Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank Chair Lofgren for her leadership. I'd

also like to thank our Speaker, our Majority Leader, our Whip, Mr. Clyburn, Chairwoman Beatty, Chairman Bennie Thompson, and Congressman Butterfield for moving this legislation forward with the urgency that it requires.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 3005, which will remove shameful monuments to slavery, segregation, and white supremacy from the U.S Capitol. In 2017, in the wake of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, I introduced the Confederate Monument Removal Act to remove all statues of people who voluntarily served the Confederacy from the Capitol building, so thank you for including this in this current bill. Venerating those who took up arms against the United States to preserve slavery is an affront to the human dignity of all Americans.

These painful symbols of bigotry and racism have no place in our society and certainly should not be enshrined in the U.S. Capitol. Following our historic vote on Juneteenth, it is past time for Congress to stop glorifying the men who committed treason against the United States to keep African Americans in chains.

The movement to honor Confederate soldiers was a deliberate act to rewrite history and diminish the role of slavery in the outbreak of hostilities between the North and the South. The Confederacy sought to uphold the institution of slavery and maintain a racial hierarchy that brutalized and oppressed Black people. This ideology of white supremacy led to the rise of Confederate memorials in the 20th century. Most Confederate statutes were erected during periods of extreme civil rights tension, not in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Placed in public spaces, they were testaments to the enduring notion of white supremacy and used to push back against the movement for equality for African Americans. They are symbols of white supremacy and hatred, not Southern heritage. They don't belong here in the U.S. Capitol.

We are in a critical moment to act. The removal of Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol is an important step in confronting our nation's painful legacy of slavery, racism, and oppression. As a descendant of enslaved Africans, I support this bill and I ask for an `aye' vote.

Madam Speaker, let me first thank our chairman, Mr. Meeks, for moving this bill through committee. It wasn't an easy lift, and his leadership was extremely important in getting us to where we are today.

I also thank Leader Hoyer, Speaker Pelosi, and let me take a minute to thank our staff: My chief of staff, Julie Nickson, who is here with us today; my legislative director, Gregory Adams; Congressman Meeks' staff; and all of the staff members who have worked for 20 years to get us to this point.

I also want to thank our Democratic and Republican cosponsors and our outside broad spectrum of groups, like the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Win Without War, the American Legion, and Americans for Prosperity that have fought alongside us.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the Statement of Administration Policy and letters of support from many of these groups.

Statement of Administration Policy

H.R. 256--Repeal of Authorization for Use of Military Force Against

Iraq Resolution of 2002--Rep. Lee, D-CA with 134 co-sponsors

The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 256, to

repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against

Iraq Resolution of 2002 (``2002 AUMF''). This bipartisan

legislation would terminate the October 16, 2002, statutory

authorization for the use of military force against Iraq.

The Administration supports the repeal of the 2002 AUMF, as

the United States has no ongoing military activities that

rely solely on the 2002 AUMF as a domestic legal basis, and

repeal of the 2002 AUMF would likely have minimal impact on

current military operations. Furthermore, the President is

committed to working with the Congress to ensure that

outdated authorizations for the use of military force are

replaced with a narrow and specific framework appropriate to

ensure that we can continue to protect Americans from

terrorist threats.

In working with the Congress on repealing and replacing

other existing authorizations of military force, the

Administration seeks to ensure that the Congress has a clear

and thorough understanding of the effect of any such action

and of the threats facing U.S. forces, personnel, and

interests around the world. As the Administration works with

the Congress to reform AUMFs, it will be critical to maintain

the clear authority to address threats to the United States'

national interests with appropriately decisive and effective

military action.

Let me just take a minute to honor my dear friend, the late Congressman Walter Jones, a Republican from North Carolina who was my partner for many years to build bipartisan support to bring our troops home.

I am proud to stand with everyone as we exercise our most important duty assigned by the Constitution to decide when and how America goes to war.

We cannot revise history as it relates to why this authorization was put into place.

Eighteen years ago, in front of the infamous ``Mission Accomplished'' banner backdrop, former President Bush told the Nation that the major combat operations in Iraq have ended.

In 2011, President Obama brought our combat troops home, and yet this authority remains on the books, vulnerable to misuse because Congress has not acted to remove it.

The Bush administration, yes, misled the American people by saying there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, that Iraq posed an imminent threat by drawing a false connection between the tragic events of 9/11 and Saddam Hussein. Those lies and misinformation had deadly consequences. The mistakes continue to haunt us today.

Once the war started, the Out of Iraq Caucus was founded by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, me, and led by Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Over 80 Members joined. Many of us took our protests to the streets, joining hundreds of thousands protesting the unnecessary, immoral war of choice. Year after year, we worked for the safe and orderly withdrawal of our troops.

I share all this history, not because of nostalgia, but we have to remember why this authorization was passed, because 87 percent of current Members of the House were not here to vote on this AUMF in 2002. The Constitution requires that we cannot appropriate funds for armies for more than 2 years, and yet for almost two decades we have failed to revisit these AUMFs.

To this day, our endless wars continue, costing trillions of dollars and thousands of lives in a war that goes way beyond any scope that Congress conceived or intended.

I want to salute our veterans, our young men and women in uniform. They did everything we have asked them to do. Many veterans support this repeal.

The outdated 2002 AUMF bears no correlation to the threats we face today.

Madam Speaker, the President earlier stated his support for the bill, saying that the 2002 AUMF will not impact current military operations, but repeal can prevent our country from entering another protracted engagement under this outdated authority.

We can't afford to leave this in place indefinitely. For two decades it has been in place. This is our opportunity to restore our constitutional role.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Sheila Jackson for her persistent and consistent leadership on so many issues, especially getting this bill to the floor today.

As another daughter of Texas, I am deeply connected to the history of Juneteenth. My grandfather, William Calhoun Parish, who helped raise me, was born in Galveston, Texas, just 10 years after General Granger announced that enslaved Africans were freed from the brutal and barbaric legal institution of slavery. My ancestors--my great- grandmother--were enslaved in and around Galveston, Texas.

Like myself, so many in the African-American community have celebrated Juneteenth as our liberation day. To us, it represents the day that enslaved African Americans were recognized as free men, women, and children.

Yet, the end of slavery did not stop with the brutal treatment of African Americans in the United States. The persistence of racial disparities in housing, income, education, the wealth gap, and other areas of injustices African Americans really are experiencing today are a direct result of the racism embedded in our institutions from our founding.

So, it is not purely symbolic to make Juneteenth a holiday. It is an important step toward the country reckoning the truth of its legacy of slavery in the past as manifested today.

It is manifested in the racial injustices which all of us must work together to end. So, yes, it is so important that we have the truth told of this legacy of slavery so that we can move forward and work together to end these racial injustices.

I am reminded of Dr. Maya Angelou and what she once wrote. She said, ``I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise,'' in ``Still I Rise.''

Madam Speaker, I want to thank you today for bringing this forward, and I thank the chairwoman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, first of all, let me thank the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for yielding but also for her tremendous leadership and for the Emancipation Trail that she so boldly led. I am just amazed at what she shared with me earlier today and just now on the floor.

Because, yes, I am a daughter of Texas. My grandfather was born in 1875--10 years after. And my grandmother may have been part of the Emancipation Trail. She was born probably in--they left Galveston around 1900.

Madam Speaker, that sounds like my great- grandmother Fanny, who I did not know, but my grandfather spoke of her. I am certain that she was part of that.

As I listened to my colleague and looked more into my personal family history, Galveston, certainly, is in my spirit. I guess that is why each and every year since I was a child, we continued to celebrate Juneteenth as our liberation day, our emancipation day.

Historically, we generally recognize January 1, 1863, the date when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, as the end of chattel slavery of African Americans in the United States. However, for generations, African-American communities have been celebrating June 19 as a symbolic date representing our freedom from enslavement.

As Congresswoman Jackson Lee mentioned, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston to announce the end of the Civil War. He also declared that the enslaved Africans were now equal in personal rights to that of their former masters, ending the inhumane, barbaric subjugation of African Americans as property that still continued 2\1/ 2\ years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Again, we are not far removed from this history. Citing my grandfather, I have to call his name: Mr. W.C. Parish, William Calhoun Parish. He was born in Galveston, just 10 years after Granger's Juneteenth announcement.

Black Texans began celebrating Juneteenth the following year, and year after year for the last 150-plus years. Communities across the Nation have created their own traditions and events to honor and commemorate this historic moment as a day of freedom.

It is not just a cultural celebration for African Americans. It is a true testament to the endurance of our democratic ideals of liberty and equality.

So, we need to pass H.R. 1320, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing Juneteenth as a Federal holiday to further cement the importance of this date in our Nation's historical narrative on freedom.

I thank Congresswoman Jackson Lee, again, for introducing this legislation, and I am a proud cosponsor. The last time Congress enacted a Federal holiday, I believe it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, and it took nearly 20 years for it to pass. We cannot let this idle.

Each year, Juneteenth compels us to confront the darkest chapter in American history, a chapter born in the Middle Passage, continued through slavery, and manifested today through systemic racism. Our Nation's racial past has consistently led to inequities in income, education, employment, healthcare, and the wealth gap of African Americans.

We must use Juneteenth to reflect upon the dehumanization of enslaved Africans in America but also to honor their legacy because ``and still we rise.''

The labor stolen from enslaved Africans built this country. Black people created some of the most cherished national symbols, all while considered merely three-fifths of a person under our Constitution.

We must honor and recognize the millions of men, women, and children lost to the brutality of slavery. As a Nation, we must reckon with the true nature and legacy of slavery in the United States and acknowledge how it has allowed a false racial hierarchy to permeate and infect our society today.

That is why, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, it is time to pass H.R. 40, legislation to establish a commission to study and develop reparations--championed, again, by a great Texan--to repair this damage, and my resolution, H.R. 19, calling for truth, racial healing, and transformation.

It is way too long. It is past overdue. We must repair this damage and move forward.

Madam Speaker, I thank Ms. Jackson Lee for this evening. I thank our CBC chairwoman, Joyce Beatty, and our vice chair, Mr. Horsford, for this Special Order tonight. I think it is very important that the history be told of Juneteenth and how it connects to today and systemic racism.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for honoring my ancestors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Emergency Security Supplemental to Respond to January 6th Appropriations Act.

I'd like to thank Speaker Pelosi, Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, Subcommittee Chair Tim Ryan and the other Subcommittee chairs for their extraordinary leadership in crafting this emergency package to respond to the urgent need for a safer and more secure Capitol.

I was here on the House Floor during the violent insurrection on January 6th. In carrying out our tradition of the peaceful transfer of power, a mob tried to violently overthrow our government because of Donald Trump's false narrative of election fraud. On the global stage, we are a nation that condemns violent attempts to negate the outcomes of free and fair elections and yet in our Nation's capital we saw an armed standoff at the door of the House Chamber and tear gas deployed in the rotunda.

This bill would address the direct costs incurred by agencies in the riotous attack. It funds security improvements to the Capitol and specialized training for Capitol police. Lastly, it also provides funding for the continued prosecution of the perpetrators.

As we have seen, the lie that incited the riot has not gone away. The white supremacist ideology that fuels these lies and conspiracy theories persists. Looking towards the future, it is important that we pass this bill to improve the protection of the Capitol for those who visit and work here daily.

I urge the passage of the Emergency Security Supplemental to Respond to the January 6th Appropriations Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the injustice of poverty and low wealth.

Let me just say, this pandemic has exposed the toll of longstanding, interlocking inequities stemming from structural racism, poverty, economic inequality, ecological devastation, and many more systemic barriers keeping people living on the edge.

Our country now stands at a tipping point. Mr. Speaker, 140 million people are poor or one healthcare crisis, job loss, or emergency away from economic desperation. We must prioritize their needs and give them the opportunity to live in dignity and with hope.

We can realize the third reconstruction to fully address poverty and low wages from the bottom up, from housing to healthcare, water, education, and more. We need a third reconstruction to revive our moral and political commitments to democracy and the founding principles of this country.

That is why Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and I have worked with great leaders, such as Bishop William Barber and Dr. Liz Theoharis, co- chairs of the Poor People's Campaign, A National Call for a Moral Revival.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to cosponsor our resolution, and I want to thank the millions of people whose voices we have heard.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to Reverend E. Baxter Morris, the ninth and longest-serving pastor of the iconic First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Rev. Morris was a graduate of Selma University with a Bachelor of Theology Degree. He studied at Alabama State University, Samford University Extension Division, and the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education. When he was still in school at Selma University, Rev. Morris was selected as First Baptist Church's newest pastor in 1972.

The First Baptist Church was founded by 700 newly freed Black citizens after the Emancipation Proclamation was recognized in Montgomery in 1866. Church members completed the first church in 1867 on Columbus Street. The Columbus Street Church was destroyed by a fire, but was painstakingly rebuilt brick by brick using any bricks the parishioners could find. Completed in 1915, it became affectionately known as the ``Brick A Day'' Church.

The First Baptist Church played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement. Under the pastorship of Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, it became a meeting place for historic civil rights leaders. In 1961, it served as refuge for Freedom Riders who were subjected to mob violence at the Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station and was the target of a Klu Klux Klan attack when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights icons were worshipping inside.

For almost 50 years, Rev. Morris led the Brick A Day congregation and made it his mission to acknowledge and preserve its rich history, while also continuing the church's legacy of progress and social change. In addition to shepherding his own congregation, Rev. Morris served in various roles at several other religious organizations, including the Montgomery-Antioch District Association of Baptist Churches and Missionary for the Alabama Baptist South East District State Convention. He also dedicated more than 20 years of service to the Montgomery Police Department as chaplain.

Rev. Morris was a pillar in his community and the true epitome of a servant leader. Buoyed by the strength and example of his predecessors, Rev. Morris lived his life to give, to support, and to uplift his fellow man.

Every year, I bring young people from the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center in Oakland, CA on the Faith and Politics Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage. Rev. Morris always greeted them with enthusiasm, kindness, and appreciation. Upon learning of his passing, they were heartbroken because he taught them so much and had earned their respect and admiration.

Along with my youth leaders, I send our heartfelt condolences and love to Rev. Morris' family, the First Baptist Church family, loved ones, friends, and community.

Please join me in honoring Rev. E. Baxter Morris and his many contributions to First Baptist Church, and the community of Montgomery,

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor. I applaud the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act's passage in the Senate, and I thank Representatives Meng, Chu, Beyer, and Senators Hirono and Duckworth for leading the call to address the rise in hate crimes against the AAPI community.

The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act will help ensure that we are measuring the severity of hate crimes in this Nation so we can implement systemic change.

It is time that we address the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. We cannot ignore the fear and the heartbreak that plagues our AAPI communities. We cannot ignore the hate and the violence perpetrated upon the AAPI community. We cannot ignore the fact that there have been at least 2,800 incidents of anti-Asian hate in the United States since the pandemic began and 1,226 incidents taking place in California and 728 crimes in the Bay Area alone. Unfortunately, this is only a fraction of anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents that we know because so many go unreported.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act so that we can continue to fight against hate and violence and support justice, equality, and safety for the AAPI community.

Madam Speaker, first, let me thank the gentleman from New York for organizing this very important Special Order and for his tremendous leadership on so many issues on behalf of his district, the Congressional Black Caucus, and on behalf of all Americans.

Let me first send my deepest condolences to Chairwoman Joyce Beatty and her family on the loss of her beloved husband, Otto Beatty, Jr., a devoted partner, beloved father, grandfather, and community leader. Our hearts are broken this evening as we think about Congresswoman Beatty and her family, and just know we are praying for her and her community and her family.

This is a Special Order tonight that I want to thank again Congressman Ritchie Torres and the Congressional Black Caucus for organizing this to mark 100 years since the horrific tragedy of the Tulsa Greenwood massacre.

In one of the worst acts of racist violence in United States history, a White mob ransacked a prosperous African-American neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. From May 31 to June 1, 1921, an estimated 300 Black men, women, and children were murdered. The mob destroyed 35 square blocks of Greenwood and burned down over 1,000 Black-owned businesses, churches, and homes.

During a time when lynching African Americans was commonplace, the alleged--mind you, alleged--assault of a White woman by a Black man was enough to incite a massacre of unimaginable proportions. A thriving Black community became the target of animosity and racial hatred by its neighbors.

Now, a grand jury placed the blame for the massacre entirely on the Black

community. No White person was ever held accountable for these crimes. This is an example, mind you, of the horrors and the experience of living as a Black person in America then and now.

In 1997, the Oklahoma Legislature established a commission to study the Tulsa race riots of 1921. It was charged with the responsibility of developing an historical record of the massacre through identifying witnesses and gathering testimony and records. The commission not only corrected the record, but also recommended reparations for the survivors and their descendants. To date, they have not received any-- mind you, any--direct compensation.

Up until recently, the silence in Tulsa, in Oklahoma, and in the United States about this massacre was an intentional effort to whitewash our Nation's racialized past. But we must remember these stories. We must tell the truth about our past.

I introduced H. Con. Res. 19 to establish a National Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Commission to usher in this moment of truth to begin to examine and lift up to the public as the historical record of the history and legacy of slavery and how it is manifested today in systemic racism as it relates to African Americans.

But telling the truth is not enough. We must pass H.R. 40, sponsored by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. And I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 40, which is the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans to address and repair the material harm done by instances like the Tulsa Greenwood massacre.

I am pleased to say that my home State of California is leading the Nation in this effort, being the first State to pass a law to establish a task force to study and develop reparation proposals.

Black Tulsans have still not recovered from the impact of the Tulsa Greenwood massacre. Decades of discrimination following the massacre prevented the community from rebuilding their economic vitality. Black Tulsans are still over two times more likely to be unemployed than their White counterparts, and their communities are the least likely to attract businesses and large employers. Policies like redlining and local ordinances have prevented growth.

The legacy of the massacre continues to impact Black Tulsans today. We cannot forget and we cannot let the Nation forget about the Tulsa Greenwood massacre.

H.R. 40 is a bill that we need to move forward to begin to repair the damage of the historical facts of the legacy of enslaved Africans brought to this country, who, quite frankly, in spite of our progress, still have not achieved liberty and justice for all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act. I thank Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton for her tireless campaign for full democratic representation for the residents of our nation's capital. Without her leadership and grassroots advocacy, it is hard to believe

that we would be on the floor today considering D.C. statehood again. I also want to thank Chairwoman Maloney and the Speaker for working to get this bill to the floor.

The late Hilda Mason, former D.C. councilmember, a giant in D.C. politics, and impassioned champion for the disadvantaged brought me into the fight for D.C. statehood. Her courage and steadfast determination to ensure D.C. residents have full democratic representation should be an inspiration to us all.

The revolution that led to the creation of our democracy began with calls of ``No taxation without representation'' and yet we have over 700,000 people--taxpayers--nearly half of whom are African American-- routinely disenfranchised.

Historically, the District of Colombia has been home to one of the largest African American populations in the nation. After Emancipation, thousands of African Americans migrated from the segregated South to benefit from better employment opportunities, better educational institution, and more access to civic and political life.

It is a disgrace that the District, a symbol of our nation's promise of equality, is denied the right to self-government and full representation in Congress.

To correct this injustice, we must pass H.R. 51.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1996, the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act, or the SAFE Banking Act, of which I am an original cosponsor. I want to thank my friend Congressman Perlmutter as well as Chairwoman Waters and Chairman Nadler for their leadership on this issue.

This bill creates protections for financial institutions to be able to provide financial services to state-legal cannabis businesses and ancillary businesses. This would allow these businesses to access the banking system instead of relying on cash transactions.

Marijuana is currently legal in 36 states, 4 territories and the District of Columbia for medicinal or recreational use. This is an important issue as financial institutions prohibit dealing with cannabis businesses because of its current Schedule I, federal status. We need to ensure that these legitimate businesses have access to banking services as more states have medicinal and adult use cannabis programs. Many of these businesses are operating as cash only, which has created many issues for business owners and employees and has led to safety concerns for our communities.

I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on this and other marijuana related issues as they relate to racial and economic inequality. The SAFE Banking Act helps provide a solution to this financial issue, but we must not forget the larger systemic injustice of cannabis prohibition, which has disproportionately impacted Black and brown communities through the war on drugs. We must work together to end federal cannabis prohibition and to pass the MORE Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1333, the NO BAN Act, of which I am an original cosponsor and which passed the House earlier today. I thank and salute our good friend Judy Chu as well as Chairman Nadler and the Speaker for their leadership in bringing this to the floor.

This bill strengthens the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion and restores the separation of powers by limiting overly broad executive actions.

President Biden's recent executive order overturned Donald Trump's racist and discriminatory ban, but we need to ensure that broad, xenophobic policies that are not based on actual national security concerns do not ever go into effect again.

Make no mistake, the NO BAN Act would help ensure that this kind of discrimination ceases, prevent future such discrimination, and promote our Nation's core value of religious freedom.

The Muslim and African bans were an abuse of Presidential authority and based off of hateful campaign promises. The ban separated parents from their children and spouses from one another. This bill begins to repair the damage of the past 4 years.

Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Jackson Lee for yielding. I also was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, so I thank my sister.

Let me say tonight that I rise to celebrate the remarkable life of our dear friend, a dedicated public servant and a warrior for justice, the Honorable--he truly was the Honorable--Alcee Hastings.

I thank Congresswoman Beatty for organizing this Special Order to honor our friend this evening.

I would like to offer my deepest condolences to Congressman Hastings' family; his wife, Patricia; his staff; all of his loved ones; his children; and his grandchildren. I know that this loss is deeply felt, and I am praying for the Hastings family and also for his constituents whom I had the honor to meet during my visits to his district.

Congressman Hastings was a trailblazer, and he lived a life of firsts as the first African-American Federal judge appointed to the State of Florida and the first African American to lead the Helsinki Commission.

I have had the privilege to travel with Alcee to Europe several times and to work with him to establish a transatlantic dialogue to improve social and political inclusion of people of African descent in Europe and the United States. This was a visionary idea that Congressman Hastings wanted to see happen in his lifetime, and he has made so much progress toward achieving that goal and his dream.

Alcee's political and diplomatic acumen was strengthened by his very warm and caring spirit. Many may not be aware, but while he was fighting the fight for human rights and democracy, he was also a devoted caregiver to his ailing mother. When I was struggling with the health challenges of my own beloved mother, he was there to offer comfort and guidance. He made me realize how blessed I was to be able to take care of her during her last years on Earth. For that I will be deeply grateful.

When I first met Judge Hastings back in the 1980s, even before I was an elected official, I knew I had met someone special. He gave me his honest opinion and offered guidance without hesitation even before I was elected to office.

Despite his no-nonsense attitude and direct nature, myself, like all of us, had our own inside jokes. He called me Bob. I loved his socks-- like so many of us--so much so that he gave me six pairs for my birthday. They are my Alcee socks which I will always cherish and wear.

Congressman Hastings always supported and guided me when I presented my bills to the Rules Committee, and he encouraged me by always saying: ``I'm with you, Bob. I'm with you, Bob.'' Even if he disagreed with my progressive bills, he would say: ``I'm with you, Bob. I'm with you, Bob. We are going to get this out.''

He taught me some colorful words to use during very challenging times.

I feel beyond blessed to have known Alcee Hastings. His loss will be felt not only in Florida, in his district, throughout the country and here in Washington, D.C., but also around the world. He was truly a beloved and brilliant world leader.

I am reminded of 2 Timothy 4:7. I am reminded of Alcee tonight as I think about and read this Scripture: ``I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.''

Yes, our brother, our friend, our colleague, our warrior for justice and for peace fought the good fight, and now may he rest in peace and may he rest in power.

Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Jackson Lee for yielding and for this Special Order tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman DeLauro for her persistent leadership for so many years, as well as Chairman Scott and the Speaker.

We must put an end to the wage gap and pay discrimination. Let me tell you, as you have heard, the wage gap for women of color is so much worse.

I am reminded today of our heroine, Fannie Lou Hamer. She said, ``I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.''

Black women earn 63 cents, indigenous women earn 60 cents, Latinas earn 55 cents, White women earn 82 cents, and AAPI women are paid as little as 52 cents on every dollar paid to the White man. That is outrageous.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Equal Pay Today! campaign urging Members to support the bill.

Equal Pay Today,

April 14, 2021.

Re Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7) and vote no on

harmful amendments.

Dear Representative(s): As the House votes on the Paycheck

Fairness Act (H.R. 7), we strongly urge you to pass the

Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 7, without amendments that would

limit its scope or undermine its critical protections.

As members of the Equal Pay Today Campaign, we represent a

broad coalition consisting of both national and state based

organizations from all across the country, that are dedicated

to challenging the legal, policy, and cultural barriers at

the local, state, and national level that keep women from

being paid equally. Launched on the 50th anniversary of the

signing of the federal Equal Pay Act, we are committed to

fighting and advocating for legislation that will ultimately

close the gender wage gap.

With our nation now entering into year two of this global

pandemic, we can no longer ignore the disparities that have

existed long before our nation's shutdown, and

despite federal and state equal pay laws, the gender pay gap

persists, and earnings lost to these gaps are widened due to

the financial impacts of the pandemic, with a heavier burden

bared by women of color and the families and communities who

depend on them and their income.

Women are increasingly becoming the primary or co-

breadwinner in their families, with Black mothers being far

more likely than other mothers to be the primary or sole

breadwinners for their families and more than half of Latina

mothers being the breadwinner in families with children under

18. Women across this country, working full-time, year-round,

are typically being paid only .82 cents for every dollar paid

out to men, adding up to a loss of more than $400,000 dollars

over a lifetime. And the wage gap gets even wider as race is

factored in. Black women working full time, year round

typically make only .63 cents, Native American women only .60

cents, and Latinas only .55 cents, for every dollar paid to

their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts. Latinas stand to

lose more than $1 million over a 40-year career due to the

wage gap, and while Asian American and Pacific Islander

(AAPI) women make .85 cents for every dollar paid to white,

non-Hispanic men, many AAPI communities experience

drastically wider pay gaps. And even when controlling for

factors, such as education and experience, the pay gaps still

persist, start early in women's careers and contribute to a

wealth gap that follows them throughout their lifetimes.

These pay gaps can be addressed and rectified through

legislation that offers workers the legal tools and

safeguards needed to challenge discrimination. The Paycheck

Fairness Act, which has already been passed by the House of

Representatives three times before and most recently by the

116th Congress, would offer the much needed updates to the

Equal Pay Act of 1963 by making these tools available while

also providing new ones, that would help to combat and

challenge discrimination and the pay gap.

The Paycheck Fairness Act updates and strengthens the Equal

Pay Act of 1963 to ensure that it provides robust protection

against sex-based pay discrimination. Among other provisions,

this comprehensive bill:

ends secrecy around pay by barring retaliation against

workers who voluntarily discuss or disclose their wages, and

requiring employers to report pay data to the EEOC

prohibits employers from relying on salary history in

determining future pay, so that pay discrimination does not

follow women from job to job

closes loopholes that have allowed employers to pay women

less than men for the same work without any important

business justification related to the job

ensures women can receive the same robust remedies for sex-

based pay discrimination that are currently available to

those subjected to discrimination based on race and ethnicity

provides much needed training and technical assistance, as

well as data collection and research

This past year has undoubtedly been a challenging one. The

pandemic has shone a light on how the work performed by

women, specifically Black and brown women, has continuously

been undervalued, underpaid, and gone unnoticed. We cannot

continue to use the word ``essential'' to describe the nature

of this work, if there is no commitment to ensuring that all

women can work with safety and with dignity, and the first

step to making this happen, starts with pay equity, and the

catalyst for this would be the passing of the Paycheck

Fairness Act.

We urge you to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act without

harmful amendments that weaken its critical protections.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Equal Pay Today.

Mr. Speaker, let me finally say: Remember, because of this discrimination, women's Social Security benefits during their senior years are much lower than men. This injustice follows women throughout their lives. This issue impacts women, regardless of industry, education level or political party. It is past time--it is so past time for Congress to take action on this.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, I rise to acknowledge and memorialize the legacy of Dr. Margaret C. Snyder, referred to as the ``United Nations' First Feminist'', who died on January 26, 2021 at the age of 91. I share my sincere condolences and prayers with her family, including her brother, Thomas Snyder.

Dr. Snyder, who went by ``Peg'', was a trailblazer whose passion and determination to empower women transformed the U.N.'s mechanisms of global development aid to include millions of women in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Dr. Snyder also worked to support women at the UN to move beyond being restricted to secretarial roles to rise to join the professional ranks within the organization.

Dr. Margaret Cecilia Snyder was born the youngest of three children on January 30, 1929, in East Syracuse, New York. Her father, Matthias, was a doctor, and her mother, Cecilia (Gorman) Snyder, taught Latin and German in a local high school. Peg graduated from the College of New Rochelle in Westchester County, New York in 1950. Two years later she received a master's degree in sociology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

While working as the Dean of Women at Le Moyne College, in Syracuse, she followed John F. Kennedy's call for young Americans to volunteer overseas by taking a one year sabbatical to work with volunteer organizations in Tanganyika (which merged with Zanzibar to become Tanzania in 1964) and Uganda. Among other tasks, she arranged for African students to attend college in the United States--part of an effort known as ``Kennedy airlifts.''

When her year ended, she quit her job at Le Moyne and stayed in Africa, but she moved home in 1965 to help run the East African Studies program at Syracuse University. She advised students from the region on their graduate work, many of whom went on to hold leadership positions in their countries--the first threads of her continentwide network of partners. In 1970, she returned to Tanzania to complete her Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Dar es Salaam, having started pursuing her degree in 1964.

Upon graduation in 1971, Peg joined the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) as a co-founder of what became the African Training and Research Center for Women--the UN's first major program directed specifically at improving economic opportunities for women.

In 1978, she moved to New York City, where she was put in charge of a development fund focused on women, funded by voluntary contributions from member states. She built the organization (renamed the U.N. Development Fund for Women or UNIFEM) from operating on a shoestring budget to a global powerhouse that served women not just in Africa but across the developing world. By the end of the 1980s, it had supported the creation of women's development commissions in 30 countries, through which the U.N. channeled millions of dollars to grassroots women's projects. It is now known as U.N. Women.

One of her first grants went to Kenya's Green Belt Movement, an anti- deforestation initiative led by the late 2004 Nobel Laureate for Peace and eventual close friend Wangari Maathai.

After retiring from the United Nations in 1989, Dr. Snyder was a Fulbright Scholar in Uganda and a Visiting Fellow at the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She also wrote or co-wrote three books on women's economic development in Africa.

Peg continued to serve as an informal adviser to the U.N. and advocate for a long list of women activists and organizations, many of whom she hosted at her apartment in New York City. It was there, in 2006, that she helped organize the Sirleaf Market Women's Fund, a program to rebuild markets across post-civil war Liberia, named for Liberia and Africa's first female President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Dr. Peg Snyder's legacy continues to bear fruit. In 2021, women make up a significant portion of the U.N. professional staff, and women's issues, including development, remain one of the organization's focal points. In her tribute to Dr. Snyder, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of UN Women, assured the continuation of Peg Snyder's legacy for generations to come: ``Her passing comes at a point where the importance of bringing women's voices and skills to the forefront has never been more important for the world's ability to move ahead resiliently and creatively. We thank her, honour her countless contributions to women across the world, and take forward her legacy.''

We in the United States Congress commemorate Dr. Snyder's work and legacy, and stand ready to help carry on her work to help women everywhere claim their rights and lift up themselves, their communities and nations.