Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, this is an hour to celebrate Members who are departing this Congress, including myself, and I have some remarks to share. I will also be joined later by the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), but first we are going to hear from the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch of the Committee on Appropriations of the U.S. House of Representatives, one of our cardinals, a great public servant from the State of Ohio, Representative Tim Ryan.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Ryan for his wonderful public service here not only for the people of Ohio, but really for all the people of this country.

What does it mean to run for Congress, to serve in Congress? Why do it?

Personally, I didn't run for Congress until I was 58 years old, after a career as a union organizer, a human rights activist, running Michigan's workforce system, and creating innovative new programs under then-Governor Jennifer Granholm, our Energy Secretary today, and then starting my own statewide clean energy finance market as a green energy entrepreneur. But a Trump Presidency put these priorities, each and every one of them, and indeed our very democracy in grave danger, and I was inspired to run to replace my father after his retirement.

Coming into Congress with the historic freshman class of House Democrats in the 116th Congress, we started in the middle of a record- breaking government shutdown. Our very first action as an office was gathering impacted workers together alongside my Michigan colleagues at the Detroit airport. We had workers reflecting the full range of Federal duties: From transportation professionals to environmental stewards who worked for the EPA.

Gathering this coalition would serve as a model for the work we would do over the next 4 years. When our staff met at UAW Region One a few months later for our first retreat, we would define our priorities, and it was really three overarching priorities for our office: First, raising the standard of living for working people; second, protecting our one precious Earth; and third, fighting for human rights at home and abroad. We have organized our work around these priorities ever since.

Let's start with raising the standard of living for working people. Certainly, making education affordable is a key part of that. After the Speaker appointed me to the Education and Labor Committee, I was honored to be elected vice chair of the committee by my fellow Democrats.

And then Chairman Bobby Scott asked me to lead the America's College Promise Act to provide 2 years of tuition-and-fee-free community college and also 2 years of virtually free study at historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions.

We introduced the bill, and we debated it. But can you imagine how amazing it was when Joe Biden was moving toward the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for President and he adopted my bill, and then he made it part of his Build Back Better plan?

I had the privilege of welcoming First Lady Jill Biden to a community college in my district once and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to two different community colleges to celebrate the inclusion of this bill in the President's Build Back Better plan and fight for its passage. We didn't get it across the finish line due to the intransigence of one person, Joe Manchin, but we are not about to give up until we make free community college and accessibility of HBCUs for everyone a reality.

Probably the biggest area of my advocacy for workers and their families came in labor and employment policy.

I served as a whip to push the Raise the Wage Act through the House, and we fended off efforts to water it down with things like regional minimum wages that would consign poor areas of this country to permanent, structural poverty. We had to fight hard to keep the one fair wage aspect in the bill, to make sure we end subminimum wages for tipped workers, who are mostly women and disproportionately of color.

I helped write the PRO Act and was so honored to play a special role in shepherding it through the Education and Labor Committee and the floor of the House.

I led a small band of labor stalwarts in opposition to Trump's new NAFTA, which is called the USMCA. While I fervently hope the legislation succeeds, and I have worked with the Biden administration to ensure that Mexico and Canada meet their obligations, I fear too much of our trade policy discards the views of workers here at home and also abroad in the name of furthering the interests of multinational corporations. That has to end, and we have to put workers' interests and the planet's interests first.

One core part of my belief about how to be a Congressman is that it is not all about passing legislation and overseeing the administration. When it comes to labor issues, I believe you have got to get out there and support workers' organizing and bargaining campaigns directly. We did this many, many times. Let me give you just a few examples.

We organized a major solidarity action when the UAW struck General Motors, and I walked the picket line regularly and welcomed many colleagues, including Senator Elizabeth Warren.

When the RWDSU helped Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, organize to join the union, I organized a delegation of Congresspeople to go down there with me, and I went a second time by myself to join current AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler to encourage the workers to keep fighting after they lost their first election, which was marred by many unfair labor practices by the corporation.

I organized almost all of my fellow Harvard alums in the House to support Harvard grad employees when they were campaigning to win a first contract, and that was ultimately successful under pressure from us and many others.

More recently, when Senate cafeteria workers who are members of UNITE HERE Local 23 were fighting for a long overdue, just contract, I got arrested with many of them to push the issue. Happily, Mr. Speaker, they won a good contract soon thereafter.

Just recently, I participated in campaigns to support railroaders who desperately need paid sick days and the demand for full funding for the National Labor Relations Board so it can fulfill its function to support private sector workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively.

I can tell you, I am going to continue not only my own efforts to support workers, but I am going to continue organizing Members of Congress to be involved.

There is so much more we can and must do to lift up working families and help them live dignified lives. We did preserve the pensions of millions of American workers. I am so proud we got that done.

I was proud to fight with my brothers and sisters in the Progressive Caucus to include affordable childcare, universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, paid sick leave for all, and the child tax credit in the House version of Build Back Better. Congress needs to keep fighting to get these things done.

Our team was super active on our second priority as well, protecting our one precious Earth. Let's start with clean air, water, and land. I joined the bipartisan PFAS task force right away, and I passed legislation twice to prevent the harmful incineration of PFAS chemicals, especially on military bases. We have so much more work to do on PFAS, that is for sure. It is truly the DDT of our times, and we have got to deal with it.

Around Christmas of 2019 green ooze began to leak out onto I-696, the interstate highway through my district in the town of Madison Heights. My staff and I led an effort to help ensure the cleanup of toxic waste, in coordination with the EPA and State and local governments, and it was really everybody working together that got it done.

There were many such efforts, but of course my biggest focus was climate change. I supported the original Green New Deal resolution from day one. I remember being out on the lawn when we introduced it. I am one of only 27 Senators and Representatives out of 535, Mr. Speaker, to support all 12 Green New Deal bills. Even more importantly, I helped put meat on the bones personally in several ways.

Senator Elizabeth Warren and I authored the BUILD Green Act to invest $500 billion over 10 years to jump-start the transition to all-electric public vehicles, mass transit, rail, and help modernize the Nation's crumbling infrastructure.

Senator Sherrod Brown and I introduced the American Energy Worker Opportunity Act to support fossil fuel and coal workers and their families impacted by the transition we need to make as soon as possible to clean energy. Simply stated, workers who, over generations, built up wonderful pay and benefit packages; if they work on a pipeline or a refinery or a coal mine, it is not their fault that we have to change, and they shouldn't suffer, and that bill would take care of that issue.

I introduced the EV Freedom Act with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to build a nationwide network of high-speed EV chargers to transform our transportation sector and end our reliance on fossil fuels.

And I am still going, right up to my last days in Congress. Today, this very day, I partnered with the chair of the Speaker's Select Committee on Climate Crisis, Kathy Castor from Tampa, to introduce the CLEANER Buildings Act, my bill, alongside her bill, the LOWER Energy Bills Act. These pieces of legislation will ensure we can meet President Biden's goal to reduce economy-wide emissions and transform our Nation's buildings to be energy efficient and climate resilient.

Mr. Speaker, people count the amount of emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, in different ways, but if you add up the energy we use to heat and cool and light our buildings, it is 42 percent of all the emissions in this country, all the electricity and natural gas. So we really have to deal with that.

These measures are collaborations between my amazing staff and many advocacy groups fighting for environmental justice and to save life on Earth as we know it in a way that actually advances racial and economic justice.

In terms of my priorities, the third is peace and human rights for all people everywhere, and we have been equally active in that area as well.

First, though, let me say that while I have worked super hard on peace, this is probably Congress' and the Democratic Party's greatest weakness. Our business is largely unfinished on these. For example, authorizations for use of military force, or AUMF.

The Constitution says this body, the Congress, the Article I body, is responsible for deciding when to send our young people into harm's way, and then the President is the Commander in Chief. We have fallen down in this duty, and we are still falling down.

We are relying on decades-old authorizations for use of military force. We ought to have the guts to end every one of them and work with the administration when we need a new one to put it into place. Every time we do it, it should have a sunset so that we force ourselves to make the hard decisions about war and peace.

Secondly, nuclear nonproliferation. I don't need to talk long about this. Almost nothing is happening. We are down to having one agreement with Russia left. We are really nowhere with China. We have an increasing number of nuclear states. We are, hopefully, battling hard to keep Iran from joining them. But we need to get back to the business that was really bipartisan.

Who can forget Ronald Reagan taking on ending the use of nuclear weapons? So we have really got a long way to go there.

Also, Mr. Speaker, reducing military spending. My goodness. Just the increase in the Pentagon budget that we passed through this House in the NDAA recently, the other day, just the increase above what the Pentagon asked

for that Congress stuffed in there would have paid for my whole America's College Promise Act, plus some other big needs of the American people. I am for the U.S. absolutely being the strongest military in the world, but we shouldn't be spending more than the next 8 to 10 countries combined.

We have got to have a diplomacy first, a peace first, a human rights first foreign policy and take care of the needs of our people and the poor and working people around the world.

As a lifelong human rights advocate, I feel I can say that we had more success in the human rights area. Although, the situation is certainly dire in so many parts of the world. Let me mention just a few highlights.

The House passed my bipartisan resolution condemning the coup in Burma, and we have continued oversight of the very troubling human rights situation there, as well as the inspiring efforts of the Burmese people to resist repression.

Indeed, my first foreign trip as a Congressman was to Bangladesh to visit Rohingya refugees just over the border from Burma there.

I have been a vocal advocate for human rights in places like India, which is in danger of becoming a Hindu nationalist state rather than a secular democracy; the world's largest democracy.

I am a lover of Hinduism, a lover of Jainism, Buddhism, other religions that were born in India, but we need to protect the rights of all people there, whether they are Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Jains--whatever.

I have been active about human rights in Egypt, where thousands of political prisoners languish in jail. Israel and Palestine have been a particular focus of mine. I am proud to have written the Two-State Solution Act, the most forward-leaning U.S. bill in many years to try to hold Israeli and Palestinian leaders alike accountable to take steps to advance a two-state solution.

Now, with a far-right government filled with troubling racist and homophobic leaders taking over in Israel, all of us who love that country's democratic ideals and seek justice for Palestinians as well will have to redouble our efforts. Perhaps my biggest focus in this area has been Haiti.

I founded the first House Haiti Caucus in Congress in decades and recruited three dynamic Congresswomen who represent large Haitian- American constituencies to co-chair with me: Val Demings of Florida, Yvette Clarke of New York, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.

With the support of our great Committee on Foreign Affairs chairman, Greg Meeks, we greatly increased Congressional oversight of U.S. policy on Haiti, including two standalone hearings with witnesses representing diverse perspectives and a Department of Homeland Security review of its policies after the humanitarian disaster in Del Rio.

We have pointed out that the status quo is untenable, and we have demanded inclusion of the breadth of Haitian civil society in dealing with the ongoing crisis there.

Whether on our three overarching priority areas that I have just discussed or other vital matters, like reducing the epidemic of gun violence, one thing I want to emphasize is that working in Congress is all about teamwork. We have got a tremendous amount done in these last 4 years, and it is all due to an amazing team of individuals who brought tremendous idealism, passion, professionalism, hard work, and love to make life better for working families.

I am going to share the names of everyone who has worked on Team Levin these last 4 years. Let's start with the District Office in alphabetical order: Jenny Byer; Robert Charara; Will Cochran; Eleanor Gamalski; Jolie Habashy; Walt Herzig; Zeenath Hussain; Dan Klein; Kyle Pollet; Lauren Schandevel; Amairris Simmons; Justin Walters; Sean Wolski; America Yahya; Stephanie Yaldo-Sheena.

And here in the Washington, D.C. office:

Abbas Alawieh; Mez Araya; Taryn Brown; Don Chen; Erica Fein; Ben Gerstein; Julia Kalusniak; Courtney Laudick; Austin Laufersweiler; MaryGrace Menner; Ven Neralla; Colton Puckett; Catherine Rowland; Jamari Torrence; Alex Schmitt; Sabrina Steel; Derrick Utley; Janae Washington, who is sitting here with me now; and Jacob Wilson.

And what did we get done, this amazing group of people?

In the 116th Congress, speaking of legislation, we introduced 59 pieces of legislation: 22 bills, 30 amendments, and 7 resolutions.

We passed 40 pieces of legislation through the House of Representatives: 10 bills and 30 amendments.

And we got 6 pieces of legislation all the way through the process and signed into law by that previous President.

In the 117th Congress, as of earlier this week, we introduced 50 pieces of legislation: 32 bills, 13 amendments, and 5 resolutions. And we are introducing three more pieces of legislation yet this week, one of which I mentioned.

We passed 21 pieces of legislation through the House so far: 6 bills, 2 resolutions, and 13 amendments; and we saw three pieces of legislation signed into law.

Mr. Speaker, we are still hoping for two more: Renaming the post offices in Bloomfield Township and Hazel Park, two Michigan communities in my district.

Passing legislation is just one part of our work. Serving all of our constituents, regardless of their political views or their circumstances, is another big part.

The bottom line, being a good Member of Congress is about taking care of people, whether their problems relate to immigration, Social Security, veteran benefits--whatever. And rather than get into numbers here, let me focus on just a few stories.

We led a bipartisan push to prevent the deportation of Iraqi nationals, and we secured the return of Jimmy Aldaoud's remains to the U.S. after he was deported, and he died of diabetic shock just weeks later. That man had never set foot in Iraq, he spoke no Arabic. He was obviously American. I won't go into all the upset about that, but his tragic story helped awaken society to these senseless deportations.

Together, we helped our residents navigate a once-in-a-century pandemic. We worked with State partners to help constituents obtain expanded pandemic unemployment benefits that this House created, and we worked with the State Department to help constituents stuck overseas during the early global COVID shutdown. We helped them make it home. And we helped countless small businesses, of course, obtain PPE and the EIDL loans.

We fought successfully for the release of a Black high school student who was put in juvenile detention for not completing her homework, Mr. Speaker, during remote learning; put in, essentially, jail for young people.

Remember the story of Grace, as she was called? It made national news. And the fact that it happened speaks to structural racism in educational and criminal justice systems. And the need to fight it both case-by-case, like we did with Grace, and systemically to end it as a future of our country.

We helped a Royal Oak couple overcome incredible odds to be able to complete their fertility treatment overseas during the height of the pandemic.

Just last month, my wife Mary and I visited with this wonderful couple and the son who was born as a result of these efforts, who is today a healthy toddler.

And what to say about the case of Danny Fenster, a journalist who attended the same high school as me who was held as a political prisoner for 5\1/2\ months in the horrible, insane prison in Burma.

His incredibly tenacious family and I were in constant contact, and I spoke to ambassadors across the globe working to bring him home.

My staff and I were so honored to join the family to welcome him home to the U.S. when he touched down in New York, and to follow his continued advocacy for press freedom in Burma and everywhere. And today, he is a journalism fellow at one of our most prestigious universities.

One of the things I think is most important for an effective Congressional operation is breaking down barriers and creating great collaboration between the D.C. and district offices. It is not that easy.

Let me share a few stories that illustrate why I think this is so important. In a virtual outreach event with sexual assault survivors and advocates, we met Carmen Wargel of Royal Oak and heard about significant problems for survivors seeking to prosecute those who abused them.

Because of that activity in the district, we authored an amendment that passed the House in the Violence Against Women Act to promote better outcomes and care through vertical integration in prosecution of sexual assault.

Okay, let me put this straight. I had never heard of virtual integration in prosecution. I am a lawyer. I know what virtual integration is in business. I had never heard of it.

When we put together what had happened to this person--I think she had five different prosecutors on her case, one after the other--it was because of our discussions with constituents in the district that we wrote legislation that passed the House.

Another big deal for us was introducing a resolution recognizing Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. It was the first time this had ever been done in Congressional history. But we didn't just do this in D.C. It was inspired by abortion care providers at home in the district, and we marked it with an event at the Northland Family Planning Clinic with Renee and Lara Chelian in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Certainly, our Community Project Funding projects are another great example of D.C.-district collaboration. We worked with community leaders to put forward projects for Federal funding in line with our shared priorities; nearly $28 million when you combine fiscal years 2022 and 2023. In March of this year, 2022, all 10 of our projects for the fiscal year were signed into law by President Joe Biden.

To give just a few examples of this, we are providing 3.5 million gallons of additional storage at the Chapaton Retention Basin to reduce combined sewage overflows, alleviate residential basement flooding during heavy rain events, and improve the water quality of Lake St. Clair, which serves as a source of drinking water for much of Southeast Michigan.

We are creating a community space to serve as a heating and cooling center for residents of Hazel Park and neighboring Ferndale, a gallery for local artists, and a location for job fairs and educational seminars.

We are establishing an Individual Development Account program at Macomb Community College for workforce development and certification courses, offering direct services to individuals to enhance employment opportunities and regional prosperity.

We have done a lot, and I am so proud of all that this team has accomplished, and especially the way we have done it, not just working hard but supporting each other. Building the beloved community from the inside out, even as we fight for justice in our local communities and in far-flung areas all across this planet.

So I suppose there is no better place to conclude than one of our signal achievements: Passing a resolution to allow the staff of this very House of Representatives to organize unions and bargain collectively.

Amazingly, Congress passed legislation in 1995 to apply Federal employment regulations including collective bargaining to Capitol Hill. But when they implemented the legislation in 1996 the next year, they included the Capitol Police and the Library of Congress and the Architect of the Capitol, and so forth. But they left out the people who work with us most directly--our own staff in the district offices, in our D.C. offices, and on our committees.

That was 26 years ago, and that wrong was never corrected until this year when House employees came to introduce a resolution to extend these basic rights of democracy to our staff, and together, we passed it through this House of Representatives.

I was so moved when my own staff were the very first to organize a union with a Congressional Workers Union, and now they are the very first to bargain a contract.

Mr. Speaker, already 14 offices have voted to unionize with CWU, so the precedent is set, and I believe more offices will organize and more contracts will be bargained in the 118th Congress.

That is why I came to Congress, to expand human rights, to expand the voice and power of workers and justice for their families, whether they are in the halls of Congress or on farms or in factories or offices across this land and beyond our shores.

I don't believe in the great person theory of history, Mr. Speaker. This has never been about me as a person or a leader. It is about building a team that wants to fight for justice. It is about partnering with activists doing the same. It is about learning from each other, falling down, and getting up to fight on another day.

I am so grateful to the people of Michigan's Ninth District for giving me the opportunity to serve you in this way. I have learned so much from you in our union halls, our veterans' lodges, our school buildings, and our workplaces.

As I leave Congress, I believe just as strongly as I did when I started helping workers organize unions with SEIU in 1983, that it is for the working people to set the direction of this country. That is our hope to tackle climate change. That is our hope to create a world of racial and economic justice. Onward we go.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), one of my amazing colleagues, the chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and a fearless champion for New Yorkers and Americans from all over this country.

Representative Maloney, your account is overflowing with the work of justice that you did for the people of New York and, indeed, the American people. We all know it, so thank you so much.

That was quite an honor.

That sounds right to me.

It was a big honor to be arrested with you.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my wife, Mary Freeman, and my kids, Koby, Saul, Ben, and Molly.

It has been a real honor to serve in this body, and I promise to keep the fire under your feet to do the work of justice.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the 25th anniversary of the International Career Advancement Program (ICAP). Founded and led by Prof. E. Thomas Rowe since 1997 at the University of Denver's Korbel School of International Affairs, ICAP's aim is to bring greater quality and diversity to the highest level of senior management and policy-making positions in international affairs. ICAP is one of the only programs in the United States dedicated to helping mid-career professionals from under-represented communities advance to senior positions in international careers. Each cohort since 1997 has been immersed in a week-long seminar in Aspen CO consisting of workshops and discussions designed to prepare participants to serve in senior management and policy roles.

Madam Speaker, to date, over 770 people have participated in the program and several ICAP Fellows have achieved the rank of United States Ambassador, serve as heads of NGOs, established their own non- profit organizations, and lead companies. The ICAP Fellows Association (ICAPFA) continues the mission of ICAP to offer its members mentorship, networking opportunities, and community service.

Madam Speaker, please join me in congratulating Prof. Rowe on his vision and ICAP's quarter century of work investing in the next generation of leaders in foreign affairs to ensure that the United States can be effective, innovative, and globally competitive.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Maloney for shepherding this bill and for all of her incredible leadership today and over the years.

I rise in support of H.R. 7519, my bill designating the post office at 2050 South Boulevard in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, as the Dr. Ezra S. Parke Post Office Building.

Dr. Parke and his family moved to Bloomfield Township in 1822. Madam Speaker, that was 15 years before Michigan became a State. He was a dedicated public servant who established the first post office in the area and helped lay the foundation for effective local government.

Dr. Parke served as Bloomfield Township's very first postmaster, from 1824 to 1836, and as township clerk from 1827 to 1844. He was widely respected and wore many hats, including husband, father, physician, teacher, and spiritual leader.

I am proud to honor Dr. Ezra Parke, who embodies the role of the U.S. Postal Service in the development of my own township and of our entire Nation and the centrality of the post office in the life of its citizens from before Michigan's founding to this very day.

I thank Bloomfield Township Supervisor Dani Walsh and the Bloomfield Historical Society for collaborating with me to choose Dr. Parke for this much-deserved honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 7518, designating the post office at 23200 John R Road in Hazel Park, Michigan, as the Roy E. Dickens Post Office.

Roy Dickens was a U.S. Army vet and longtime resident of Hazel Park, Michigan, where he was deeply involved in the community. He joined the Hazel Park Police Department in 1967 and served as an officer for 28 years, but Mr. Dickens was not finished. Following his tenure at the police department, he went on to serve proudly as a court officer for another 15 years until he retired in 2010.

Roy Dickens worked for the city of Hazel Park for 43 years. That makes him the longest-serving employee in the history of the city, a record he holds posthumously to this very day.

Mr. Dickens was known in southeast Michigan as a public servant, community leader, and good neighbor to all. He made a positive impact in the lives of those around him in so many ways and is remembered fondly by many people--first and foremost, his beloved wife, Marilyn, and children, Gina and David.

Roy Dickens left a legacy as a pillar of the Hazel Park community and someone who embodied the essence of public service. I am proud to honor him for generations to come with this post office dedication.

I thank Hazel Park Mayor Michael Webb, City Manager Ed Klobucher, and other civic leaders for collaborating with me on choosing the very best recipient for this honor. From this day forward, the post office on John R will remind residents of Hazel Park and surrounding towns of an unassuming leader who helped ensure the safety, peace, and tranquility of the community for everyone, Roy Dickens.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the bravery and initiative of the Congressional Workers Union.

On Monday, my staff became the first in the 233-year history of this Congress to form a union, with a unanimous vote. I look forward to bargaining a just contract to set strong standards for the years ahead.

The CWU has also announced that staff in the offices of Congresswoman Omar and Congressman Khanna are voting to form unions, as well.

As it happens, the Jewish New Year began on Monday. It is a fitting time to mark a powerful new beginning for workers here on Capitol Hill.

If we want Congress to have a workforce that reflects America's diversity; if we want poor and working-class people to work here, not just the children of the wealthy; if we want to reduce turnover and increase the effectiveness and efficiency of our work, then it is high time we afford our staff a say in their working conditions.

That is the journey we are embarking on, and I am delighted to be a part of it. Friends, there is power in a union.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment to H.R. 8294, the fiscal year 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, to ensure that Congress is adequately funding Tenant Participation Activities. I thank Chairs Rosa DeLauro and David Price for supporting this amendment.

The right of tenants to organize is a fundamental part of successful federal housing programs. The tenant participation process, built into all of HUD's major housing programs, can ensure that tenants play an integral role in the management process and promote services benefitting all residents. For example, through the public notice and comment process, tenants can prevent changes to the property that will destabilize residents' lives or diminish their rights. Funding resident participation and organizing activities is also an intentional and active way to value the lived experience of assisted families. Their empowerment is essential as we work towards a more just housing system.

At present, these activities are not adequately funded. The allotment that Public Housing Authorities can provide tenant participation activities through a formula--$25 per occupied unit--has not changed since 2001. As a former union organizer, I understand what a difference even a small amount of funds can make for getting people activated and motivated to join an organizing effort. My amendment seeks to ensure that the PHA allotment is increased to $40 per occupied unit, per year, adjusted for inflation so that HUD residents have the financial support they need to participate in organizing activities that will improve the lives of residents and their surrounding communities.

I urge my colleagues to support this important amendment.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment to ensure that funding is prioritized for the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program in H.R. 8294, the fiscal year 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act. It is critical that RAISE grants include equipping our highways with electric vehicle charging equipment, as well as powering public buses and rail with electricity. I thank Chairs Rosa DeLauro and David Price for their support for my amendment.

Today, continued investments in outdated technology that contributes to our planet's disastrous overheating are not sustainable. Instead, we should be investing in projects that will decarbonize and electrify our public transportation sector and help the country achieve net-zero carbon emissions. We must also commit to funding projects that further the goal of equity and uplift our most vulnerable populations, as the effects of climate change have a disproportionate impact on communities of color.

Our planet and the future of younger Americans and future generations depend on our ability to act on climate change now, and take every opportunity to transition away from fossil fuel dependence. Madam Speaker, this is one of those critical opportunities. This is our opportunity to ensure that our infrastructure is sustainable and equitable; to make a strategic investment both in our nation's infrastructure and our environment; to invest in future generations, not just for our grandchildren but for their children and beyond. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I rise today to urge support for my amendment to H.R. 8294, the fiscal year 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, to require funds for the Election Assistance Commission to be used to pay for the wages of election poll workers. I thank Chairs Rosa DeLauro and Mike Quigley for their support of this amendment.

We are at a crossroads in our nation. Efforts to undermine our democracy and perpetuate the Big Lie have made the workplace incredibility challenging for election workers. Despite these challenges, election workers continue to ensure that Americans can vote safely and securely. That is why we must ensure they are adequately paid for their contributions. Our system of democratic participation cannot function without them.

Last month, I introduced H.R. 8015, the Enhanced Pay for Election Workers Act alongside 40 colleagues. The bill creates a new grant program to provide states with funding to increase election worker wages. This amendment builds off that proposal to highlight the need for federal election funds to help pay election poll workers adequately. Election workers are chronically underpaid, and increased wages will help improve recruitment and morale. In turn, this will help all of us by ensuring the smooth administration of elections, which safeguards our democracy. I urge a yes vote on this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my pure outrage at this extremist, right-wing majority of the Supreme Court stripping one of the most important rights in this country away from people: the right to have an abortion. This decision endangers marginalized communities and strips the bodily autonomy away from millions of Americans, including my own 17-year-old daughter. We must not rest until we restore people's freedom to control their own bodies and their own decisions.

I want to emphasize that abortion is still legal in Michigan. The very day that Roe was overturned in the Dobbs decision, our biggest health system, Beaumont-Spectrum, announced that they would end abortion services, counter to current Michigan law.

I worked privately and publicly to reverse that, and, happily, they did so the same weekend.

We will fight to restore abortion rights, to maintain them in all the States where they still exist. This is a fight for all of us, and it is up to us to protect everyone's rights.

Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking Chair Adam Smith for his leadership on H.R. 7900, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, and for working with my team over the past few years to strengthen provisions to address toxic PFAS exposures at the Department of Defense.

I thank Representatives Slotkin and Khanna for working with me on this as well.

For more than 50 years, the military required the use of firefighting foam made with dangerous PFAS chemicals known as aqueous film-forming foam or AFFF, despite having known since the 1970s that it was toxic to people and the environment.

The Department of Defense has historically disposed of or destroyed these chemicals through incineration or burning. However, PFAS does not break down under typical incineration conditions.

Research shows that PFAS emitted through air stacks can travel several miles downwind from facilities emitting PFAS, like incinerators. That PFAS then deposits in soil and in drinking water supplies in downwind communities, exposing unsuspecting Americans to these dangerous chemicals.

Research also shows that in practice, incinerators are likely not destroying PFAS completely, but rather, emitting PFAS and other toxic chemical byproducts in our air, drinking water, and other local surroundings.

Madam Speaker, that is why PFAS substances have often been called ``forever chemicals.''

Why are we disposing of PFAS through incineration without evidence that the chemical is, in fact, being destroyed and not causing further harm to our communities?

That is why my amendment is critical. It builds on a provision enacted under last year's NDAA, which placed a prohibition on the incineration of PFAS by the Department of Defense until the Environmental Protection Agency completed guidance or a final rule on the safe disposal of PFAS.

This amendment simply extends the prohibition and requires the Pentagon to submit a report to Congress on the progress of its implementation of other safe disposal methods such as onsite PFAS destruction technologies not requiring incineration.

There is no doubt that we need to dispose of dangerous PFAS chemicals, but we cannot pursue disposal methods that cause more harm. This amendment protects our communities and our environment and ensures we are pursuing disposal methods that are safe.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in protecting our communities and our planet from dangerous PFAS exposure by supporting this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko), my distinguished colleague.

Madam Speaker, I want to be clear: This is not a permanent ban on the incineration of PFAS. It is a moratorium until guidelines for safe disposal can be produced.

Unfortunately, Congress was forced to place a moratorium on incinerating PFAS because DOD flagrantly ignored the directives requiring DOD to satisfy certain requirements before incinerating PFAS to ensure it did not cause further harm.

EPA's scientists reviewed non-incineration technologies; namely, three commercial systems using supercritical water oxidation, and found a high level of AFFF destruction, well over 99.99 percent. EPA has suggested these technologies could replace incineration for AFFF.

We know there are better technologies; we are simply extending this

so that the Department of Defense can come up with a plan to dispose of PFAS safely.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solidarity with transgender and nonbinary young people and condemn the relentless discriminatory, anti-LGBTQ+ bills and hateful rhetoric we are witnessing across the Nation.

In recent months, Republican State legislatures and elected officials have targeted the LGBTQ+ community for cheap political gain and referred falsely to anyone who opposes attempts to infringe on the rights of others as ``groomers''.

There are at least 206 active bills across State legislatures this year alone that target the LGBTQ+ community.

Here are some samples of this hateful legislation:

Excluding trans youth from participating in school sports.

Restricting trans youth from accessing the bathroom.

Banning curriculum to deny the existence of LGBTQ+ people in the classroom.

Criminalizing medical providers who provide gender-affirming healthcare.

Targeting parents of LGBTQ+ children who simply want to support their kids as best they can.

That is right: LGBTQ+ rights are being attacked from all angles.

In Texas, providing gender-affirming healthcare is now considered ``child abuse,'' and parents of transgender youth face a real risk of being separated from their children.

This month, in Idaho, a group of extremists were arrested after plotting to riot and cause violence during a Pride event. In recent days, as people around the United States have sought out the joyous parades and events that come with Pride Month, including in my own district, GOP politicians and preachers have put out calls for killing LGBTQ+ people.

There is no doubt: Bigotry toward the LGBTQ+ community has grave and potentially life-threatening consequences. According to the Trevor Project, in the past year, 45 percent of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth. Similarly, 93 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth reported worrying about being denied access to medical care due to State and local laws.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today as the dad of a gay son and a longtime ally of the LGBTQ+ community to say that these radical policies have no place in America and that this Congress must take concrete action.

In February of this year, I was proud to vote to pass the Equality Act, which protects LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in jobs, housing, and public accommodations. While it would not undo every single one of these horrible State policies I have mentioned, it would go a long way to enhance the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community and send the message that we stand against bigotry and hate.

Unfortunately, the filibuster is holding this bill up in the Senate. One thing is for certain: The filibuster must be abolished to create any viable pathway to send the Equality Act to President Biden's desk. I urge my colleagues on the other side of the Capitol to hear the cries of the LGBTQ+ community members, and particularly trans and nonbinary young people, who need these protections desperately and are counting on your support.

Here in the House, our work is far from done. I am glad we are considering the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act, which improves data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity to provide better resources for the LGBTQ+ community so that we have the data we need to make good law. We must also pass legislation to provide mental health care for LGBTQ+ people, offer hate crimes protections, and uplift and support the dignity of all LGBTQ+ individuals across this Nation.

All of us, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, must stand collectively against this hate and foster inclusion for all. Let's get to work.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Nadler for pulling this vital package together.

I speak as a father of four who is heartbroken and still processing Uvalde, Buffalo, and the unending string of mass shootings; a longtime gun reform advocate and a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force who demands real, commonsense gun reform to save lives now.

That is why I support the Protecting Our Kids Act in this moment of profound grief and collective loss. When it comes to the epidemic of gun deaths, there is no panacea. We must pass meaningful reforms, evaluate our work, and then keep on passing more legislation.

Though I am extremely supportive of this long-overdue package, I am concerned about criminal penalties for safe storage violations. Over- criminalization too often harms Black and Brown communities.

As a warrior for racial justice, I urge all of us to investigate how disparate communities would be impacted before this bill heads to the President's desk.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the Anton Art Center of Mount Clemens, Michigan on its historic building being designated as a place worthy of preservation in the National Register of Historic Places. The building has served as a cherished and integrative resource in the Mount Clemens community. When the Art Center was first established in the historic Carnegie Library Building, three Mount Clemens Art Association members--Bea Wright, Gretchen Thompson, and Phyllis Wickens--set out to preserve the then Mount Clemens Public Library and save the historic building from demolition.

In 1904, the Mount Clemens Library opened its doors to the public after a year of construction. This building is unique to the history of Mount Clemens, as it was one of approximately 2,500 libraries funded by Andrew Carnegie throughout the world. The library drew hundreds of visitors coming to explore Mount Clemens' famous mineral baths during the early 1900s. In 1963, the library was converted to include three galleries, an art studio, a meeting area, a pottery studio, a kiln room, and offices. In 1969, the library was moved to a new building and the original building changed its primary role to a non-profit known as The Art Center.

It is incredible to see how the Anton Art Center has created engaging programs for all ages centered around empowering those involved in the arts. When local businessman Gebran Anton led a fundraising effort to expand the building in 2006, the Art Center was able to add a gift shop to support the work of local artists, increase gallery space, and increase classroom space. As a cherished resource to Macomb County it is clear the mission of the Anton Art Center is alive and well today.

In 2022, the Anton Art Center provides an open and welcoming atmosphere that brings

together a wide audience, instills support for the arts, and is a focal point for arts programming and works toward inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in all they do. In Macomb County and throughout Southeastern Michigan, the Anton Art Center continues to be a strong leader in advocating for local arts and artists. It is essential that we recognize the Anton Art Center for its long history and lasting contributions. The Anton Art Center also holds a deep personal significance to me, as my family and I have attended a number of programs there over the years.

On behalf of Michigan's 9th District, it is my honor to recognize the work of the Anton Art Center's leaders, workers, and community members for their dedication and perseverance in promoting this historic building. Their work will ensure that future generations are able to visit the building and reflect on the rich history that makes Mount Clemens the wonderful city it is today.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2022.

As Michigan's former chief workforce officer, I know firsthand how vital job training is to help communities transform economic challenges into opportunities for all.

About 15 years ago, during the crisis in the auto industry, and then during the Great Recession, we created what, at the time, was the largest job training program of any State, called No Worker Left Behind. We put 162,000 un- and underemployed Michiganians back to school to study for in-demand jobs, certificates, degrees, whatever their local workforce board said was needed.

Lord knows, as Mr. Courtney said, at this moment, when employers are crying out for trained workers to fill positions, we need to pass this bill.

Let me touch on four highlights of the legislation.

First, it corrects years of underfunding by authorizing $74 billion over the next 6 years.

Second, it gives greater voice to workers by increasing representation of labor organizations on State and local workforce boards.

Third, it makes permanent and allocates $2.25 billion over 6 years for the Labor Department's Reentry Employment Opportunities program so that returning citizens can both obtain and sustain employment. We are seeing employers go into prisons in innovative ways and help people have opportunities for hope in their life, which is the surest way to cut recidivism.

Fourth, it authorizes public libraries to serve as affiliated one- stop sites, a priority I pushed to include in the legislation. Madam Speaker, I am always about those public libraries.

Effective workforce training is a crucial tool to spur job creation, fight long-term unemployment, and reduce inequality. By increasing funding and giving workers of all backgrounds a stronger voice, this proposal strengthens our workforce development system.

Madam Speaker, I congratulate Chairman Scott on his leadership in shepherding this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to vote for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2022.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Maloney for hosting this really important session.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with deep concern for the more than 2.2 million Michiganders who will lose access to abortion if this extremist Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

If this draft ruling holds, Michigan will return to a 1931 law that makes it a felony to perform or facilitate an abortion. We must call laws like this what they truly are: violations of human rights and bodily autonomy and an egregious attack on essential healthcare providers.

It must be affirmed in this House that abortion providers are essential and valued. They provide high-quality, compassionate, and necessary healthcare and deliver this care courageously, despite pressures, restrictions, political interference, and violent threats to their personal safety.

In March, I was proud to join a group of my incredible colleagues-- Representatives Pramila Jayapal; Barbara Lee, who is going to speak next; Diana DeGette; Cori Bush; and Nikema Williams--to introduce the first-ever resolution in Congress honoring abortion providers.

We recognized Abortion Provider Appreciation Day in the memory of Dr. David Gunn, who was tragically murdered outside his abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida, by a white supremacist, anti-abortion extremist in the first known instance of a murder of an abortion provider. Unfortunately, it was not the last.

I thank Representatives Jayapal, Lee, and Bush for coming forward and sharing their own stories about abortion, and Representative Newman, who just did so. Not only have they demonstrated that people make decisions to have an abortion for an array of reasons; they have also empowered other women of color and people with lived experiences to stand by abortion providers in this critical moment.

Today, I want to let all abortion providers know that they are valued. I especially want to recognize two incredible abortion providers and tireless advocates in my district, Renee Chelian, the founder of Northland Family Planning, and her daughter, Lara. I salute the work these women do in spite of anti-abortion extremists who put Northland in the headlines locally and nationally.

Beyond its impact on providers, of course, this ruling will have devastating consequences for women and transgender and nonbinary people and their communities all across Michigan and this country.

Simply stated, the government has no business interfering in the private health decisions pregnant people make about their own bodies and lives in consultation with their doctors.

Let us proclaim loudly and proudly: Abortion rights are human rights, and we must work toward a future where access to abortion is liberated from restrictions and bans universally.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this rule, which includes the resolution I introduced to provide House staff legal protection to organize and bargain collectively.

First, a big thank you to Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Whip Clyburn, and committee chairs Lofgren and Scott for working with me to get this legislation across the finish line and a big thank you to the majority of Democrats for cosponsoring this resolution.

It feels surreal, and also completely right, to be here at this critical moment. I have spent much of my career helping workers form unions and bargain collectively. The power of workers to unite and demand fair wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions was central to the creation of the American middle class, and it is essential right now for working families simply trying to get by.

That is why I was humbled when congressional staffers approached me earlier this year and asked me to introduce a resolution that would grant them a fundamental human right, the right to organize and bargain collectively without fear of retaliation.

For months now, our workers have been organizing in the shadows, because they lack the legal protections to come forward. It should not and does not have to be this way for workers seeking to exercise their First Amendment right to freedom of association, especially here in the Halls of Congress.

I fervently believe that all workers deserve the chance to have a union and to be protected in pursuing one. This resolution approves regulations originally proposed in 1996, 26 years ago. Those regulations provide guidance for how legislative branch employees can exercise their statutory right to form or join labor organizations, as Congress expressly intended.

I can say without a doubt that here in the people's House, we could not serve our districts without the hard work and dedication of congressional staff. They manage our schedules, advise on policy, engage with constituents, and do so much more essential work with humility, with grit, and often with little to no recognition.

These same workers have endured trauma while providing public service, working through a global pandemic that has killed a million people in this country, and experiencing an assault on our very workplace on January 6, 2021.

The very least we can do is honor and respect their effort to organize in Congress, giving them the long-overdue right to find their collective voice. This resolution will protect bargaining over working conditions, wages, just-cause provisions, and more. We have heard loudly and clearly over the past few months: Congressional staffers want a union. Let's not make them wait a second longer.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the rule.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Michigan World War II (WWII) Legacy Memorial, which will take place in Royal Oak, Michigan on April 7, 2022.

This effort has been a fifteen-year labor of love for a dedicated group of volunteers, many of whom had family members who served in the military, including in World War II, and some who are veterans themselves. In 2007, Honor Flight Michigan began providing one-day trips to Washington, D.C. to allow World War II veterans to visit the national World War II Memorial on the National Mall. Between 2007 and 2010, Honor Flight Michigan operated 33 flights, ensuring that all 1,400 veterans on its waiting list made the trip to our nation's capital. The group then committed itself to creating a memorial in Michigan. Its intent is best described in the words of the organization itself: ``The Michigan WWII Legacy

Memorial will serve as a place to gather, remember, and inspire. It is a memorial designed with the desire to engage the community and educate future generations on the vision, values, and heroic efforts of the Greatest Generation.''

The organization chose Royal Oak as the location for the memorial because of its central location in the heart of Southeast Michigan, and with the strong support of the City of Royal Oak to host the memorial at Memorial Park on Woodward Avenue and Thirteen Mile Road. The memorial has been designed to be educational and interactive and as a center of community activities as well as serving as a place for contemplation and remembrance.

This week, after fifteen years of work, ground will be broken for the construction of this important tribute to a defining point in history and to the vital contributions millions of Americans made to the essential cause of winning World War II. So many people have played important roles in guiding this project to this significant day, and it would be impossible to name all of them. But I would like to recognize the Board of Directors of the Michigan World War II Legacy Memorial for their efforts: President John Maten, Vice-President Chris Graveline, Secretary Kim Jones, Treasurer J. Michael Mastentuono; board members Debi Hollis, Russell Levine, Judy Maten, Ryan Friedrichs and Molly Gale; and Honorary Director Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson who served in the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. I would also like to recognize two members of the board who sadly passed away before this occasion: Michael Cameron and former Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.

Madam Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in celebrating the groundbreaking of the Michigan World War II Legacy Memorial, which I have no doubt will be viewed as a jewel in Southeast Michigan, and in congratulating all those who made vital contributions to this truly momentous occasion.