A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of certain defense articles.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise this evening for the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour that deals with, of course, Juneteenth, a very special time that I am delighted--with the leadership of our chair, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty; and, of course, my coanchor, Congressman Torres of New York--that we stand here to provide this kind of leadership for this Congress and for this Nation.

Let me extend my heartfelt appreciation for all of the leadership that have given us this time, including Speaker Pelosi and, of course, Leader Hoyer, and to acknowledge the significance to African Americans as it relates to Juneteenth.

Coming from Texas, let me tell you that Juneteenth, a couple days from today, will be an amazing commemoration. We will be unveiling a mural in Galveston, where General Granger first came. I believe thousands will come. And if there will not be thousands, let you hear my voice: Thousands should come because what a historic moment.

What does Juneteenth mean?

It means an acknowledgment of those who were in bondage for over 200 years. The Emancipation Proclamation--which, by the way, for the 150th commemoration, because we had not finished our congressional work, I was actually here at midnight--which is when President Abraham Lincoln signed it at the National Archives. Looking at the original Emancipation Proclamation, what a sense of emotion.

But then to let you know that that did not free all of the slaves. Two years in bondage continued for those west of the Mississippi and many States until General Granger reached the shores of Galveston, still marked today in Texas, that said that you were free.

Can you imagine? Two extra years of bondage. Couldn't get out. Couldn't read a newspaper or hold up a message that had come from your relative that lived in Georgia. Couldn't do anything.

General Granger read these words of General Order Number 3, set off a joyous celebration of the freed men and women of Texas. I have no shame that it was called Jubilee. And there were a lot of picnics and what we called in the later years ``red punch.''

Don't diminish our celebration. Don't diminish that joy in the midst of sorrow.

How many died who could not see freedom?

Here are the words: ``The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with the 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 heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.''

Now, the word was said that they were offered, the slaves: Don't worry about it, just stay on the plantations, and we will pay you.

I am grateful, but those courageous, but impoverished, without insight, without resources, without compensation, without recognition, they said in their own power: We are leaving the plantations.

And they migrated up this road called Emancipation Trail.

I am gratified that I was able to introduce such legislation where my Senate colleague, Senator Cornyn, joined me and now an Emancipation Trail has been established as law. It is now under study. It will be only the second commemoration of African-American history in this Nation. The Selma to Montgomery is the first, and now the Emancipation Trail that says: No, I was not going stay on the plantation; however, I was going to survive; whatever I had to place together, I was going to do it.

Then, of course, lo and behold, they found themselves--eight of them, freed slaves, put their money together and purchased the first park bought in the State of Texas by freed slaves or anyone. They called it Emancipation Park.

So that is why we are here to celebrate and to educate this idea of what it means to celebrate Juneteenth. I am delighted that we have introduced a resolution that is bipartisan. But the most exciting part about this is that I have introduced a bill that establishes Juneteenth as a national Federal holiday. Not removing any other holiday, but adding it to the list. Cosponsored by Senator Markey and Senator Cornyn, and bipartisan. Over 160 cosponsors in the House.

I think it is worthy to have a holiday--a Federal holiday established, and I am very proud to have been the Congressperson for Representative Al Edwards, who is called the father of Juneteenth, establishing the first paid State holiday in the State of Texas highlighting, honoring, revering Juneteenth.

You will hear many of us continue our discussions about Juneteenth, its significance in terms of freedom. And I am delighted, as I said, to be coanchoring with my colleague. It is important to express our appreciation to our chair, the Honorable Barbara Lee, a Californian but born in Texas with a grandfather born in Galveston. She knows what Juneteenth, the significance, the power of it is, and her legislative legacy speaks to freedom.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the Honorable Barbara Lee.

She would have been part of it at a later time, but that trail, since we know for sure there were no other ways of moving, she had to walk along that semi-developed trail of little cities from Galveston--walk along, drive along, in whatever capacity, and when I say ``drive along,'' horse and buggy and otherwise.

That was a trail that the freed slaves, the ex-slaves, went from Galveston all the way. There was the Reedy A.M.E., if I am correct, one of the historic A.M.E. churches where they stopped for refuge. Then they came on up, and they sought their way to freedom. They were not going to stay on the plantation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back to the gentlewoman.

Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to be able to have a Californian with deep roots in Texas on the floor because what this says to our body is that this issue of slavery permeated all aspects of this Nation. We can see that from the work, the commitment, and the compassion of the Honorable Barbara Lee, followed by, of course, a native daughter of Wisconsin who saw it in a different form and is compelled to be on the floor today and who has championed for the impoverished as well and particularly championed for those who are experiencing modern-day impacts of slavery through inequities, through poverty, through welfare, and that has been treated unfairly. That is the Honorable Gwen Moore from Wisconsin.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

Madam Speaker, what a rich and enriching discussion. Thank you to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin. That is why we gathered here, to say to America, we come from the Midwest, the South, the East, and we still find a common bond around the question of Juneteenth, reparations, and of course, voting rights that are so important.

But as I yield, let me be very clear, these are American values. These are values that my friends on the other side of the aisle could adopt, just like I could adopt.

Why? Because I don't know anyone that would extinguish freedom and deny that where there is bondage and where freedom comes, we should celebrate it, but we should tell the story about it, and we should respond to it.

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Demings), who has a number of historical monuments in Florida that indicates her knowledge and understanding of freedom.

Madam Speaker, I can't imagine with the recounting of the story by Val Demings that we are not securing, how should I say it, multiple numbers of Members to join in the holiday pronouncement and resolution, and bill, rather, of Juneteenth, to support H.R. 40, and to recognize the value of commemorating and teaching about the history of African Americans.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson), a person who has great knowledge and is a great storyteller, a fighter for justice, and a fellow member of the Judiciary Committee.

Madam Speaker, as I get ready to yield to the distinguished gentleman from Las Vegas, Nevada, I want to make sure he lets me know my pronunciation is correct, it is a very sensitive question.

But as the gentleman from Georgia leaves, let me at least acknowledge that critical race theory. Here is the question I ask: Should I not know about Italians and how they came and were treated? Should I not know about the Irish who left in the midst of the potato famine and faced discrimination? Should I not know about Native Americans?

So we are the American experiment. Does everybody realize that? No one thought that we would ever survive, and we have come together with a multitude of groups. Our strength is in the recognition of our differences, and in our unity.

This came out of Texas. This Representative is all over. He misinterprets the teaching by teachers. He has never sat in the class to know that teachers are not condemning, they are just educating. Isn't it wonderful in little babies' minds to not put condemnation but to put understanding so that we can appreciate each other's condition?

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), who is the first vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus but sits on the Ways and Means Committee. And if he will allow me, I just want to make this point.

You are seeing Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and I can tell you our agenda is as wide and varied as America, from taxation to agriculture to tech to criminal justice to the issues that American is facing, job creation.

But we also understand that we would be remiss if we did not stand on the floor to be able to give our own life experiences and to share with America what the value of our diversity is all about.

Madam Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford).

May I ask the Speaker the time remaining, please.

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to yield to a gentleman with a storied and layered history entrenched in one of the States that suffered the extension of slavery and faces its challenges today, of which this gentleman has been in the mix and in the gap of fighting for justice. We are excited about his presence here. I am so honored and privileged that he has chosen, with all of the work he has to do because he was elected in a special election, this moment in history to present his first speech on the floor of the House.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the State of Louisiana (Mr. Carter).

Madam Speaker, let me congratulate the gentleman for the new law in Louisiana and for his leadership and his powerful message on this floor on the freedom, really, of all people. My freedom is your freedom, your freedom is my freedom, and our freedom is America's freedom.

Let me express my appreciation to my co-anchor, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres). I thank him for his leadership. Let me be very clear that both his history and his State as well have a vested history in liberty and freedom, but, yes, no place did escape the vestiges of slavery.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres).

Madam Speaker, I say to the gentleman from New York, it is an esteemed pleasure to be able to draw upon both his knowledge and scholarship--might I stand on his shoulders--an activist Federal Government.

For some reason, as we face these trials and tribulations of 2021, there is a hesitancy to realize that the Federal Government is, in simplistic terms, an umbrella on a rainy day. It is, in fact, the concrete barrier in the time of a storm. And that is why we are on the floor today.

Let me acknowledge that an activist Federal Government, in the positive way, would be the government that would say that Italian history and Irish history, Latinx, Hispanic history, and Caribbean history, and African history, and the Pilgrim Pride history, and European history, and Asian-Pacific history, and Southeast Asian- Pacific, and any others that I have left out, is valuable to be heard by our children's ears. It is valuable to be taught.

Then they would be able to understand the gentleman's entreat, his request, which is H.R. 1320, which is bipartisan, that declares Juneteenth a national Federal holiday.

And to the wrong representation of right-wing radio, it doesn't substitute any holiday. It adds it to the list of Federal holidays. It does not subtract any holiday; does not take any holiday away. Yet it acknowledges the importance of that day and, as well, it is led by Senators Markey and Cornyn, a Republican and Democrat in the United States Senate, and it is a bipartisan bill in the House.

Is there any reason not to move this bill along as quickly as possible?

And if there is a basis for not understanding what freedom meant, look at this slave that was symbolic of the life that slave led; but that is the light of being beat.

What about those who were beaten to death or burned to death?

It is no shame for our children to be taught this history. I know no teacher who would stand in the classroom and condemn children. I know teachers who are loving, and will give understanding, and let a child come out and say, I want a better America.

Isn't that the kind of soldier and doctor and lawyer and teacher we want to build up? Isn't that the kind of citizen we want to grow?

And then, if we want to make it realistic and home for our moment, as my colleagues have said, we spent 4 days in Tulsa, Greenwood, that was burned to the ground; 300 in an unmarked grave. This is what 1921 looked like; not 1865, not 1810, not 1799, not 1724, when slavery was raging, if you will, 250 years. This is what it looked like in 1921; a black body burned on the streets of Greenwood.

So when we talk about jubilee and freedom, we do it in a way that we can, as Americans, be free. And then I want to say that matches the Emancipation Trail that is now law in the State of Texas, that march from victory, when General Granger said you are free. It matches H.R. 40, which is a non-offensive repair and reconciliation that speaks to the language that Justice Hughes said about Black Americans, the discrete and insular minority excluded from those political processes ordinarily to be relied upon to protect them. All throughout tenure here there were denials of our freedom.

And then, of course, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., talked about an insufficient check; not of money, but he talked about that we have never been given justice and equality.

So when we speak of the Emancipation Trail, only the second commemoration of the history of African Americans 250 years in bondage, when we speak of Juneteenth, it is for all to celebrate, when General Granger landed on the shores of Galveston.

We will be in Galveston celebrating. We will see Naomi Carrier. We will see Eileen Lawal and Jackie Bostic, Ramon Manning and, of course, the Emancipation Conservatory. We will get to see Opal Lee, almost 100 years old, fighting for this holiday, or Al Edwards. We will get to see Senator Cornyn, a Republican who joins us in this commemoration, and all others. We will get to see the Nation be able to understand in its finality that it must be clear, it must be our birthright.

It is a reminder, this day, on Juneteenth, that liberty and freedom are precious birthrights of all Americans, which must be jealously guarded and preserved for future generations.

That is why we are on the floor today. We are not in anger. We are not in anguish. We are here, in fact, for liberation, freedom, and the empowerment of all Americans.

Let stories be told, no matter who you are. And let the story be told of those uniquely held in bondage, through H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals, which we seek to put on the floor in this great month. And, of course, the national holiday of Juneteenth, along with the historic gift that we give to America, the Emancipation Trail, that all the world will be able to come.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to thank my chair, the Honorable Joyce Beatty, for her leadership in the Congressional Black Caucus. And because

of freedom, it is a wonderment to stand here, free, with my colleague from New York, my co-chair, the Honorable Congressman Torres, and all others.

Isn't it precious?

In God we trust that we stand here in freedom. Let us not ever lose it, and let us fight for it and let us keep it.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to anchor the Congressional Black Caucus's Special Order tonight on Juneteenth Independence Day.

I am pleased to be joined by Congresswoman Beatty, the Chair of the CBC; Congressman Torres of New York, the co-anchor for this Special Order, and so many of our CBC colleagues to commemorate a historically significant day for all Americans, but especially African Americans.

Let me extend on behalf of the CBC its heartfelt thanks to the House leadership, particularly Majority Leader Hoyer, for their support which paved the way for the House last year to pass by unanimous consent H. Res. 1001, the resolution I introduced recognizing Juneteenth Independence Day.

Madam Speaker, Juneteenth is as significant to African Americans as July 4 is to all Americans because on that day, June 19, 155 years ago, General Gordon Granger, the Commanding Officer of the District of Texas, rode into Galveston, Texas and announced the freedom of the last American slaves; belatedly freeing 250,000 slaves in Texas nearly two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

When General Granger read these words of General Order No. 3 set off joyous celebrations of the freedmen and woman of Texas:

``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.''

Juneteenth was first celebrated in the Texas state capital in 1867 under the direction of the Freedmen's Bureau.

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

As the nation prepares to celebrate July 4th, our national day of independence, it is a time to reflect on the accomplishments of our nation and its people.

I want to thank the Members of the House for their bipartisan support of this annual Juneteenth Resolution, which has 214 cosponsors, of which 202 are original sponsors.

General Granger's reading of General Order No. 3 ended chattel slavery, a form of perpetual servitude that held generations of Africans in bondage in the United States for two-hundred and fortyeight years and opened a new chapter in American history.

Recognizing the importance of this date, former slaves coined the word ``Juneteenth'' to mark the occasion with a celebration the first of which occurred in the Texas state capital in 1867 under the direction of the Freedmen's Bureau.

Juneteenth was and is a living symbol of freedom for people who did not have it.

Juneteenth remains the oldest known celebration of slavery's demise.

It commemorates freedom while acknowledging the sacrifices and contributions made by courageous African Americans towards making our great nation the more conscious and accepting country that it has become.

The celebration of Juneteenth followed the most devastating conflict in our country's history, in the aftermath of a civil war that pitted brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor and threatened to tear the fabric of our union apart forever that America truly became the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ``Freedom is never free,'' and 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 the ironic truth of those statements, and we should 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 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.

But Madam Speaker, as the 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 post-bellum period in America was marked by violence and terrorism against African Americans as they sought to make real the promises of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Nowhere was the reign of terror to which they were subjected to more horrific than the 1921 Tulsa-Greenwood Race Massacre, which occurred a century ago this past May 31-June 1.

Tulsa's Greenwood District, was known as ``Black Wall Street,'' and was the most prosperous African American community in the United States.

The Greenwood community with a population of over 10,000 Black people had stores that sold luxury items, 21 restaurants, 30 grocery stores, a hospital, a savings and loan bank, a post office, three hotels, jewelry and clothing stores, two movie theaters, a library, pool halls, a bus and cab service, a nationally recognized school system, six private airplanes, and two black newspapers.

But on May 31st of that year, the 35 city blocks of Greenwood went up in flames, at least 300 Black persons were murdered and more than 800 were injured; it is estimated that not less than 9,000 were left homeless and destitute.

The message of the Tulsa Race Massacre was clear to Black America: ``Stay in your place. Do not attempt to accumulate and bequeath wealth or own property. Remember your history in America is as chattel property.''

Madam Speaker, were they still alive, the domestic terrorists of the mob in Greenwood would see their evil reenacted--and then followed by a similar attempt to cover-up it and foster collective amnesia--a century later in the siege and desecration of the hallowed halls of the U.S. Capitol, the 'Citadel of Democracy'.

It should not be overlooked that the source of the January 6 white mob's irrational anger, hatred, and violent reaction was that Black Americans voted in overwhelming numbers in Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and other enclaves to oust the most proWhite supremacy President since the Civil War.

Some might ask ``Why dwell on the past? Let us forget unpleasant things and move on into the future.''

My answer is to quote the great southern writer William Faulkner: ``The past is never dead. It is not even the past.''

The hatreds, prejudices, resentments, and white supremacy that Black Americans witnessed and suffered in Greenwood a century ago are not dead; they are not even past.

So my message to the descendants of the survivors and victims of slavery, America's Original Sin, is to keep fighting for justice, to never be silent, to affirm the truth, and seek accountability.

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,'' and 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 have always peacefully petitioned the government for the redress of its 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.''

Madam Speaker, H.R. 40, legislation I have introduced, continues this proud legacy of demanding reparative justice and accountability for injuries inflicted.

H.R. 40, which 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.

Among other requirements, the commission shall identify (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 on living African-Americans and society.

The goal of the historical investigations 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 better place by helping the truly disadvantaged.

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

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, and left the nation vulnerable to a range of problems that continue to yield division, racial disparities, and injustice.

By passing H.R. 40, Congress can start a movement toward the national reckoning 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.

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

But unofficial slavery was continued with the new institution of share-crop farming, a criminal justice system that would press convicts into work once done by slaves, and labor policies that dictated income for work done based upon skin color.

And, of course, all of this 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 United States is intertwined with the history of enslaved Africans in the Americas.

``There is blood and there are tears, but there is also redemption and reconciliation.

But to get there, 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 want.

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

So, Madam Speaker, this is where we are.

In recent years, a number of National Juneteenth Organizations have arisen to take their place alongside older organizations--all with the mission to promote and cultivate knowledge and appreciation of African American history and culture.

Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom while encouraging self-development and respect for all cultures .

But it must always remain a reminder to us all that liberty and freedom are precious birthrights of all Americans, which must be jealously guarded and preserved for future generations.

Press Statement

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Introduces H.R. 1320 the Bipartisan Juneteenth National Independence Day Act--Currently Has 159 Sponsors in

the House

As the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee

on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, I am committed to

affording members of this committee to uncover the facts and

shine light into darkness to reveal the threats posed by `The

Rise of Domestic Terrorism in America.' On January 6, 2021,

the nation and the world witnessed the damage caused by

divisions acerbated by lies and hate.''

Washington, DC--``Today I re-introduced in the House of

Representatives the bipartisan Juneteenth National

Independence Day Act, H.R. 1320, with 102 co-sponsors. The

House re-introduction coincides with the reintroduction of a

Senate companion bill by Senators Markey, Smith, and Booker.

Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, legislation when

enacted would make Juneteenth a federal holiday.

``Juneteenth,'' is observed on June 19, and commemorates the

end of slavery in the United States and is also known as

``Emancipation Day,'' ``Jubilee Day,'' and ``Juneteenth

Independence Day.''

``On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, Major General

Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3, which announced

that, in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation, ``all

slaves are free. Juneteenth is currently recognized by 47

states and the District of Columbia as an official state

holiday or observance. In 1980, Texas was the first state to

recognize Juneteenth as a paid state holiday.''

``Juneteenth honors the end of the 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.

These values are shared by millions of Americans who over

generations have held fast to the promise of this nation

while struggling fore basic human rights.''

``Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom while

encouraging selfdevelopment and respect for all cultures. But

it must always remain a reminder to us all that liberty and

freedom are the precious birthright of all Americans which

must be jealously guarded and preserved for future

generations. As it takes on a more national and even global

perspective, the events of 1865 in Texas are not forgotten,

for all our roots tie back to this fertile soil from which a

national day of pride is growing. This is why we must

establish the Juneteenth Independence Day, as a national

holiday. And today we also pay special tribute to Opal Lee,

the Grandmother of Juneteenth!''

Mr. President, I find myself in the somewhat uncomfortable and unusual position of agreeing with Senator Paul. And let me thank him and Senator Lee for their hard work in reclaiming Congress's congressional war powers, another very important issue. The understanding that it is Congress that has the constitutional responsibility to authorize war--not the President--should, in fact, transcend partisan disagreements.

On November 18, we introduced a congressional resolution of disapproval to block the sale of 280 air-to-air missiles, 596 missile launchers, and other weapons and support--totaling some $650 million-- to Saudi Arabia. That is what we will be voting on in a few minutes.

Let me be very clear. As the Saudi Government continues to wage its devastating war in Yemen and repress its own people, we should not be rewarding them with more arms sales. We should be demanding that they end the devastating war in Yemen, which has killed over 230,000 people in one of the very poorest countries on Earth. For more than 6 years, the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen's civil war has been a key driver of the largest humanitarian disaster in the world--the largest.

According to UNICEF, four out of every five children in Yemen need humanitarian assistance--that is over 11 million children--400,000 children suffer from severe malnutrition; 1.7 million children have been displaced from their homes by violence from this war; and some 15 million people, more than half of whom are children, do not have access to safe water, sanitation, or hygiene.

United Nations humanitarian relief coordinator Martin Griffiths said in September: ``The country's economy has reached new depths of collapse, and a third wave of the pandemic is threatening to crash the country's already fragile healthcare system.''

According to Griffiths, millions of Yemenis are ``a step away from starvation.'' In other words, this poor country is hell on Earth. It is the worst humanitarian disaster on a planet.

Under first the Obama administration and then the Trump administration, the United States was Saudi Arabia's partner in this horrific war. In 2019, Congress made history--and I am very proud of that, and we did this in a bipartisan way--by passing the first-ever War Powers Resolution through both Chambers of Congress, pressing then- President Trump to end this military support. It marked the first time that Congress invoked the War Powers Resolution of 1973 to direct the President to withdraw troops from an undeclared war.

Sadly, tragically, President Trump vetoed that resolution.

Many of us welcomed the Biden administration's announcement earlier this year that it would end U.S. support for offensive military operations led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen and name a special envoy to help bring this conflict to an end, but the crisis has only continued.

American defense contractors continue to service Saudi planes that are waging the war, and the U.S. military also continues to provide intelligence to the Saudi Armed Forces. And now, tonight, we are looking at a new $650 million arms sale to the Saudi Armed Forces.

Now, I am aware that ending U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia's brutal assault will not alone end the multisided conflict in Yemen. The Houthis are launching bloody attacks on the central Yemeni city of Marib and increasing cross-border attacks on Saudi territory. Violence has also erupted between rival factions in the south of Yemen. A U.N. expert panel found that all parties to the conflict may have committed war crimes.

U.S. policy toward Saudi Arabia and this war should be clear: The United States must do everything in our power to bring this brutal and horrific war to an end. Exporting more missiles to Saudi Arabia does nothing but further this conflict and pour more gasoline on an already raging fire.

In my view, the United States must support an international observer mission along the Saudi-Yemeni border and spearhead generous international development efforts to rebuild Yemen. This aid should be focused on bolstering local humanitarian and development initiatives, like Yemen's Social Fund for Development.

We must also dramatically increase our diplomatic engagement to press Saudi Arabia, the Riyadh-based Republic of Yemen Government, and the Houthis to accept the U.N.'s roadmap as the basis for a compromise that ends foreign military intervention and allows Yemenis to come to an agreement. The war has gone on for too long, and it is time for the United States to be bold and to be decisive in bringing about peace.

I also think that it is long past time that we took a very hard look at our relationship with Saudi Arabia, a country whose government represents the very opposite of what we profess to believe in. Saudi Arabia is an extremely undemocratic country that is run by a hereditary, authoritarian monarchy, one of the wealthiest families in the world whose wealth is estimated to be over $1.4 trillion.

At a time when children in Yemen are starving to death, when that impoverished country's healthcare system is collapsing, when the people of Gaza are suffering mass unemployment and environmental devastation, when people throughout that region lack clean drinking water, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman bought himself a $500 million yacht, a $300 million French chateau, and a $450 million Leonardo da Vinci painting. Mass starvation in the region that he helped create, children do not have housing or drinking water, and this guy buys himself a $450 million da Vinci painting.

According to Freedom House, a respected human rights organization:

Saudi Arabia's absolute monarchy restricts almost all

political rights and civil liberties. No officials at the

national level are elected. The regime relies on pervasive

surveillance, the criminalization of dissent, appeals to

sectarianism and ethnicity, and public spending supported by

oil revenues to maintain power. Women and religious

minorities face extensive discrimination in law and in

practice.

Freedom House also notes that working conditions for the large migrant labor force are extremely exploitive.

Saudi Arabia is home to millions of migrant workers, many from African countries but also from Pakistan, India, and elsewhere. These workers constitute more than 80 percent of the private-sector workforce, often as laborers and other service workers. They are governed by an abusive system that gives their employers excessive power over their mobility and legal status in the country. As a result, these migrant workers are vulnerable to a wide range of abuses, from passport confiscation to delayed wages and forced labor.

According to Human Rights Watch, under the government headed by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, ``Saudi Arabia has experienced the worst period of oppression in its modern history.''

Human Rights Watch reported earlier this year that ``accounts have emerged of alleged torture of high-profile political detainees in Saudi prisons,'' including Saudi women's rights activists and others. The alleged torture included electric shocks, beatings, whippings, and sexual harassment.

And I think we all understand the nature of this government. Every Member of Congress and I hope every American knows--and our own intelligence services made this very clear--that Muhammad bin Salman himself ordered the murder and the dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 in retaliation for Khashoggi's criticisms of the Saudi regime. We all remember that terrible, terrible murder of a Washington Post columnist.

We also know that the Saudi regime has waged a campaign of harassment and attempted kidnapping against other critics, including on U.S. soil.

My simple question is: Why in the world would the United States reward such a regime which has caused such pain in Yemen with more weapons?

My friends, the answer is we should not. I urge my colleagues to support S.J. Res. 31.

Mr. President, I move to discharge S.J. Res. 31 from the Foreign Relations Committee.

Mr. President, the most common cause of famine and starvation is war. Saudi Arabia's air and naval blockade of Yemen has led to thousands and thousands of deaths in Yemen from lack of food and medicine. The United States should end all arms sales to the Saudis until they end their blockade of Yemen.

President Biden said he would change the Trump policy of supporting Saudi's war in Yemen, but it is not all that apparent that policy has changed.

Today, we challenge the Biden administration's sale of $650 million worth of arms, including air-to-air missiles in Yemen.

Just 2 months ago, the Biden administration approved $500 million worth of arms, including maintenance for attack helicopters that are used in Yemen.

Some want to differentiate offensive weapons from defensive weapons, but, really, even defensive weapons can be used to allow a country to absorb attacks in order to continue their offensive operations.

The real question is not an artificial designation of weapons as offensive or defensive but whether Congress is serious about using the leverage of arms sales or withholding arms sales to end the blockade in Yemen.

That the Biden administration continues to reward Saudi Arabia with weapons seems to indicate that President Biden is not really serious about withholding arms sale to end the war in Yemen.

Indeed, if this administration were serious about ending the Saudi blockade, they could do one thing, and this thing would end the war tomorrow, would end the blockade tomorrow. The Saudis, I think, would immediately stop the blockade if this administration would stop sending spare parts and stop fixing the planes.

Bruce Reidel of Brookings writes that ``the Saudi air force would be grounded in short order'' if we quit sending them spare parts, quit repairing their aircraft. We could stop this war if we really had the will to do it.

All America should be appalled at the humanitarian disaster caused by the Saudi blockade of Yemen. For years now, ships that would otherwise carry food, fuel, and medicine are turned away by the Saudi-led coalition, depriving the Yemeni people of the necessities to sustain civilization.

Yemen is one of the poorest countries on the planet. They have to import their food. The blockade is killing their children.

Saudi Arabia's intervention in the Yemeni civil war is a chilling example of the cruelty of warfare by starvation. According to the United Nations, in Yemen 5 million people are one step away from succumbing to famine and disease, and 10 million more are right behind them.

We can start the process of ending this crisis by enacting this resolution of disapproval.

The children of Yemen who survive Saudi's barbaric blockade will inevitably tell their sons and daughters of the horrors of their youth, and those sons and daughters will tell their sons and daughters. Through oral tradition, a thousand generation of Yemenis will know of the Crown Prince's ruthlessness, and they will also know that it was the Americans who sold the weapons to wage this murderous campaign.

The reports from Yemen are literally a nightmare. The Washington Post reported recently of a 3-year-old boy who cannot walk or speak, who weighs 10 pounds--a 3-year-old boy who weighs 10 pounds. The images are grotesque. His face is ``skeletal.'' His arms and legs are as ``thin as twigs.'' He weighs 10 pounds. His father says that he sometimes goes days without any food.

And we are complicit. We are arming the Saudis and allowing this to happen. Offensive, defensive--they shouldn't get any of our weapons. We should stop selling them any weapons until they stop starving the country of Yemen.

The New York Times tells the story of a mother who, after 3 days of failing to get a ride, carried her 8-month-old while walking 2 hours to reach medics to treat her child's acute malnutrition. But even after a week of treatment with enriched formula, the boy still lay motionless on his hospital bed.

Tens of thousands of children have already died from disease and malnutrition from this war, and we should not be complicit. We should not be aiding the Saudis.

International aid agencies, which also have to fight the Saudi blockade to provide assistance, put it this way:

The people of Yemen are not starving. They are being

starved.

The Saudi's siege of Yemen is made possible because of American weaponry. The arsenal provided by the United States includes billions of dollars' worth of military aircraft and thousands of air-to-ground munitions.

Only weeks ago, the Biden administration approved a new $650 million sale of 280 advanced medium air-to-air missiles and 596 missile launchers. As painful as it is to admit, the United States is an accessory to this Saudi savagery.

President Biden says the latest sale is merely to help defend Saudi territorial integrity, but the Commander in Chief's words do not match Saudi actions. According to William Hartung, the director of the Arms and Security Program for the Center for International Policy, ``the air blockade is enforced by a threat to shoot down any aircraft, military or civilian, that enters Yemeni air space. . . . The provision of air- to-air missiles gives further credibility to this threat, dissuading any government or aid group from bringing in crucial medicines or flying patients in and out of Yemen.

These weapons are not purely defensive. They are used as a threat to any aircraft that brings aid into Yemen, and they are part of the blockade. They are part of the problem, and it is our leverage.

These weapons belong to the American people. They may be made by private companies, but they are owned by the American people because we commission these weapons, and we should not give them to countries that are starving children and committing, essentially, genocide in Yemen.

In other words, no weapon is exclusively defensive, and continuing arms sales means continued death and destruction in Yemen.

We must end America's complicity in Saudi Arabia's war on the Yemeni people. If you believe in humanitarianism, if you believe America is a force for good that serves as a model for other nations to emulate, if you believe that the crushing of the Yemeni people must be stopped, then you must vote for this resolution of disapproval.

We have a chance to tell the Crown Prince that American arms sales will end until he gives up his starvation campaign. We can end the Saudi blockade and bring relief to the long-suffering people of Yemen.

Should we fail to seize this opportunity, history will not let us forget that America, the last best hope for humanity, failed to protect defenseless civilians from the cruelty of a criminal regime.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me and for inviting me.

Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to join my CBC colleagues in highlighting the importance of honoring the holiday and continuing the legacy of Juneteenth Day, the first one celebrated on June 19, 1865.

As you have heard, this is the date on which Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the end of both the Civil War and the inhumane system of legalized enslavement of Africans in the United States of America.

Now, it must be noted that this announcement came 2\1/2\ years after President Abraham Lincoln issued an executive order that most of us know as the Emancipation Proclamation. But it is an important reminder that our efforts to form a more perfect Union don't really have any timeframe or any date, but they are ever ongoing.

Madam Speaker, I want you to know that in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from which I hail, we are going to be celebrating Juneteenth Day, and it will be the 50th anniversary of Juneteenth Day. Yes, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, up north, we started observing this holiday in 1971. It is a long way from Galveston, Texas, making it one of the first Northern States to commemorate the end of slavery in our country.

Madam Speaker, this Saturday, we will again gather along North King Drive to highlight Black culture with traditional food, music, youth essay contests, marketplaces, pageants, and a parade, unofficially marking the opening of Milwaukee's famous summer festival. This coming Friday, we will be raising the Juneteenth flag in the State capital of Madison, Wisconsin, to honor this day. We take Juneteenth seriously.

Madam Speaker, in 1972, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported an estimated 3,000 people attending our second annual Juneteenth festival. That number increased over the years, and between 160,000 and 170,000 people have attended these festivals. The high number of festival-goers can be personally attributed to Milwaukee's notably special, historic response to the system of slavery and to our efforts to teach the young people about Wisconsin's and Milwaukee's role in ending slavery.

Now, in 1854, a Missouri slave owner traveled to Racine, Wisconsin, the place where I was born, 27 miles south of Milwaukee, to demand that a runaway slave by the name of Joshua Glover be surrendered under the U.S. Fugitive Slave Law. Glover, who had been playing cards at the time, was arrested and carried 27 miles north to Milwaukee so that he could be in a secure jail until the Federal marshals could move Joshua Glover back to Missouri because it was a larger and more secure jail.

Well, when abolitionist newspaper editor Sherman Booth heard this, he rode through Milwaukee streets calling on sympathizers to storm the jail. A mob of 5,000 Milwaukeeans outnumbered the police and demanded the keys, but the wardens refused. The crowd smashed down the door. Joshua Glover was freed and successfully moved through the Underground Railroad to Canada.

Booth later declared in court:

I rejoice that the first attempt to convert our jail into a

slave-pen and our citizens into slave-catchers has signally

failed.

The Wisconsin State Supreme Court agreed with him and declared the Federal Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional in Wisconsin. In fact, in 1850, Wisconsin was the first and only State to declare the Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional.

As one of my constituents, the curator of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society, noted, the Juneteenth holiday signifies that African Americans are full citizens of this country, deserving of equity and justice.

Madam Speaker, it is an important day of jubilation not only for the descendants of Africans enslaved in the United States but for the American people as a whole, for it is not just simply Black history that we are celebrating. We are celebrating a victory in American history about freedom and equality for all of us who call ourselves Americans.

While it may have been the 13th and the 14th Amendments of the Constitution that formally freed the slaves, let us continue to observe Juneteenth Day as our day of reflection, knowing that our ancestors paid in blood and paid it forward for the unimaginable toil for the freedom recognized on this day.

As I often tell our young people: Freedom just ain't free, y'all. Our ancestors paid for it. And as a tribute to them, we have to take responsibility to do the best that we can and continue to work tirelessly toward justice and equity in this great land of ours.

Madam Speaker, that is why I admire Sheila Jackson Lee and Barbara Lee so much for their efforts around reparations and equity in our society.

With that good news arriving in Galveston, the push for true equality of opportunity continues to this great day in our society. We see it reflected in the marches, in the movements, in the legislation, and in everything that we do today, because despite our being free, we see the disparities in healthcare, in education, in homeownership, in COVID.

The struggle is real. The struggle continues. And we are here to remind everyone that all of us are Americans.

Madam Speaker, I again thank Sheila Jackson Lee for yielding.

Mr. President, I rise today to oppose the joint resolution of disapproval on the sale of air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia, which are being used to defend against armed drone attacks from the Houthis.

I think everybody in this body well knows that I carefully consider every arms sale that comes before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for review. Arms sales are a critical tool of foreign policy that can help bolster alliances while keeping Americans and our partners safe.

However, we have to ensure that our arms sales policies adhere to our core values, including respect for human rights and human dignity. It is for that very same reason that I, along with a series of my colleagues here, introduced the Safeguarding Human Rights in Arms Exports Act--or the SAFEGUARD Act--to make the protection and promotion of human rights a core statutory principle in our arms sales export and monitoring process.

This legislation would enhance our collective oversight of all arms sales to countries that abuse human rights, and I hope it receives consideration in this body and in the House soon.

Now, my colleagues may well remember in 2019 and 2020, that when I truly believe an arms sale undermines our American values, our national security, or when 22 sales are notified under false ``emergency'' pretenses, for example, I will not hesitate to use the tools we have to stop those sales. In fact, that is exactly what we did in this body when I came to this floor and led that effort, in conjunction with others.

Beyond these extreme measures, the committee carefully consults with the State Department and others on the ground to fully understand how weapons will be used.

We have all known for years that there is no military solution to the devastating and tragic conflict in Yemen. Indeed, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed my bipartisan Saudi Arabia Accountability and Yemen Act in 2019, which would have halted certain arms sales, stopped refueling, imposed accountability on the people involved in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and sought to end the suffering of the Yemeni people. Unfortunately, the full Senate failed to act.

Make no mistake, the Saudi-led coalition bears the brunt of the responsibility for the devastation in Yemen. Yet I, along with most Members of this body, have always supported the use of weapons systems in defense of civilian populations.

I wish to remind my colleagues that the Biden administration has largely suspended sales of many of the offensive weapons the Trump administration was all too happy to sell to the Saudis. However, there is no denying that the Houthis have been increasingly deploying more sophisticated weapons, particularly armed aerial drones, to target civilian populations in Saudi Arabia, and let's not also forget that we have 70,000 American citizens living in Saudi Arabia.

The weapons up for discussion today are being used in this context to defend against these aerial attacks. As air-to-air missiles, they are largely incapable of attacking civilian targets or infrastructure--a critical factor in my decision to support the sale.

While some have argued they could be used to support the Saudi blockade, the fact is that most humanitarian aid is delivered via land and sea. Indeed, tragically, the Saudis have been perfectly capable of blocking the delivery of aid for many years, and in more recent years, the Houthis have also created abhorrent obstacles for the delivery of food, medical supplies, and other vital humanitarian aid, contributing to the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

While I believe the United States must continue pushing for a political solution to the crisis in Yemen--and I agree with several of the things said by my colleague Senator Sanders--I also believe that we should continue supporting efforts to stop attacks on civilians. According to the State Department, there have been close to 400 Houthi attacks this year, many of which get past the Patriot missile defense system.

I know that many see this vote as an opportunity to voice dissatisfaction with Saudi Arabia over a variety of its policies, from Yemen to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, which we have not forgotten, to the harassment of American citizens and their family members.

So let me be clear that I completely agree with the need to push harder to hold Saudi leadership accountable for a variety of actions. I even offered a bill last month as an amendment to the NDAA to do just that, and I am hopeful we will see some of that language in a final product. But I also believe it is important that our security partners know that we will uphold our commitments and prioritize security arrangements that protect civilians.

For that reason, I will oppose efforts to stop this particular sale. I will continue to hold sales as I have--there are many other sales that have not moved forward that I have not permitted to get out of the committee--and continue my efforts to hold Saudi leadership accountable and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

With that, I yield the floor.

I ask that all remaining time be yielded back.

I ask for the yeas and nays.