Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress disapproves of government officials who violate the public health restrictions they impose on others.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 78 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress dis- approves of government officials who violate the public health restrictions they impose on others. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 1, 2021 Mr. GREEN of Tennessee submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress disapproves of government officials who violate the public health restrictions they impose on others. Whereas a number of States and localities have imposed de- crees limiting the activities of the people and businesses in their jurisdictions, including stay-at-home orders and draconian restrictions on indoor dining, holiday gath- erings with family, business operations, in-person edu- cation, and religious gatherings; Whereas these lockdowns have taken a major toll on the American people, leading to job losses, the decimation of small businesses, social isolation, and harmful effects on mental health; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR78.IH HR78 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 78 IH Whereas the American people were initially asked to stay at home for a short period to ‘‘flatten the curve’’ and pre- vent our healthcare system from being overwhelmed early on, yet have now endured such onerous and frequently arbitrary and irrational restrictions for months on end; Whereas a number of public officials have brazenly and shamefully violated the public-health restrictions that they have imposed on citizens, demonstrating their view that rules are for the people—not the politicians: (1) On November 6, California governor Gavin Newsom and his wife attended a birthday party for a lob- byist at the high-end French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley, in violation of his own public-health decrees. (2) Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser attended an election party in Delaware after banning nonessential interstate travel. (3) Denver Mayor Michael Hancock tweeted advice to ‘‘avoid travel, if you can’’ only minutes before he boarded a flight to visit family out of State for Thanks- giving. (4) On November 7, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined a tightly packed crowd to celebrate the election only a few days before announcing a stay-at-home advi- sory. (5) Austin Mayor Steve Adler posted a Facebook video warning residents to stay home and threatening fu- ture lockdowns—while vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. (6) The chair of the Metro Nashville Public Schools traveled internationally to vacation in the Caribbean dur- ing the fall while insisting that in-person learning was too risky for students, over the objections of many parents who wish to open the schools.; VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR78.IH HR78 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 78 IH Whereas such an attitude of entitlement is antithetical to our republican form of government, in which public office is a public trust and officials are bound to live under the same laws as their fellow citizens; Whereas such actions undermine the trust between citizens and their government and engender a lack of respect for the legitimate actions of government; Whereas a pretension of superiority over the laws is a char- acteristic of oligarchies and tyrannies the world over, and is thus contrary to the spirit of a free nation; and Whereas this resolution shall be known as the French Laun- dry resolution: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the United States House of Rep- 1 resentatives condemns hypocrisy and elitism and calls on 2 all officials to impose no restriction on citizens that they 3 themselves are not willing to abide by. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR78.IH HR78 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS