Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona erupted Tuesday during a House Oversight Committee markup of legislation when Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida interrupted him.
The committee was meeting to address pieces of legislation, including H.R. 151, the Equal Representation Act, which would require that a question about citizenship status be added to the 2030 Census and those following. Biggs was explaining his support for the legislation when Frost cut in.
“This bill corrects an inequity, so let me give you an example: How many people are in Congress from California that shouldn’t be here because you overcounted, including apportionment of illegal aliens? By some estimates, it’s as high as seven, seven. My state has nine representatives. Will we lose some? My guess is we might lose-” Biggs asked, “The Constitution is clear that we count persons, regardless of status,” Frost interrupted.
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The results of the census and congressional apportionment also affects how many votes each state has in the Electoral College, which elects the president of the United States.
Biggs fired back at Frost. “Okay, so from now on, when you are talking, I will interrupt you, okay? Is that fair?” Biggs asked. “You were that rude. You didn’t even let me finish my comment. You had to make your point when you can raise your hand and say, ‘Hey, I’d like my five minutes.’ Now, while your doing your five minutes, should I just interrupt you all the time?”
“No, I won’t,” Biggs continued, “Because you know what? I have courtesy and respect, something you lack.”
California currently has 52 seats in the House of Representatives, according to Ballotpedia, with 43 of them held by Democrats. During an Oct. 7, 2021, House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York said that she wanted Haitian migrants in her district to aid in the redistricting process.
“I’m from Brooklyn, New York,” Clarke said. “We have a diaspora that that can absorb a significant number of these migrants and that, you know, when I hear colleagues talk about, you know, the, the, the doors of the inn being closed [and] no room in the inn, I, I’m saying, you know, I, I need more people in my district just for redistricting purposes.”
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