Rothman on Rep. Joe Wilson

Congressman Rothman votes to pass
a Resolution of Disapproval” of Rep. Joe Wilson

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Rothman (D – NJ) made the following statement after voting to pass a “resolution of disapproval” of Rep. Joe Wilson (R – SC). The resolution can be found below Rothman’s statement:
“Today I voted (Sept. 15), along with my colleagues for a resolution disapproving of Rep. Joe Wilson’s conduct at the September 9th Joint Session of Congress. By House rules and tradition, every House Member addresses his/her breaches of decorum themselves by apologizing in the “well” on the House floor. When this does not happen, the House as a whole may address the matter with any one of four (4) admonishments of the offending member: disapproval, reprimand, censure and expulsion.
Today’s “resolution of disapproval” is consistent with House rules and is necessary to support the over 200 year effort to provide for vigorous, but civil debate in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

Raising a question of the privileges of the House

Whereas on Sept. 9, 2009, during the joint session of Congress convened pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 179, the President of the United States, speaking at the invitation of the House and Senate, had his remarks interrupted by the Representative from South
Carolina, Mr. Wilson; and
Whereas the conduct of the Representative from South Carolina was a breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of the joint session, to the discredit of the House: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives disapproves of the behavior of the Representative from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson, during the joint session of Congress held on Sept. 9, 2009.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Rep. Joe Wilson yelled "You lie," during Pres. Obama's speech on health care. The House of Representatives voted in favor of a "resolution of disapproval" admonishing Rep Joe Wilson, R-SC, on Sept. 15 for his outburst during the joint session of Congress on Sept. 9.

Rothman’s Remarks on 9/11

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Rothman (D – NJ) today released the following remarks commemorating the eighth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks:
“Eight years ago today, 3,000 of our fellow Americans were killed in the most horrific act of terror ever committed against our citizens on U.S. soil. The loss was great and even with time, the pain is still deep.
“In the Ninth Congressional District of New Jersey, we lost 55 of our friends and neighbors. While we remember and honor the dead every day, including the hundreds of First Responders who rushed into those burning buildings as everyone else was running out, today is a day for every American and every freedom-loving, peaceful human being across the world to reflect on the lives of those lost and to carry their memory forward.
“We will continue to do all in our power to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. We know that there are those who continue to conspire at this very moment to commit even more killings of Americans here at home and abroad.
“May God bless the memories of our 3,000 fallen, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.”

Rothman on Gaza

“On Friday, (Jan. 9) I joined my colleagues in the House of Representatives from both sides of the aisle in recognizing the democratic State of Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from a terrorist organization based in the Gaza Strip. Hamas, a group whose founding goal was and remains the utter destruction of Israel, has launched more than 6,000 rockets and mortars into Israeli population centers from the Gaza Strip since Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the area in 2005.
“In response to this barrage of firepower directed towards Israel’s civilians, Israel has responded. Every effort is made to target only terrorists during counter-attacks, and no expense is spared to shield civilians from danger. That is why Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, along with Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner, introduced H.Res. 34, a House Resolution recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States strong support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
“I proudly voted in favor of this resolution, and I wish to reaffirm my support for Israel, America’s most important strategic ally and the only democracy in the Middle East, in her time of need. While I join all Americans in praying for an end to the conflict, I believe that this cannot happen until Hamas ends all rocket fire and aggression towards Israel, and stops its resupply of lethal weapons. Until that day and beyond, we must continue to fortify, strengthen and support Israel’s survival, good health, and qualitative military advantage over all her enemies.”