Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 154; YEA on Roll Call No. 155; YEA on Roll Call No. 156; YEA on Roll Call No. 157; and YEA on Roll Call No. 158.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 164; NAY on Roll Call No. 165; YEA on Roll Call No. 166; NAY on Roll Call No. 167; and YEA on Roll Call No. 168.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 169, YEA on Roll Call No. 170, and NAY on Roll Call No. 171.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 159; YEA on Roll Call No. 160; YEA on Roll Call No. 161; NAY on Roll Call No. 162; and NAY on Roll Call No. 163.

Mr. Speaker, Congressman Don Payne was one of a kind: From his impeccable fashion sense to our mutual love of hats; from his infectious sense of humor to his deep commitment to the people of north New Jersey.

When I came to Congress, I went to Don to tell him that while I was born in North Carolina, I spent my formative years in his district in Newark and graduated from high school there. He never let me forget it.

I always referred to him as my hometown guy, and he referred to me as his home girl. When I traveled to his district for a family member's funeral, he was insistent to show me around the city. When I couldn't make it to my high school reunion, Don went in my place.

When a member of my staff who was born in Newark needed a copy of her birth certificate, Donald Payne made sure she got it. He was the first Member to come to North Carolina to attend my annual Adams Mad Hatters event. That is who Don was. He was a committed public servant, a loyal friend, and always lending a hand.

To Bea and the triplets, my heart breaks for you, and I am lifting you up in my prayers. To my colleagues, as we mourn this devastating loss, may Donald Payne, Jr.'s memory serve as motivation for us to be better public servants and continue the fight for equality just as Donald Payne, Jr., would have wanted.

Madam Speaker, in the face of tragedy, we often find ourselves angry and disillusioned, but Madam Speaker, I rise today because I am thankful.

I am thankful for the strength of the Charlotte community, I am thankful for the law enforcement personnel that put their lives on the line each and every day to protect us, and I am thankful for the four officers that made the ultimate sacrifice in Charlotte this past Monday.

Thomas ``Tommy'' Weeks, was a 13-year veteran of the U.S. marshals, a husband and dedicated father of four children.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Officer Joshua Eyer, was a 6- year veteran of the Department who was recently named Employee of the Month. Joshua leaves behind his wife, Ashley, and their beautiful 3- year-old son.

Department of Adult Correction Officers Sam Poloche and Alden Elliott, were both 14-year veterans of the Department.

Officer Poloche was known for being active in his community, a loving husband, and a devoted father to his two sons who are set to graduate from high school and college in just a few weeks.

Officer Elliott also leaves behind a loving wife and one child.

As we mourn these four men and pray for the speedy recovery of the four other officers who were injured, let us never forget to be thankful for the heroes that walk among us and to the families and colleagues these men leave behind.

Your community is with you. We are here for you, and we are lifting you up in prayer. The days and weeks ahead will be difficult, but together, we will persevere because we are Charlotte Strong.

May the memories of these officers be the light that guides us forward and provides comfort to those who are mourning.

Mr. Speaker, there are more than 80,000 American military personnel who remain unaccounted for from previous conflicts around the world. Their families, nonprofit organizations, and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continue to fight tirelessly every day to bring these patriots home and to give them the dignified memorials they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the homecoming of one of these fallen heroes, Second Lieutenant Fred Lorenzo Brewer, Jr., who after nearly 80 years has returned home to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Born on August 4, 1921, Lieutenant Brewer was raised in Charlotte's historic Brooklyn neighborhood where his family attended the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.

After graduating from Shaw University in Raleigh, the segregated South's first Black college, Lieutenant Brewer was commissioned by the United States Air Force and entered the uniformed service in November of 1942.

He was soon stationed at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama, and he joined the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group. Completely segregated from their White peers, he was one of the nearly 1,000 Black pilots trained at Tuskegee who would eventually become known around the world as the Tuskegee Airmen.

Known for their extreme bravery and distinctive red-tail planes, the Tuskegee Airmen fought tirelessly to defend democracy abroad and to combat racism at home.

On October 29, 1944, Lieutenant Brewer's plane, named Trav'lin' Light, after the Billie Holiday song, went missing while on a mission out of Ramitelli Airbase in Italy.

That day, like so many other young Black men in his elite group, Lieutenant Brewer gave the ultimate sacrifice for a country that did not yet see him as an equal citizen. In serving and in giving his life, Lieutenant Brewer showed extraordinary faith in his country and in democracy that while imperfect in its protection and promotion of his life and livelihood, it could still be worthy of his ultimate sacrifice.

While Lieutenant Brewer did not live to see it, generations of survivors vindicated his sacrifice during the civil rights era, bringing our Nation closer to the dream of every man and every woman being created equal. That is the promise of democracy, Mr. Speaker. That is the promise for which he gave his life.

He was only 23 years old, and he left behind his parents, Fred, Sr., and Janie Brewer, and a younger sister, Gladys.

Thanks to the unyielding advocacy of his surviving cousins, Robena Brewer Harrison and Brenda L. Brewer, and the determined work of the POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Lieutenant Brewer's remains were identified in August.

Last Thursday, exactly 79 years and 1 month since his death, Lieutenant Brewer returned to Charlotte, receiving a dignified transfer. The U.S. flag was flown in his honor last Thursday at the U.S. Capitol at the request of my office.

Today, he will finally be laid to rest at Salisbury National Cemetery with full military honors.

While we celebrate today, we must never forget the countless Americans, including 25 Tuskegee Airmen, who remain unaccounted for and the families that long to bring their beloved heroes home, and we must never stop perfecting the cause for which they sacrificed.

We welcome Lieutenant Brewer home. We are forever indebted to his service.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a great leader from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community: Mother Sarah Mingo Stevenson.

After a lifetime devoted to public service in her community, to her church, and, most importantly, family, Sarah Stevenson left us at the grand age of 97 on September 26, 2023.

A Charlotte civil rights pioneer, she played a huge role in the creation of an influential forum for political and social dialogue in the city. The Tuesday Morning Breakfast Forum continues to this day and is a required stop for candidates running for office in Charlotte and statewide.

As the first Black woman to serve on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, from 1980 to 1988, she carried on her work of activism from the seventies when she effected the desegregation of public schools in the district.

Her courageous leadership and encouragement of small businesses, women, and civil groups over the years have been part of her undying legacy. She will be sorely missed.

I look forward to witnessing the many ways her legacy will continue to impact lives to make Charlotte and North Carolina a more just and fair place.

Sarah Stevenson earned the respect of men, women, and little children, and she made the world much better than she found it.

Rest in peace, Ms. Stevenson.

Madam Speaker, today, I rise for the millions of American families that will suffer due to the manufactured debt ceiling crisis. Defaulting on our sovereign debt will be a disaster from Wall Street to Main Street to streets in my district and to the kitchen table.

Our economy is being held hostage for so-called ``work requirements'' that disproportionately harm women and people with disabilities and people of color. Just one example: Food insecurity is at the highest level in 4 years, but MAGA Republicans will only prevent a financial catastrophe if we cut SNAP benefits for families, for veterans, for students, and for our seniors.

This would only deepen the hardships that vulnerable Americans face. Shame on you, Republicans. There is a simple solution to averting catastrophe: Pass a clean debt ceiling bill. Quit playing games with our country's future and come on back to Washington and do your job.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.J. Res. 45, which will disapprove of waivers and modifications on borrowers of Federal student loans.

As a former educator of 40 years, I am ashamed and astonished to see that my colleagues would introduce such divisive, misleading, and harmful resolutions. This partisan, all-Republican-led bill would end the one-time debt relief and the December payment pause.

The Department of Education would also be prevented from issuing a similar ruling to the Biden administration's one-time debt relief and extension of payment pauses in the future.

Let me be clear. This barely one-page bill does absolutely nothing to advance, to enrich, or to uplift borrowers.

Under the Biden administration's plan, 43 million borrowers would be eligible for student loan relief, and 20 million would be eligible for full forgiveness of their loans, ensuring that individuals affected by emergencies, including COVID, are not placed in a worse financial position.

Within my own district, there are more than 120,000 estimated eligible borrowers under the Biden student loan relief plan. Mr. Speaker, 79,900 of those borrowers were deemed automatically eligible for relief, and that is about 65 percent of the eligible borrowers. More than 50,000 of those were fully approved applicants that were sent over to loan servicers for discharge. That is about 42 percent of the eligible borrowers in my district.

Tens of thousands of constituents from my district and across the country will have the ability to live their lives without the looming effects of student loan debt. Just imagine the millions of borrowers that would be impacted across this country, as well.

Unfortunately, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle fail to realize the impact that this would have for so many Americans. This legislation moves to rid student aid borrowers in this country of any opportunity to better their financial situations.

Mr. Speaker, it is a step toward borrowers buying that house, taking that long-awaited trip, starting the family they wanted to start, and starting a business.

Education is an American right and a privilege, and no one should deny that right from anyone. I look forward to

having a meaningful conversation, and I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the president of Johnson C. Smith University, Clay Armbrister.

JCSU is Charlotte's own HBCU and the only accredited historically Black college or university in the 12th Congressional District.

The Golden Bulls have a rich legacy in the Biddleville neighborhood in Charlotte that extends all the way back to 1867. President Armbrister has helped preserve and extend that legacy during his tenure.

I have been so very proud to work with President Armbrister to grow Johnson C. Smith University. For 5 years, President Armbrister has been a transformative leader, not only for JCSU but for the West End and the entire Charlotte community.

Under Clay's leadership, JCSU has modernized its campus, overcome a pandemic, and led a historic fundraising drive to raise $80 million to support the university's academic and career-ready programs.

He courageously excused student loan debt for hundreds of students.

Last year, I said President Armbrister is one of the true heroes behind America's progress during the pandemic, and he has continued to earn that compliment with his leadership in our community.

I am so very proud to call him a friend. I wish him and his incredible wife, Denise, the very best in their future endeavors, and I congratulate him on his retirement. May God bless him.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise because too often in our schools the sounds of students talking and lockers clanking in hallways are giving way to silence and violence.

Today, I rise because desks that should be covered in gum are too often covered in blood, the blood of students and their teachers.

Today, I rise because three 9-year-old children and three adults are dead in Tennessee, as well as the person who killed them.

Tennessee State representatives Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson wanted to bring attention to this tragedy. They wanted to honor the victims of the mass shooting at The Covenant School with action instead of insulting their memories with silence. From the floor of the Tennessee House, they led the public gallery in chants of ``no more silence,'' ``we have to do better,'' and ``gun reform now.''

Tennessee Republicans were so afraid of this message that they expelled Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, the two Black representatives, for their actions.

These two courageous young men knew, as we do, that we cannot wait to be saved from the gun epidemic. They knew there would be more dead.

Unfortunately, since the mass shooting in Nashville on March 27, over 900 additional people were killed by gun violence in our country, 22 in Tennessee alone.

It really makes me sick. It makes me livid that we continue to accept the status quo and that we are comfortable living in a country where at any time our friends, our families, our neighbors, even our children and our grandchildren, can die a horrible death because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time when the wrong person had a gun.

We will be judged if we don't act, not only by history, not only by our God, but by our children who will inherit our country with this metastasized gun cancer still attached.

I am a Christian. As someone who knows and reads and lives Scripture, I can tell you beyond a doubt that the AR-15, the assault rifle, is the golden calf of Washington, D.C. Too many people in the people's House worship this idol and treat it with reverence. However, just like in Scripture, if we continue to worship this idol, the result will be physical and spiritual death.

I stand with representatives Justin Pearson and Justin Jones in saying: No more silence. We have to do better. Gun reform now. No more silence. We have to do better. Gun reform now.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me thank the gentleman from Illinois for co-hosting this Special Order hour with the gentlewoman from Missouri. I thank Representative Cori Bush as well for spearheading the ERA and for working toward this fight for all of us.

I rise today to observe Women's History Month and to reiterate this year's Black History Month theme of Black Resistance.

Since we last celebrated Black History Month and Women's History Month, Ketanji Brown Jackson has become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court; Beyonce claimed the record for most Grammys won in a lifetime; Serena Williams retired as one of the most accomplished athletes of all time; Congresswoman Summer Lee became the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress; and Jennifer McClellan became the first Black Congresswoman from Virginia.

In my home of Charlotte, North Carolina, Vi Lyles made history as both the longest serving woman and the longest serving Black mayor in our city's history.

In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, my friend and mentor, the late Annie Brown Kennedy, the first Black woman to serve in the North Carolina General Assembly, passed away at the age of 98 after a long and storied career.

These women join the legacy of other women we are celebrating here today, the women who helped lead the movement for the adoption of the equal rights amendment.

The equal rights amendment is still absolutely necessary because, according to the Constitution, we are not equal. Just look at the Dobbs decision. Look at all of the legislation from the State to the Federal level that aims, intentionally or not, to tell women what they can do with their own bodies.

Look at the maternal health crisis in America. Even as science, technology, and healthcare make amazing advances, the number of women dying due to childbirth is going in the wrong direction, and Black women have mortality rates that are three times that.

As Women's History Month comes to an end, we must continue to teach the history of women--Black women, indigenous women, LGBTQ women, and women of color--from the halls of our campuses to the Halls of Congress because if you learn women's history, you learn very quickly how far we have come and how much further we have to go.

Each of us have a role in this history. If you learn this history, teach it. If you live this history, make it.

Join me and join us, join the CBC and all of my colleagues in renewing the push for the equal rights amendment and equality for women not only in the United States but across the world.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Horsford and the coanchors for this evening, the gentleman from Maryland and the gentlewoman from California.

I do rise today to lend my testimony to the conversation about police reform, safe communities, and the value of Black lives.

The brutal beating and the death of Tyre Nichols is a reminder that we do, indeed, have a long way to go to solve the structural racism and the systemic police violence in America.

Tyre was a son. He was a father. I am a mother and a grandmother of sons and daughters. He had a passion for skateboarding and photography, a young person with purpose, potential, and his life was ahead of him.

The Congressional Black Caucus has always been the conscience of the Congress, and that is why we are pushing

for reforms to our justice system, specifically regarding the actions and the conduct of law enforcement because no one in this Nation should fear interacting with police officers in their communities, but many Black and Brown people do each and every day. Everybody wants to be safe, and we want safer communities.

Tyre Nichols should still be alive today. That is why we must address the public health epidemic of police violence that disproportionately affects our communities.

Senator Tim Scott, a Republican, in his quote was absolutely right:

We have got to unite against this blatant disregard, he

said, for human life, especially from those who have been

entrusted with immense power and responsibility for our

communities.

We are keenly aware that the police are asked to handle situations sometimes that they simply aren't trained for or equipped to handle. But like many CBC members, I've been there when a police beating or shooting rocked our communities.

In my home of Charlotte, North Carolina, Keith Lamont Scott was having a mental health crisis when he was shot and killed by police, leading to the first major protest and demonstration for Black lives in our community.

That doesn't absolve the officers involved of responsibility, but what it does mean is that with better training and a different approach to policing, Keith Lamont Scott could be alive today, and he should be.

Another man, Justin Carr, lost his life during the protests. Keith Lamont Scott and Justin Carr should both still be alive today.

Something has got to change to prevent further unnecessary deaths, and that is why the CBC and I have consistently supported the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and other necessary reforms.

Police culture needs to change, and it needs to change right now. That is why the CBC is actively engaging all relevant stakeholders with the aim of developing a legislative solution that can pass Congress and ensure meaningful police accountability reforms.

For every mom and dad and son and daughter, and for every Black person, it is imperative that we deal with this issue and form some legislative solutions and some executive actions and community-based results.

That is how we can put an end to this pattern of Black lives being taken at the hands of law enforcement.

I leave you with the words of Zianna Oliphant, who was 9 years old when she addressed the Charlotte City Council in the wake of the Keith Lamont Scott protests in 2016.

She said: ``I feel like that we are treated differently than other people. I don't like how we're treated. Just because of our color. . . .

``We are Black people, and we shouldn't have to feel like this. We shouldn't have to protest because y'all are treating us wrong. We do this because we need to and have rights.

``I was born and raised in Charlotte. I've never felt this way until now. I can't stand how we're treated. It's a shame that our fathers and mothers are killed, and we can't even see them anymore.''

Mr. Speaker, 9 years old, this young lady was. The truth is clear. Children can even see it. I hope as the CBC continues its work, more of our colleagues will see the truth as well.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to celebrate the first day of Black History Month and to honor the

Greensboro Four for exemplifying this year's Black History Month theme: Black Resistance.

Black history is American history, but it is important to remember that this isn't ancient history. The Greensboro Four, also known as the A&T Four, sparked the sit-in movement in 1960, just 63 years ago today.

Think about that. Only six decades ago, during my lifetime, Black Americans in the South were forced to use different water fountains, eat at separate lunch counters, go to different bathrooms, and, most of all, suffer the indignity of second-class citizenship.

That is why on February 1, 1960, four courageous Black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, my alma mater, Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain, and Joseph McNeil, sat down at a Whites-only lunch counter and asked to be served. In doing so, the Greensboro Four changed the United States forever.

The sit-in movement spread to cities across the South where Black resistance against segregation, discrimination, and Jim Crow eventually led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed segregation in public accommodations.

It is with great pride today that I recognize the A&T Four and every American who joined the sit-in movement to protest the racism of the Jim Crow South and eventually changed public policy.

These protests against injustice led to civil rights and voting rights for Black Americans, as well as equal protection under the law.

Whether it was at that Woolworth's counter or on a bus in Montgomery or in a jail cell in Birmingham or a bridge in Selma, Alabama, or on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial or a Baptist Church in Atlanta or in a St. Louis, Missouri, courthouse before the Civil War or at a slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, in the antebellum South, Black resistance has nourished and slowly but surely worked to perfect American democracy.

We, as a Nation, have a responsibility to learn from our past and work diligently to carry on the legacy of these four men and all of our ancestors in the movement by ensuring equal rights for all of the people and protecting the civil rights we all fought so hard to win.

Black history is more important than ever. If it wasn't so important, they wouldn't try to stop us from teaching it. Last month, Florida schools announced they would not teach an advanced placement course in African-American history. The State of Florida's letter to the college board claimed the course ``lacks educational value.'' I disagree.

We can't afford to remove critical thinking from our curriculum. Our students won't understand American history without understanding African-American history.

Those who don't understand history, Mr. Speaker, are doomed to repeat it. That is why this February, all Americans must recommit to teaching Black history in our homes, our schools, our churches, on TV, on Twitter, and, yes, even in the Halls of Congress.

We must be unified and unafraid to say ``Black'' and to teach our history and heritage. Because if we don't remember the Greensboro Four, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King, John Lewis, Hattie McDaniel, Frederick Douglass, Harriet and Dred Scott, Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, and countless others, someday, somewhere, someone will have to endure what they endured to win, yet again, the rights and the respect they fought for. That is why for me, every month, Mr. Speaker, is Black History Month.