Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I missed one vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 218.

Madam Speaker, I missed one vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 29.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mrs. Almeda Lee Stanfield who celebrated her 100th birthday on December 16, 2023. Mrs. Stanfield is a proud mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great- great-grandmother, and leads a life of great service and care for her community.

Almeda was born in Ferguson, Arkansas, grew up in Rochester, New York, and settled in Sacramento County in 1967. She is known to be a caring friend, neighbor, church leader, and civic volunteer, and her loving presence is known to be unmistakable in her community. Sacramento is lucky to have someone with such incredible dedication, sacrifice, and service to our county.

Almeda's life of service and dedication is commendable and worthy of recognition. I want to extend both my gratitude and my best wishes to Mrs. Stanfield for her lifelong commitment to Sacramento and the entire Nation. Her commitment and care for those around her is highly remarkable. I ask that my colleagues join me in celebrating Mrs. Stanfield's outstanding life's work and wishing her a very happy 100th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, over 30 years ago I graduated from medical school. As you are kind of figuring out what you want to do as a resident, I chose to become a primary care internal medicine doctor.

The rationale for that decision was to take care of our seniors: Our moms, dads, grandparents, and so forth.

I love the job. You put that white coat on, you are there and able to help people immediately. That is the joy of being a doctor.

When I talk to my colleagues today, the practice of medicine has gotten harder and harder: The administrative burdens, the lack of reimbursement, the cost of care, the amount of physician burnout.

That is not why we went to medical school. That is not why we went into this profession.

We went into the profession to take care of folks, but if you can't cover your expenses, if you can't give the necessary care to those individual patients, to our parents and grandparents, then it becomes hard. It becomes challenging. We have to fix this.

We have to at least make sure the cost of care, what we give our providers, our doctors, keeps pace with inflation. You see it in every other aspect of healthcare, yet, physician reimbursement is going in the wrong direction.

Mr. Speaker, all we are asking for is to keep up with the pace of inflation and allow our doctors, America's doctors, to take care of our senior citizens. These are folks that have worked their entire life. They have paid into Medicare. They just want routine care.

So let's do what is right. Let's fix this. Let's do a temporary fix in this Congress.

We can do it. We have a few weeks left to get that done, then let's actually come together as Democrats and Republicans, take a look at it, come up with new ideas so there is predictability so that America's seniors and America's doctors can take care of our patients.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, Dr. Murphy, for his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the safe, timely, and sufficient delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip.

The actions that Hamas took on October 7 were horrific and led to the tragic loss of life and displacement of millions.

When I talk to the families of victims of the October 7 tragedy who were killed or taken hostage, you can hear the agony and despair in their voices. I also hear that same agony and despair when I talk to my constituents who are Palestinian Americans who have lost relatives in this war.

Now, I can't change the prosecution of this war. Israel has a right to defend itself. Israel has a right to make sure Hamas no longer presents a security threat to its civilians. It also has the right to degrade Hamas' ability to be a viable governing and political entity if we ever want to find a lasting peace.

That is the horror of war. I can't prevent that. What we can do is prevent what we are watching unfold in front of our eyes right now.

I am a doctor, and I am hearing horrific reports of the humanitarian and public health crisis that is taking place--the lack of clean water, the lack of food, and the starvation that is unfolding in front of us. Winter is coming.

We must do everything we can to prevent the humanitarian crisis if we ever want to find eventual peace in the region. That is something that we can do. That is not about war. That is about relieving the suffering of individuals and civilians. The folks who are most vulnerable are infants and the elderly. Let's get them that clean water.

Mr. Speaker, that is why I am introducing my resolution calling for the safe, timely, and sufficient delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip.

This resolution urges the Biden administration to facilitate a scale- up of the safe and continuous flow of aid to civilians that includes medications, food, and clean water. It asks for the ability of humanitarian organizations to deliver this aid in Gaza without impediment or interference. It encourages the distribution of fuel to humanitarian organizations working in Gaza and for the proper oversight to ensure the aid is appropriately delivered and not commandeered by Hamas.

Mr. Speaker, I also recognize the urgency of passing President Biden's supplemental funding because it does contain funding for humanitarian aid.

We have to get this done. We must do everything we can to pass this funding request to support our allies and prevent this humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

Mr. Speaker, in this time when many religions and faiths are reflective, let's do everything we can. We are all God's children here.

We can do this. This is not about war. This is about saving lives. This is about allowing humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza on a continuous basis to provide food, clean water, medications, fuel to keep hospitals operating, and energy to make sure we save these lives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my deepest gratitude and admiration for the exemplary service and dedication of Mr. Larry D. Smith. It is with great honor that we acknowledge his remarkable contributions and years of service to our country and our Military Academies. I thank him for his invaluable partnership over the past decade as this weekend marks his last round of academy nomination interviews that he will conduct in support of my office.

Born in Los Angeles in 1940, Mr. Smith's journey is one marked by commitment and achievement. A graduate of Manual Arts High School in 1958, he furthered his education at the United States Military Academy, earning a BS in General Engineering in 1962. Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army, Armor Branch, Mr. Smith's military service took him to Germany, the United States, and Vietnam, where he served with distinction in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.

Transitioning to civilian life in 1970, Mr. Smith embarked on a successful career in Commercial Real Estate, notably with Grubb & Ellis Company, where he served on the Board of Directors and managed offices in the Los Angeles area. His relocation from Southern California to Sacramento in 1979 marked the beginning of a new chapter as a Commercial Real Estate Developer, leaving an indelible mark by constructing the IRS office facility in Sacramento and managing others in Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. His foray into residential home building in 1990 saw the creation and sale of hundreds of homes in the Sacramento area, a testament to his enduring entrepreneurial spirit.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Mr. Smith has been an active and engaged member of the West Point community. Currently serving as the President of the West Point Alumni in Northern California, he also holds the position of National Trustee for the Association of Graduates. His involvement in the West Point Admissions Department and his role as the e-mail network moderator for the West Point Parents Net (wpp-net) showcase his commitment to the development and support of future generations. Mr. Smith's family life is equally commendable, having been married to his wife, Maren, for 35 years. His sons, Tom and Mark, have followed in his footsteps, with Tom serving as an officer in the Army and Mark as a legislative aide to a California State Senator.

I ask that my colleagues join me in thanking Mr. Larry D. Smith in recognition of his outstanding achievements and unwavering dedication to public service. His legacy serves as

an inspiration to us all, and we are grateful for his continued contributions to the betterment of our community and Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize World War II veteran Charles Shumate who celebrated his 100th birthday this past weekend on November 11th and commend his outstanding service to our community and country. Mr, Shumate achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant during his time in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946 and is also a very proud father, grandfather, and great grandfather.

Charles enjoyed a long and illustrious career, working numerous jobs across the country. After his time in the Army, he spent time in the Air Force Reserves during which he also began working as a heavy equipment driver in Ohio and then as a factory worker. Charles later worked in data processing where he worked for both the government and in the private sector which took him to Sacramento County, where he eventually retired in 1982. He has resided there ever since.

Charles' life of service and dedication is commendable and worthy of recognition. I want to extend both my gratitude and my best wishes to Mr. Shumate for his lifelong commitment to our communities and our country. His commitment to the safety and betterment of our nation is remarkable. I ask that my colleagues join me in celebrating Mr. Shumate for his outstanding work and wishing him a very happy 100th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to honor and remember Elwood ``Bud'' John Lee. Bud was born November 6, 1946, in Caledonia, Minnesota. A 10-pound baby, Bud was a gentle giant from the beginning.

He graduated from college in December 1965 and then enlisted and served in Vietnam. After discharge, Bud settled in California where he served my State in many ways, eventually as president of the California Association of Catholic Hospitals. In retirement, he continued his lifetime of service.

We lost Bud on September 4, 2023, but we will always have his optimistic spirit.

Here is to Bud. In his words, today is a good day to have a good day. Be well.

Mr. Chair, I missed one vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall No. 534.

Amendment No. 20 Offered by Mr. Norman

Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 404.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Fred Teichert and celebrate his retirement from A Teichert & Sons, a construction company that his great-grandfather founded in 1887.

In 1990, Fred led the creation of the Teichert Foundation. Through the foundation, he has greatly contributed to what Sacramento is today in his support of nonprofits in Sacramento and throughout California.

Fred has been committed to making Sacramento a better place, particularly for our youth. Among his proudest achievements was serving as the founding president of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Sacramento. His

participation on the Child Abuse Prevention Council and countless education committees have served as constant reminders of his dedication to helping children succeed both in and out of the classroom.

For his efforts, he has earned numerous community service awards over the last 30 years, including being selected as American Leadership Forum's exemplary leader of the year and the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce's Sacramentan of the Year.

Mr. Speaker, I extend my congratulations and thanks to Fred Teichert for his lifelong dedication to Sacramento. His commitment to our region will always be celebrated and remembered. I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating Fred for his work and wish him the best in his next steps.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because of my concern that, in less than 1 week, the United States of America may default on its debt and its obligations.

I know we all want to get home for Memorial Day. We want to celebrate and honor our fallen heroes, the men and women who have served our country. The best way for us to honor those heroes and the best way for us to honor the American public is to pass the debt ceiling.

That is what we do. We teach our kids to pay their debts, and we teach families to pay their debts. That is what we ought to do.

I am all for negotiating spending cuts, but that is what a budget negotiation is for, not a debt ceiling to pay our debt.

Let's honor our veterans and honor our fallen heroes at Memorial Day parades. Let's stay here, get this done, and fly home to celebrate and honor Memorial Day and honor our veterans. Let's get this done.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

This should be an easy vote because this is just about science. It is about understanding the origins of this virus

that created this pandemic that took at a minimum 7 million lives-- probably many more than that. It is just about science. We are not debating the geography of where this virus originated. We know that. We are debating how this novel virus evolved. This is a brand-new virus, and that should go without question.

I hope this is a strong ``yes'' vote by both Democrats and Republicans.

I think about this as a doctor and a scientist, someone who has spent a lot of my time in Congress looking at global health security, looking at pandemic preparedness. I am proud to serve on the select committee that is looking at coronavirus and the impact of this pandemic. My colleague, another physician, Dr. Wenstrup, is the chairman of that committee, and the ranking member is Dr. Raul Ruiz.

Again, I think if we can take the politics out of this, we can actually understand what happened over these past 3 years, the impact it had not just on the United States but on the entire world.

We can work together as Democrats and Republicans and hopefully the global scientific community to prevent the next pandemic. That is what this is about.

I don't know if we will ever find those origins if the Chinese Communist Party doesn't work with us. It is in their interests as well because they have suffered greatly. The Chinese people have suffered greatly from this pandemic.

They ought to allow the best scientists in the world to go to ground zero, to the hot zone, to Wuhan, and try to understand how this virus evolved.

Maybe it was a wet market. Maybe it was a lab leak. It is important for us to understand what it was because that then will allow us to address and shore up the system.

If it was a lab leak, we ought to have the highest safety standards in the world if we are doing this kind of research. We ought to look at whether we should do gain-of-function research. That is a legitimate question. There is scientific debate about that, et cetera, but if it was a lab leak, we ought to understand that.

We ought to come together as a global community and make sure we have the highest standards. If it was a wet market, if this was a naturally occurring virus that came from an animal into a human, we ought to understand that, as well. We ought to put in the safety and precautions to make sure that doesn't happen in the future.

Let's take the politics out of it. Today, we have a chance as the United States Congress to take a big vote, Democrats and Republicans, to say: Let's try to figure out what happened.

It affected all of us, and we ought to do everything we can as the United States Congress, Democrats and Republicans, and as a global scientific community to prevent this from happening again in our lifetime and, hopefully, ever again.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to vote ``yes'' on this bill. It will allow us to share information with the public because, again, this affected all of us. I hope we have a strong ``yes'' vote on the COVID origins bill.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the lifetime achievements of Angelo K. Tsakopoulos.

Mr. Tsakopoulos' story is a story of the American Dream. Angelo immigrated to the United States from Greece at the age of 15. He worked hard. He didn't have a whole lot but went into the real estate business to help pay for his education at California State University, Sacramento. He built a real estate company.

Angelo helped shape Sacramento over his life. The Sacramento Bee has identified Mr. Tsakopoulos potentially as the most influential Sacramentan since John Sutter. His contributions, not just to our community but to philanthropy, to education, and to the arts are outstanding.

Mr. Tsakopoulos also never forgot his roots in Greece. This Monday he will receive lifetime recognition for his service to Hellenism. He established multiple foundations and organizations to celebrate the values and the culture of his homeland.

He also, through his family, continues to do public service through his daughter Eleni who is our Lieutenant Governor in California. On Monday, February 6, all of us in Sacramento, the United States, and all Greek Americans recognize the contributions of Angelo Tsakopoulos and his family; contributions to preserving Greek culture.

Black History Month

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the first day of Black History Month to recognize the importance of studying African-American history and Black history in the United States.

It is incredibly important for us to recognize Black history and teach it not only to our young students from elementary school to middle school to high school, but to all Americans. We have to understand the good and the bad. We have to understand the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, and mass incarceration.

We need to understand--as I stand her on the floor of the House of Representatives in the United States Capitol, a beacon of democracy and freedom--that this is a building that was built by enslaved people. It is important for us to understand that because we need to recognize that and get better at teaching that to future generations of Americans.

We also need to recognize the accomplishments of a few individuals: the moral character of our former colleague, John Lewis, who really was the moral backbone of this institution; the first President that I served under, Barack Obama, the accomplishments, not just as President but as a great human being, father, and husband; my close friend, the first female Vice President, the first African-American Vice President, the first Asian-American Vice President, Vice President Kamala Harris who is a role model for my daughter and future women across the spectrum in the United States; and our good friend, the minority leader of the Democratic Party, Hakeem Jeffries, someone who we are all proud of.

Let's understand African-American history. Let's teach it. Let's not try to erase the parts that we don't want to teach. If we don't teach Black history, we will be condemned to repeat some of those mistakes. We need to learn from the past, and we need to get better. Let's teach it to all of our students.

Honoring Ken Cooley

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Assemblyman Ken Cooley for his decades of service to Sacramento County and the State of California.

Ken served in the California State Assembly for 10 years representing the Eighth Assembly District, which covered the eastern half of Sacramento County.

Assemblyman Cooley started his public service career in Sacramento as the chief of staff to the State assemblyman, and later as chief counsel to the Assembly Finance and Insurance Committee.

He was elected to the Rancho Cordova's first city council in 2002 and twice served as mayor to Rancho Cordova. Ken was a constant presence and continues to be a constant presence throughout our community.

I have had the privilege to go to many events with Ken, and he is a close friend. He is an Eagle Scout, as well, and his commitment to Scouting helped recognize youth achievement through the Boy Scouts of America.

The City of Rancho Cordova and all of us in Sacramento County are better off thanks to his hard work and determination, and I wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to recognize Don Nottoli and celebrate his retirement from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors after seven terms on the board and a lifetime of service to the Sacramento community.

Don started his public service career in 1977 when he was elected to the Galt High School Board of Trustees. I have had the privilege of working with Don over the years. He is a tireless public servant. All of us get to go to Eagle Scout ceremonies, medal awards, and so forth. Don is at every one of those.

Our community is a much better place because of the service and the representation that we had from Supervisor Don Nottoli.

I extend my congratulations and thank County Supervisor Nottoli for his lifelong dedication to public service in Sacramento County. His commitment to the betterment of our region will stand as an example of public service for years to come.

Sacramento County is a better place to live and raise a family because of Don Nottoli's lifetime of service, and I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating Don Nottoli for his work in our community and his service to our country.