Al Green Testifies Against Texas Gerrymandering

We're eager to hear what you have to say. Please proceed. And and just for our record, just so it's on the the archived uh tape, if you would please state your name and uh who you're representing today. I'm uh Congressman Al Green and I represent the ninth congressional district of Texas, but I think I represent people across the length and breadth of the state because the issue impacts people across the length and breadth of the state. And if I may say so, I take no great delight in saying what I'm about to say. Let me start by thanking the committee. Uh I thank the senators. I thank you, Mr. Chairman, the vice chair, and I want to associate myself with the remarks of Senator Miles and Senator Alvarado. Uh they took up quite a bit of what I would need to say and don't have time to say. There's not enough time to explicate, so I will abbreviate. This is wrong. It is wrong for us to conclude that we can eliminate four districts with minority representation simply at the behest of a president who wants to stay in office. This is unconstitutional. It is in my opinion what Senator Miles said. This is a racist act. This is not something that you should do. The Justice Department is asking the state of Texas to commit a racist act. Uh I I have no problem saying the word racism just as I have no problem saying anti-semitism. If we were about to eliminate four districts that were electing Jewish members of Congress, we'd say it's anti-semitic. And I would be one of the people out front saying it. So, I'm out front now saying that this this act is wrong and it is a racist act and it's something that we should not allow to occur. Now, most of the conversation is about maps. I would hope that the committee of the would consider not taking any action at all. Maybe the people in the state of Texas are not wanting to see redistricting right now, mid decade, uh, and to see what's about to happen. It's sort of like having a basketball game and at halftime you have u one team that has the power to say looks like we may run into some difficulties in the second half. Let's take three of their players and let's uh put them off the field and we'll take three more players and put them on our team. So we'll play them, they'll have two and we'll have eight. I mean this is what we're doing. we're taking from the minority communities and we're going to now give it to a broader community so that it can continue to maintain power. Uh yes, it's a power grab, but it's a racist power grab. I I do thank you. I I don't want to exceed the time. If I'm asked a question, I'll be more than proud to answer. And I thank you again. No delight in saying what I say, but sometimes you have to speak truth to power and truth about power. This is about President Trump and what he wants for taxes. Let's do what is best for the Texas Texans. I thank you. >> Thank you, sir. Uh members, any questions for the congressman? I >> have quite a few. >> Senator Miles, >> I have quite a few. Mr. Chairman, Congressman Green, let me first thank you for taking time to testify today. You know, I've known you for a long time and you've been a great representative to your community and in Washington DC and I know how much you care about your constituents. I just have five questions that I want to get through um at what this rig redistricting will mean for our community. M uh M Congressman Green Congress Green, how long have you been representing Congressional District 9? since 2005. >> 2005. So, you've been through how many 10-year redistricting cycles? >> Well, the truth is this. Uh I have been in court litigating uh more than the pardon me at least half of the time that I've been in Congress. Uh I arrived in 2005. I was elected in '04 and shortly thereafter became a part of litigation. I am currently a part of the litigation taking place in El Paso, Texas. And yes, I have been there. And yes, I know that the testimony from the state has been that this is a colorblind map. And I understand that if you say it's colorblind, then you ought to defend colorblind. You should not allow the president to say you should do something that obviously ignores this and would in fact be unconstitutional if you did it. But the president doesn't care about it being unconstitutional if you will implement it because it'll take years before it will get to a final judgment in court. And by this time, the president will either be out of office or he'll be holding over under some sort of martial law. And Congressman, you said you've been most of your time in court, including the Laredo Del Paso. How what was the outcomes of those other trials that you've been in aside except for the this latest one? >> Well, we've had some positive outcomes. Uh but it was when section two and section five of the voting rights act when they had more strength than they have now. The voting rights act is being chipped away and the only thing left for us now is section two. And we're not going to win under section two unless we show that this act by the state of Texas, if it doesn't, and I pray that it won't, I take no delight in saying what I say, but if we don't say that this is racial, if we don't indicate that, we're not going to get to section two and we can't win. And people are very smart. They understand that if they say that this is just politics, uh this is partisan politics or this is a power grab, they understand now that the law has devolved to the point where you can say that and then I've got to prove no, that's not what your intent was and that is almost impossible. So, let's not have the state of Texas do what the president is asking and that is something that's unconstitutional. Thank you for outlining that, Mr. Congressman. Mr. Congressman, can you tell me a little bit about your community? >> Yes, Senator, I have a very diverse community. Everybody likes to say theirs is the most diverse when in fact my >> including me. >> Well, my community uh in the ballot is printed in four languages, English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese. Uh in my community we have what's called an international district and that is um a district wherein we have literally all sorts of cultures that come together and people come together and we have uh created what I call a symbiosis. Uh we we're doing more together than we could ever do separate and apart from each other. And this symbiosis is something that you talked about, Senator Miles, and this is what we need in the state of Texas, appreciating what each can bring to the table and allowing that to cause us to do together what we could never do separate and apart from each other. But aside from the symbiosis and aside from the international district, we have the largest medical center in the world in the ninth congressional district. It's a great economic engine for the ninth congressional district. And my uh regret is going to be that it'll be drawn in such a way that the people that I represent who need the benefits of that medical center, the medical center that we have brought dollars into to help the people of Texas and anyone else who comes into the medical center, it could be drawn away such that the projects that we have and the things that we're doing with the medical center, we may no longer be able to do. Aside from those things, I would add that this district has what I call character. And it is the character of constituents who understand that it is necessary to work together. Sunnyside, which is a neighborhood that is uh uh inhabited by people who have been there for a long time, an old neighborhood, people who understand the importance of voting, understand the importance of protecting their neighborhood from many of the things that are encroaching uh that would make it not as livable as they want it to be. But we have Sunnyside. It's >> where I was born and raised, as you know. >> Yes, sir. And then we have South Park uh South Park Village. uh South Park in that area where we have people who are youngsters, a lot of them upand cominging young people uh but also another very much older and stable community. Uh and then of course we have the communities out in the Fort Ben area uh and over over also into the Brazoria County area. So we cover three different counties, but we've been able to bring people together in all of these counties. I meet with the people in these counties regularly. I don't depend on being able to raise $5 million to win an election. And too many people do. They say they won, but they bought the election. When you can outspend your opponent 10 times, 10 to one, have you really won by virtue of what you're going to do or by virtue of your being able to drown out the audience or the the uh voice of your opponent? Uh I win my election because I use my feet. I use my voice and I'm in those neighborhoods and people know it. And this is government of the people by the people for the people, not government of the money by the money for the powerful. You said that very well, sir. You know, Congressman Green, we heard from a Republican resident of Nacadocious that he was dissatisfied with his congressional district because it's just crossed so many counties. He said he appreciated his representative, but his East Texas community had nothing in common with Round Rock outside of Austin. Congressman, do you believe that your district should remain the way it is because it has unique and common needs? And if you do, can you expound on that? >> Well, thank you. Uh I am in litigation and we were trying as best as we could to improve upon the district with that litigation. Uh and there were some things that were carved out of the district that we thought should have been left in. But we appreciate what we have and we don't want to go from a district where we were trying to improve it to a district that cannot be improved by virtue of what may take place with redistricting that's being offered up. uh eliminating four congressional seats where people are electing persons of color, which means that if I want the public to understand this, if this happens, that means you're going to have four less seats with people of color, and you're likely to have more districts with persons who are Anglo, fewer people who are of color, fewer African-Americans, fewer Latinos. Uh you're not going to have that. But with reference to your your question, when districts are compact, you do have the opportunity to traverse the districts and to visit with your colleagues and uh and I mean colleagues are senators, state senators and representatives, understand what's needed so that you can bring home those uh community dollars. Uh we have something called community project funding and I've worked with the senators, I've worked with the county commissioners and we do this together. is not a a a congressional effort. It's a effort of elected officials that have harmonized. And that harmony is something that I think we should appreciate, celebrate, and continue to uh to to cause to manifest itself in the ninth congressional district and in the 29th. I don't mean to in any way say what I'm saying to the exclusion of the 29th because I work closely with uh Congresswoman Garcia and I have worked very closely with uh Congresswoman Jackson Lee very closely with Garcia and when Sylvester Turner was there for a brief period of time he and I were working closely together. So you've got all of this harmony and uh we have the president coming in to do what he can, it seems, to create disharmony among people who are working together. I I would hope that we would not let the president of the United States decide that he will pick the representatives for the people in the state of Texas. So, if I'm hearing you right, Congressman, you're saying that the breakup of of your district would be detrimental to the community as a whole. >> It would to to the community as a whole, the district as a whole, but also to the adjacent districts because we work together. Uh we work with Congresswoman Garcia. Uh she and I serve on the same committee together in Congress. Uh that is financial services. We work uh with the 18th congressional district. Uh but they they've been without representation for too long now. And if the 18th congressional district had been properly represented in Congress when we had the vote on what's called the big beautiful bill, uh it would not have passed with those votes because the bill passed with one vote and the 18th congressional district. I am absolutely totally and completely sure that it the representative would have spoken for the people of the 18th who are not enthralled with what happened with that piece of legislation which is going to hurt Medicaid uh which means you're going to hurt Medicare if we all if we live long enough we will all need Medicaid because your long-term health care once you're hospitalized comes from Medicaid and we want to protect it and we want to protect social security. So we understand what we have in common and we work for a common cause standing on common ground. >> So Congressman, our community in your your district is not special just because of the communities. It's really special because of the diversity. Is that correct? >> Absolutely. Totally. Yes. >> And if you could estimate, what would you estimate the racial makeup of Senate District 9 basically be? Is >> congressional >> congressional nine? Sir, if you had to if you had to estimate what what's the breakdown? >> Um, the ethnic group that would have the greatest number would be the Latino community, followed by the African-American community, uh, followed by the Anglo community, uh, followed by the Asian community. >> Uh, the the the mixture has blended well together. uh we work together, we celebrate together, we celebrate the new year uh at least one or two months sometimes depending on uh how the lunar new year falls. So all of these are things that have made the district more colorful and made it uh much more attractive to visitors coming to Houston, Texas. The international district draws people from across the globe. I'm very proud to represent it >> in the neighborhood of Shartown. It's in your district, right, Congressman? >> Just a sliver of it is in Yeah. But yes. >> And do you know how many languages are spoken at Sharpstown High School? >> Sharpstown High School. A leaf. Uh I had a little portion of Aleaf, too. Uh I can't give you the exact number. >> There are 22 different languages spoken at a high school in your district, Congressman. 22 different languages at one high public high school. Well, over >> Shartown Heights is also in my district. >> Yes, sir. And if I may add this, Senator, with your per permission, uh over 120 languages, I believe in the district itself. Uh we we have a polyglot community. Uh we we recognize the importance of culture in the community. You know, we live in a country where you can have unity without uniformity. We don't all have to be alike. We don't have to look alike. We don't all have to speak the same language all the time. We can have unity notwithstanding this without that kind of uniformity. So if the president is trying to achieve uniformity across the length and breadth of the country, Texas is not a good place to start because Texas is a very diverse state with a minority population that exceeds what we used to call the majority population. It's just a fact and with these facts will come some additional responsibilities and that is to have minority voices. Minority voices are important. Uh they they they they give people who think that they are not being properly represented the opportunity to see representation that comes from the community uh that people have known and respected. Uh I just think that uh this this this whole plan scheme plot that the president has put together is to disrupt and to cause disharmony and is going to be unconstitutional. But it'll be more than two years uh he'll be out of office before it will be proven to be such because they're asking that we deal with four communities that have four districts that have elected elected people of color and removing those four people is going to make a difference. And Congressman, correct me if I'm wrong, but Congressional District 9 also produces one of the largest block blocks of of Democratic votes in the state of Texas as well as one of the largest blocks of Democratic votes in the country. Is that correct? >> Correct. It has traditionally supported the Democratic candidate for president. Uh the Democratic candidates for state senators, I mean United States senators, uh and other statewide offices. Yes, it is a strongly uh uh uh drafted and constructed Democratic district. Uh I I would hope that we would not deny Democrats to have an opportunity to have a voice. Uh, I respect the Republicans and the voice that they have. I trust that Democrats will have an opportunity to have our voices continue to be respected in the Congress of the United States of America. So, Congressman, let me be respectful to my colleagues and to Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher with one one last question. So, it kind of looks like the only concrete piece of information about this redistricting is that President Trump publicly said he wants five new seats out of Texas. And after that, the DOJ letter was drafted that flatly attacked majority minority congressional districts. Would you agree with that, M Congressman? >> I I absolutely agree with it. And Senator, I think it's important for this to be said. You and I have not had a discussion about this. >> No, we have not. >> Questions are all questions that I'm hearing for the very first time today. No prior discussions. So, we we come to the table with clean hands and a strong voice merely asking for justice. This is an injustice if we proceed as the president has asked. And it would be an injustice perpetrated upon people who have demonstrated that they love this country just as much as anybody else does. They may have values that are different, but that's across the state, across the country. Let let the voices of all be heard and let us not decide that in the middle of a decade we can change the rules so that a president can maintain his power in office. >> You know, Mr. Congressman, I asked my colleagues on the Senate floor, did they think that was just a coincidence that they're coming after the district they're coming after? Do you think this is coincidence, Congressman Green? Well, it's no secret that the president and I have had national news, made national news in terms of our disagreements. Uh, and I've had at least one person to tell me that if the president doesn't get five, there's at least one that he's coming after. So I I I hear these things and I notice and I cannot ignore uh the re the relationship between myself and the president. But I think that it's bigger than me. I think that he does want to get more districts. And I think that uh while I may be one of the many that he might take. Uh there's an effort to do more than to harm just the ninth district, which would do more than to harm uh just one constituency. Uh there are many constituents that would be harmed. And by the way, it's about the people that we serve, not about the people that we ourselves uh who rep are going to Congress, represented in Congress. Uh we we we're representatives of the people. This is a a democracy, but it is a democracy that is within a republic. And the republic aspect of this means that the people select the candidates of their choice. and the people of the 9th, the 18th, the 33rd and the 29th uh have elected people of their choice and they just happen to be people of color. There are many districts where u Anglo are in the majority and they elect the people of their choice and they happen to be Anglo and there's no big deal made of it. No big deal if Anglo elect Anglo person. But if we minorities select a minority person, somehow the Justice Department believes that you can change that and you can do something unconstitutional and that is decide that you're going to violate section two of the Voting Rights Act and discriminate against minorities simply because they are a majority in a district. Congressman, I've always appreciated your leadership. I want to say thank you. As I say to our constituents all the time, we must keep our faith and keep our fight. Thank you, Congressman Green. >> Thank you, Senator. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, thank you, members. Any other questions, Senator? >> Okay. Uh, Congress