Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jan Pepper, CEO of Peninsula Clean Energy, for her groundbreaking work to bring 100 percent renewable energy to San Mateo County. Jan is retiring after more than 30 years of energy and utility experience dedicated to making clean energy accessible to all. Since 2016, she has led Peninsula Clean Energy, a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program made up of San Mateo County and all twenty of its component jurisdictions, serving more than 300,000 people.

As CEO of Peninsula Clean Energy, Ms. Pepper negotiated for 300 MW of new solar projects in the Central Valley of California. In 2021, Peninsula Clean Energy started providing 100 percent emission free power to all its customers, and Jan Pepper's vision has prepared the organization to provide 100 percent renewable energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as early as 2025.

Ms. Pepper is a registered professional engineer with a B.S. and M.B.A. from Stanford University. Prior to her leadership of Peninsula Clean Energy, she worked at Silicon Valley Power, APX, and Clean Power Markets. At APX, she and her team implemented the first use of renewable energy credits which are the basis of our Nation's clean energy metrics today. With Clean Power Markets, Jan developed the Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) program for the State of New Jersey. She is recognized as a national leader in renewable energy, winning the Green Power Leader of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Center for Resource Solutions in 2017.

Ms. Pepper served on the Los Altos City Council from 2012 through 2020, and as Mayor in 2015 and 2020. She believes transparency, integrity and consensus building are essential for good governance.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me in honoring the career of an extraordinary woman, Jan Pepper. Our Nation has been bettered because of her superb work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to include in the Record the remarks of my constituent, William B. Gould IV, Professor Emeritus at Stanford Law School, at the unveiling of a statue of his great-grandfather who escaped slavery to serve in the Navy during the Civil War.

Unveiling of the Statue of William B. Gould [1837-1923]: The Flame Kept

Alive

Delivered by William B. Gould IV, Gould Park--Dedham, Massachusetts,

May 28, 2023

On behalf of the entire Gould Family on this 100th

commemoration of William B. Gould's death here in Dedham,

today I express our thanks to Dedham's citizens who made this

day possible. Specifically, Joe Castiglione, Voice of the

Boston Red Sox and my friend for nearly forty years, for his

kindness in accepting this position as Master of Ceremonies

of this event.

And I thank Father Wayne L. Belschner of St. Mary's Roman

Catholic Church which William B. Gould helped construct in

the 1880s. I shall never forget your eloquent and vivid

speech 18 months ago here in Dedham about him and his work

and I thank you for it.

And thank you Father Chitral De Mel, Rector of the Church

of the Good Shepard here, where we attended the Eucharist

this morning and where the first four of the six William

Benjamin Goulds were baptized.

Penultimately, thank you Pablo Eduardo for your fine

artistry in sculpting this statue of my great-grandfather.

Finally. I thank Brian Keaney, who along with Dan Hart, and

so many others here in Dedham discovered William B. Gould

three years ago and set in motion a chain of events which

have led to this day.

``Bring the good old bugle, boys, we'll sing another song''

writes Henry C. Work when he wrote Marching Through Georgia

which my father sang to us so often in our New Jersey

household.

``Sing it with a spirit that will start the world along--

Sing it as we used to sing it, fifty thousand strong, While

we were marching through Georgia.''

These words, sung with gusto by my father, along with the

Battle Hymn of the Republic, have been with me since

childhood and throughout my three decade long search for my

great grandfather, gone from this world thirteen years before

my birth.

As we arrived in Boston a few days ago after a visit to

Savannah, Georgia, I thought anew about those days,

reflecting upon General Sherman's great ``march to the sea''

when ``treason fled before us'' as the United States marched

through Georgia and presented a Christmas present of Savannah

to President Lincoln.

Two decades ago, when some of the Gould Family traveled to

Wilmington, North Carolina, William B. Gould's birthplace and

the

site of his audacious escape from slavery to join the United

States Navy in the War of the Rebellion, we noted the absence

of any statues for the Black veterans of that conflict.

Contrarily, we noted the many Confederate statues throughout

the country, a phenomenon made graphic today as some have

been pulled down, relocated or destroyed. In Wilmington in

2003 I said:

``. . . There is little or no mention or acknowledgment of

the black military involvement in this effort, the ``holiest

of all causes'' as William B. Gould called it, to obtain the

New World's central political and legal achievement.''

Statues cannot be viewed as neutral and they do not exist

in a vacuum. They project the memories of the past and the

values associated with them. Their oldest confirmed examples

of stone and portrait are said to be before recorded history,

35,000 to 45,000 years ago. When the time capsules contained

within this statue are opened, one hundred and two hundred

years from now, it may be that William B. Gould's values,

expressed in war and in peace here in Dedham, will in some

way shape or promote the discussions of future generations.

Of course. it was my father. William B. Gould III, raised

here on the Boston-Dedham boundary line, who truly lit the

spark for this day. It was he who bequeathed the cadence of

the Civil War, its' principles. music, literature and

knowledge of its military battles as part of our upbringing.

It was he who found the diary itself here in Dedham. It was

he who manifested an ever courteous reverence toward my great

uncles who had fought in France in World War I. It was he who

kept the name alive.

On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember the first William

B. Gould's service to the United States and his well-written

words at sea in 1865. ``We were born under the Flag of the

Union and we never will know no other.'' he said in response

to ideas which abounded before and during the War about Black

colonization in Africa, while pursuing Confederate vessels

near Southampton, Great Britain. ``My sentiment is the

sentiment of the people of the states'', he said. And for my

great grandfather, this flag was the ``Flag of Right'' and

``the Flag of Equality.''

This day marks honor for that commitment and for those

previously forgotten. For until my father discovered the

diary and the citizens of Dedham took notice of it three

years ago, William B. Gould had been forgotten. To be

forgotten was illustrative of what I described a number of

years ago, i.e., ``. . . the old order against which my

parents had struggled. In their day the struggle was against

hopeless odds--hopeless because all who possessed African

blood were isolated, ridiculed, despised--and thus regarded

as unfit for occupations and work that the white man was

willing to perform.'' It was the forgotten who, in the words

of the Book of Common Prayer, ``travail'' and are ``heavy

laden.'' This is what William B. Gould had in mind when, in

his diary, he railed against the tearing of ``benighted

Africans'' from their ``loved homes on the free plains of

Africa's shores'' to be ``transferred to the Wilderness of

America so that they would become ``. . . the Hewers of the

Wood and Drawers of Water to clear their Land, to Build their

Cittys and feed their Mouths?''

I cannot speak for what William B. Gould would say about

the current discussion and debate on recompense or

reparations and what form, if any, they should take. But

today we can experience firsthand the exhilaration of victory

at sea as well as on land, the conclusion of what, in his

Second Inaugural Address President Lincoln called ``the

bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil''

and ``every drop of blood drawn with the lash.''

In 2023, these wounds still exist in our country today more

than one hundred and sixty years after William B. Gould's

service. For his generation of family and war comrades, who

were ever devoted to full freedom and equality, surely today

he would want us to repair the inequality in our country, as

he did through his work, with great care and honesty. As St.

Mary's parishioners know today, he was a smart, capable and

practical craftsman who worked with his mind as well as his

hands. He would be, as he was then, promoting that which is

compatible with Lincoln's overriding goal to ``bind up the

nation's wounds'' so that we may live with equity in dignity

with respect for one another.

Thank you. Dedham, Massachusetts, for this honor to William

B. Gould. God bless you in your efforts to reflect upon the

past and affect the future.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present during rollcall vote No. 247. I would like the Record to reflect that on rollcall vote No. 247, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Judy C. Miner. an extraordinary educator and public servant.

Judy Miner was born in San Francisco to immigrant parents. One of five children, she was the first in her family to attend college. She earned a Bachelor's degree in history and French and a Master's degree in history from Lone Mountain College, and a Doctorate in organization and leadership with a concentration in education law from the University of San Francisco.

Dr. Miner has worked in the California Community Colleges for 35 years, and was President of Foothill College for eight years. In 2015 she was named the seventh permanent Chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, a post she held with distinction and honor. She has devoted her life to closing opportunity and achievement gaps and to student equity, and she has taken the District to the highest levels of leadership and accomplishment. Because of her tireless dedication, postsecondary education has become accessible and excellent, and her tenure as Chancellor propelled the District to be one of the best in our nation.

Dr. Miner has always invested in the infrastructure that students need to succeed. She increased faculty pay to attract top talent and developed a partnership with the Krause Center of Innovation to help teachers be more effective with students. She advocated for new degrees and fields of study, such as the Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy and the Nanny and Family Studies Program. She made students feel welcome with counseling services, vocational organizations and community building programs.

Dr. Judy Miner's work has gone beyond Foothill-De Anza. She is a global leader for community colleges, representing our country honorably with the American Council on Education and at the International Conference for Community Colleges. Her legacy will be felt for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me in thanking Dr. Judy Miner for her exemplary work in education. She has bettered the lives of hundreds of thousands of students. and her work has made us a stronger community and a greater nation. She is truly a national treasure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor John Hart Clinton, Jr. who passed away on March 29th at the age of 78. Mr. Clinton was an integral part of the San Mateo County community through his work as Publisher of the San Mateo Times and his service on the San Mateo County Historical Association.

John's life was a testament to his family's legacy of civic engagement and passion for San Mateo County. He studied at the University of Oregon and returned home to help run the San Mateo Times, which his mother's family, the Amphletts founded in 1889. His father, J. Hart Clinton was a partner at Morrison, Foerster, Holloway, Clinton and Clark in San Francisco, and he was appointed to lead the San Mateo Times in 1943.

In the late 1960s, John met his wife Nina, and they had three children: Allison Rak, John Clinton, and Nicole Medina. His family describes him as loving, caring, and kind. Throughout his career, John always came home for dinner, and he loved spending time outdoors with his kids, pitching to his daughter Nicole or fishing with John. He supported his family's passions by learning about their fields of interest and being present at important events. John loved to make his family happy by dressing up in costume for parties and impressing guests with his sleight of hand.

At the San Mateo Times, John developed an effective working relationship with the newspaper's staff who speak of his work ethic and willingness to go to bat for others. Former Managing Editor Michelle Carter credits John as one of the primary reasons she was promoted to lead the newspaper, thanks to his support of her candidacy with his father, J. Hart Clinton.

John took on the role of Publisher in 1987, and he was the steward of the San Mateo Times through in-depth coverage of events such as the Loma Prieta Earthquake, several presidential elections, and the end of the Cold War.

John Clinton loved his community's heritage and served on the board of the San Mateo County Historical Association. He led the transformation of the Old County Courthouse into the new home of the History Museum. Mitch Postel, President and CEO of the Historical Association cites John as integral to the Historical Association's mission, with the following words:

``Telling the story of the current Peninsula was only an

ability you had if you knew the past. He realized that and he

knew that his family had created an institution in San Mateo

County that was very important to the local people,'' Postel

said. ``He wasn't into the local history thing just because

he wanted to be on a board. He was into it because he

believed in its importance and knew that his family was a

part of that.''

John also volunteered with the nonprofits Caminar and the Peninsula Community Foundation, in addition to co-founding the United American Bank. He will be remembered as a deeply faith-filled man who helped the homeless, the incarcerated, and other underserved residents, always with an eye to how our systems could better help those in need.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me in honoring the life of an extraordinary and humble man, John Hall Clinton, Jr. San Mateo County is better and stronger, and our Nation is greater because of John and his superb work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mark Ghilarducci on his retirement from his position as the Director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. He served in this role since 2012 and retired at the end of 2022 and is an extraordinary public servant.

Mark Ghilarducci grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and began responding to emergencies when he was 16 years old as a volunteer on a mountain rescue team. A graduate of UC Davis, he decided to become a paramedic at age 19, leading to his lifetime of coordinating resources, caring for people and cleaning up after various community catastrophes. He worked in Asia, including China and Indonesia, and that work helped shape his career. Responding to the earthquake in Humboldt County, a cyber-attack on the California Department of Finance, dreadful fires and disastrous floods were all part of his job and his mission.

In 2020, when the Santa Cruz Mountains were set ablaze by the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, Mark was instrumental in coordinating with federal and local partners to help put out the fires and get thousands of displaced residents back on their feet. He was steadfast when my constituents needed it the most, and he was one of our strongest advocates in Sacramento, pushing for resources to be allocated to our region during one of the worst fire seasons in recent history. After the fires, Mark met with me personally to solve individual constituents' problems, which helped Santa Cruz County to rebuild. It was Mark's unique combination of courage and compassion that made responding to this catastrophe possible.

Mark has been a dedicated and dependable partner in working to update California's emergency communications infrastructure. He supported the adoption of FirstNet in California, advocated strongly for implementing the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and has worked closely with me to secure federal funding for California and other states to transition to Next Generation 9-1-1.

Mark loved his work and he loved the people he worked with. Retirement won't come easily to him and we know he'll be there for us when he's needed. It's now time for him to take some well-earned rest and spend some uninterrupted time with his family.

Governor Newsom trusted Mark to tackle the state's most difficult crises, and he reflected on Mark's distinguished service with the following statement:

``For more than a decade, Mark has expertly guided our

state through some of the most complex and challenging

disaster conditions in the nation--coordinating California's

emergency response to unprecedented wildfires, severe

drought, earthquakes and cybersecurity threats, as well as

our nation-leading efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

``Mark's tireless work to improve and modernize our

emergency management, preparedness and recovery efforts has

protected communities across California and better positioned

the state to respond to a myriad of challenges now and into

the future. On behalf of all Californians, I thank Mark for

his tremendous leadership, perseverance and committed

service. Our state is stronger and more resilient because of

his efforts.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me in thanking Mark Ghilarducci for his extraordinary service. California is better and stronger, and our Nation is greater because of Mark Ghilarducci and his superb work. He is a national treasure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Foothill College on being named the Best Community College in America by Niche and Stacker. Foothill is located in Los Altos Hills, California, and has been a pioneer in higher education since its founding in 1957. Foothill College democratizes higher education by offering 191 degrees and certificates to students of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. More than 13,000 students are enrolled each quarter across the institution's learning settings, which include online classes, field sites, and its beautiful campus. More than 60 percent of students are minorities, 45 percent of enrollees are 25 years or older, and women represent more than half of those enrolled.

The values of the College underpin everything it does: honesty, integrity, trust, openness, transparency, forgiveness, sustainability, and excellence. Trust and openness are evident in the sterling review one Junior wrote about Foothill:

``The professors show that they care for their students by being flexible to meet with students one-on-one and they are very big on advocating for diversity within their classrooms [. . .] Most importantly, the professors provide students with the information of almost every resource that is available to us such as tutoring, mental health services, and financial aid resources.'' (Niche)

Foothill College maintains its excellence by continuously measuring its accessibility, student success, pedagogy, and learning climate. The Financial Aid Office delivers on its mission to make a college education attainable for every student through the Foothill College Promise, two years of free tuition for first-time, full-time students. Student Services creates an inclusive learning community by working with professors to provide personal translation services in 12 languages, including American Sign Language. A survey of recent graduates shows that 85 percent of students who studied Careers in Technical Education got a job in a field similar to their academic focus, and 57 percent of students who entered the work force after community college secured a living wage. Foothill is pushing the boundaries of community college education by offering a bachelor's degree in Dental Hygiene, and a new bachelor's degree in Respiratory Therapy starting in 2024.

Our Nation's Veterans have made Foothill College their home. Working hand-in-hand with the Veterans Resource Center, servicemembers explore careers and become part of the local community. Many transfer to a 4- year college or begin working, empowered by the tools Foothill College has given them.

For all these reasons and more, Foothill College has earned the distinction of `The Best Community College in America'. As a graduate of a community college myself, I know how valuable a community college education is. How proud I am that the home of Foothill College is California's 16th Congressional District where it is a jewel in the crown of the District that I am so privileged to represent.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening in strong support of H.R. 1123, the Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act. It is bipartisan legislation, and I am proud to have authored it.

Every single day Americans make calls, they send texts, and they access data on 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.

Yet, we lack a comprehensive assessment of what vulnerabilities exist on these networks, what issues have been resolved, and where mobile cybersecurity policymaking should be focused.

That is what this legislation addresses. It requires the NTIA, as the chairman said, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, to

conduct a comprehensive study on the cybersecurity vulnerabilities of these networks and report those findings to Congress.

Americans need to trust the networks that they use and know that Congress is working to ensure that these networks are safe. This bill will help us accomplish that.

I thank Congresswoman Kat Cammack for her partnership, and I urge all of my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 1123.

Mr. Speaker, I don't believe I have anyone on this side that wishes to speak, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, today's Resolution, falsely conflating socialism with communism, is the latest in a long history of Republican scare tactics about Democrats and socialism.

In 1935, Republican Representative Robert Rich said here in this chamber, ``Roosevelt is a socialist, not a Democrat.''

In 1946, during the Truman Administration, Republican Senator Robert Taft called a national health insurance bill ``the most socialistic measure that this Congress has ever had before it.''

In the 1960 election, Republican Senator Barry Goldwater called the platform of John F. Kennedy ``a blueprint for socialism.''

In 1964, when Lyndon Johnson passed Medicare, George H.W. Bush called it ``socialized medicine.''

In 1976, Barry Goldwater claimed that Jimmy Carter would bring about a ``suicidal slide toward socialism.''

In 1993, Newt Gingrich called the Clinton health care plan ``socialism now or later.''

Barrack Obama was routinely called a socialist, including by three of the Republican candidates in the 2012 election.

And several Members of this House have called Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law ``socialist.''

Having reviewed this history, it's clear that this Resolution denouncing the horrors of ``socialism'' is an attempt by Republicans to trap Democrats on a vote by tying them to socialism.

I neither admire nor ascribe to socialism, and the merits of this Resolution are none, in my view. It makes no mention of the real threats to democracy like Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the right-wing attack on the Capitol two years ago, and the challenge to our democracy of the movements of white nationalism, election denialism, the alt-right, and fascism.

Let's end these cynical debates about socialism and get back to the work our constituents sent us to Washington to do.

Mr. Speaker, I seek recognition to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in my congressional district in the community of Half Moon Bay on Monday of this week.

Mr. Speaker, seven lives, seven precious lives, farmworkers in a community that is as all-American as can be, about 11,000 people. It is a bucolic community on the magnificent California coastline. It is known for its pumpkin festival. It is known for its Mavericks competition in terms of surfers, but also, for over a century, it has been known for its flora culture and its agriculture.

It was on Monday that one individual went to a nursery--actually, where he worked. He knew exactly who he was pursuing. It was intentional. It was targeted. It was execution, and children witnessed this. Children witnessed it.

He left that site, drove about a mile and a half to Highway 1, which is the scenic highway with the magnificent Pacific Ocean on one side and the community on the other, to another nursery and murdered three others.

The first 3 weeks of this New Year: 39 mass shootings in the United States of America. We always come to the floor: Thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers.

My thoughts are, I don't think we are safe anywhere anymore-- churches, schools, community centers, now at nurseries where agricultural workers work, dance rooms, restaurants.

I believe sincerely, number one, in prayer. My prayer today is that there will be a collective examination of conscience in the Congress because we have a responsibility in this. We all do, regardless of party.

This is a matter of conscience. It is a moral issue. When the number one cause of death of children in our Nation is from gun violence, we have to stop and examine our conscience.

We say home of the brave, land of the free. My prayer today is that we will be the home of the safe.

These are whose lives were taken on Monday: Zhishen Liu, 73 years old; Aixiang Zhang, 74 years old; Qizhong Cheng, 66 years old; Jingzhi Lu, 64 years old; Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50 years old; Yetao Bing, 43 years old; Jose Romero Perez, 38 years old.

God rest them.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present during Roll Call vote Nos. 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 on January 24-25, 2023, due to the shooting in Half Moon Bay, California in my Congressional District. I would have voted as follows:

Had I been present, on Roll Call No. 32, I would have voted YES; on Roll Call No. 33, I would have voted YES; on Roll Call No. 34, I would have voted YES; on Roll Call No. 35, I would have voted YES; and on Roll Call No. 36, I would have voted YES.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of Dr. Anthony Fauci who is retiring from public service after dedicating nearly six decades to improving the health and wellbeing of the American people and saving countless lives.

As former President Barack Obama declared, Dr. Fauci is ``a once-in- a-century public health leader.'' As Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, Dr. Fauci has managed and overseen an extensive multibillion dollar research portfolio on HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, tuberculosis, malaria, Ebola, Zika, and Covid-19. He has advised seven Presidents and is respected and admired globally, especially for his work as one of the principal architects of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

As the author of more than 1,400 scientific publications and as the 44th most-cited living researcher, he has made seminal contributions to the study of HIV, rheumatology, and immunoregulation. He is the recipient of prestigious awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, the George M. Kober Medal of the Association of American Physicians, and the Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service. He also has received 58 honorary doctoral degrees from universities in the United States and abroad. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Beyond his scientific genius, Dr. Fauci has served our Nation with compassion and bravery. During the 1980s and 1990s, he personally cared for HIV-infected patients and for the first time, brought patient voices into the drug development process. In 2014, Dr. Fauci helped treat and notably hugged a nurse who had recovered from the Ebola virus, and he has treated Covid-19 patients on a near-daily basis. As Dr. Fauci has carried on with his noble work on Covid-19, he has been subjected to personal attacks and death threats that have required security protection for himself and his family, but he has retained his unswerving commitment to the wellbeing of the American people.

I have served on the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee for 28 years, with jurisdiction over the National Institutes of Health. From that position, I have benefited from Dr. Fauci's trusted testimony and expertise. His steady hand and scientific integrity have guided Congress for decades and his advice will be deeply missed. My work has been consistently shaped by Dr. Fauci's advice and it's been the privilege of a lifetime to serve with one of the greatest public servants of our country.

Madam Speaker, I ask the entire House to join me in thanking Dr. Anthony Fauci for his extraordinary service and in wishing him every blessing in the next chapter of his life. He is a good and great man and we are a stronger, healthier nation because of him and his work.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and work of my constituent and friend Jamie Berry, who died on November 9, 2022, after a valiant two-year battle with ALS. After exchanging many letters with Jamie, I had the privilege of meeting her on October 6, 2022, at her home in San Jose, California. Her mother, a fierce protector and loving caregiver, asked me to visit Jamie who was by then unable to leave her home. I found a beautiful woman unable to move, but who had a clear voice to tell me her hopes, fears and dreams. Jamie was a great inspiration to me, and she knew that I would continue her work to raise funds for the treatment and a cure for ALS.

Jamie was diagnosed with ALS in 2020. Prior to her diagnosis, she excelled in her sales career, helped run her family's business, and loved to ride ATVs and camp at her family's ranch near the Almaden Quicksilver mines. After her diagnosis, she put all of her energy and determination into her advocacy for ALS patients and their families. Through her superb leadership, infectious humor and kind heart, she recruited a large group of friends from across the country to help her advocate for ALS patients. During my Health Subcommittee hearing on the ACT for ALS legislation on November 4, 2021, I quoted Jamie:

``With ALS, a piece of you dies every single day. We are simply asking for a fighting chance to live the lives we were meant to live.''

Thanks to Jamie, the Act for ALS became law on December 23, 2021.

Madam Speaker, I ask the entire House to join me in extending our most sincere condolences to Jamie's family, especially her beloved husband Jason, her adored daughter Chloee, her devoted mother Deborah, her sister Lesha, and her many relatives and friends. Jamie was a fervent and effective advocate and her work will live on as a testament to her life of love and courage.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of Santa Cruz County's Third District Supervisor, Ryan Coonerty, who is retiring after serving two terms as a Member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.

Ryan Coonerty has a long and distinguished history of public service. He served twice as the Mayor of the City of Santa Cruz, and was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2014. He hosts a podcast, An Honorable Profession, and co-founded NextSpace Coworking and Innovation, serves as a lecturer on law and government at U.C. Santa Cruz, and co-wrote The Rise of the Naked Economy.

As a Santa Cruz County Supervisor, Ryan worked to create affordable housing, expanded public safety programs, voter access and family health. He is a respected leader on environmental issues and opposed offshore oil and gas drilling. He is a steadfast supporter of women's rights and LGBTQIA+ equality, and an advocate for local immigrant families.

Supervisor Coonerty has been a leader on the Board of Supervisors in bringing forward proposals to address post CZU Fire issues, such as the creation of the Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience, initiating a debris clearance process, and more recently, addressing permitting and rebuilding challenges. While the fire was burning, he put out an email newsletter almost daily to keep residents informed.

Ryan and I have worked together on North Coast issues, especially balancing tourism with control over traffic, noise, and trash. He helped set up the North Coast Multi-Agency Working Group, which I'm an ex-officio member of.

Ryan has received many honors, among them his selection as a Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership by the Aspen Institute as one of ``the nation's most promising young elected officials''. He was honored as a Community Hero by the Red Cross of Santa Cruz County, and Advocate of the Year by the United Way of the County.

Ryan Coonerty is a graduate of the University of Oregon's Clark Honors College, the London School of Economics, and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia. He and his wife Emily reside in Santa Cruz with their children Daisy and Kellan.

Madam Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me in thanking Ryan Coonerty for his exemplary service and wishing him every blessing in the next chapter of his life. Because of his superb leadership we are a better community and a stronger country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 600,000 DACA recipients who are terrified that a forthcoming court ruling will force them to leave the only country they've lived in and loved.

These young men and women came to the U.S. as newborns and small children. They've attended American schools, served in the U.S. military, and they contribute their multitude of talents to our nation's economy every day.

Despite having built their lives here, DACA recipients live with fear that their legal status will be ripped away from them by a disastrous court decision. They've lived with this uncertainty for over a decade, and they deserve a permanent solution.

I'm proud to have voted for the Dream Act which offers a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. The legislation passed the House with a bipartisan vote last year and is supported by the faith community, business leaders, law enforcement, and over two-thirds of the American people.

Despite being supported by a large majority of Americans, Senate Republicans have repeatedly blocked the Dream Act, forcing the lives of Dreamers to remain in limbo. This is unacceptable. Denying basic protections to these brave young men and women dishonors our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants.

Dreamers are Americans in all but name. They've been subjected to the cruelty of our broken immigration system for far too long, and it's time for Congress to live up to our promise to protect the Dreamers so that they can continue to strengthen and enrich our Nation.