Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, we will bring up legislation to protect a woman's right to make her own healthcare decisions, the Women's Health Protection Act.

This is necessary because Republican bills being brought to the floor share a common goal, to limit access to reproductive healthcare for those who need it most. Like so many of the bills this Republican majority has advanced, these bills are intentionally designed to mislead with biased and inaccurate information and to shame those who seek abortion care.

Republicans are continuing their politically violent, thinly veiled misinformation campaign to ultimately enact a national abortion ban, a forced birth mandate. Now, they are using our pregnant students as their pawns. The young woman in college making the life-changing decision on when and how to start a family deserves comprehensive and medically accurate information.

Do not fall for the okey-doke. They are playing with people's lives instead of trying to save and change and improve them.

Republicans don't care about the people, certainly not pregnant students. They have consistently undermined access to contraception, defunded on-campus childcare, and excluded information on essential abortion care from the bill they want us to vote for.

In fact, Republicans do not care about any pregnant person when they

seek to expand crisis pregnancy centers. Since my days on the Boston City Council, I have fought to stop these sham clinics. They use coercion to prevent women from accessing essential abortion care and operate as anti-choice propaganda centers.

As the chair of the Abortion Rights and Access Task Force under our Pro-Choice Caucus, allow me to set the record straight: Abortion care is healthcare, and a fundamental human right.

When the Supreme Court overturned the right to an abortion with the support of Republicans nationwide, they created the most life- threatening conditions for pregnant women in America in over 50 years.

If Republicans truly cared about pregnant students or healthcare or personal autonomy or even the fundamental right, freedom, to make decisions about your own body, they would bring our bill, the Women's Health Protection Act, to the House floor to overturn the Dobbs decision and codify the right to an abortion. Anything less is a disgrace.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Larson for his inspired and indefatigable leadership on this critical issue.

As someone who represents nearly 100,000 Social Security beneficiaries in the Massachusetts 7th and as a co-chair for the Task Force on Aging and Families, I am so proud to be an original cosponsor of your Social Security 2100 Act.

This is a deeply consequential issue that stands to impact individuals from every walk of life--women, children, people of color, veterans, and our seniors--who have the right, who have earned the right, to age in dignity.

Too often they tell me that doing so is becoming more and more difficult. They share their anxieties of living on a fixed income. They are skeptical of the long-term stability of a system they have paid into, paycheck after paycheck, their entire working lives; people like Mrs. Palmer who lives in Boston and wrote my office saying that Social Security is a promise.

I agree. It is not merely a government program. Social Security is a promise to workers, to our elders, to the disabled, a promise to all people who seek to age with dignity. We will keep fighting to keep that promise.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Books Save Lives Act, legislation to combat the rise in book bans.

This past school year had more than 3,000 instances of books banned across 33 States, and in my home State of Massachusetts, libraries saw challenges to books quadruple.

Let me make it plain: Book bans are discriminatory and harmful, and Congress must unite against them. As a child who endured sexual abuse, when I read Maya Angelou's ``I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,'' it was the first time in my life I knew I was not alone, and it helped me move forward. When I say that books save lives, I mean that.

My bill would recognize this by ensuring libraries offer diverse books and treat discriminatory bans as violations of Federal civil rights law.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation for all the people who are saved by books each and every day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate two incredible teams whose hard work, determination, and teamwork have made their mark in Boston's storied championship history.

For the first time in the program's history, the Dorchester Eagles 14U team are Pop Warner national champions. Not to be outdone, the Boston Lady Raiders won the Bantam Division Cheer National Championship.

These young men and women have been playing and cheering together for years, and this hard-won championship is all the more sweeter after coming up just short in last year's tournament.

They rallied around their teammates, recommitted to their sport, put in the work day in and day out, no matter what the New England weather could throw at them, and proved themselves to be the best of the best.

Your Congresswoman is proud of you.

Congratulations to the entire Metropolitan Pop Warner League, Coach Terry Cousins, the families and friends, and most of all, the athletes who were already champions in our community but now have the trophy and national recognition they so richly deserve.

Let the Congressional Record reflect the Dorchester Eagles and Boston Lady Raiders are the 2023 national champions. Congratulations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the censure of Representative Jamaal Bowman. This is yet another predictable but no less wasteful action.

Congressman Bowman has taken accountability for his mistake, and even Republicans on the Ethics Committee agree that this is a waste of time.

We have got 99 problems, but a functional government of the Republican majority is not one of them.

Republicans are disconnected, dysfunctional, discriminating, and a disappointment to the American people. They can't pass a bill to fund our public schools, but they will bring this resolution to attack Congressman Bowman, a champion for students, a lifelong educator, a duly elected Member of Congress, and a strong Black man. He honors the legacy of the many brilliant Black men who came before him.

A quick history lesson: We are approaching the anniversary of when Joseph Rainey became the first Black Member of the U.S. House of Representatives in December of 1870. Just like Jamaal Bowman, he fought for public education and civil rights, and he had to deal with double standards and racism in Congress.

This censure is just the latest in this Chamber's racist history of telling Black men that they don't belong in Congress.

To the Black men of this Nation, know that you belong everywhere.

Jamaal Bowman is fighting for you, and I am fighting for you right alongside him.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember three generational leaders who have earned the honor of being eulogized in this great Chamber and in perpetuity in our Congressional Record: Saundra Graham, Pearline James, and Mukiya Baker-Gomez, three incredible Black women whose love for community was manifest in their historic achievements and legacy they invite us all to aspire to.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to mark the passing of Ms. Saundra Graham. Saundra Graham's contributions to Cambridge and the Commonwealth far outpace her impressive and well-earned list of titles: first woman of color elected to the Cambridge City Council, the first woman of color to be the vice mayor, six-term State representative, secretary to the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, founder of the Massachusetts Childcare Coalition, cofounder of the Riverside Cambridgeport Community Development Corporation, among others.

Saundra Graham truly was a trailblazer on a mission to do good along the way, and she wasn't afraid to make good trouble in the name of justice both inside and outside of politics.

She was a tenacious truth-teller, and I count myself amongst those who will miss her righteous reprimands. Her impact is an indelible one which will endure throughout our Commonwealth and in her loving family, which I know was her greatest legacy as she was a proud mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother.

May she rest in peace and power.

Paying Tribute to Pearline James

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an incredible woman of faith, Pearline James. In church, I grew up singing a song, ``They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love.'' Indeed, Mrs. James was God's love in action.

Pastor Pearline James served God and her community as an associate pastor at Full Life Gospel Center in Dorchester. She did this with love, dedication, and compassion for all God's children.

It is no surprise, as one of 21 siblings and the second eldest, that she was a mother and nurturer to many. She brought life and love to every child and family that passed through her and her beloved husband Evans' childcare center in their home, J.P. Family Childcare, in the 1970s. She was passionate about education, and at the age of 60, she returned to school, earning a degree and graduating with a 3.8 GPA.

While Mrs. James laid in hospice, the true impact of the love she imparted to the city was on full display, and nurses were quoted saying she had no less than 300 visitors.

Her daughter Denella said her mother often would invoke the lyrics of ``It Is Well With My Soul,'' a gospel hymn whose words include: ``Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.''

She is survived by the great love of her life, Evan, by her daughters, Denella, Rosemarie, and Debby, and 10 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

Honoring Mukiya Baker-Gomez

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a woman, leader, mentor, and brilliant strategist on whose shoulders so many electoral firsts stand on, including myself, Mukiya Baker-Gomez.

In 2018, I became the first person of color to represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the House of Representatives in the Commonwealth's 230-year history. That foundation, that possibility, the literal electoral blueprint to winning elections in Boston and building coalitions, began with Mukiya Baker-Gomez. Her political acumen and shrewd counsel were enviable, and her commitment to community unwavering and unshakeable, especially to Black people.

Her every move and impact outside of politics has been even greater. She played a key role in an inclusive economy, fighting to ensure that contractors of color would be prioritized. She was a historymaker, although she never chased a title.

It was important to me to eulogize her because I will not have her contributions erased or unacknowledged.

I thank Mukiya for everything. I love and miss her.

She is survived by the love of her life, Kevin; her loving children, Talisha and Kenyatta; her siblings; and a host of family by blood and by bond.

I thank Mukiya for her sacrifice and tenacity and for always speaking truth to power.

Mr. Chair, had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall No. 683, Ogles No. 8.

Amendment No. 9 Offered by Mr. Pfluger

Mr. Speaker, I rise to unequivocally condemn anti- Semitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hate on college campuses throughout our country.

The Massachusetts Seventh is known for its institutions of higher learning,

and my office has heard from students, faculty, and administrators sounding the alarm on hateful rhetoric since the outbreak of war in Israel and Gaza.

Let me be clear: There is no justification for anti-Semitism or Islamophobia or any other form of hatred. Mr. Speaker, whether you wear a yarmulke or a hijab, you have a right to show up as your authentic self.

Doxing on the internet, violence at protests, and endangering people's lives must stop. We cannot become that which we condemn.

The only way forward is to center our shared humanity. I came to Congress to strengthen our communities, not to play politics with harmful resolutions of erasure or to defund civil rights by banning diversity and inclusion.

To the students of the Massachusetts Seventh of all faith traditions, I say this: Know that I see you. The world is better because of you. Your talents, skills, and passions will transform our society. Together, we can build a future rooted in radical love, not hate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this censure resolution that is blatantly Islamophobic, anti-democratic, and an utter waste of time.

This resolution is as dishonest as it is unproductive. Any Member who denies that Congresswoman Tlaib has opposed the killing of civilians-- Israeli, Palestinian, and American alike--is willfully ignoring the truth.

Representative Tlaib was elected by voters in Michigan to do exactly what she does best: advocate for a better, safer, more just world. She leads with love, speaks truth to power, and seeks justice even when her life and that of her family and her staff are threatened.

As a daughter, mother, sister, friend, advocate, and effective, duly- elected, three-term, first-ever Palestinian-American Member of Congress, she has been a much-needed voice in an institution that has too often failed to listen.

Today, Republicans are again attacking a Democratic colleague just because they don't like what she has to say. It is another shameful but predictable ploy of distraction from the real traffickers of hate who are obsessed with policing progressive women of color.

Mr. Speaker, I oppose this offensive resolution for every little girl from Michigan to the Middle East who sees herself when they see the leadership of Representative Rashida Tlaib, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Chair, I oppose this legislation for the draconian cuts and dangerous provisions included in it, but also for the critical funding priorities that were excluded.

With this appropriations bill, Republicans callously stripped community project funding for The Pryde, an affordable LGBTQ+ senior housing development in the Massachusetts Seventh.

It would seem for my colleagues across the aisle that the word ``freedom'' is selectively applied. It does not apply to my bodily autonomy. It does not apply to intellectual freedom for women, African Americans, or our LGBTQ siblings when it comes to our books, and it does not apply to the freedom to love whom you love.

This project satisfies the committee's requirements and would meet a critical need in my district at a time when mortgages are skyrocketing and one-third of LGBTQ seniors are living in poverty, and many are forced to recloset themselves in order to age in community in their twilight years. Unconscionable.

Republicans are choosing homophobia over housing, profits over people, cruelty over compassion. Their actions to target, attack, and dehumanize our LGBTQ siblings are nothing more than a show of contempt.

While The Pryde has a pathway for other Federal funding, this act of policy violence contributes to the physical violence that far too many LGBTQ folks experience.

As the vice chair of the Task Force on Aging and Families, I want my LGBTQ constituents and siblings in the movement to know they deserve safe and affordable housing, they deserve to be seen and loved, and I will never stop fighting for them.

Madam Speaker, I rise as the Representative of the Massachusetts Seventh Congressional District, which is home to Boston Logan Airport, critical to our economy, for travel, a job engine, and it has created a number of quality-of-life issues for those who live in proximity to it.

As a proud member of the Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus, I want to talk about what these constituents are experiencing--and they write my office daily--living proximate to one of the Nation's busiest airports: Loud air traffic starting in the early morning hours and lasting until midnight, adverse health effects exacerbated by interrupted sleep, aircraft noise, air pollution. It is all taking a toll.

That is why I support provisions in the FAA bill that invest in noise abatement, clean energy, and, most importantly, community input. It is through cooperative governance and listening to impacted communities, who are often the most underserved and overlooked, that we can advance policies that are responsive to their needs, the needs of my constituents in Charlestown, East Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville.

I am proud to have secured more than $80 million for Boston Logan Airport, and I will work to ensure this bill and those funds move us closer to quiet skies in the Massachusetts Seventh.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to amendment No. 34.

I rise today on behalf of the servicemembers and their families who make innumerable sacrifices for our country and our freedoms, yet today, there are efforts underfoot to deny them their own.

Healthcare is a human right, yet today there are deep disparities that create barriers to access to care, including today's amendments, which will only deepen those gaps.

This is especially true when it comes to abortion care and reproductive healthcare. There has been a daily assault on access to regular and routine care.

In addition to full-spectrum reproductive care being an essential human right, it is also a readiness imperative for our military. If you care about the fitness of our military, then part of that readiness imperative includes access to the full spectrum of reproductive care. This is a human right. You should not have to forfeit your right to medical care when you enlist to serve your nation.

Due to the massive restrictions to abortion care enacted at the State level, for many of our military families on base, they cannot receive the care they need, and they must navigate onerous travel to get basic healthcare. This includes in instances of being raped by a fellow soldier or a superior.

My colleagues across the aisle are trying to trap pregnant servicemembers and deny them the care that they seek. This is dystopian, but unfortunately, it is all too real. Since draconian and cruel abortion bans have been enacted across our country, pregnant people have been denied care, and the outcomes have been debilitating and devastating.

People have been denied miscarriage treatment and care for ectopic pregnancies. Mothers have lost their ability to have a child because of convoluted laws that delayed or denied the urgent abortion care they sought, resulting in lasting health issues and infertility.

It is unconscionable that this military bill will become yet another blunt instrument to deny women and families across the Nation their bodily autonomy. This is not the type of exceptionalism that we should be leading in this country.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to physically record my vote on the motion to table H. Res. 521. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall No. 276.

Stated against:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of Caribbean American Heritage Month.

First, I want to give credit where credit is due and thank Congresswoman Barbara Lee for her leadership which made this designation possible beginning in 2006. I have to thank Caribbean American Shirley Chisholm who was the first Black woman to serve in Congress. I would not be here today if she had not blazed a trail.

Throughout the month of June, we come together to uplift and celebrate the remarkable contributions, radiant culture, and deep history of our Caribbean siblings, some who are the descendants of those who were forced into migration due to the transatlantic slave trade and those who migrated as Caribbean nationals.

I represent the Massachusetts Seventh which is the third largest Caribbean population in the United States.

Dominicans, Jamaicans, Trinidadians, Bajans, Haitians, and more shape our community and contribute to our economy, culture, and civic life.

Whether we are experiencing Caribbean Carnival, the third largest in North America in Boston, or at the policy table working to mitigate the impacts of climate change on our island neighbors, I am deeply grateful to and for them all.

In honoring Caribbean American Heritage Month, I reaffirm my commitment to my Caribbean neighbors throughout the United States.

Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people in the Massachusetts Seventh District: the single mom in Randolph who depends on SNAP to feed her babies, the disabled veteran in Chelsea who relies on SSDI, and families in Roxbury struggling to pay rent and their mortgages.

My colleagues across the aisle say that they care about seniors, veterans, and children and families, but in the words of James Baldwin: ``I can't believe what you say because I see what you do.''

The Republicans continue to govern in a way that is clueless, callous, with great contempt, and I would say godless because faith without works is dead.

Republicans want us to make an impossible choice, extreme and drastic cuts in lifesaving programs or catastrophic default on our debt, both of which would impact our most vulnerable.

This is a manufactured crisis. That is a false choice.

Republicans don't have even an ounce of compassion.

Democrats want to change and save lives. Republicans want to play with yours, and the American people are currently in limbo because of it.

Stop playing with people's lives. This is not a game. Pass a clean debt ceiling increase.