Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act, which includes my bill-- and I thank the chairwoman for that--the Ending Debt Collection Harassment Act.

Like many, my mother took pride in paying her bills and paying them on time. But after several life-disruptive events--the death of an immediate family member, a layoff, and a mandatory surgery--there came a point where she could no longer afford it. No matter how hard she worked, we owed everyone--the utility company, the landlord, the bank-- and we were frequently harassed by debt collectors.

Our story is the story of millions of families.

Due to poverty wages, a lack of affordable healthcare, the absence of paid leave, and other policy failures which push working people to the margins, millions of people in America are forced to take on significant debt to survive.

This is especially true during times of crisis, and debt collectors prey on that reality. They are making record profits during a pandemic, using aggressive tactics to scare and to exploit people.

Consumer complaints of shaming tactics, of intimidation, of harassment, especially from our elders, continue to rise year after year. This bill provides the needed protection from mistreatment and harassment.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the deep trauma and loss of life perpetuated by systems of oppression here in the United States and globally.

Many times I have stood at this dais and affirmed that our destinies are tied. That was clear when protestors took to the streets in the face of police murders, seeking to build a nation where Black lives matter.

That was clear when our democracy and our lives were put at risk by violent white supremacists, who shattered glass and broke doors while wearing anti-Semitic phrases on their chests, carrying the Confederate flag, erecting a noose on the west lawn.

That was clear when students protesting to end poverty and oppression in the streets of Bogota were shot dead.

That was clear when families kneeling during this holy month at the third holiest site in Islam were met with teargas, rubber bullets, and hand grenades.

Our destinies are tied. As a Black woman in America, I am no stranger to police brutality and State-sanctioned violence. We have been criminalized for the very way we show up in the world.

Last summer, when Black Lives Matter protestors took to the streets to demand justice, they were met with force. They faced teargas, rubber bullets, and a militarized police, just as our Palestinian brothers and sisters are facing in Jerusalem today.

Palestinians are being told the same thing as Black folks in America: There is no acceptable form of resistance.

We are bearing witness to egregious human rights violations. The pain, trauma, and terror the Palestinians are facing is not just the result of this week's escalation, but the consequence of years of military occupation.

In Sheikh Jarrah, the Israeli Government is violently dispossessing yet another neighborhood of Palestinian families from homes they have lived in for decades.

We cannot stand idly and complicitly by and allow the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people to continue. We cannot remain silent when our government sends $3.8 billion of military aid to Israel that is used to demolish Palestinian homes, imprison Palestinian children, and displace Palestinian families.

A budget is a reflection of our values. I am committed to ensuring that our government does not fund state violence in any form anywhere.

Many say that ``conditioning aid'' is not a phrase that I should utter here,

but let me be clear: No matter the context, American Government dollars always come with conditions.

The questions at hand are: Should our taxpayer dollars create conditions for justice, healing, and repair? Or should those dollars create conditions for oppression and apartheid?

Now, while I hold due space for the storied history and the unique lived experiences on the ground globally, there is a through line here.

And whether we are talking about the militarization of our communities or weapons of war, the question is the same. If our budgets are a statement of our values, what do we value? Whose lives do we value? We have seen footage of Israeli and Palestinian children huddled fearfully while rockets blanket their homeland. No child should live in fear. No child should grow up in the midst of a conflict that robs them of a childhood. And Palestinian children do not have the same protections afforded to them.

Without the U.S. exerting pressure on Israel to deescalate, the explosive situation in Jerusalem is igniting further violence not just in the city, but beyond. It is clear there is a grave asymmetry of power here. Palestinians do not have a sovereign state and the protections that come with it.

Following forceful violence against the Palestinians simply seeking to remain in their family homes, militant groups in Gaza have launched rockets at Israeli cities, resulting in seven deaths, including a child. In response, the Israeli military has launched severe attacks on Gaza, killing 83 people, 17 of whom are children. This is devastating.

The destinies of the Israeli and Palestinian people are tied. Our outrage at the pain, violence, and oppression they face must be clear and unapologetic. Equal outrage for violence perpetrated against all people, and moral clarity when state-sanctioned violence is claiming the lives of innocent mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons.

From Jerusalem to Boston, from Randolph to Gaza, from Colombia to Yemen, our destinies are tied, and everyone deserves to live from fear and to know peace.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1532) to require a review of the effects of FHA mortgage insurance policies, practices, and products on small-dollar mortgage lending, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

Madam Speaker, when it comes to promoting access to homeownership, much of the focus tends to be on how high housing prices are pricing many borrowers out of homeownership. But the landscape of homeownership opportunities is varied, and for many communities, the lack of access to traditional mortgage financing for small-dollar mortgages continues to be a major barrier.

Specifically, I am talking about mortgage financing for homes that are priced at $70,000 or less. For many rural communities, and predominantly communities of color that are struggling to overcome the impacts of the foreclosure crisis, there are lower-value homes that would otherwise be ideal homeownership opportunities for first-time home buyers and working class families, but the lack of traditional mortgage financing options acts as a barrier to those opportunities.

Data from the Urban Institute shows that these small-dollar mortgages are denied by lenders at double the rate compared to larger loans, and this trend cannot be explained away by differences in the creditworthiness of applicants.

The bottom line is that lenders don't make as much money originating these smaller loans, so they are less likely to make loans on collateral that don't maximize their profit.

The Federal Housing Administration was designed to serve underserved markets and could be instrumental in promoting more small-dollar mortgage lending, but the data shows that the FHA is actually disproportionately failing to serve this market. So this bill would require the FHA to identify barriers to better serving the small-dollar mortgage market and to come up with an actionable plan to reduce those barriers.

This bill is desperately needed at a time when mortgage rates are at historic lows and home prices continue to rise. We must support affordable housing options for individual borrowers and their pursuit of the American Dream of homeownership.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would inquire through the Chair if my colleague has any remaining speakers.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Tlaib for her work on this important bill, as we work to improve access to affordable homeownership. This bill is an important step that will help us better understand and break down the barriers to obtaining traditional mortgage financing for small-dollar mortgages.

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1491) to amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to provide enhanced protection against debt collector harassment of members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this legislation.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Dean for her leadership on this important bill, which will provide much-needed relief and protection for our servicemembers.

Two out of every five servicemembers' complaints submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are about predatory debt collection practices. Some examples of what servicemembers reported experiencing include inappropriate threats of punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, threats to the rank and security clearance of the servicemember, and even reports of debt collectors inappropriately contacting the commanding officer of the debt holder.

It is a disgrace that people serving in the military are being threatened and intimidated. The impact of these abusive collection practices is severe. Servicemembers have reported increased stress and hardship because of predatory debt collectors.

These unfair and unnecessary practices against people who are putting their lives on the line for this country must end, which is why the National Military Family Association; the National Consumer Law Center; and the former CFPB Assistant Director for Servicemember Affairs, retired Army Colonel Paul Kantwill, all support this bill.

I am happy to say that Democrats and Republicans agree that Congress should put a halt to these abusive practices, and this bill does just that. Congresswoman Dean's work across the aisle and with the House Armed Services Committee last Congress resulted in a House floor vote of 355-0.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to unanimously support this bill again so we can better protect our servicemembers, who do so much to protect us.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman

from Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean), who is also the sponsor of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, in closing, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I commend Congresswoman Dean for her excellent work on H.R. 1491 to help ensure our servicemembers are not threatened or harassed by unscrupulous debt collectors.

Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support our servicemembers by voting ``yes'' on H.R. 1491, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1395) to require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to discount FHA single-family mortgage insurance premium payments for first-time homebuyers who complete a financial literacy housing counseling program.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 1395, the Housing Financial Literacy Act, a bipartisan bill authored by

Representative Beatty who is the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion. The bill is also cosponsored by Representative Stivers.

This bill would incentivize prospective home buyers to undergo housing counseling by offering a discount on FHA-backed mortgages for doing so. Research has consistently demonstrated that loans made to borrowers who have received pre-purchase counseling perform better than loans made to comparable borrowers who did not receive pre-purchase counseling on their mortgage.

When borrowers are able to stay current on their mortgage payments, lenders save money too. A 2013 study by Freddie Mac found that when 90- day delinquencies were lowered by 29 percent, lenders saved an average of $1,000 per loan. So this bill would not only benefit consumers during an environment of historically low mortgage rates, it would also help further improve the financial health of the FHA.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Beatty for her leadership on this commonsense, data-driven bill. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1395, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio for pushing this bill forward.

This bill incentivizes financial literacy that will help avoid delinquencies and lower the upfront cost of homeownership for so many.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1565) to create an interdivisional taskforce at the Securities and Exchange Commission for senior investors.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1565, the Senior Security Act of 2021, which would help protect America's senior investors who can be disproportionately vulnerable to investment-related frauds.

In 2017 alone, State securities regulators conducted nearly 4,709 investigations, leading to more than 2,100 enforcement actions, including 255 criminal prosecutions. These actions have resulted in approximately $486 million in restitution for harmed investors, nearly $79 million in fines and/or penalties, and 1,985 years in incarceration or probation being ordered.

The National Council on Aging estimated that elder financial abuse and fraud costs older Americans from $2.9 billion to $36.5 billion annually. Moreover, in a February bulletin, the FINRA, the NASAA, and the SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy noted that COVID- 19's unprecedented quarantines and social isolation may leave senior investors even more susceptible to financial fraud than ever before.

This bill would establish a Senior Investor Task Force within the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In coordination and consultation with State securities administrators, self-regulatory organizations, Federal law enforcement agencies, and others, the task force would be charged with identifying issues related to investors who are older than 65 years of age. The bill would also require biennial task force reports and require the GAO to complete a study on senior financial exploitation.

I strongly support the safety of America's senior investors and their right to enjoy the retirement funds that they have worked so hard to earn. I also support regulators and law enforcement in holding fraudsters who prey upon the elderly accountable.

It is for all these reasons I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Senior Security Act of 2021.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer), who is a sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Vicente Gonzalez).

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1565 will help our financial regulators better protect our Nation's seniors and the retirement funds they spent their entire lives building. I urge all of my colleagues to stand up for senior investors and vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1865.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Nadler for yielding.

Madam Speaker, the tragic events of this week underscore both our responsibility and the urgency we must move to legislate our values and to stand on the side of justice.

I represent Massachusetts Seventh, a district which is 40 percent immigrants. I rise today in solidarity with them.

H.R. 6 is a critical step towards citizenship for Dreamers, TPS, and DED holders. However, the criminal bar provisions added to this bill further entangles our racist criminal legal system in the citizenship process.

I thank Congressman Garcia and partners for leading the fight to eliminate this language. There is more work to be done, but this bill moves us in the right direction of a more just America, one which values the lives of immigrants and not just their labor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to reintroduce the People's Justice Guarantee, a bold, progressive vision to transform our criminal legal system from what it currently is to what it ought to be.

For far too long, Congress has enacted policies that failed millions of men, women, and children by expanding our carceral system and divesting from Black and Latinx communities.

Growing up with an incarcerated parent, these failures are personal to me. I worked with folks in communities that have been marginalized and ignored, like the incarcerated brothers of the AACC in the Massachusetts Seventh, to craft a resolution that confronts the systemic injustices that destabilized families and traumatized generations.

We should provide care for those in crisis, not confine them in solitary.

We should house our immigrant neighbors, not deport them from their communities.

We should counsel our kids, not lock them up in prison.

The People's Justice Guarantee offers these solutions and many others in a robust framework for a humane, equitable, and just legal system.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to reintroduce the People's Justice Guarantee so America can finally fulfill its promise of justice for all.

Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my amendment to H.R. 1, the For the People Act.

H.R. 1 is bold, transformative legislation, which fights voter suppression, promotes access to the ballot, cracks down on money in politics, and provides transparency to the American people.

Passing this bill has never been more urgent. We must act to protect and preserve our democracy.

My amendment gets to the heart of H.R. 1 and recognizes the contributions that young people continue to make to our democracy.

By lowering the Federal voting age from 18 to 16 years of age, my amendment would enfranchise young Americans to help shape and form the policies that will set the course for our future.

From police violence, to immigration reform, to climate change, to the future of work and the minimum wage, our young people are organizing, mobilizing, and calling us to action. They are at the forefront of social movements and have more than earned inclusion in our democracy.

Mr. Speaker, 16- and 17-year-old constituents of mine are supporting their families. They are working, not for enrichment or to build a resume, but because they have no choice. They are attending school full-time and taking care of loved ones in the midst of the COVID crisis.

Young people are contributing both to the labor force and their local economies by paying taxes, and yet they are deprived of the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

Some have questioned the maturity of our youth. I don't.

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds today possess wisdom and maturity defined by today's challenges, hardships, and opportunities.

They deserve and demand a government that is accountable to them, a government that values their voices, and understands the depth and breadth of their lived experience.

They are not a monolith. But they are nation-builders, living through a global pandemic, confronting racial injustice, and rebuilding our democracy.

Now is the time for us to meet the moment and enfranchise 16- and 17- year-olds.

I would like to thank my colleagues and dear friends, Representatives Meng and Schakowsky, for their leadership on this issue and for cosponsoring my amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jones).

Mr. Speaker, we must do right by the young organizers and activists who have fought for our democracy. They have a stake in our democracy, and they deserve to have a stake at the ballot box.

Civil rights heroes like the late John Lewis taught us through example that no one is too young to fight for access to the ballot. In fact, he supported this very amendment last Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I respectfully request my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Waters for her vigilance and her steadfast leadership in continuing to bring people together across the aisle on issues of consequence to the American people and always putting consumer protection at the center of that. I also thank my colleague, Representative Huizenga, for his partnership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my resolution, which highlights the important role that State securities regulators play in strengthening the financial services industry.

The 2008 economic crisis devastated American families everywhere. But, as we watched the unemployment skyrocket, home values plummet, and credit disappear, it became clear that the impact of the crisis hit harder for some. Black families that had only just begun to build wealth through homeownership watched everything they had worked for disappear.

And although the recovery has been similarly unequal, it is critical to recognize those on the front lines protecting the investments of working families and small businesses alike.

The North American Securities Administrators Association, NASAA, comprised of securities administrators from all 50 States, are champions for stronger investor protections and diligent oversight.

My home State of Massachusetts was the first to require the registration of some securities, helping to lay the groundwork for other State models that would serve as the foundation for future Federal securities law.

As the world's oldest international investor protection organization, NASAA has remained vigilant in its policing of securities trading, securing over $486 million in restitution to victims of investment fraud in 2017 alone.

NASAA's work with AARP helps protect seniors from the troubling upward trends in elder financial abuse. Additionally, they continue to work with medical professionals on ways to identify seniors at risk of financial abuse.

NASAA's efforts to spread retirement best practices can help empower families with the knowledge to invest wisely for generations to come.

My resolution recognizes 100 years of excellence in investor protection and encourages continued cooperation between local, State, and Federal regulators to ensure 100 more.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support my resolution.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my amendment which would provide increased funding to support the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Family Self-Sufficiency Program.

Access to stable, safe, and affordable housing is a fundamental human right. In my district, the Massachusetts Seventh, one of the most diverse and unequal districts in our Nation, we are distinctly aware of the connection between housing and economic opportunity.

Affordable housing promotes healthy living and provides low-income people a chance at upward mobility. Without it, families are destabilized, productivity suffers, and entire communities crumble.

Recently, the Boston Housing Authority partnered with Metro Housing and Compass Working Capital, a nonprofit financial services organization which provides financial coaching services and support to Family Self-Sufficiency Program participants in my district.

The Family Self-Sufficiency Program is a voluntary, 5-year program that provides participants in the federally-funded Housing Choice Voucher Program the opportunity to save part of their rent increase when they earn more money at work. The program provides participating families with an FSS savings account.

My amendment provides $5 million in additional funding to the organizations working with individuals and families seeking to improve their financial standing. This partnership, under the auspices of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program, has supported low-income families to build assets, pay off debt, and save for their retirement.

Participants have gone on to earn degrees, purchase their own homes, and start small businesses.

This includes Julia, a woman who, after years of working as a tailor and taking on additional side work for friends, learned about the FSS program. Julia used Compass' financial coaching to launch JDLS Couture, a tailoring and design business in Boston.

This includes Ernise, a resident of Cambridge, who graduated from Compass' program last year. Ernise joined the program while unemployed, saying that before she joined she was ready to give up. Ernise found full-time work, paid off debt and increased her credit score, and built enough savings to begin the home purchasing process.

My amendment will support a program rooted in financial empowerment and independence, a proven program.

We must also work to enact policies to guarantee housing for all and leverage the resources to make it a reality.

I encourage my colleagues to support my amendment.

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price).

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

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment, which underscores the importance of investing in safe, efficient, people-centered transportation systems for all communities across the country.

I view every issue through a lens of equity and health. Without access to safe, reliable, and inclusive modes of transportation, our collective well-being suffers; our families suffer; our communities suffer.

For far too long, our Federal transportation funding and policies have created a landscape which has exacerbated inequities and disparities, particularly for low-income communities, people with disabilities, our youth and seniors.

In my district, Black and Latino commuters are more likely to experience longer travel times than their White peers. These unequal burdens make the promise of economic mobility further out of reach.

I recently rode the T back home with an advocate named Dianna, who was fighting for transit justice. We spent over 2 hours making a journey of just a little over 4 miles. Broken elevators and outdated infrastructure meant that the wheelchair Dianne uses to navigate ran into constant access barriers.

Just 2 weeks ago, the red line train derailed twice in 1 week, causing massive gridlock across my district and impacting the ability of riders to commute to work, school, home, and everywhere in between.

Unfortunately, this isn't new. MBTA trains have derailed 43 times over the last 5 years, the second highest total of any metro transit system in our country. Many of these derailments place a disproportionate burden on the shoulders of low-wage hourly workers who are rushing to their second- or third-shift jobs, parents or caregivers who are traveling with young children on overcrowded and delayed trains, and riders with disabilities who already experience the failures, daily, of a biased and discriminatory system with ableist privilege as a lens.

Our chronic underinvestment in mass transit bus systems, bicycle- accessible and pedestrian paths have caused income inequality and opportunity gaps in communities throughout the country.

According to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, inadequate access to affordable, reliable transportation has exacerbated health disparities, forcing many low-income patients to miss appointments, oftentimes worsening medical problems.

Mr. Chair, people do not live in silos. They live in intersectionality, and our policies at the Federal, State, and local levels should reflect this reality.

We cannot spur economic development and tackle economic inequities in urban, suburban, and rural communities without modernized roads, bridges, and mass transit, which connects communities to jobs and higher education.

We cannot tackle health disparities without reliable and affordable mass transit systems which enable low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities to access care.

We cannot tackle the existential threat of climate change without intentionally investing in mass transit systems that protect frontline communities and alleviate the environmental health hazards caused by traffic congestion.

Transit equity is a civil rights issue and an economic justice issue. We must continue to invest in transit infrastructure, multimodal improvements that promote inclusivity and dependability.

My amendment emphasizes the important role that Federal policy and investments make in equalizing access to reliable commuter rail and other mass transit options for all. The BUILD grant program helps to support these types of State and locally driven transit projects.

From investing in bus or commuter rail systems or cycling and pedestrian path projects, the BUILD program helps to drive innovative projects, and it seeks to expand the system, and is people-centered.

Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Price for his efforts to ensure robust funding for this program, which I do believe gets us one step closer to addressing these inequities across the system, repairing our crumbling infrastructure, as well as expanding our investment in multimodal transit.

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), the chairman.

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

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, during a recent Oversight and Reform Committee hearing, of which I am a member, on Ban the Box, an advocate and formerly incarcerated mother testified that ``People do not go to prison; families do.''

From personal experience and a career spent in community and advocating on behalf of families destabilized by mass incarceration, I know firsthand the trauma that comes from having a parent involved in the criminal justice system.

We must break the chains that keep families ensnarled by the mass incarceration system generation after generation. We must end the prison industrial complex that has brought so much devastation and trauma to many families and communities.

As many as 2.7 million children have at least one parent in prison or jail. That is 1 in 9 Black children, 1 in 28 Latino children, and 1 in 57 White children. Too many children are bearing the trauma, the shame, and the stigma that often comes along with having a parent or caregiver incarcerated.

In the Massachusetts Seventh, which I am fortunate to represent, a Boston reentry study that tracked formerly incarcerated men and women found that over half of respondents had less than $400 in their pockets upon release from prison; about a third went to unstable or temporary housing in shelters and transitional housing programs, motels, or on the street; and fewer than half were in paid employment after 2 months.

Mass incarceration and the lingering effects of a criminal record have a profound impact on families. From unemployment and financial instability to eviction and hunger for families involved in our criminal injustice system, incarceration is, quite literally, a shared sentence.

As lawmakers, as mothers, as fathers, as brothers, as sisters, we can and must do better.

My amendment would increase funds to support the Children of Incarcerated Parents Program and help reduce the harms of parental incarceration and alleviate generational trauma. In the wealthiest Nation on Earth, we must ensure that all families can truly have a second chance. Funding for these programs will help provide that.

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

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment, which would provide increased funding to support the DOJ's Community- Based Violence Prevention program. This program provides crucial funding to tackle the epidemic of violence ravaging our communities.

In my district, the Massachusetts Seventh, this program supports the Boston Public Health Commission's Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative. The VIP Initiative specifically operates in neighborhoods severely impacted by gun violence but

maintains strong community infrastructure. Each neighborhood has its own resident coalition that is coordinated by a local organization with deep ties to the community.

VIP, like other similar programs, empowers communities by providing the knowledge and resources necessary to create long-term solutions to the persistent socioeconomic and systemic issues sustaining the public health epidemic of gun violence.

Violence begets violence. Whether it is domestic violence, sexual violence, gun violence, or gang and street violence, we must stop treating it as an issue of law and order but, rather, invest in the public and social needs of our most vulnerable people and communities.

My amendment will support initiatives that are led and informed by the community to help stem the violence devastating our communities. It centers those closest to the pain closest to the power and the solutions.

Mr. Chair, I encourage my colleagues to support my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I arrived from committee late. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 324.

Amendment No. 79 Offered by Ms. Jackson Lee

Madam Chair, I rise as the designee of the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier), and I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I not only rise in strong support of this amendment proposed by my colleague, Congresswoman Speier, but I rise today as a survivor of sexual violence.

Let me be clear: Every single survivor of sexual assault and sexual violence deserves justice and deserves

healing. For far too long, we have made excuses about a culture that tolerates violence, discredits survivors, and looks the other way. Justice has been delayed.

Today, we are fighting to change that. We are speaking up. We are standing up. We are speaking out, demanding that we end tolerance of rape culture.

The CDC's Rape Prevention and Education program has been woefully ignored and underfunded. Our amendment increases critical funding and puts us one step closer to treating sexual assault as the public health crisis that it is.

Using a public health frame to tackle this systemic issue can have a transformative impact on the lives of the women, men, and nonbinary individuals affected by sexual violence.

Our prevention approaches must be grounded in data and the lived experiences of our constituents. We must teach consent, promote understanding, and reshape the status quo in our workplaces, our households, and our schools.

To my survivor tribe, we hear you. We see you. We are fighting for you. This one is for you.

I thank the gentlewoman from California for her partnership on this issue, and I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I rise today in support of this amendment and applaud my friend and colleague, Representative Jeffries, for his leadership in the fight against this calloused administration and its efforts to roll back critical civil rights protections for millions of students across this country.

Under Secretary DeVos' failed leadership, OCR has scuttled more than 1,200 civil rights complaints, hastily dismissing cases, closing investigations, and depriving students and families of justice.

At the same time, the Education Department has taken one action after another to make schools less safe for Black and Brown students, queer and trans students, students with disabilities, and sexual assault survivors.

The Department has rescinded critical Obama-era guidance intended to protect students from excessive disciplinary practices that disproportionately push out Black and Brown students and students with disabilities and exacerbate the school-to-prison pipeline.

The agency has proposed rules that would make it harder for survivors of sexual violence to seek justice and easier for K-12 schools and universities to sweep these cases under the rug.

Instead of ensuring that all students have access to quality education, she embraces and promotes private schools and voucher schemes that would funnel Federal funds to schools that explicitly discriminate against LGBTQ students, all while defanging the very office intended to enforce the law and do right by students and families.

Our amendment would block Secretary DeVos' efforts to dismantle this office. We finally say enough is enough.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, a school nurse saved my life. Throughout grade school, I was a frequent flier at the nurse's office, not because anything was physically wrong with me, but because the nurse's office was a place of refuge from the destabilizing, predatory abuse that I was experiencing at the hands of people charged with my care.

Instability, abuse, food insecurity, and violence are serious systemic issues that are significant barriers to learning. Trauma is a barrier to learning.

According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, more than 25 percent of American youth experience a serious traumatic event--such as sexual abuse, community violence, displacement--by their 16th birthday, and many children suffer multiple and repeated traumas.

Health and education are inextricably linked, and it remains one of the greatest public health challenges of our time.

As a Boston city councilor, I fought for equitable access to school nurses in the Boston Public Schools system, and as a Member of Congress, I plan to do the same.

My amendment provides $5 million to fund high-quality healthcare for children and young people in schools and

to support school-based health centers, a critical safety net for our Nation's youth.

School-based health centers provide excellent, accessible, trusted healthcare and information for students.

I firmly believe students who are present and healthy are best prepared and able to learn. That is true for children across my own district in the Massachusetts Seventh and all districts throughout our country.

Today, nearly 4 million children are uninsured and lack access to necessary healthcare services. There are children living in poverty for whom school-based health centers and nurses are their only source of accessible primary and mental healthcare.

Rates of suicide, childhood chronic illness, and community gun violence are on the rise. This is a public health crisis. It is downright irresponsible, unconscionable for us to ignore it.

In addition to funding high-quality and accessible healthcare, my amendment leverages the safety and convenience of neighborhood schools, like those across the Massachusetts Seventh, to improve the health and well-being of students and help families access the quality healthcare they need.

School-based health centers provide comprehensive healthcare to children and young people in a setting that they trust, a setting that is familiar, and a setting that is accessible at their school.

It was a school nurse who picked up on the signs. Like so many children, some act out and some shut down, and I was one of those who shut down. Were it not for a school nurse who saw the signs that I was exhibiting of distress and trauma, I doubt that I would be here standing before you today.

There are young people like Sofia, a junior at a Boston public high school whom I spoke with recently, who visited the school nurse and revealed that she was depressed, suicidal, and missing school. The proximity to the school nurse's staff made her feel safe and listened to, and they helped her brainstorm ways to talk to her parents. Within a week, she was in school-based counseling, with the consent of her parents, as well as working to manage her assignments.

Unfortunately, Sofia's story isn't unique. There are many students who struggle under the weight of mental health and trauma every day.

It was a former Surgeon General who once said: ``We can't educate children who are not healthy, and we can't keep them healthy if they aren't educated.''

It is our moral imperative to support children in their health and wholeness. My amendment asks Congress to do the right thing, the smart thing, and invest in school-based health centers to improve the health and well-being of our Nation's youth.

Madam Chair, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I could argue that this amendment will actually find administrative savings to cover healthcare costs.

Further, it has been my experience that the elders and the grandparents I work with are deeply concerned about the state of their grandchildren and the growing chronic illness, mental health, substance abuse issues, rates of suicide.

Furthermore, persistent disparities exist in my district and districts throughout the country where ZIP Code determines your health outcomes.

Children in Dorchester are two times more likely to be hospitalized, three times more for asthma, than children in more affluent parts of my district.

We should leverage every tool available to us to ensure that all children, regardless of where they live, have access to the health services they need to thrive.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.