Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight my recently introduced bipartisan legislation, the Rural Partnership and Prosperity Act.

According to the Oregon Center for Public Policy, rural Oregonians face higher levels of unemployment and poverty. In fact, the poverty rate in rural Oregon sits at 15.6 percent, four points higher than in urban areas. Yet, local governments, nonprofits, and rural development organizations don't have the staff and resources needed to tackle these problems in our communities.

Rural America is getting the short end of the stick right now, and it is time we change that. My bill would create a new Federal grant program to help rural communities address urgent needs like childcare, housing, job training, and more. It expands access to existing opportunities by helping local leaders navigate the complex system of Federal grants, and it improves coordination between Federal agencies to make sure we are approaching rural development in the most efficient and effective way possible.

The Rural Partnership and Prosperity Act is a commonsense, bipartisan solution that will help us bridge the urban-rural divide in this country. We have to level the playing field for rural America and ensure these communities can thrive for generations to come. My legislation would bring us closer to that goal, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight a growing public health problem in this country. It is estimated that nearly 7 million Americans are suffering from a gambling addiction, and while it may not be as visible, it can be just as harmful as any other addiction.

About 90 percent of gambling addicts reported having one or more mental health disorders, as well as increased dependence on alcohol and other substances.

Problem gambling can also cause deep financial and emotional harm to families when the gambler takes on debt to pay for their addiction or manipulates loved ones to get what they want.

Clearly, this is a serious problem that must be addressed. It is why I have introduced the Gambling Addiction, Recovery, Investment, and Treatment, or GRIT Act last week. This legislation would utilize current revenues to devote funding toward gambling addiction, research, and treatment.

My bill would give State health agencies and nonprofits the resources they need to study this kind of addiction and get more people into recovery.

This is a commonsense solution that would improve mental health and well-being for countless families across America. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the GRIT Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart. Across America, countless families have lost loved ones to the fentanyl crisis. In my home State of Oregon, it is now estimated that five people die every week from this dangerous drug.

We are expecting an epidemic of massive proportions, and in order to stop it, we need an all-hands-on-deck approach.

Just last week, I held a roundtable with law enforcement officers, community organizations, and local elected officials to understand how we can confront this crisis head on.

I participated in many other discussions like this one, and I always hear a common theme--more resources and more flexibility.

Congress needs to deliver more funding to help our communities fight back against fentanyl, and I will keep working to ensure our police and local leaders have the tools they need to get these drugs off the streets and more people into treatment.

No more families torn apart by addiction. No more suffering and loss. It is time we put an end to this epidemic once and for all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the great progress my Democratic colleagues and I have made for our constituents this Congress. We worked across the aisle to keep the government funded and ensure our servicemembers continue to get paid. We fought against reckless attempts to cut Social Security and Medicare and restrict reproductive freedom.

Despite the endless chaos and political theater, we have never stopped legislating, because at the end of the day, Oregonians sent me here to get things done, and I can honestly say I am sticking to that promise.

I have introduced six bipartisan bills and cosponsored dozens more. Just last month, the House passed my first bill to restore land claims and compensation rights to the Grand Ronde Tribe.

I am proud of the things we have accomplished in 2023, but there is more work ahead of us. In the coming year, I urge my colleagues in both parties to join me in pushing past the gridlock. Working together, we can deliver real, tangible results for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the lack of mental health services in rural America.

As facilities close their doors and providers leave town, many people in our rural communities are forced to travel for miles to get care or forgo care altogether. That is harmful and unfair, which is why I introduced a bipartisan bill to expand access to telemental health services in rural areas.

This legislation will specifically help folks working in farming, fishing, and forestry. These industries are critical to our economy and way of life in my district. In fact, Oregon has the second-largest number of Triple-F workers per capita in the entire country. These jobs can also be very stressful, and few seek help due to stigma.

Improving telehealth access will take away that stigma, save folks time and resources, and get more Oregonians the help they need when they need it.

Congress has left rural America behind for far too long. It is time we change that.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this very important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize our brave servicemembers and their families.

America's veterans have sacrificed so much for our freedom, and for that, I am deeply grateful, but words alone are not enough.

As Members of Congress, it is our job to honor the pledge we made to military families and ensure that they get the benefits that they deserve.

When my constituent, Shirley Thomas, suddenly stopped receiving her VA benefits, she reached out to my office for help. In just 3 short weeks, my team was able to restart Shirley's benefits and secure back payments for the months that she missed.

I recently visited Shirley and reiterated my commitment to helping military families like hers, because supporting our servicemembers means supporting them long after they come home. It means providing them with safe, affordable housing; expanding educational opportunities to help veterans pursue their career goals; improving home care services for elderly veterans; and so much more.

Today, and always, I will keep fighting to do just that.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present for the recorded votes on Roll Call numbers 559, 560, 561, 562, 563, and 564. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 559; YEA on Roll Call No. 560; YEA on Roll Call No. 561; YEA on Roll Call No. 562; NAY on Roll Call No. 563; and YEA on Roll Call No. 564.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1722, the Grand Ronde Reservation Act Amendment of 2023.

My district is the proud home of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde community, who, like Oregon's other indigenous peoples, were the original stewards of our land and abundant natural resources, yet they have also faced tremendous injustices at the hands of the Federal Government.

The Grand Ronde Reservation was established in 1857. In 1871, during a survey of the reservation, an 84-acre piece of land known as the Thompson Strip was mistakenly excluded. It took over 100 years for this error to be delivered, and rectifying it does require an act of Congress.

At some point in the process of drafting legislation, language was erroneously inserted that took away Grand Ronde's right to bring any further land claims in the entire State of Oregon, not just around the Thompson Strip.

The Grand Ronde community is to this day the only Tribe in Oregon that is subject to this prohibition.

H.R. 1722 will finally correct this decades-old error and restore Grand Ronde's ability to pursue land claims. This legislation enjoys strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

I thank my colleagues here today from the Natural Resources Committee, as well as the support of the entire Oregon delegation.

Passage of H.R. 1722 would be enormously consequential for the Grand Ronde community. It would also represent a historic step forward for indigenous peoples' rights in America. I have always believed that while we are not responsible for the ills of the past, we are responsible for remedying them today.

Mr. Speaker, my amendment to the Grand Ronde Reservation Act aligns with that important pursuit. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my friend, colleague, and fellow Oregonian, Congressman Earl Blumenauer. Throughout his 50 years of public service, Earl has always been a consistent and vocal advocate for Oregon values.

He helped pioneer the fight against climate change long before others were doing the same, and his commitment to building healthy communities and a healthy planet through public transit and cycling was unmatched. In fact, he wore it proudly every day in the form of that iconic bicycle pin on his lapel.

I know I speak for the entire Oregon delegation when we say that Earl will be sorely missed in Congress. He leaves behind a legacy of service and dedication to making life better for working families not only in our State but across our great country.

I wish him and his family all the best in his new chapter.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 11 o'clock and 37 minutes a.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until Monday next, November 6, 2023, at noon for morning-hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today out of deep sadness, frustration, and anger.

Last night, we witnessed yet another mass shooting, in Maine, that claimed the lives of at least 18 innocent people. These tragedies have come to define daily life in America, but it doesn't have to.

We need to pass commonsense gun safety legislation that a majority of Americans support, including expanded background checks and a Federal assault weapons ban.

At the same time, we need to address the mental health crisis in our communities by expanding access to care and ensuring more people can get the help they need.

There are many solutions to this problem and no time to waste.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in saying not one more, no more lives taken and families irreparably broken by gun violence, and no more thoughts and prayers without action.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this bill for reasons beyond what I can list in the allotted time, but primarily because it would force America to abdicate its leadership role on the global stage.

This bill contains too many harmful provisions to count, but for the benefit of the American people, I will do my best to summarize a few of them:

This bill would severely reduce our ability to combat the climate crisis.

It would make massive cuts to global health programming through USAID and the WHO.

It would shortchange economic and humanitarian assistance and global peacekeeping funding.

And as if those self-imposed restrictions on our international leadership weren't bad enough, my Republican colleagues are using this bill as a Trojan horse for more poison pill riders, just as they have done with other appropriations bills.

The majority's obsession with anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ, and anti- diversity politics precludes them from putting forth a bill that has any chance of becoming law.

Specifically, their bill would reinstate the global gag rule and prohibit contributions to the UNPFA, restricting women and girls around the world from receiving the reproductive and maternal healthcare they need.

They are just not content to undermine reproductive freedom at home. No, they need to take their draconian quest abroad to the tremendous shame of the majority of Americans who value reproductive freedom.

Mr. Chair, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill.

My amendment would strike the global gag rule and allow contributions to UNPFA.

Mr. Chair, I strongly support reproductive rights and believe we should be a global leader guaranteeing it to all women and girls, regardless of where they may have been born. I hope my colleagues will join me in voting for the motion to recommit.

Mr. Chair, I include in the Record the text of my amendment.

Ms. Salinas moves to recommit the bill H.R. 4665 to the

Committee on Appropriations with the following amendment:

Strike section 7057.

Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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

Mr. Speaker, as a proud Latina and the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, I rise in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

September 15 kicked off a month of recognition, celebration, and reflection. We recognize the struggles and contributions of our community. We celebrate our ancestry and rich cultures, and we reflect on the sacrifices Latinos have made throughout history.

Oregon's Sixth District is home to a thriving Latino community. Each year, more Latinos are starting businesses, raising families, and putting down roots in our State, however, as our community grows, so does our need for representation. I am honored to be one of the first Latinas to represent Oregon in Congress, but that is just the start.

We must break down barriers and hold the doors of opportunity open for future generations of Latino leaders because we deserve to have our voices heard wherever decisions are made--not just today, not just this month, but every single day of the year.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good colleague from New Mexico for her leadership and for yielding me some time.

Mr. Speaker, each year, hundreds of Oregonians die after overdosing on fentanyl. This drug has torn communities apart, from Salem to Sheridan and everywhere in between. It is not just our State. It is all across the U.S.

Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids account for more than 85 percent of all opioid-involved deaths in the U.S. This is an issue that harms all of us, and I think Members of both parties can agree that stemming the flow of these drugs into our communities is a bipartisan imperative.

The appropriations process is one of our best opportunities to deliver critical funding to the organizations and agencies on the front lines of this fentanyl fight.

Yet sadly, this process has been needlessly politicized by far-right politicians who would rather notch political victories than policy ones--and this shameful Defense appropriations bill is a prime example of that.

By attaching anti-LGBTQ2SIA+ and anti-choice riders to this bill, extremists in this body have turned what should be a straightforward funding package into a political wedge issue.

That needless politicization is especially concerning, given that this piece

of legislation contains critical funding to stop the flow of fentanyl into our country.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford to let politics stand in the way of our fight against the fentanyl epidemic. As a new Member of this esteemed body, I did not come here for political gamesmanship. We should all be prioritizing people over partisanship.

This is an all-hands-on-deck emergency, and I urge my colleagues to dispense with their partisan antics and focus on passing government funding legislation that meets the moment and delivers for all of our communities.