50s, there was a big controversy over Alger Hiss and a few handful of Soviet communists who had infiltrated the Roosevelt executive branch. And a big controversy over that, a fellow named Whittaker Chambers, the famous book, Witness, about his exposing that because he had been involved in that and subsequently became an editor at Time and so forth. Dan Bishop: (31:21) What we're seeing today makes that look like a piker. I mean, we're not talking about foreign influence necessarily, but we are talking about a pervasive, as Andy Biggs described it, a pervasive influence of this ideology. Dan Bishop: (31:34) And I'm sorry, give me the rest of your question. Mr. Lance: (31:37) Essentially, how can Americans identify [crosstalk 00:31:40]? Dan Bishop: (31:39) Yeah. But I think they've got to be educated. The story has to get out frankly through you, but if you go and you study what Marx was about in terms of trying to imbue society with this criticism to the unsettled it so that the elites would fall away from it, it would become destabilize. That's the original essence of Marxism. And then there's a guy named Gramsci who was in Italy in prison in the latter years of his life, but he articulated that the reason that that had not really taken hold anywhere, the way to do it was to get ahold of the cultural institutions of a country and sew the same kinds of divisions, if not on the idea that Marx had of the proletariat versus the bourgeoisie, but instead along race lines, and particularly saw that was a vulnerability for America. It's like that was a blueprint for what is being done. Dan Bishop: (32:37) So one of our responsibilities as elected officials is to learn about that ourselves and to tell the American people through every avenue that we can, but really, it depends on and open and free American press. And there's some challenges there today, but the roots of that need be examined and the American people need to know about it. Dan Bishop: (33:01) I can tell you the American people have great sympathy for the plight of African Americans in this country, for the racial discrimination they've borne over the course of our history that has been, in a progressive way, corrected. Nut there is a desire on the part of these folks to elide or conflate these issues, and they are very different, and the cultural Marxism is very dangerous. But this is absolutely prototype cultural Marxism and they need to know it. Chip Roy: (33:32) Hey, Dan, can I just- Dan Bishop: (33:33) Yeah. Chip Roy: (33:33) I just want to add one thing to that point, is just what I tried to allude to before on this question of how do you stop Americans from buying into or believing in this sort of Marxist ideology, I mean, it starts very much with the schools. I mean, it's one of the reasons why we're here talking about schools and ending this indoctrination of our children. Chip Roy: (33:50) My wife and I were at public educated K through law school, okay? We send our kids to a private classical Christian school. Why? Because I want them to be able to pray, to believe in God, and to be taught that America is good. I want them to be taught that we should treat everybody as we want to be treated and to treat everybody equally. That's what I want. I don't want them to be indoctrinated by teachers unions who are taking money from American taxpayers and not teaching our children. And then when they do pull them in the classroom, they say, "America is evil. You're bad. Your whiteness is bad." Chip Roy: (34:20) That is horrific. That's Marxism at display. And we've got to end it. We've got to end it right now in our public education systems so that we can save our country going forward. And that's how you do it. Speaker 2: (34:30) Congressman Roy, would you run for Conference Chair against Elise Stefanik? Chip Roy: (34:35) Well, we're here to talk about other topics, but I will say this, she should have an opponent. Dan Bishop: (34:40) Yes, ma'am. Speaker 3: (34:41) Why is it so important that critical race theory is not promoted in the military? And do you expect any Democrat support on this bill? Dan Bishop: (34:52) We should have support on this from every quarter because, again, if you dig into what this is about and understand the essence of it, it isn't a matter of Democrat versus Republican, or it shouldn't be. There should be uniform embrace of the very basic ideas of equality that our constitution manifests. And your question, I'm sorry, the other- Speaker 3: (35:15) On the military- Dan Bishop: (35:15) Yeah, the military. First of all, whether it's in academia, higher education, whether it's in grade school, whether it's in federal agencies, whether it's in private employment frankly, in any place, this is so grotesque, so contrary to the foundational principles that have created a successful society here that it ought to be opposed everywhere. Dan Bishop: (35:39) But the reason specifically for the United States military is because I can't think of any institution where cohesiveness and esprit de corps, a mutual support for everyone is absolutely essential to the proper functioning of that unit. In fact, the United States military was always in the vanguard of establishing racial equality and racial cooperation and racial participation. They were the very first advancers of that as it took hold in American society in a way that we can be proud of. Dan Bishop: (36:14) And so, to embrace or to allow affinity groups to develop where people are broken down into little sections and caused to address each other with suspicion and hostility and a sense of resentment, that would be a terribly destructive. I think it would make a military that can't function, that we can't count on when the nation needs the military to defend her. Dan Bishop: (36:48) I think we'll wrap it up. I know we've got votes. And I certainly do appreciate everyone being here. Anybody want to add anything before we finish? I know some were drifting away, but you've been very patient. Lauren Boebert. Lauren: (37:01) The Conference Chair position was brought up, and I just want to say this isn't what the American people are concerned with. The American people could care less who is Conference Chair. They care about who is leading on the issues. We have Chairman Andy Biggs, who is leading on the issues when it comes to the border crisis. We have Yvette Herrell and Chip Roy teaming up to solve this crisis at the border. I am proud to partner with Congressman Chip Roy on the energy crisis that we have here in America that's created by the Biden regime. There are issues that actually affect everyday Americans that they care about. So it's not who's number three in the conference, it's who's leading on the issues. Speaker 4: (37:40) Was Representative Cheney not leading on the issues, you feel? Chip Roy: (37:42) All right. Thanks a lot. Dan Bishop: (37:42) Thank you guys very much. Lauren: (37:42) Thank you.