Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act

Madam Speaker, a huge thank you to our incredible leader, my neighbor, my friend, my colleague, my leader, the honorable Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who has the pulse of our country firmly in her grip.

I have watched this woman go from country to country fighting for justice and what is right and what is pure. We can't thank her enough in recognition of the great work she does.

She stands at this rostrum, and she talks about the atrocities in our country while she continues to fight for atrocities in other countries. I applaud her. I thank her for her incredible leadership. It has been a pleasure to work with her, and America has been a better place because of her.

For decades, the CBC has fought for justice, truth, and equality. From within the halls of government that once permitted our ancestors to be enslaved, Congress after Congress, the CBC is at the center of many negotiations and conversations to better the lives of the American people.

The 117th Congress was an exceptional example of CBC's leadership. The CBC led the fight for a national infrastructure investment, so that instead of bridges on the brink and toxic sludge, Americans will have resilient infrastructure and clean, safe, reliable drinking water.

Today, the CBC leads the fight to reduce child poverty. Through policies like the expanded child tax credit and SNAP, we know that instead of setting kids up to struggle, we are setting them up to succeed.

Through policies like the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we can improve public safety and help prevent terrible, hate-driven crimes like we saw in Buffalo, Uvalde, or any city in the U.S.A. It seems to happen far, far too often.

In Louisiana, because of the actions of the CBC and great leaders in this body, we have been able to have kids not have to sit outside of a McDonald's to use the internet. Since Katrina, since the hurricanes that have wrecked our community, since COVID that has wrecked our world, we know that things like broadband are no longer a luxury but a necessity.

Yet, in many impoverished communities in my district, people would not have access. Many rural areas would not have access to the internet for telehealth, for education, for business purposes, for everyday life, for shopping. These things would not exist. But I am proud today, because of the efforts of this body and because of the CBC, we are able to deliver and bring those things home to the people of Louisiana and America.

We know that because of the infrastructure bill that is now signed into law, Louisiana is seeing dollars flowing that they have never seen before. Bridges that have been on the brink of disaster are being repaired. The opportunity for us to have transportation between New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and beyond is now a reality.

The ability to invest money in areas in my State that have been plagued with chemical poisoning, have been plagued with disease, because of the placement of these facilities that have historically settled themselves in communities of Black and Brown. No longer will our communities be the path of least resistance. No longer will people have to literally die for their jobs.

We can have coexistence, but coexistence begins with everyone recognizing that the single most important commodity that anyone has is its people. Making sure that we have safe environments and clean environments where our children can be educated, where families can live, where families can earn a good living and enjoy clean air, that is what we fight for at the CBC every day.

Louisiana will be the beneficiaries of such efforts. We will continue to fight to make sure that this caucus and this body understands and no longer looks away and says, ``business as usual.'' No longer can we afford to watch children go without. As my dear colleague and chairman of the Education and Labor Committee said moments ago, more money has been invested in HBCUs under this 117th Congress than ever in the history of our country.

More money has been put into infrastructure, since the very creation of the Interstate Highway System, under this Congress, and this CBC has played a pivotal role in making these things happen.

But it doesn't stop here. We must continue to fight. We must continue to go out and make sure that we tell our story: That we are here, we are working, and we will not let anyone turn the clock back on the efforts that we have fought so valiantly for.

I am so proud to serve with giants in the CBC, people that have worked tirelessly for decades to make a difference in our community.

There is a lot of work yet to be done. With the leadership of Chair Beatty, Whip Clyburn, and many others, the CBC will continue to secure major wins for the American people, because they deserve it.

Madam Speaker, we will continue to fight. Failure is not an option.

Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, and the Budget, as well as the Congressional Black Caucus, I am proud to stand beside my sisters and brothers to explore the achievements of the Congressional Black Caucus throughout the 117th Congress.

I would like to thank Congresswoman Beatty, the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, for organizing this Special Order today. I would also like to thank Speaker Pelosi for her outstanding leadership throughout this Congress.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have been at the forefront of every major legislative achievement this 117th Congress. These achievements have pushed for an increase in equity for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and people from all backgrounds in the United States.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus strongly supported the President's goal of passing legislation that will significantly reduce healthcare costs for all Americans and address the very real climate crisis we are all facing.

The Inflation Reduction Act will significantly reduce prescription drug costs and expand health insurance coverage for millions of Black Americans, relieving financial strains on individuals and families.

Among adults 65 and older, Black Medicare beneficiaries are 1.5 times more likely than their white counterparts to have trouble affording medications. They are also 2 times as likely to not fill needed prescriptions due to high drug costs.

5.8 million Medicare beneficiaries are African American, which amounts to 10 percent of all beneficiaries.

Altogether, 5-to-7 million Medicare beneficiaries will see their prescription drug costs go down because of the provision allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug costs.

3.3 million Medicare beneficiaries will have their insulin costs capped at $35 a month.

Seniors will also have their yearly prescription drug costs capped at $2,000.

The Inflation Reduction Act will enable free or low-cost health insurance to remain available, allowing over half a million more Black Americans to have health insurance coverage next year, compared to what the situation would be without the IRA.

The Inflation Reduction Act is also the most aggressive legislation on climate change and clean energy in American history.

This new law will help bring down energy costs for millions of Black Americans, and it includes very strong protections and programs to promote Environmental Justice.

The average American family is estimated to see an annual $1,025 in energy savings, as the Inflation Reduction Act tackles one of the largest drivers of inflation--oil and gas prices--by lowering fuel and electricity costs and improving energy efficiency.

This bill will prevent thousands of premature deaths by improving the air we breathe, with communities most burdened by pollution enjoying disproportionate health benefits.

The Inflation Reduction Act alone will help get America 80 percent of the way to achieving its share of greenhouse gas reductions, and the majority of the way toward President Biden's goal of cutting carbon pollution in half this decade.

The members of the Congressional Black Caucus were also leaders in the passage of the Presidents Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The once-in-a-generation investment into our nation's infrastructure addresses the disparate impacts of pollution on communities of color.

Black, Hispanic, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Americans--especially those who reside in urban communities--are more likely to be negatively impacted by pollution. Black people are almost three times more likely to die from asthma related causes than their white counterparts.

My constituents have already seen the magnificent results of this once-in-a-generation piece of legislation.

Houston METRO was granted a $21 million grant to buy battery electric buses and charging infrastructure to replace aging diesel buses that have exceeded their useful life.

The electric buses will improve air quality and health--for riders and residents in Houston's historically disadvantaged communities by eliminating nearly 18,000 tons of greenhouse gases over the next 20 years.

The passage of the law also allowed me to work closely with Secretary Buttigieg to secure $40 million dollars in funding for Bush Intercontinental Airport. IAH's terminal redevelopment program is the largest project in the airport's 53-year-history.

I am very pleased and proud that the CBC's priorities for the 117th Congress included some of my legislation, including the creation of the new Juneteenth federal holiday.

On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing June 19th as an annual national holiday.

Since I had placed the creation of a Juneteenth federal holiday on the national agenda--introducing H.R. 7232, on June 18, 2020 and reintroducing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act in the 117th Congress--witnessing it become law was a true honor and an exhilarating occasion.

It was the culmination of years--even decades--of efforts to have the nation formally recognize the importance of Juneteenth and inculcate it into the pantheon of landmark national occasions with profound significance for the country and all Americans.

That day at the White House, I celebrated the joyful, yet tearful signing ceremony joined by my congressional colleagues, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, representatives of the numerous organizations who toiled in the vineyards for so long, and the first African American Vice-President.

It spoke volumes that the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act had overwhelming bipartisan support, passing by unanimous consent in the Senate and a 415 to 14 vote in the House the next day.

Although I had introduced resolutions recognizing Juneteenth since 2013, establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday was a quantum leap further. Enacting the holiday into law was much more than commemorating the historic events associated with Juneteenth.

Making Juneteenth a national holiday asserts that the historic occasion is a fundamental part of American history. It elevates Juneteenth into the consciousness of all Americans. It reinforces the point that Black history is American history.

National recognition of Juneteenth creates a channel for teaching and learning the truth about slavery which preceded it and both Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era that followed it. Amid this era of misinformation, having the national imprimatur on Juneteenth will launch discussions and awareness of the Black experience in America that will add to multi-ethnic cohesion and mutual respect.

Since the 1800s, Juneteenth has been as important to African Americans as July 4th is to all Americans. Consider also that, at the end of the Revolutionary War, while patriots were celebrating the end of colonialism and subjugation, 450,000 African-Americans were trapped in chattel slavery: our country's original sin. Black Americans were considered and treated as property, not as people.

Juneteenth is special because, on June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger, the Commanding Officer of the District of Texas, rode into Galveston, Texas, announcing the end of the Civil War and the freedom of the last Americans enslaved in the Confederate states.

The announcement of freedom belatedly freed 250,000 slaves in Texas months after the end of the Civil War and two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, went into effect.

Texas's newly freed men and women reacted first with shock and then with jubilation when General Granger read these words of General Order No. 3:

``The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection therefore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.''

Until then, slave owners withheld freedom by not informing those whom they enslaved and who enabled their wealth. It was necessary for the Union Army to take control of an area and announce freedom for it to take effect. Because of Galveston's remote location, it was not until June 19, 1865, that the Union Army arrived.

General Granger's reading of General Order No. 3 ended chattel slavery, the institutionalized system of perpetual servitude that held generations of Africans in bondage in the our country for 248 years.

No longer would human beings be forced into a legalized system of unending, lifelong slavery that was known for gruesome murders, dehumanizing rapes, and tortuous beatings and floggings with leather whips tipped with metal to rip flesh from bone. No longer would the atrocities of slavery be permitted by federal laws.

Juneteenth was first celebrated in 1866 under the direction of the Freedmen's Bureau and was often called ``Jubilee Day''. As freed men and women left Galveston to begin their lives anew in other states, the retelling of their Juneteenth memories led to annual celebrations in many other states.

Recognizing the importance of this date, former slaves coined the word ``Juneteenth'' to mark the joyous occasion.

Yet, in some cases, white officials outwardly resisted the holiday, barring the use of public property for the festivities. So, church grounds were used for the festivities, and, as freed men and women achieved upward economic mobility, some communities purchased land for Juneteenth celebrations.

One of the earliest documented land purchases in the name of Juneteenth was organized by Rev. Jack Yates. This fundraising effort yielded $1,000 and the purchase of Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas.

In the town of Mexia, Texas, the local Juneteenth organization purchased Booker T. Washington Park, which became the Juneteenth celebration site in 1898.

Along with parades, prayer readings, performances and cookouts among finely attired attendees, Juneteenth community-centric activities informed Black Americans about voting, promoted education, and showcased the achievements of African Americans and the community.

Perhaps because the holiday carried the message of empowerment, Juneteenth activities were sometimes interrupted and halted by white landowners demanding that their laborers return to work.

Juneteenth continued to be highly revered in Texas decades later, with many former slaves and their descendants making an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston to celebrate June 19th.

Juneteenth remains the oldest known celebration of slavery's demise, commemorating freedom while acknowledging the sacrifices and contributions made by courageous African Americans towards, in more recent years, making our great nation the more conscious and accepting country that it has become.

Juneteenth was, and is, a living symbol of freedom for people who were denied hope of being free.

It serves as a reminder that, as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ``Freedom is never free,'' and as African American labor leader A. Phillip Randolph often said, ``Freedom is never given. It is won.''

Truer words were never spoken.

We should all recognize the power and truth of those guideposts. Juneteenth calls upon us to pause to remember the enormous price paid by all Americans in our country's quest to realize its promise.

Juneteenth honors the end of the 400 years of suffering that African Americans endured under slavery and celebrates the legacy of perseverance that has become the hallmark of the African American experience in the struggle for equality.

As the poet Langston Hughes reminds us in his famous poem, ``Mother to Son,'' that life in America for African Americans ``ain't been no crystal stair.''

The Jim Crow era in America was marked by violence and terrorism against African Americans as our ancestors sought to activate the promises of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Juneteenth celebrations declined in the 1920s and 1930s partly due to the Great Depression's severe economic difficulties, but mainly because of the resurgence of heinous hate crimes perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan to derail African Americans from advancing in society politically and economically.

Despite the New Deal's progress and post-WWII economic policies, discrimination and the lingering impact of slavery largely excluded African Americans from the creation of the modern middle class.

However, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and its legal framework for equality, led to a resurrection of Juneteenth celebrations that celebrated the achievements of Black Americans, reinforcing our community's sense of identity and pride.

Juneteenth became an opportunity for us to showcase our successes and our contributions to society, while providing the government with a mirror into demographic disparities and a demand to recommit itself to serving all Americans.

Amid this renewed spirit of identity, pride, and equality, Texas state representative Al Edwards introduced a bill, H.R. 1016, to make Juneteenth a state holiday. The bill became law, and on January 1, 1980, Juneteenth officially became a Texas state holiday, making Texas the first state to officially recognize this celebration of emancipation.

Representative Edwards actively sought to spread the observance of Juneteenth across America. In the two decades after Texas acted, only a few other states did so. But in the past twenty years, a wave of states followed Texas's lead. By 2021, 49 states and the District of Columbia had commemorated or recognized Juneteenth.

Nonagenarian activist Opal Lee, affectionately known as the ``Grandmother of Juneteenth,'' also deserves much credit for the federal holiday. Lee pressed for the holiday for years, and in 2016 at age 89, walked from her home in Fort Worth to Washington, DC, to deliver a petition and raise attention to) the holiday's importance.

Today, after decades of rallies, petitions, editorials, and legislation calling for Juneteenth to be a national holiday, we celebrate the 2nd Juneteenth National Independence Day.

The transformative significance of Juneteenth since the first celebration in 1866 is a remarkable tale in American history.

Though it is now recognized at the national level, it does not erase our nation's racist history in straying from its original promise that ``all men (actually, people) are created equal.''

Every Juneteenth, I return to Frederick Douglass' speech best known as ``What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?''

The answer to this question is Juneteenth. In 2022, we can affirm that June 19, 1865, signifies the start of the American Promise that must be fulfilled and made real for all Americans, including the descendants of slaves.

To say 1776 marks the beginning of our free nation begs the question, ``What does freedom mean if we are not all free?''

Juneteenth remains a pivotal moment, signifying the starting point in the emergence from racial oppression that was endured by generations with perseverance, resilience, and determination.

This vision is shared by millions of Americans who have held fast to the promise of freedom in our nation while fighting for basic human rights. We know that the struggle which began in 1619 did not end with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

The fight did not end two years later in 1865, nor 100 years after that with the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts.

The fight for our freedom continues as a common thread in the fabric of this country. But we also recognize the lack of freedom that persists for many, as well as the injustices, abuse, and discrimination that continue in today's America.

The true power of Juneteenth lies both in the commemoration of the past and the possibilities of the future.

When VAWA first became law in 1994, it represented a historic shift in the federal government's role in combating violent crimes committed against women.

Due to the importance of the legislation and resulting success, VAWA was reauthorized on an overwhelming bipartisan basis in 2000, 2005, and 2013.

Recognizing the importance of the law and knowing that the law was set to expire at the end of the year, I introduced the ``Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2018'' in September of 2018.

The reauthorization strengthened and enhanced the vital services provided under the law to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Despite our best efforts, the bill was not brought to the floor, and VAWA was allowed to expire at the end of 2018.

I continued to work, along with other members, victims, survivors, experts, and advocates, to ensure not only that VAWA would be reauthorized but that we enhanced the law and made it better, more effective, and more responsive to the needs of those seeking to heal after suffering trauma.

Therefore, I introduced the bill, HR 1620, the ``Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2021''.

This version of the reauthorization represented countless hours of discussions to ensure that we refined and improved upon the earlier iteration of the bill.

H.R. 1620 passed in the House and served as foundation for the bill that was introduced in the Senate and was eventually included in H.R. 2471, the ``Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022'' (the Omnibus) and signed by the President.

Thankfully, after many hard-fought battles, we were finally able to get the VAWA Reauthorization across the finish line this year.

Many of the provisions I included in my bills in 2018 and 2021 carried over to the Senate version of VAWA as well as the Omnibus, such as:

The reauthorization of vital grant programs like the Services Training Offices Prosecutors, or STOP grants, administered by the Department of Justice, which allows the use of STOP grants to develop the most effective law enforcement tools and protocols for preventing domestic violence homicides and requires state, territorial, local, and tribal governments to certify that they have established and implemented such programs to be eligible for grants.

Creating Hope through Outreach Options, Services, and Education, or the CHOOSE program, which clarifies that funding under the CHOOSE program for children and youth is being provided for the core areas of VAWA--domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking--and that services that target youth should also incorporate youth in underserved communities and sex trafficking and bullying as elements when part of a comprehensive youth violence response program.

The preservation of funding for sexual assault services programs, transitional housing grants for victims, grants to states territories, and Indian tribes in rural communities, and grants to support families in the justice system with a history of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Just today, the House passed my bipartisan bill, H.R. 7566, the ``No Trafficking Zones Act.'' The bill would ensure that schools across the country, including institutions of higher education, are safe spaces for learning and academic exploration--free from the menace of sex trafficking.

As predators often prey on communities of color, this bill is a strong measure to fight against sex trafficking that often targets young African Americans and other people of color.

H.R. 7566 would establish a sentencing enhancement of up to five years in several instances:

First, in the case of any person who commits the offense of sex trafficking within a primary or secondary school zone or on or within 1,000 feet of the premises of a school-sponsored activity or premises owned by an institution of higher education;

Second, for any person who commits the offense of coercion and enticement of a minor enrolled in a primary or secondary school or a person enrolled in an institution of higher education--to travel in interstate or foreign commerce and engage in criminal sexual activity-- while the minor is in a school zone, or on, or within 1,000 feet of, premises where a school-sponsored activity is taking place or while the person is on, or within 1,000 feet of, premises owned by the institution of higher education;

And, third, for any person who commits the offense of coercion and enticement of a minor using the mail or facilities of interstate or foreign commerce--such as text and instant messaging or social media platforms--while the minor who is enrolled in school or an institution of higher education, is in a school zone, or on, or within 1,000 feet of, premises where a school-sponsored activity is taking place or premises owned by an the institution of higher education.

Human trafficking is one of the greatest threats to human rights in the United States. In 2020, 11,193 instances of potential human trafficking were reported to the United States National Human Trafficking Hotline with at least 70 percent of those instances involving sex trafficking, while an estimated 25 percent of all human trafficking victims in the country are in my home state of Texas at any given time--many of whom are minors.

At least 5,359 of trafficking victims and survivors identified through the hotline in 2019 were under the age of 18, and in 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 17,200 reports of suspected child sex trafficking.

Many of these young victims of sex trafficking are students in school systems, colleges, trade schools, and universities across the country.

A 2018 survey reported that in Texas--where No Trafficking Zone legislation passed with bipartisan support earlier this year--55 percent of young sex trafficking survivors were trafficked while at school or school activities and 60 percent of trafficked adults said they were first groomed and solicited for trafficking while on school campuses.

Members of this body know all too well that children are sexually exploited in many ways. Some young people are trafficked by their schoolmates or people they once considered friends.

While traffickers seek out young people who have noticeable vulnerabilities--including problems at school, conflicts at home, or even the need to fill in a tuition gap caused by the loss of a scholarship--no child or young person is truly safe from the schemes of charismatic traffickers bent on exploiting and destroying young lives.

With the proliferation of social media and the myriad ways in which we communicate with one another, traffickers have put these same means of communication to their own use--to find, target, lure, groom, victimize, and exert control over their victims. While buyers are using technology to find and purchase sex anonymously.

Traffickers have infiltrated every known form of communication-- especially the sites, messaging apps, and social media platforms our children use most frequently--leaving young people more vulnerable to manipulation.

Access to the internet, cell phones, and smartphones makes it easier for traffickers and buyers to communicate with children and youth--even when they are at school, in class, or attending school-sponsored activities.

As a result, trafficking has reached the halls, lunchrooms, gyms, dormitories, and classrooms of schools, colleges, and universities in every corner of this nation.

These staggering facts and statistics led me to introduce this bipartisan legislation which the House passed today to protect young Americans from predators.

Last week, the House passed H.R. 8326, the Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act. By reforming the operations of the Census Bureau, this bill--which includes my amendment--would ensure that racial and ethnic equity in the decennial count will be a priority in future Census counts.

My amendment would enhance the bill's operational impact by specifying that the deputy director appoint an official with responsibility to optimize racial and ethnic equity in the Census count. To ensure that equity be a priority, this official would report directly to the director and deputy director.

In light of the decennial count's extremely consequential impact in terms of funding allocation formulas, political district apportionment, and other uses, it is imperative that the Census Bureau elevate racial and ethnic equity to a top priority in its counting strategies and procedures.

My amendment directs the equity official to engage and collaborate with organizations that have influence with racial and ethnic groups, develop strategies and tactics to maximize participation of these populations, and rectify the undercount that has been typical of recent Census counts, especially among immigrants and homeless people.

The status of the efforts to optimize racial and ethnic equity will also be included in the Census Bureau's biannual reports to Congress, to ensure accountability and bolster the likelihood of progress.

Optimization of racial and ethnic equity in the Census count requires designation of a high-ranking official with direct responsibility for achieving this goal and reports directly to the Census leadership.

My amendment establishes that role, makes racial and ethnic equity in the decennial count a priority, specifies key strategies that must be applied, and ensures that Congress receives regular reports about the progress toward the goal.

H.R. 8326 is an excellent bill with vital reforms that uses this opportunity to advance

equity in the Census count. My amendment creates a framework for achieving this objective.

In May of this year, the House passed HR 7309, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2022.

This bill would ensure that more institutions will be able to provide education and job training services; a wider range of curricula will be available that enables learners to become job-ready; and more Americans will be equipped with skills that will jump-start long-term careers.

It would extend the reach of job skills training and employment preparation to all corners of the country and all segments of society. It does so by creating vital national programs and instituting accountability systems that will monitor program operations and success.

One of my two amendments to this bill would ensure that this legislation helps all Americans, specifically communities of color that historically did not benefit equally from workforce development and job skills training programs.

My amendment ensures that HBCUs and other minority-serving educational institutions are eligible and encouraged to apply for maximal benefits under the bill's programs.

My amendment clarifies that, beyond equality, the job training and workforce development programs at HBCUs and minority-serving institutions should be given priority in order to promote equity for students whose ancestors were denied that right. It can be the impetus for a fresh start.

By including and prioritizing HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions, the institutionalized barriers which 1 impeded generational prosperity will be eroded, even if only incrementally and over time. By leveling the playing field, the imbalance of generational wealth will also be rectified.

Diversity and inclusion must always be a priority particularly in future high-growth industries that are essential to our nation's long- term economic growth, success, and job creation strategy.

The Transportation, Housing & Urban Development, Agriculture Appropriations Act passed the House in July of this year with many amendments that I offered.

One of my amendments to this bill specifically benefits HBCUs. It supports the work of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) by increasing its funding by $2,000,000 for use in agriculture research programs at 1890s Institutions, which are land grant colleges at 28 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), as well as Hispanic-serving institutions, and other educational institutions that benefit underrepresented communities.

This amendment promotes NIFA's work at HBCUs with agricultural experiment stations, cooperative forestry, and other innovations to improve our nation's food production through agricultural research, economic analysis, extension, and higher education.

One of ways NIFA achieves its mission is by providing research grants to education institutions, which include 1890s institutions created by the Morrill Act of 1890.

Today, land-grant colleges and universities can be found in 18 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The list includes:

Alabama A&M University

Alcorn State University

Delaware State University

Florida A&M University

Fort Valley State University

Kentucky State University

Langston University

Lincoln University

North Carolina A&T State University

Prairie View A&M University in Texas

South Carolina State University

Southern University System

Tennessee State University

Tuskegee University

University of Arkansas Pine Bluff

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

University of the District of Columbia*

University of the Virgin Islands

Virginia State University

West Virginia State University

HBCUs annually enroll 40 percent of all African American students in 4-year colleges and universities. HBCUs are prominent among research institutions in fields such as:

animal sciences

sustainable agriculture and agriculture economics

toxicology and waste management

conservation and environmental management

business and industrial development

biomedical science

food and nutrition

plant and social sciences

international development

Agricultural research programs at HCBUs help people living in densely populated areas learn ways to eliminate food deserts, increase public education about farming, bolster appreciation for our nation's farmers, and provide new avenues to careers for graduates with degrees in agriculture who seek to enter cutting-edge agricultural research.

This amendment promotes NIFA's work with HBCUs on agricultural experiment stations, cooperative forestry, and other innovations to improve our nation's food production through agricultural research, economic analysis, extension, and higher education.

The funds provided by my amendment supports research and education for helping urban and suburban communities maximize their green space by turning it into productive farming resources to support access to affordable foods.

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the country, wreaking its most bitter toll on communities of color.

Early in the pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that Black Americans were infected with COVID-19 at a rate nearly one and a half times higher than that of whites, were hospitalized at a rate nearly four times higher, and were three times as likely to die from the disease.

On February 8, 2021, I introduced H.R. 936, the ``COVID-19 Delivery Act,'' which strengthens FEMA's role in vaccine distribution.

Specifically, this legislation: (1) authorized FEMA as the National Coordinator of vaccine transport and delivery; (2) supported the safe and effective supply chain transport, delivery, and site use of vaccines; (3) implemented the Center for Disease Control and prevention COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations.

To date I have opened 96 COVID-19 testing sites and 88 vaccination sites in some of the most underserved communities in my district and Houston as a whole.

As an original cosponsor of H.R. 1652 the ``VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act, I helped lead the passage of the bill in the House and on June 22, 2021, President Biden signed the bill into law.

VOCA grants are the primary source of federal funding for thousands of victim service providers around the country, including programs serving victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, trafficking, and drunk driving.

This critical piece of legislation supports vital victim service programs by preventing future cuts to already diminished federal victim service grants.

H.R. 1652 requires the Department of Justice DOJ to deposit all monetary penalties, including from deferred prosecution and non- prosecution agreements, into the Crime Victims Fund. This simple fix prevents future funding cuts that jeopardize programs' ability to serve their communities.

Although the Congressional Black Caucus has had many legendary achievements this Congress, our work is far from done. We will continue to fight for equality and justice by pushing legislation that will better the lives of African Americans, and indeed all Americans around the nation.

Now more than ever, the facts and circumstances facing our nation demonstrate the importance of H.R. 40, which I introduced, and the necessity of placing our nation on the path to reparative justice, as well as providing accountability for injuries inflicted.

H.R. 40 establishes a national commission to examine slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies.

H.R. 40 was first introduced by Congressman John Conyers in 1989. Though many thought it a lost cause, Conyers believed that a day would come when our nation would need to account for the brutal abuse of African Americans during slavery, Jim Crow segregation and the enduring structural racism endemic to our society.

With the rise and normalization of white supremacism during the Trump administration, the discussion of H.R. 40 and the concept of restorative justice gained urgency, garnered attention from mainstream media, and illustrated the need for a national reckoning.

Eradication of structural institutionalized racism requires it. Full empowerment, enfranchisement, and inclusion require it. Genuine equality and equity to overcome injustices require it.

A vital step is an official acknowledgment that Black history IS American history and the Juneteenth holiday has achieved that.

Another key step for reconciliation is the development of a factual, historical record that illuminates the truth about the African American experience amid slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, legalized violence, exclusion, and inequality.

The factual, truthful record will expose the fallacies of revisionism and misinformation which, in recent years, have become the favorite tools of those with racist motives and agendas. Vilification of the collegiate study of critical race theory is a typical example.

The role of federal, state, and local governments at each stage in the nefarious chapters of history must be revealed and recognized.

The next step must be a national apology for governmental actions that legalized oppression, violence, inequality, and exclusion

from the means toward socioeconomic mobility and generational wealth.

Reconciliation requires an apology--an acknowledgment of government collusion in past ignominious eras--for three reasons: to provide accountability for past wrongs, to heal the national soul, and to confer official validation of the plights of its victims. Without an apology, there can be no closure; there can be no justice for our ancestors who suffered hideous torment.

With those steps addressed, the focus turns to what can be done to right the wrong. Reparations in various forms are needed to instill equity and create a level playing field for African Americans who are still disadvantaged by the aftershocks of previous eras.

The commission created by H.R. 40 would start by identifying (1) the role of federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery; (2) forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed slaves and their descendants; and (3) lingering negative effects of slavery that impact today's African-Americans and society.

The goal of the historical investigations that H.R. 40 mandates is to bring American society to a new reckoning with how our past affects the current conditions of African Americans and to make America a ``more perfect union'' by helping the truly disadvantaged.

Consequently, the reparations movement does not focus on payments to individuals, but rather, on remedies that can be created in as many forms as necessary to equitably address the many kinds of injuries sustained from chattel slavery and its ongoing vestiges.

To merely focus on finance is an empty gesture and betrays a lack of understanding of the depth of the unaddressed moral issues that continue to haunt this nation.

Reparations can have wide-ranging positive effects, for example, a recent peer-reviewed study from Harvard Medical School suggests that reparations for African Americans that narrowed the wealth gap could have cut COVID-19 transmission and infection rates both among Blacks and the population at large.

While it might be convenient to assume that we can address the current divisive racial and political climate in our nation through race neutral means, experience shows that we have not escaped our history.

Though the Civil Rights Movement challenged many of the most racist practices and structures that subjugated the African American community, it was not followed by a commitment to truth and reconciliation.

For that reason, the legacy of racial inequality has persisted, leaving the nation vulnerable to a range of problems that continue to generate division, racial disparities, and injustice.

By passing H.R. 40, Congress can start a movement toward the national reckoning that we need to bridge racial divides.

Reparations are ultimately about respect and reconciliation--and the hope that one day, all Americans can walk together toward a more just future.

In his famous Second Inaugural Address, President Lincoln spoke of the profound moral debt owed for ``all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil.'' He asserted that the Civil War was the judgment of the Lord, which was ``true and righteous altogether.''

That debt remains to be paid, which is why African Americans always peacefully petitioned the government for the redress of grievances.

As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said at the 1963 March on Washington:

``In a sense, we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

``This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

``It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked `insufficient funds.' But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So, we have come to cash this check--a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.''

Official slavery ended with the Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.

But unofficial slavery continued by: (a) newly instituted share-crop farming; (b) a criminal justice system that pressed convicts into work that was once done by slaves; and (c) labor policies that dictated income for work done based upon skin color.

This, of course, was reinforced by the systematic disenfranchisement of black Americans, the ``discrete and insular minority'' excluded from ``those political processes ordinarily to be relied upon to protect'' them, to quote Chief Justice Hughes' famous Footnote 4 in United States v. Carolene Products Company, 304 U.S. 144 (1938).

These are just some of the many reasons that the history of the U.S. is intertwined with the history of enslaved Africans in the Americas.

But to reach redemption and reconciliation, we must have the complete truth and lay our history bare. It is the light that sheds the way to the more perfect union all Americans desire.

The Commission that would be created and empowered by H.R. 40 is a vital first step in the effort to attain truth and reconciliation about the Original Sin of American Slavery that is necessary to light the way to the beloved community we all seek.

We witnessed nightly peaceful civil disobedience in the streets of America in solidarity with countless victims of injustice and cruelty. Young African American men and women no longer with us in body but forever with us in memory.

We demanded justice and equity that starts with policing reform yet extends far beyond. It's not just about police conduct toward us. It starts with the predisposition of police about us, before interaction occurs. Police biases, implicit and explicit, can forecast a propensity for violence toward us and the denial of our civil rights.

In addition to criminal justice reform, we demanded the full eradication of structural and systemic institutionalized racism. Since then, confederate statues were removed, newly developed factual curriculum has begun to educate all students about the actual truth of Black history, and millions of Americans learned about the Juneteenth holiday.

Once again, I would like to thank Chairwoman Beatty for giving me and my CBC colleagues the opportunity to shine a light on all our accomplishments this Congress.

I am so proud to be a part of such a dedicated and hardworking group of people. I look forward to continuing to work with all of you on legislation that will make America a more equal and just place.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record an ABC News article entitled: ``Congress passes legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.''

[From ABC News, June 16, 2021]

Congress Passes Legislation To Make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday

(By Libby Cathey)

For the first time in nearly 40 years, Congress has moved

to establish a new national holiday, this time for

Juneteenth, and just in time for Saturday's 156th anniversary

of the day that marks the last African American slaves being

freed in Texas in the wake of the Civil War.

The House voted Wednesday night to pass the legislation. It

heads next to President Joe Biden's desk for a signature.

When Biden signs it, as he's expected to at 3:30 p.m. ET

Thursday, according to the White House, Juneteenth will

officially become a federal holiday--the first since Martin

Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983.

Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, a fierce

advocate for the Black community who sponsored the

legislation in the House, proudly announced from the podium

the ``bill is passed'' before bringing the gavel down.

One Republican, Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana, said in a

charged statement ahead of the evening vote that he opposed

the legislation that was ``an effort by the Left to create a

day out of whole cloth to celebrate identity politics.'' Sen.

John Cornyn, R-Texas, a lead sponsor of the Senate bill,

called the statement ``kooky'' in a tweet.

Other House Republicans who voted no on the legislation

include Reps. Thomas Massie, Scott DesJarlais, Mo Brooks,

Andy Biggs, Tom Tiffany, Doug LaMalfa, Tom McClintock, Mike

Rogers, Andrew Clyde, Ralph Norman, Chip Roy, Paul Gosar and

Ronny Jackson of Texas.

The House vote came after the Senate--in a surprise move

Tuesday--passed the measure by unanimous consent following a

single Republican senator dropping his opposition.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who opposed the

legislation last year, said in a statement that he would no

longer raise his objections on the floor, though, as of last

week, the bill already had the support of 60 cosponsors to

overcome a filibuster.

``Although I strongly support celebrating Emancipation, I

objected to the cost and lack of debate,'' Johnson said,

referring to his previous stance. ``While it still seems

strange that having taxpayers provide federal employees paid

time off is now required to celebrate the end of slavery, it

is clear that there is no appetite in Congress to further

discuss the matter.''

Biden will be accompanied for the signing by Vice President

Kamala Harris, who was one of the Democrats to introduce the

legislation in the Senate last year alongside Cornyn.

Steve Williams, the president of the National Juneteenth

Observance Foundation, thanked lawmakers in a press

conference on Capitol Hill earlier for, he said, ``put(ting)

that exclamation mark on the fabulous work.''

``The Juneteenth nation is ecstatic,'' he said.

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth--also known as Freedom Day, Liberation Day and

Emancipation Day--marks the day when federal troops arrived

in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, to ensure that African

Americans still enslaved were freed following both the

signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and end of the Civil

War.

The advance by Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger came 30

months and 19 days after President Abraham Lincoln signed the

Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, which had

declared, ``all persons held as slaves within any States, or

designated part of the State, the people whereof shall be in

rebellion against the United States, shall be then,

thenceforward, and forever free.''

But with the seven Confederate states operating under their

own president, slaves in the South weren't exactly free to

go. It would take another two months after Robert E. Lee

surrendered at Appomattox Court House in April 1865 that

troops would arrive in Galveston to free the final 250,000

people enslaved there. Most left the area despite a message

from Union troops that they could stay and work for their

owners as employees.

A few months later, in December 1865, the 13th Amendment to

the Constitution was ratified and abolished slavery.

Where is it celebrated?

Like most holidays, Juneteenth is recognized in gatherings

across the country, predominantly in the Black community.

With the help of social media to spread awareness on a

holiday not always taught in school, it has become more

mainstream in recent years.

Celebrations can include reflections, parades, food and

drink, music--and even advocacy.

For instance, in 2016, Opal Lee of Texas, a now 94-year-old

activist, walked from her home in Fort Worth to the nation's

capital in an effort to get Juneteenth named a national

holiday.

It was in 1979 that Texas became the first state to

officially establish Juneteenth as an official holiday. Now,

49 states and the district separately recognize the day, with

South Dakota as the only outlier, despite legislative

attempts earlier this year.

What's next?

The legislation has passed just in time for the holiday

Saturday. Biden is scheduled to sign the bill into law

Thursday afternoon.

Despite the bipartisan victory, advocates said they are

still far from repairing the wounds from American slavery.

Some point to HR 40, which specifically calls for the

creation of a commission to study ``and consider a national

apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of

slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and

economic discrimination against African Americans, and the

impact of these forces on living African Americans, to make

recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and

for other purposes.''

A version has been introduced in every legislative session

since 1989, but passed out of a House committee for the first

time this year.

``We're giving America the opportunity for redemption, for

repair, for restoration, for also understanding the new

America, which is so multicultural,'' said lead sponsor,

Jackson Lee, in April after it passed.

That legislation is still awaiting a full House vote and is

expected to face an uphill battle in the Senate.

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, another lead Democrat to

sponsor the legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday

also highlighted in a tweet Wednesday that even with its

passage, Republicans still attack critical race theory which

would allow students to study the roots of events, such as

Juneteenth, in school.

``Even today, as conservatives try to erase history with

their attacks on critical race theory and understanding the

impacts of systemic racism, we stand here acknowledging the

truth. We will make #Juneteenth a federal holiday,'' Markey

said in the tweet.

Speaking at a press conference earlier Wednesday in front

of the Capitol, a group of lawmakers including Jackson Lee

and other Democrats supportive of the Juneteenth legislation

said there is still work to be done.

``Of course today is not enough, there's so much more work

left to be done, but this is an important day because it is a

piece of pavement on that path towards justice,'' said Sen.

Tina Smith, D-Minn. ``This is not a moment for complacency,

this is a moment to rededicate ourselves to that work.''

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1339 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 1339, providing for consideration of three measures: H.R. 302, H.R. 2988, and H.R. 8326, all under structured rules.

For H.R. 302, the rule provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, makes in order one amendment, and provides a motion to recommit.

For H.R. 2988 and H.R. 8326, the rule provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform for each bill, makes in order four amendments for H.R. 2988 and three amendments for H.R. 8326, and provides en bloc authority for both bills and motions to recommit for both bills.

The rule further provides the majority leader or his designee the ability this week to en bloc requested roll call votes on suspension bills considered from September 13 to September 16.

Lastly, the rule provides same-day authority through September 30 for a measure dealing with continuing appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023.

Mr. Speaker, I rise proudly today in support of House Resolution 1339, the rule for three crucial bills, each of which will protect an essential institution in American Government and public life that came under serious attack in the previous administration: our Federal civil service, whistleblowers acting against public corruption, and the Census Bureau. All three bills were marked up and passed by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

H.R. 302, the Preventing a Patronage System Act, is a bipartisan bill led by Congressman Connolly of Virginia and Congressman Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. This legislation will insulate our civil service against partisan political interference and ensure that no future President can fire government experts and civil servants simply to replace them with their own political loyalists and sycophants.

The civil service system was created in the 19th century with the explicit purpose of ending the so-called spoils system and ensuring that Federal employees are hired, promoted, and fired based on their qualifications and performance, not their political party connections or the political favors and services they are willing to render to elected officials.

The merit-based Federal workforce exists to effectively implement Federal laws and programs passed by Congress and signed into law by the President and translate those laws and programs into concrete results and benefits for the American people. Professional civil servants, like scientists, engineers, meteorologists, statisticians, economic researchers, and policy analysts must be able to do their jobs and advise government officials and the public based on empirical methods, facts and data, not ideological filters and bars of political correctness, and without fear of retaliation and discharge for political reasons.

But the previous administration attempted to turn our civil service, Mr. Speaker, into a top-down political and ideological party machine, the kind that the original architects of civil service tried to dismantle in the 19th century. In October of 2020, the former President issued Executive Order 13957 to create Schedule F, a sweeping new employment category for career civil servants who work on public policy issues. Schedule F specifically targeted about 50,000 presently nonpartisan policy experts, many of them holding advanced degrees and having served for decades as policy experts across different administrations with Presidents from different political parties.

For these civil servants, Schedule F would have stripped away their rights, their merit-based legal protections, and their professional independence. Civil servants transferred into the new Schedule F could have been fired and replaced at any time for any political or ideological reason or for no reason at all given by a hostile administration. The 50,000 civil servants deemed to be involved in formulating policy could have been swept up in a Schedule F political purge and replaced with unqualified loyalists and flunkies, with potentially catastrophic consequences for national security, the continuity of

governance, and the evenhanded and effective enforcement of Federal laws and programs.

The President already has the opportunity to appoint more than 4,000 political appointees. But Schedule F sought to go much further in radically transforming the civil service into an instrument of the chosen political ends and designs of the President.

Thankfully, President Joe Biden rescinded the order in January 2021. However, several top Republicans have already expressed support for picking up right where the previous administration left off with a new Schedule F.

Our civil servants must be hired based on their merits and then evaluated based on their actual job performance in office, not their political party membership, not their ideological viewpoints, and not their political campaign activism. Indeed, there are already processes in place for evaluating Federal employees' actual job performance, which is why in 2021, more than 10,000 Federal employees were removed from their jobs for not living up to job expectations. That is how you deal with people who are not actually doing their jobs. This bill is precisely about ensuring that civil servants will be evaluated based on their job performance and not the partisan political goals or extracurricular demands of a particular administration.

As a member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, which considered this legislation carefully and reported it favorably and the proud Representative of tens of thousands of Federal workers in Maryland's beautiful Eighth District, I am proud to advance this bill and urge all of my colleagues to support its passage on a bipartisan basis. We have an urgent mandate to protect the historic merit-based civil service and the integrity of the Federal Government against anyone who would turn the clock back more than a century to allow Presidents to convert our Federal workforce in service of agreed-upon Federal laws and programs into an instrument of personal ambition, campaign reelection, or party patronage.

Now, turning to H.R. 2988, the bipartisan Whistleblower Protection Improvement Act of 2021, led by Chairwoman Maloney. This is another piece of critical legislation in defense of another critical democratic safeguard.

Whistleblowers are a great American institution and an important mechanism for guaranteeing the integrity of government. Our protection of whistleblowers reflects the fact that in our system of government, we have checks and balances all the way down. An individual Federal employee can hold even the most powerful government officials accountable to the rule of law, which binds all of us. Whistleblowers in American history have exposed self-dealing, bribery, kickbacks, sweetheart contracts, lost and stolen Federal property, national security failures, criminal coverups, other political corruption, war crimes, rape and sexual harassment in the military, major public health violations, episodes of environmental and toxic contamination, and the systematic waste or pilfering of taxpayer dollars.

This bill will improve current protections for whistleblowers by clearly prohibiting retaliatory investigations and other actions against Federal employees who share information with Congress, the House of Representatives, or the Senate, or with their supervisor. The bill limits the public disclosure of the identity of whistleblowers and extends whistleblower protections to new categories of Federal officers and employees, including Public Health Service workers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's commissioned officers.

The bill also contains provisions to ensure a timely and fair procedure for whistleblowers facing discrimination and retaliation. Currently, the backlog at the Merit Systems Protection Board means that some whistleblowers may wait years for a hearing to be scheduled on their claims. This bill grants whistleblowers access to a jury trial in Federal district court if the Merit Systems Protection Board does not render a timely decision in their case.

Whistleblowers are integral to government transparency and accountability in our country. I strongly support this bill to ensure whistleblowers can come forward without fear of reprisal or punishment.

The last bill before us, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 8326, the Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act, also led by Chairwoman Maloney, will protect the Census Bureau against future efforts at political interference, and it will ensure the Bureau's independence in the performance of its essential duties.

The Census is a constitutional mandate and imperative. The U.S. Constitution requires an actual enumeration of the whole number of persons in the country for apportioning Representatives among the States and Congress. The Census is an expression of the original principle that democracy must rest on the Jeffersonian idea of the consent of the governed. And, therefore, we need to know everyone who is here and part of the sovereign people of the Nation. The Census determines congressional apportionment of House seats and the allocation of trillions of dollars of Federal spending. Even many businesses in the private sector rely on Census Bureau statistics to guide their decisions.

The previous administration's spectacular contempt for our constitutional system was on full display during its many efforts to interfere with the 2020 Census for purposes of political gain. The effort to complete a comprehensive and effective Census was undermined at every turn by efforts such as the unlawful plot to add the citizenship question to the short form, which was struck down by the Supreme Court, or the installation of a record-breaking number of highly partisan political appointees to the ranks of the Bureau's leadership. The reforms contained in the Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act will safeguard the integrity of the Census count against this type of sinister political interference in the many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I will reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to hear my good friend from Pennsylvania make his presentation. I was surprised that he described these three bills as completely irrelevant, given that one is about protecting the integrity of the Federal civil service, a force of more than 2 million people who are doing the work of the American people in the National Park Service, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and so on.

I don't know what is completely irrelevant about that. Nor do I understand what is completely irrelevant about protecting the rights and our encouragement of Federal workers to be whistleblowers when there is massive waste, fraud, abuse, or exploitation taking place with the taxpayers' money. That is an essential purpose of government.

We have a government that is an instrument of the will of the people, and we have a lot of public policies that are being enforced, but we want to make sure that they are being enforced correctly and that the people's taxpayer moneys are being respected.

The whistleblowers are helping us do that in blowing the whistle on hundreds of millions of dollars of waste, corruption, and abuse that have taken place. Why we would turn a blind eye to that and describe it as completely irrelevant is beyond me.

Of course, the Census is foundational to the workings of American democracy, and we want to prevent precisely the kind of political finger-pointing all over the Census Bureau and our laws that we saw in the last administration.

I am just curious whether the gentleman really believes that if the current President suggested that we take 40,000 or 50,000 Federal workers who presently have civil service protection and put them directly under his control for political appointment, he would think that is a good idea because our legislation will prevent any President in the future from doing that, including this Democratic President, any future Democratic Presidents, any future Republican Presidents or Independents or anyone else.

We don't think that is a good idea, and I can't believe that my good friend from Pennsylvania would just be agnostic as to that proposition.

Let me just say, finally, about the whole question of what is relevant and what is irrelevant, it seems like all we are hearing from the other side is embodied in the big statement coming out of the Senate from Senator Lindsey Graham, saying it is time for a national Federal ban on abortion that could even be exceeded by the States.

Now, originally, they said: Well, Roe v. Wade is settled precedent, and we accept that.

Then, they packed the Court with their Justices, who were determined, hellbent, on overturning Roe v. Wade, and they did it.

Then, we heard from our friends across the aisle: Well, this is a matter for the States. Let the States decide.

Now, we hear from our colleagues in Congress that, no, they want a national criminal ban on the right of women to make their own decisions about their health, their families, their careers, and their futures.

Then, they will even allow States to go beyond that to completely ban abortion, which is, of course, the essential pro-life position which we have heard from our colleagues across the aisle. That is what they are focused on.

Meantime, the President signed, this week, the Inflation Reduction Act, which will dramatically lower healthcare costs for tens of millions of Americans and, finally, overturn the Republican ban on the government negotiating in the Medicare program with Big Pharma for lower prescription drug prices.

We are actually making progress. They want to drag everyone into their insatiable efforts to ban the right to abortion in America.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues tempt me to wander afield from what we have come here to talk about since they want to talk about seemingly everything else. So let me try to respond to a few of the points that have just been lobbed in our direction.

First, they seem to want to assign responsibility to the President of the United States for the inflation rate. But then, surely, they will assign responsibility to the President of the

United States for the unemployment rate, which now stands at around 3.5 percent, the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years. You have got to go back a half century to find the kind of job situation that President Biden has brought to the United States of America.

Last week, we learned that payroll employment is up by 315,000 in the month of August alone. Since President Biden came into office, we have added 668,000 manufacturing jobs.

Now, it is true the President has been fighting inflation ever since he got into office. Why?

Well, the economy started to come roaring back--not just in America, but all over the world in the wake of the pandemic. So we saw a tremendous demand with broken supply chains. So what happens under the law of supply and demand? The prices go up. But, unlike our colleagues who seem to want to chortle about it and use it as a campaign talking point, President Biden and the Democrats have been acting to bring inflation down. Every single day.

Yesterday's Consumer Price Index data showed continued progress in bringing global inflation down here in the U.S. economy. Gas prices are down an average of $1.30 a gallon since the beginning of the summer. Price increases slowed at the grocery store this month. Still too high. But real wages went up again for a second month in a row, giving hardworking families more breathing room.

It is amazing to me that some of the time has been delegated to one of our distinguished colleagues who seem to want to blame these global economic conditions arising from COVID-19 and the pandemic and broken supply chains, as well as Vladimir Putin's filthy imperialist war in Ukraine, which fortunately, the people of Ukraine, with the support of a lot of people in this body--but not everybody--is starting to win. And we have seen dramatic reversal of fortune in that war as the democratic forces are beating Vladimir Putin and the autocrats in Russia.

But in any event, we just heard someone who wanted to blame all of these global economic conditions on an SEC regulation, which we are not here to discuss and, therefore, unfortunately, I can't address. I might agree with the gentleman, for all I know. It has nothing to do with the legislation before us, and it is hard for me to believe that that is the source of inflation around the world or the unemployment, which now is practically at the bottom level that we have ever seen in over a century.

But in any event, Mr. Speaker, back to the point at hand, I thought we were going to be distracted with Republican calls to ban abortion across the country. Well, the polls must be teaching them something because I am not hearing about abortion today.

For many years, all I heard from them was abortion is murder, and the millions of persons who are being murdered by abortion. They demanded the overthrow of Roe v. Wade, and they got their way.

Yesterday, Senator Lindsey Graham introduced legislation for a national criminal ban on abortion. But, of course, the so-called pro- life forces want to go further in the States and ban it completely. A lot of them don't even want to allow exceptions for rape or incest.

I thought our colleagues were going to explain what their position really is. I would invite them to do so as long as they don't want to talk about the legislation before us today.

Why don't they tell us what their position on abortion is, because America wants to know.

I think their position has changed somewhat. They are singing a somewhat different tune since the people of Kansas, by 20 points, destroyed their anti-choice agenda, and explained to them in numerical terms that the people of America are on the side of freedom and the rights of women and men and families to make their own decisions and not to have those decisions be made by Lindsey Graham, one Senator, who yesterday pronounced that he chose 15 weeks as the right point to criminalize abortion. He chose that himself.

What is their position now? America wants to know. What is their position?

Do they support a national criminal ban on abortion? Are they going to allow any exceptions for rape or incest? What is their position on it, if they don't want to talk about the legislation at hand?

Meantime, the Democrats continue to fight for lower drug prices, for a record, unprecedented, historic investment in renewable energy.

We are addressing the problems of the future. At the same time, we are defending the integrity of the Federal civil service and our workforce, which was compromised and abused in so many ways by the last administration.

We are defending the rights of whistleblowers to tell the truth about what is taking place in terms of political and public corruption and not to have to face retaliation from their supervisors. We are defending the institutions of democracy, including the Census, against all of the kinds of machinations and corruption and political abuse that we saw in the last administration.

We are glad that the Supreme Court struck down their last interference with the Census by trying to paste questions outside of the rule of law on the short form. This legislation is designed to protect the integrity of the Census along with the civil service, along with the whistleblowers.

But as long as my dear colleagues and friends don't want to talk about the legislation at hand, please clarify for America what their plan is to take away the health rights of American women and their families. Are they supporting the plan we heard yesterday announced by Lindsey Graham for a nationwide Federal criminal ban?

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the very distinguished gentleman from Kentucky purported to speak for what Americans are worried about. Undoubtedly, many Americans are worried about inflation, which is why this administration has been taking strong action not just to get jobs for everybody who wants a job and good jobs and union jobs for people, but also to bring inflation down.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a New York Times article titled ``U.S. Gas Prices Have Fallen for 91 Straight Days, a Relief for Consumers.''

[From the New York Times, Sept. 13, 2022]

U.S. Gas Prices Have Fallen for 91 Straight Days, a Relief for

Consumers

(By Isabella Simonetti)

The price of gasoline continues to fall steadily, easing

pressure on American consumers as the cost of filling a tank

continued to tumble from record levels reached earlier in the

summer.

Gas prices fell 10.6 percent in August, which helped

moderate still-sky-high inflation, Tuesday's Consumer Price

Index report showed.

The energy index, which tracks gasoline and electricity

among other energy sources, dropped 5 percent last month, as

electricity and natural gas prices rose.

After peaking at $5.02 in June, gasoline prices have

dropped for 91 straight days, and the national average stood

at just over $3.70 a gallon on Tuesday, data from AAA show.

But analysts point to a few reasons this streak of declines

is unlikely to continue.

Because they're determined by oil prices, gasoline prices

are also susceptible to a wide range of challenges, like

hurricanes that knock out drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and

efforts to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine by

curbing its ability to sell crude on the global market.

While gas prices are down, the overall energy index still

remains up 23.8 percent over the 12 months that ended in

August. Electricity prices alone jumped 15.8 percent,

representing the largest 12-month increase since August 1981,

the inflation report said. The jump in electricity prices is

largely attributable to the high cost of natural gas, said

Laura Rosner-Warburton, an economist at MacroPolicy

Perspectives.

As winter approaches, other fuel prices could influence

inflation data. The cost of heating a home with natural gas,

the most common source of home-heating fuel in the United

States, is expected to jump more than 25 percent from last

year, to $952 for the six months from October through March,

according to the National Energy Assistance Directors

Association.

``You would expect that a hard winter could create a

significant increase in demand in price of natural gas,''

said Bryan Benoit, U.S. national managing partner of energy

at Grant Thornton. ``And then of course all of this is

further exacerbated by what's going on with the war in the

Ukraine.''

I want to talk about some of the other things that Americans are worried about since my colleague purported to speak for Americans because I saw a poll recently saying that Americans are worried about the attack on democracy and voting rights.

Part of that may be the fact that some of our colleagues seem to be ambivalent about whether or not to denounce the rampant violence that was unleashed against this institution, this body, on January 6, 2021, when thousands of rioters came and attacked our officers, wounding and injuring more than 150 of them, breaking their jaws, their necks, lost fingers, strokes, heart attacks, concussions, and contusions. And, of course, the former President says that his mob actually greeted the police with hugs and kisses.

Some of our colleagues shamefully have followed the former President in trying to whitewash the worst episode of domestic mass insurrectionary violence ever unleashed on the Capitol of the United States with an attack on the Vice President, Mike Pence. We heard those words, ``Hang Mike Pence. Hang Mike Pence,'' bouncing off of the walls of the Capitol and against the Congress of the United States.

So, yes, people are worried about the state of our democracy with so many members of the GOP following Donald Trump in not only his terrible big lie, the first time we have ever seen that in American history, but also the big lie encompassing this mob violence and this insurrection against the Government of the United States.

Do you know what else Americans are worried about, Mr. Speaker? Americans are now worried about State politicians and Federal politicians trampling the rights of women. For more than a half century, women have had a right to make their most intimate procreative and reproductive decisions with their families, with their husbands, with their partners, with their ministers, and with their church leaders.

Then, they gerrymandered the Supreme Court. They kept Merrick Garland off the Supreme Court by not even giving him a hearing over on the Senate side.

Then, what do you know, Mr. Speaker? They followed what the RNC was asking for in all of their platforms for all of these years: Overturn Roe v. Wade. They overturned Roe v. Wade.

Then, we heard from our colleagues: Well, we just want the States to decide.

But, yesterday, Senator Lindsey Graham unveiled what the real plan is: a nationwide criminal ban on abortion, and if they can go further in the States, they will go further in the States.

We have Republican proposals all over America to completely ban abortion from the moment of conception, which is the pro-life orthodoxy, which is life begins at conception.

We heard it in the Judiciary Committee. We have heard it in the Oversight and Reform Committee. We have been hearing it for years. But now they have fallen strangely and demurely silent. Why is that? Part of it is because of the good people of Kansas, who showed them just where America is on this.

America is a country committed to individual freedom and the rights of the people to make their own decisions and not having busybody, theocrat politicians in State capitals telling them how to make their own decisions about their careers, about their lives, about their families, and about their healthcare--and certainly not allowing Lindsey Graham to dictate to the women of America what their destiny will be.

They won't say a word about it. They will talk about an SEC regulation nobody heard of that we are not here to talk about today. They will blame Joe Biden for global inflation. They will blame Joe Biden for Vladimir Putin's filthy, imperialist invasion of Ukraine.

I hear them denouncing Joe Biden. They won't denounce Vladimir Putin for 1 second.

I would happily yield 1 minute if they would denounce Vladimir Putin, but they won't do it. We have heard people over on their side cheerleading for Vladimir Putin. I heard the gentlewoman from Georgia say: Russia wins.

Guess what? Russia doesn't win. The people of Ukraine are winning today, and the people of America are with the people of Ukraine. We are on the side of democrats, small d democrats, all over the world against the autocrats like Putin, against the theocrats like people who would dictate to the women of America their own health decisions.

We are against the tyrants, the bullies, and the despots. We are against Presidents who get into office and try to dictate the political decisionmaking of individual members of the workforce and try to push their ideological program into the government. We are for defending whistleblowers; we are for defending the Census; and we are for defending democratic institutions in America.

I am just shocked that I hear from my good friend from Pennsylvania, someone I like and someone I trust, that he actually is defending Putin against Biden and blaming Joe Biden for Putin's long-running plan to invade Ukraine. That is a remarkable thing to me, and I hope we can have that clarified.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Kentucky spoke about what his constituents are interested in. Apparently, they are interested only in the question of inflation.

My constituents are interested in that and are satisfied about the fact that we have had more than 90 days of decline in gas prices and that this administration is fighting to reduce inflation, including with the Inflation Reduction Act, which dramatically reduces healthcare costs, saying that nobody will have to spend more than $35 a month on insulin--no diabetic in America--and no one in the Medicare program will have to spend more than $2,000 a year on prescription drugs, generally.

How is that for getting inflation down?

But that is not all they care about. They care about women's right to choose and the GOP assault on the freedoms of the people, something which our colleagues maintain their demure and uncharacteristic circumspect silence about today. They didn't want to talk about this new GOP plan to ban abortion all across America. That is what we heard yesterday from Senator Graham about his plan for America.

My constituents want freedom in America. They want democracy in voting rights. They don't want to see violence unleashed against the Capitol of the United States, against school boards, against State capitols, or any of the political violence we have seen from whatever source. I am happy to denounce all of it.

I wish my colleagues would denounce political violence when it comes to our very doors, when it enters this Chamber, rather than playing follow the leader with the former President who has disgraced himself as the first President in U.S. history to be impeached twice and continues to be embroiled in all the political corruption investigations all over the country, as it has been shown that he egged on armed protesters to come to try to attack this body, to drive Vice President Pence out of the body, and to drive us out of the body, as well, interfering with a Federal proceeding.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this rule and the previous question.

The material previously referred to by Mr. Reschenthaler is as follows:

Amendment to House Resolution 1339

At the end of the resolution, add the following:

Sec. 13. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the

House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the

bill (H.R. 8589) to prohibit the Securities and Exchange

Commission from finalizing the proposed rule titled ``The

Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related

Disclosures for Investors''. All points of order against

consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be

considered as read. All points of order against provisions in

the bill are waived. The previous question shall be

considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment

thereto to final passage without intervening motion except:

(1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the

chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on

Financial Services; and (2) one motion to recommit.

Sec. 14. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the

consideration of H.R. 8589.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler) for yielding.

I rise to oppose the previous question so that we can immediately consider Representative French Hill's H.R. 8589 to prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission from trading its independence and statutory authority away in the name of alarmist climate advocacy.

The proposed climate change rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission will further crush our fragile economy, and struggling families will ultimately pay the price.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Consumer Price Index numbers for the month of August. As has been mentioned already today, CPI surged to 8.3 percent, above projections, still a 40-year high, showing that this inflation crisis is not going away anytime soon.

Americans are paying more for everything, and rising prices continue to wreak havoc on farmers, middle-class families, and small businesses struggling to stay afloat all across America.

Of course, Democrats' overspending for the last year and a half has produced excess demand, pushing up prices, but no amount of Fed tightening can fix the inflationary supply-demand mismatch without also addressing the supply side.

At the heart of this inflation crisis is the Biden administration's war on American energy production. This policy of deliberately constraining the supply of energy is taking its toll on the American people. According to a Penn Wharton study, inflation reduced the purchasing power of American households by approximately $6,000 last year. That is like taking an entire paycheck away for an entire month for every American household.

Real earnings, hourly earnings, dropped 2.8 percent over the year in August. Wages are down because of this inflation crisis. Credit card debt is up. It hit an all-time high last month.

One in six American households are now behind paying their electricity bills and in danger of losing their utility services altogether, with natural gas prices up 30 percent since last July. Effectively, electricity prices are now up 15 percent, a 14-year high.

When Joe Biden took office, the average price of gasoline was $2.36 per gallon. Today, the average gas price in America is $3.72 per gallon, and stubbornly, diesel prices are much, much higher. That goes into everything: transportation, manufacturing, farmers having to fill up the tank on their tractors. All of that is passed on at the retail point of sale. In less than 2 years, America has gone from energy dominant to energy desperate.

Mr. Speaker, ground zero for the Biden administration's war on American energy is the weaponization of financial regulation and the politicization of access to capital.

What do I mean by this? We all know that the Biden administration killed the Keystone XL pipeline and other critical energy infrastructure projects. We know that they are frustrating the construction of new refineries. We know that they have held up 4,400 drilling permits. But ground zero is the weaponization of financial regulation to deny American energy the access to the capital that they need to invest in a very capital-intensive business.

Throughout the executive branch, at the Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve, the OCC, and other financial regulators, Biden has installed or nominated unelected climate alarmists and given them free rein to attack American energy businesses, all in the name of climate change.

The sad irony, Mr. Speaker, is that if we want to innovate and actually solve climate change, we wouldn't be denying American energy companies and the scientists there access to financing. We would be giving them more financing to innovate and to solve the problem the American way, through free enterprise and innovation. One of these radical nominees even called for bankrupting American fossil fuel companies.

Perhaps the most dangerous regulation issued by the Biden administration to destroy American energy is the SEC's climate risk disclosure rule proposed in March. This 534-page monstrosity marks the transformation of the SEC from an independent agency dedicated to investor protection to an unaccountable and politicized bureaucracy intent on advancing radical environmental and social policy over which it has neither expertise nor jurisdiction.

This proposed rule is totally disconnected from the longstanding investor-driven materiality standard and will politicize the agency and reduce its credibility by hurting investors, elevating nonpecuniary factors above financial returns, and steering retail investors into lower performing, higher fee, and less-diversified ESG investments.

As a reminder, Mr. Speaker, the statutory mission of the SEC is to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation. This is not about protecting investors. It is about hurting investors. It is not about capital formation. It is about capital destruction. It is definitively not to reduce carbon emissions or solve climate change, but the SEC is wading into environmental policy debates like climate change with its top-down, government-directed, one-size-fits-all mandatory environmental, social, and governance disclosure regulation, or ESG.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler claims that the requirements in the proposal are material because institutional investors are demanding this information. But according to a study conducted by the University of Chicago and FINRA, only 21 percent of surveyed retail investors in this country even knew what ESG stands for.

The fact of the matter is, retail investors are not demanding this information. They want returns, not politics, guiding their retirement and college savings.

What do retail investors really care about? Yesterday's bloodbath in the stock market when the Dow plummeted by over 1,000 points in a single day, the worst drop since June 2020.

That tells me what investors actually want, Mr. Speaker, and it is returns. They need returns. They don't need an inflationary environment that is eating away their purchasing power and rising interest rates because of it that result in turmoil in the financial markets, destroying retirement savings.

ESG funds are hurting American investors. They are tech-heavy, and in a market where tech stocks are in a massive sell-off and are vastly underperforming non-ESG funds that contain investments in energy, who are the losers? Retail investors who are unwittingly invested in and overexposed to ESG. On top of that, ESG funds charge 43 percent higher fees than non-ESG funds.

In short, the government is redirecting capital away from energy, and it is costing retail investors, which include teachers, police officers, and other ordinary Americans saving for retirement, extraordinary amounts of money.

But, today, Congress can actually do something to protect investors. I am leading this previous question that would amend the rule to immediately consider H.R. 8589, legislation offered by the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), my friend, to stop this SEC rule in its tracks before it causes more damage to retail investors and to Americans struggling to keep up with unsustainable energy prices.

Mr. Speaker, House Republicans will keep pushing for America to get back to basics. We need to deliver economic relief to the American people to alleviate the pain of inflation. To do that, we need to unleash the supply side. That means more, not less, financing of American energy to lower the price at the pump, to reduce the cost of heating your home.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we need financial advisers to get back to the basics of investing. That means diversified portfolios that include American energy, not just tech, because the point of investing your hard-earned money isn't to further a political agenda or some far-left view of America that some woke asset manager on Wall Street thinks. Instead, it is to generate a financial return that will enable you to send your kid to college, ensure you can live a comfortable life in retirement, or pursue some other aspect of your American Dream.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, it is about capital formation. It is about giving heroic American energy companies access to the capital and the financing that they need, not only to make energy affordable and reliable for the American people but to make America competitive in the global economy.

It is for all of these reasons, Mr. Speaker, that I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join me in supporting this previous question.

Mr. Speaker, let me respond to my friend from Maryland on some of the specific points that he made in rebuttal to my opposition to the previous question.

The gentleman says that we don't want to talk about the underlying bills.

What Republicans want to talk about is what the American people are worried about, which is rising prices. What we are focused on is opposing a previous question so that we could actually go and consider legislation that would actually help improve the record inflation, 40- year-high inflation that Americans are suffering with.

What we are talking about is how we are going to lower the pain at the pump and lower the cost of heating your home, which is at a 15-year high in America right now. That is what Republicans want to talk about; what the American people actually care about right now.

The gentleman says that, Oh, unemployment is down.

Let me tell you the statistic that matters.

It is the fact that we have 12 million unfilled jobs in America because the Democrats' spending spree has paid Americans to not go to work, because employers in my district and every district around the country can't find labor.

The supply-demand mismatch that has produced this inflation crisis is the result of fiscal policy errors. It is the result of a war on American energy constraining the supply of energy. It is because of excessive spending that has discouraged people to return to the labor force.

So we have excess demand from overspending, and we have constrained labor supply and constrained energy supply, which is impounded into everything and results in higher retail prices.

The gentleman says that, Oh, don't look here; don't look at us; don't look at the Biden administration's war on energy and labor supply. No, it is not that. It is not the Fed that continued to keep interest rates too low for too long and flooded our money supply at a time when all of these fiscal policy errors were going on. No, it is not that. It is global inflation.

Well, why is it, then, in March of 2021, at the precise time that this Congress passed the American recovery plan, $2 trillion of unpaid- for spending, why is it then that U.S. inflation rates became untethered from global price increases? That is what happened, in synchronicity with their legislation.

Mr. Speaker, finally, he blames Vladimir Putin.

Gas prices on the day Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine were the highest in 40 years. Inflation was over 8 percent on the CPI, the highest in 40 years, the highest since 1981 on the day Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

This is not about Vladimir Putin. It is about Americans not producing energy anymore.

And why do we want this particular legislation, the legislation to block the SEC's climate disclosure rule? Because we need more financing of American energy.

Mr. Speaker, I would argue to my friend from Maryland, also, if the obsession on the other side with the climate, if that is the concern, if that is why we have this SEC rule, if that is why we have weaponized financial regulators to go after the American energy sector and redirect capital and financing away from the American energy sector, if that is the solution to climate change, I want the gentleman to explain that to me. Because the best scientists in the world working on the issue of carbon capturing, carbon sequestration, and harnessing the carbon cycle, they work at American energy companies.

The answer to climate change is not to centralize power in Washington and add a thousand pages to the Federal Register. That will not change the weather. What will solve climate change is to solve that problem the American way. The American way is through innovation, technology, and science, and that means robust, free enterprise. That means more, not less capital formation. That means more financing of American energy, more financing of innovation. That is the Republican solution to climate.

It is also the Republican solution to our energy crisis and our inflation crisis. That is what we are focused on, not these bills that the American people don't care about.

We are focused on lowering prices at the grocery store and at the pump and financing American competitiveness, American innovation, and American know-how.

That is what we want to do.

We may have found a point of bipartisan agreement that we all dislike Vladimir Putin. But one of the main reasons why Vladimir Putin was able to invade Ukraine was the removal of deterrence: unilaterally waiving sanctions on Nord Stream 2, refusing to respond for a full year of a buildup, inviting aggression by retreating from Afghanistan, and signaling to our allies that we are not coming to help you. That might be one of the reasons why we have a problem with Vladimir Putin right now.

To the gentleman from Maryland's argument that we are just purporting to speak for all Americans, we are the Representatives of the American people, and we are their only voice in this Chamber. I am not purporting to speak for Americans. I am telling you what my constituents in Kentucky are telling me.

Charlie from Fleming County says that he can't afford to fill up his tractor as a farmer because diesel prices are where they are. He says: I don't know where they get their numbers in Washington, Congressman, but it feels three times 8 percent on the CPI.

Lorna from Mount Sterling, Kentucky, owns a floral business, a Main Street small business, and everything costs more. She said: This is not the America I know.

Then, Jamie, who is a mom of two kids, she goes to get baby formula. She goes to the grocery, and she can't afford groceries. She tries to fill up her car to take her kids on errands, and she can't afford it.

This is not purporting to speak for the American people. These are the American people, and they are suffering because this administration will not fix the supply side.

They raise taxes on businesses, which discourages business investment and capital expenditures that we need to fix the supply bottlenecks. They raise prices at the pump by declaring war on American energy production by weaponizing financial regulation. They refuse to take actions that actually will solve the supply problem by encouraging people to go back to work.

We don't need to be discouraging people from going back to work. We need to fill those 12 million unfilled jobs right now by encouraging productivity and American people going back to work.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so that we can go to some legislation that would actually help lower prices, what the American people do care about, not what they purport to care about, what they tell us they care about, and that is lowering prices.

This bill would help us do that because it would unlock the financing we need to make America energy dominant once again and lower prices across the board.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.

Madam Speaker, I rise to begin the discussion that I think we will continue in days to come and even into the new year, and that is to discuss the Congressional Black Caucus' accomplishments in this Congress, the 117th.

By its very nature, the tenure and the breadth and depth of members of the Congressional Black Caucus, I believe that we can be talking for a very long time, and so this will probably be a continuum to tell the American people how we have been helping to ensure that they have a better quality of life.

I am very proud to join with the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Joyce Beatty, who has led us, in the 117th Congress, to be instrumental in the lives of intergenerations, across generational lines, and to ensure that those who are at the beginning of life, and those at the end of life, and those in between raising their families, know that the Congressional Black Caucus is standing with them.

One particularly unique example of that is, of course, the HBCU conference that is going on this week, where HBCUs are coming from all over the country. And it is interesting to be able to associate, not only our colleague, Alma Adams, as the chair of the HBCU Caucus, of which I am a member and many of our colleagues are members, including I see on the floor, Chairman Scott.

Under his leadership, the HBCUs have gotten more money--than I believe in the history of many of our tenure here in the United States Congress--working with President Biden. This is the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus.

So let me quickly begin my comments, and I will look forward to yielding to my friends who are here, including my colleague and friend from Louisiana, Mr. Troy Carter, Congressman Carter, who is the new vice chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus. And I know that we are looking forward to many days of action on behalf of the children of America and on behalf of children of color and African-American children.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus strongly support the President's goal of passing legislation that will significantly reduce healthcare costs for all Americans.

The Inflation Reduction Act will significantly reduce, and has significantly reduced, prescription drug costs and expanded healthcare coverage for millions of Black Americans, relieving financial strains on individuals and families.

What I think is most important is the work that many of us on the Congressional Black Caucus did, including the work that I advocated with our whip, Jim Clyburn, and Senator Warnock. We were on it for the $35 cap on insulin, along with our colleagues. It was driven and inspired by members of the Congressional Black Caucus to ensure that insulin, which now is one of the driving forces of creating a better quality of life for our seniors--you can say that the Congressional Black Caucus was intimately involved in that.

We were intimately involved in ensuring that it has a fair response to climate change around the issue of bringing down the cost of energy for our families in America. And of course, that impacts Black families.

This new law will help bring down energy costs for millions of Black Americans, and it includes very strong protections and programs to promote environmental justice.

Of course, we worked extensively on the bipartisan infrastructure law. That was, of course, a very pivotal role for those of us in the Congressional Black Caucus. Black, Hispanic, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native Americans, especially those who reside in urban communities, are more likely to be negatively impacted by pollution. Black people are almost three times more likely to die from asthma- related causes than their White counterparts.

And, of course, the Congressional Black Caucus led in negotiations to assure that this was a balanced bill.

In particular, my constituents have already seen the magnificent results of the once-in-a-generation piece of legislation. Houston METRO was granted a $21 million grant to buy battery-powered electric buses, and it has helped it move to the next level, next generation of rapid transit, and plans to go to the airports, both Hobby and Bush Intercontinental, in my district, with bipartisan infrastructure dollars.

And as a hurricane-prone community, as many of the Gulf States are, from Louisiana to Texas and Mississippi, the bipartisan infrastructure bill will help us work on those flood-

prone areas and ensure the safety and life of so many.

I am excited about how the Congressional Black Caucus gravitated around the Juneteenth legislation, the first bill in almost 40 years that created a Federal holiday which was signed on June 17, 2021. I am very pleased to be the first Member to introduce legislation to ensure that there was a holiday after 10 years of introducing the resolutions, and the culmination of all of these years, and particularly, the culmination of Opal Lee, who came on a hot day in 2019, and brought us a million petitions--she was in her nineties--to ensure that Juneteenth could become a Federal holiday.

Her work in getting all those petitions, the introduction of the legislation that I was proud to introduce, and ultimately presiding over the floor--all of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus were strong proponents of this, and we could not have done it without their leadership and urgency.

Many of you know that Juneteenth represents two more years of slavery for those west of the Mississippi, until General Granger came with Order Number 15 to announce that the slaves were free, because the South had not adhered to the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. So he came to Galveston, Texas, General Granger, announcing the end of the Civil War and the freedom of the last Americans enslaved in the Confederate States.

Since the 1800s, Juneteenth has been an important commemoration to African Americans. Even as Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois reminded us that--Frederick Douglass, in particular--there is no power with struggle. And, of course, W.E.B. Du Bois talked to us about ``The Talented Tenth.''

That means that the work of the Congressional Black Caucus is keen, and we are keen to make sure that the work that is done continues to emphasize what is best for them.

Let me also take note of the support of African Americans in helping to assure--and the Congressional Black Caucus, with the leadership of Chairwoman Beatty, and working with the Judiciary Committee, the chairman of the full committee, Nadler, subcommittee, Cohen and myself, and the members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Judiciary Committee, we were able to mark up for the first time in history, H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans Act.

What a powerful experience, first, with two hearings, bringing people from all over, including the author and proponent of the 1619 Project, and leaders and scholars who understood that this is simply restoration and repair, and this must be created as a commission by law, by vote, or executive order.

In addition, glad to have the help of the Congressional Black Caucus on the passage of the Violence Against Women Act, a reauthorization act that I introduced. And in it were many aspects of work or language for people of color for the first time; training for young men and boys on how to deal with the issue of violence, and also the question of rape and how we should be working on that.

We followed with massive work on education, as I indicated, doing more for primary and secondary education than could ever be imagined, under the leadership of Chairman Bobby Scott.

I will conclude my remarks in order to yield to my friends. I want to be able to say that during the midst of the pandemic, there were several things that the Congressional Black Caucus led on. One, to push testing into our community where there was none; to push vaccines and vaccinations into our community where there were none; and to ensure that we focused on lost learning and our children who did not have access to broadband.

It was our voices that made it loud and clear. Ultimately, broadband access has been put more and more into the bipartisan infrastructure bill. But during the pandemic, it was the voices of the Congressional Black Caucus that insisted that we do better with respect to these children who had no access. The stories were large and looming. They were frightening, and I am glad that our voices continue.

There are many other litanies of issues dealing with climate change, dealing with criminal justice reform. It was because of us that ultimately we introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, one of two bills named after George Floyd.

Because of all the work we did, with Karen Bass and all the members of the CBC, all the work that we did ultimately resulted in an executive order that we do know, as indicated by executive order, that you will have no more choke holds, no more no-knocks, and more that we hope to put into statutory law. We are excited that the bill did include large aspects of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

With that in mind, I am delighted to be able to yield to--as I talk further about some of these important elements of the work of the Congressional Black Caucus, but I am pleased now to yield to the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee so that he can evidence the Congressional Black Caucus' 117th Congress accomplishments through the works that he has done on his committee, the Education and Labor Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), chairman of the Education and Labor Committee.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks. It is clear that there is a new day on the Committee on Education and Labor. That committee, led by Chairman Scott, has shown itself to be the people's committee, and I am delighted that his longstanding membership with the Congressional Black Caucus has shown that his work is for all of America. But through the Congressional Black Caucus he has helped and elevated families who have suffered because of racial discrimination and because of economic inequities. He has been focused.

Certainly, I credit him again with the work that has been done on HBCUs. I can assure you, with HBCUs in Texas, everywhere I go, they are taking note of the increased funding that has allowed them to do issues or handle matters with physical infrastructure, scholarship, the new Pell grant executive order, student loan executive order that is allowing for those with Pell grant loans making $120,000 to get $20,000 in relief. The Congressional Black Caucus worked extensively to ensure that those people with student loans were not forgotten.

Let me say it again. We work without ceasing to ensure that individuals who were overburdened with student loans, couldn't get down payments for housing and other matters for their quality of life--we were ensuring that we were in the front, if you will, to continue to advocate for student loan reduction.

Let me just say this, as I prepare to yield to my dear friend on the floor here.

As poet Langston Hughes reminds us, in his famous poem ``Mother to Son,'' life in America for African Americans ``ain't been no crystal stair.''

The goodness of this message is that in spite of it all, African Americans have put on uniforms and fought their battles on behalf of this Nation. African Americans are great lovers of this country, and they are great patriots. African Americans have worked in every level of government. They have, of course, been individuals who have worked, as some will say, at the bottom of the totem pole, meaning every manner of work they have done.

There have been African Americans who were enslaved who helped build the White House and the very building that we are in, never to hold the anger of their station in life but continue to work to insist on a better quality of life for their families.

It is very much important to take note of the bills that we have been able to do as individual Members of Congress.

I am just going to cite H.R. 7566, stops human trafficking in schools, that I introduced; working with an amendment to the Workforce Innovation bill; ensuring HBCU's full access to job skills training; amendment to H.R. 8294, the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development appropriations bill to ensure that HBCUs had specific work--it supports the work of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture by increasing the funding by $2 million.

Then I will finish more deeply on H.R. 40. That bill is much exhibited, as I have been on the floor before, with this slave and his back and the welts on his back from a whip. This was the life of slavery in America.

I just read recently of Germany's response to aging holocaust victims, which I applaud, providing millions of dollars to respond to their pain, just recently. In the course of the commission to study slavery and develop reparation proposals, it would give America a moment of healing. We have been hearing this discussion across the Nation and across the world, most recently, of course, in the halls or the places in Great Britain.

But for America to take that stand that the discussion is worthy, that the study is worthy, that the idea of what kind of proposals would come about, what inclusive ways would we deal with the recognition of over two centuries of slavery--unpaid, no insurance, no workers' comp, no days off, from sunup to darkness, beat by the whip, as the slave narratives in 1939 told us. The stories are powerful. Ripped away from our families. Made families, husband and wife and children. Then you would hear the pleas in the slave narratives when they say, ``Come home, husband. They are about to sell me and the children in different ways and different places.'' It happened to slaves all the time.

I was honored and humbled to meet the survivors of the Wall Street massacre. It happened in 1921. Those people were, in actuality, some even former slaves, but mostly descendants of the most recent people who were slaves, the most recent, their ancestors or their mother might have been a slave. But they built a Wall Street, but yet it could not survive because of racism and discrimination.

So to heal our land, the Congressional Black Caucus has worked in many ways to heal our land, and I am grateful for their advocacy for just a fair and simple study and assessment of what we should do to repair what occurred two centuries and continues even today.

The story is long about the inequities of the GI Bill, redlining, discrimination in voting, in the criminal justice system, the basis of wealth, so distinctive between other populations in this country.

So I thank the Congressional Black Caucus for the extensive legislative history that it has had over the 117th Congress.

It really is my privilege, Madam Speaker, to yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Carter) to speak about the accomplishments of the Congressional Black Caucus, my dear colleague and friend who has shown himself a leader.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman and my good friend from Maryland for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the rule before us today provides for consideration for three pieces of legislation that are laser-focused on a President who has not been in office for almost 2 years now.

Meanwhile, yesterday's CPI reading came in higher than expected, registering an 8.3 percent year-over-year increase. That is another 40- year high, literally the highest in my lifetime.

It is abundantly clear that Democrats are focused on their efforts of political gamesmanship, hoping to distract the American people from the absolute failures of the Biden administration.

Let's just go through these bills. The first bill, H.R. 302, makes it even harder for the President to remove insubordinate Federal employees in policy-making roles. All this legislation accomplishes is further shielding unelected career bureaucrats from accountability to the American voter, who are footing the bill for their salary. The Federal Government should be responsive to the voters and their elected Representatives, not the whims and the ideological leanings of unelected bureaucrats.

Additionally, this rule provides for consideration of H.R. 2988, the Whistleblower Protection Improvement Act. Let me start by just saying that the need to protect whistleblowers is one of the most bipartisan points of agreement in Congress. However, this legislation does nothing to protect actual whistleblowers. There is a significant difference lost in this bill between retaliation against legitimate whistleblowers and the consequences in response to unacceptable actions taken by a government employee.

Finally, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 8326, Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act. Yet, this bill does everything but ensure a fair and accurate Census. Specifically, H.R. 8326 provides the director of the Census Bureau with unprecedented power and authority to make all operational, statistical, and technical decisions for the Census.

Further, this bill constrains the ability of future Censuses to include critical questions, including a citizenship question, ensuring that future Censuses will be unfair and inaccurate.

Instead of focusing on real-life issues facing everyday Americans, House

Democrats this week are focusing on three bills that are completely irrelevant to the multiple crises created by Joe Biden's policies.

In fact, two of these bills have already passed in the House this Congress in larger packages. The failed policies of the far left and the Biden administration have plunged our economy into a recession. And, yes, it is a recession. They have stolen wages from the American workforce, they have destroyed seniors' retirement savings, and they have left families with the highest food prices since 1979. Let me repeat that. Grocery prices surged 13 percent in August, the largest increase in over 40 years.

Mr. Speaker, 80 percent of Americans say that inflation is the most important issue facing the country, but you wouldn't know it by the bills the Democrats are prioritizing and running on the floor this week.

I think it is time my Democratic colleagues listened to the people and work with Republicans on real economic solutions, rather than doubling down on these dangerous, reckless, out-of-control spending and far-left policy bills, the same policies that have created the crises that we are now facing.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I will double down on the comment that these bills are irrelevant. They are absolutely irrelevant in that two of them are superfluous. One has already passed. One passed in an amendment to the NDAA, and the other one is an unprecedented grant of authority to the Census, which is completely inappropriate. So, yes, these bills, I would argue, are irrelevant.

Do you know who would think they are irrelevant? Any person you talk to on the street. If you go up to somebody filling up their gas tank, and you ask them about these three bills, these are irrelevant to their lives. They are worried about the price of gas.

If you ask somebody at a grocery store who is trying to feed a family about these bills, these bills are irrelevant to their grocery bill.

If you are talking about real wages and fighting the loss of wages and inflation, these bills are irrelevant to that. A lot of blue-collar workers want wages to increase like they did under the last administration, not decrease like they are today.

So, yes, these bills are absolutely irrelevant to everyday Americans.

But let's just talk about the high cost of inflation. Inflation is the top concern reported by businesses and voters alike. However, instead of working to lower costs for businesses and workers, the SEC proposed burdensome new rules requiring businesses to disclose extensive climate-related data and additional climate risks.

That is why if we defeat the previous question, I will personally offer an amendment to the rule to immediately consider H.R. 8589, which would prohibit the SEC's woke climate rule from ever moving forward.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from the Commonwealth of Kentucky (Mr. Barr), my good friend, to explain the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for just a few points in rebuttal.

Mr. Speaker, we keep hearing that inflation is a global issue, like somehow it is not Biden's fault and the fault of far-left Democrats-- which it is.

The reason why this is a global issue--and remind my friends on the other side of the aisle--is because we are the world's largest GDP. We also just happen to be the world's reserve currency.

So, of course, when we have inflation, the world will have it. That is just economics. So it is amazing how the principles of economics are just cherry-picked to make points. But I would remind my colleagues of those two facts. In short, we are exporting the inflation.

Now, as far as what we are doing to cause the inflation, well, it is pretty simple. We have injected trillions of dollars into the economy. That causes inflation. And then to double down on the failed policy, Joe Biden unilaterally, and I would argue unconstitutionally, canceled the debt of a swath of college students so you now have even more liquidity in the market because of them.

And the sick irony here is that the guy that is driving the pickup truck, the guy that went to school to be a plumber, an HVAC repairman, that guy is now subsidizing the lawyer who is driving to his downtown job in a BMW. That is what is so perverse about what is happening.

Now let's just talk about gas prices.

My colleague and my friend from Maryland said gas prices are down. Yeah, they are down from like a week ago; they are not down from January 2021 when they were less than $2.50 a gallon. So let's continue to move that goalpost.

You can't argue that gas prices are up. Americans know gas prices are up. They are feeling the pain at the pump. They are also feeling it in the higher cost of all energy and food.

Finally, blaming Putin on gas prices and issues. Yeah, Putin is partially to blame, but who encouraged Putin to invade Ukraine? That would be Joe Biden by his surrender of Afghanistan.

Let me be clear that any weakness on the foreign stage is an indication of aggression. When Joe Biden showed weakness by abandoning the Bagram Air Base, by leaving our allies on the ground to predations of the Taliban, that was weakness, and Putin seized on that to invade Ukraine.

Instead of giving the Ukrainians the MiGs they needed, the proper military supplies they needed, we decided to go halfway. Joe Biden didn't fully commit. Now we have a protracted war in Ukraine, which is going to lead to a humanitarian crisis not only in Central

Europe but all across Africa, for example, and higher energy prices here.

Mr. Speaker, but that is all traced back to Biden being weak on foreign policy.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I let my good friend from Maryland know that I like him, too, and I would certainly clarify the remarks on Putin.

I will denounce Putin right now. Remember, I was the one calling in the beginning of this conflict for a no-fly zone to be established led by the United States. I don't think there is anybody more hawkish on Russia and the Ukraine issue than myself on this side of the aisle. So, to say that I was up here defending Putin is ludicrous.

We, of course, needed to beat Putin. We should have been much more engaged from the beginning of this conflict, not just to send a message to the Russians but to send a message to the Iranians and a message to the Chinese vis-a-vis Taiwan. But I could go on.

I would say it is a total mischaracterization of my position to say that I am up here saying good things about dictator Putin.

I remind my friend from Maryland about the history of this building. In 1814, it was literally burned to the ground. In the seventies, Puerto Rican separatists stormed in and detonated a bomb. So, let's just get the historical context in place.

As far as denouncing violence, everyone on this side of the aisle has denounced political violence consistently. The inconsistency is from my friends from across the other side of the aisle who cherry-pick when they denounce political violence.

I remember that during the entire summer of 2020, my friends across the aisle treated the destructive BLM and antifa protests that caused $2 billion worth of damage, they treated those protesters with kid gloves. You had the current Vice President paying the bail for the protesters. You had the gentlewoman from New York, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, saying: ``The whole point of protesting is to make people uncomfortable. . . . To folks who complain protest demands make others uncomfortable, that is the point.'' Those are the words of the Democrats, not of us. We could go on.

Chris Cuomo, CNN host: ``Please, show me where it says protesters are supposed to be polite and peaceful.'' The last time I checked, that was a Democrat.

New York BLM cofounder Hawk Newsome said in response to Eric Adams trying to put plainclothes police officers on the street: ``There will be riots; there will be fire; and there will be bloodshed.''

It sounds to me that the political violence and the support for the rhetoric that is coming to support political violence and upheaval are coming from one side of the aisle, the Democrat side of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) for more rebuttal.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, the CPI just released yesterday shows that prices have increased 8.3 percent from August of last year. Real wages are down 2.8 percent. The cost of electricity has skyrocketed 15.8 percent. That is the most since 1981, the most since I was alive.

As of August, nearly one quarter of all Americans reported forgoing basic needs like food and medicine just to be able to afford their energy bill. This number will only get worse because we are going to face even higher costs to heat our homes this winter, with natural gas prices nearing a 14-year high.

Yet, Democrats want to focus their efforts on, again, I would call it, irrelevant legislation that has already passed the House. It will not provide any relief to American workers and American families.

For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question and to vote ``no'' on the rule.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.