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; 
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•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.; 
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•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-
resentatives condemns hypocrisy and elitism and calls on 
all officials to impose no restriction on citizens that they 
themselves are not willing to abide by. 
Æ 
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