Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, first of all, let me say that I rise in strong support of H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act. I thank Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, Chairman Nadler, and Chairwoman Lofgren for advancing this legislation and supporting our Dreamers.

It is time that we protect these young people who have never called any other country than America home. Dreamers and individuals eligible for TPS or Deferred Enforcement Departure contribute mightily to their communities and to our economy. They deserve a pathway to citizenship.

Now, the Dreamers in my State of California and in my Congressional district have made so many contributions under very scary and difficult circumstances.

Madam Speaker, yes, they are as American as I am. I ask for an ``aye'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1620, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. I am proud to cosponsor this bill, and I want to thank Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Chairman Jerry Nadler for, once again, their leadership and bold efforts to bring this bill to the floor.

This reauthorization bill builds upon the landmark 1994 legislation by expanding protections and services for survivors, while also working to prevent violence from occurring in the first place. It makes vital investments in preventing sexual assaults and stalking and increases victims' access to safe housing and economic stability. It also increases funding of programs for culturally specific services.

An estimated one in three women experience domestic violence in this country. I personally know what strong and consistent support means to emerge as a survivor.

When I was in the California State Legislature, I authored the Violence Against Women Act for the State of California. And today, I am so proud, along with Congresswoman Jackson Lee, that we passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act with bipartisan support. When I was in the California State Legislature, a Republican Governor signed my bill into law, so I thank the gentlewoman very much for her leadership.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank the Democratic Women's Caucus, Congresswomen Frankel, Speier, and Lawrence, for hosting this Special Order on Women's History Month.

I want to thank Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence for insisting that Black women and women of color be seen in this body.

Last year, we celebrated the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave some women the right to vote. We know that women of color were not able to vote until decades later, and Black women fought until they got suffrage in 1965.

I am proud that this January, my bill, with the support of both Republicans and Democrats here in this body and in the Senate, passed. It is called the Women's History and Nineteenth Amendment Centennial Quarter Dollar Coin Program Act, and it was signed into law. This measure will ensure that prominent women from American history can be honored on our circulating quarter dollar coins.

The currency we use is one of the most important shared ways that we have in memorializing what is important to us as Americans. Making sure that prominent American women are featured on our coins is an important step in recognizing the contributions women have made in furthering civil rights and making our country a more equitable place.

As the mint solicits public input for these coins, it is my hope that diverse American women will be chosen and depicted, celebrating our Nation's leaders, thinkers, and innovators.

Last election also brought a record number of women in Congress, and there are, I believe, 120 women now in the House. I know my mentor, the first African-American woman elected to Congress, Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm, would be so proud. Yes, we brought our folding chairs, but I have to just tell you, we are here to stay.

I salute my late mother, Mildred Parish Massey tonight, who blazed so many trails. She instilled in her three girls that women are equal to men, from day one.

She was one of the first 12 Black students to integrate the University of Texas at El Paso. She was the first Black female civilian at Fort Bliss, Texas, to work there for years, and she was the first in so many segregated places.

But you know what? She told my sisters and me that ``can't'' is not in the dictionary and that we can fulfill our dreams. But in doing that, we have to break these barriers so that others can enter, and she insisted that we open the doors for other women and girls.

It is so important that we celebrate Women's History Month and honor the women trailblazers who came before us. Not only should we celebrate women, but we should also ensure that they are protected and granted equality. I can't think of a better way to honor Women's History Month than for this body to pass bills to guarantee and enshrine women's equality. It is a shame we have to do that.

One important action we can take to do that is to remove barriers to ratifying the equal rights amendment. I have to thank my good friend, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, for her leadership on these efforts. It is way past time we do that.

For 244 years, women have not been able to claim the full protections and opportunities afforded by the Constitution. Women and girls face a devastating wage gap, gender-based violence, inadequate access to healthcare, pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment, the list goes on. Yet, our Constitution does not explicitly protect them, and women of color have had to fight twice as hard.

I thank Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence for leading the Special Order tonight. It is an important moment for women in this country.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote 78, I was not present because I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yes'' on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 233.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rescue plan.

I thank Chairman Yarmuth, the Speaker, and all the committee chairs for this historic and transformative bill.

We have struggled through a year of gross neglect. People have suffered. They have died. They have lost their jobs and businesses. Families are living on the edge. But today, thank God, help is on the way.

We included provisions to ensure that communities of color disproportionately impacted by the virus get the care and vaccines they desperately need.

We included support for State and local governments, for our essential workers, resources to help our schools open safely, child tax credits that will cut child poverty in half, and investments to crush the virus worldwide.

We will, however, continue to fight for a $15 minimum wage to lift low-income people out of poverty.

I ask for an ``aye'' vote.

Thank you, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, for yielding, for your tremendous leadership on so many issues, and for once again bringing us together tonight. You and our Speaker pro tempore who is managing the floor tonight, Congressman Ritchie Torres, I thank you both so much for really continuing to beat the drum throughout the country about so many issues that are so important to not only the African-American community, but to our entire country.

Also, to our Chairwoman, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, I just want to salute you for your leadership and for really ensuring that the Congressional Black Caucus stays the conscience of the Congress in so many ways on so many issues, being such an inclusive caucus under your leadership, which is, I guess, the largest one ever now on our 50th anniversary. So thank you so much.

And to Congresswoman Terri Sewell, daughter of Selma, I know your mother is very proud of you, and I know that John Lewis is shining his light upon you and Selma and this 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

Congresswoman Sewell, I just have to say that I have been with her many times in Selma, in Alabama. She fights so hard for her constituents, but also to make sure that Selma gets the recognition, the credit, and also the resources that it so deserves as being that historical place where, had it not been for Bloody Sunday and Selma, we would not be here tonight as a strong Congressional Black Caucus leading the way on so many issues.

A year later, after John Lewis's passing, of course, we celebrate his life and his legacy, but also we honor him for really passing the baton to our young people, who he knew would take that baton and run this next lap of the race.

I had the privilege to attend the Faith & Politics pilgrimages for many, many years, at least 17 or 18 years. I took children, young people from my Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center on these pilgrimages. We crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge many times each year. John Lewis was so committed. Even with the 500, 600 people there, he took time to talk to young people, to explain to them not only the historical context upon which we were marching across that bridge, but he took time to encourage them and to empower them to take that baton and run this lap of the race for justice.

I just have to tell you now with what is going on in the country now with voter suppression efforts throughout, we cannot go back to the days of Jim Crow. I am thinking now, 56 years later after Bloody Sunday, the moment that we are in, because we must run this lap of the race and we must run it much faster now.

Bloody Sunday was just that. It was bloody. It was bloody. Those who were beaten and bloodied 56 years ago, they deserve our gratitude and our honor by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, H.R. 4. Because of those heroes and sheroes, we all stand here as Members of Congress.

Because of John Lewis, he believed in the promise of liberty and justice for all and the beloved community, which we all are fighting for and insisting that we come together to pass H.R. 4.

This is a moment--a defining moment, I believe, for our democracy because we shouldn't have to stand here 56 years later, after so many people were bloodied, and say we once again have to fight this battle again.

I hope tonight that those who are listening will really understand this defining moment we are in and help us pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We owe it to John Lewis 56 years later. We owe it to those foot soldiers, those heroes and sheroes who marched across that bridge. We owe it to those who are still helping us. We owe it to those seniors, those elders in Selma and in Alabama, who are still out there fighting to make sure that liberty and justice for all prevails.

Tonight, I just want to thank the Congressional Black Caucus for honoring Congressman John Lewis, for lifting up Selma and Bloody Sunday. I missed being there this weekend. This is quite a moment for me because I miss seeing John sitting right over there, getting into some good trouble, talking to all of us, saying, ``Okay, now, this is what we have got to do tomorrow. This is what we have got to do today. Are you coming down?'' You know, talking about votes on the floor.

I mean, John was such a mentor to all of us and he encouraged us. Tonight is just very powerful for all of us to be able to recognize him, thank him, and say we must pass H.R. 4 in his honor. This is our power and this is our message.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me rise to support the Pressley-Meng-Schakowsky amendment. I thank Congresswoman Pressley for bringing this forward and to say that she is about the future and really about making sure that civic participation is really enhanced and moved forward by allowing for this amendment to come into this bill, H.R. 1, because this is what it is about. It is about our democracy, and she has been consistent in terms of inclusion and making sure our democracy works.

Elections are about the future, and no one has more at stake in that future than our youth. By age 16, we trust our young people with a host of important decisions and responsibilities. It is the moment when lifelong habits are built and when ideas about the world become to be fixed. Evidence has shown that when people start voting younger, they are more likely to exercise their right to vote as they grow older.

Too many of the arguments against lowering the voting age to 16 crumble when you really examine them clearly. Often the objection is simply that 16-year-olds are too young to exercise good judgment. This is really a patronizing thought. In fact, it is downright scary to think that we would have our government policies decide what constitutes as wisdom for our young people.

It is past time for us to elevate voting as one of the central responsibilities of our democracy. I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Alameda Contra Costa Chapter of the Links (ACCL) for their 36 years of service throughout California's 13th Congressional District and the country.

Based in Oakland, California, the Alameda Contra Costa Chapter of the Links supports local service agencies serving primarily low-income, inner-city youth and their families in Contra Costa and Alameda counties through volunteer and fundraising efforts.

The Links, Incorporated was originally founded in 1946 and national membership now consists of more than 15,000 professional women of color. These women are committed to serving as ``volunteers to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry.''

The Alameda Contra Costa Chapter of the Links was founded in 1985. Its members and leaders have worked since its founding to help East Oakland and the youth who live there through community service programs.

In 1996 ACCL established the Community Service Program called ``Respect Yourself.'' This program's aims are to ``Respect Your Health, Respect Your Knowledge, Respect Your Family and Community, and Respect Your Creativity and Intuitiveness.'' Through an oral health initiative targeting children, a cardiovascular health initiative with the American Heart Association targeting African American women, educational activities for young children focused on STEAM, financial literacy, English literacy, international affairs, anti-bullying, environmental stewardship, and the arts, the ``Respect Yourself'' program has bettered the health and education of many in our community. Over the years, ACCL has been able to serve over 2,800 young Oakland students.

On February 26th, 2021, ACCL will hold its 25th annual Respect Yourself Youth Symposium. The Symposium directly supports young students in Oakland and exposes the students to thought leaders and educational content in STEM and health studies.

On behalf of California's 13th Congressional District, I want to extend my sincere congratulations on this important milestone of 25 years of the Respect Yourself Youth Symposium and 36 years of service. I thank the Alameda Contra Costa Chapter of the Links for dedication to excellence and to our community. I wish them continued success in working to better the lives of the children and women of color of California's 13th Congressional District.

Madam Speaker, tonight, I stand with my Congressional Black Caucus members, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Congressman Jamaal Bowman, to call attention to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which recognizes that, in order to transform policing, we must hold bad actors accountable while working to prevent instances of brutality and misconduct.

As a mother and a grandmother of Black men and boys, these issues are really personal to me and my family and countless other families who face excessive force from law enforcement each and every day. This bill will address racial profiling, create a use-of-force database, improve transparency with a national police misconduct database, ban no-knock warrants and choke holds, end qualified immunity--nobody is above the law--and will limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to State and local law enforcement.

We stand with the American people to turn this moment of agony into one of action, as we honor Mr. George Floyd's life and the lives of all those killed by police brutality. We will continue working with the millions of Americans marching and demanding action, and we will not stop until this legislation becomes law.

As an original cosponsor of this bill, I urge us to take this opportunity to honor the lives of all police misconduct victims by preventing future cases from occurring.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the American Rescue Plan. I thank Chairman Yarmuth, our Speaker, our committee chairs, for addressing this emergency urgently.

People across America are struggling. Yes, this package is big, but the scale of the challenges that families face is enormous. They need our help, and half measures just won't cut it. We cannot wait.

This bill extends expiring unemployment benefits, provides $1,400 payments, permanently expands the child tax credit to $3,000 per child, and raises the minimum wage, way long overdue. And, yes, it provides State and local funding to protect the jobs of essential workers, who, in spite of the risk that they face, provide essential services to keep this country running.

Mr. Speaker, this bill also fights the virus with funding for testing and vaccinations for communities of color that have been hit the hardest from COVID.

Finally, this bill funds our global pandemic response. COVID doesn't respect borders. A global pandemic requires a global response.

I thank Chairman Meeks of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for working with me to ensure that America will play its role to help fight the pandemic abroad.

Let's take this bold action and pass this bill tonight.

Madam Speaker, as an original cosponsor of the Equality Act, and as a co-founder and Vice-chair of the House Equality Caucus, I want to voice my full support of this bill. I want to thank the Speaker and Chairman Nadler for acting quickly on this legislation. I also want to thank my friend Rep. Cicilline, as well as my fellow caucus co-chairs, for their efforts.

Our federal laws still do not protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people from discrimination. Almost two-thirds of LGBTQ Americans report having experienced discrimination--and LGBTQ people of color often face compounded injustices, including higher rates of unemployment and health challenges.

The Equality Act prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service. The Equality Act will help ensure that LGBTQ Americans can play their vital role in our nation and our communities without fear of harassment and discrimination.

As a Black woman in America, I know what it is like to face injustice and inequality. I applaud House passage of the Equality Act as an historic milestone in our effort to build a more just society. I hope the Senate will pass it quickly and send it to the President for enactment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. I want to thank my friend and colleague Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez from New Mexico's 3rd district for convening this special order hour. Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour is one critical step towards ensuring an equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal minimum wage has been at $7.25 for more than a decade. This is the longest period of time without an increase in the minimum wage in US history. Inflation has eroded this amount to a fraction of its previous value. We must increase the wage and we must do it now.

Someone working a full time job at the current federal minimum wage only earns $15,000 a year. That is a disgrace. A full time worker in this country should be able to put

food on their table and a roof over their head and be able to pay their other expenses with their earnings. Many of these minimum wage workers are essential workers, helping our communities endure this pandemic.

Raising the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour isn't a cure-all. In high cost urban areas, such as the one I represent in the Bay Area, fifteen dollars an hour still is not enough to get ahead. But raising the federal minimum wage has been shown to help lift wages across the board for people at the lower end of the income scale.

A fifteen dollar minimum wage would give 27 million low-wage workers a raise and lift nearly one MILLION people out of poverty. But this isn't just an economic need--it's a racial justice imperative. Many people of color have been paid poverty wages for too long--deepening the long standing racial and economic divisions in this country. African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans are all much more likely to make only the minimum wage.

Recent polling shows that 72 percent of Americans, a vast majority, support raising the minimum wage, including Republicans and Independents. We need to ensure workers get paid living wages, especially in times of crisis. Raising the minimum wage is a necessary first step to growing our economy and recovering from this pandemic. Additionally, it will also lessen the need for full time workers to be receiving public assistance. When you raise the wages of the lowest- paid workers, it is good for our communities and our country. Those workers can then spend money in their communities, boosting local small businesses and our entire economy.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Kappa Chapter on their Centennial anniversary.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. was founded in 1913 by 22 collegiate women at Howard University and is now an international sisterhood of over 350,000 predominantly Black, college educated women who are dedicated to providing public service through education, community outreach, and development in their communities across the globe.

On February 21, 1921, Kappa Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. was charted. It became the first Black Greek-letter organization west of the Rocky Mountains. 100 years ago, during a time when universities across the country refused to admit Black students, seven dedicated and dauntless women from UC Berkeley, San Francisco State, and San Jose State came together to charter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Kappa Chapter. Vivian Osborne Marsh, Gladys Brown, Creola Cook, Elizabeth Gordon, Louise Thompson Patterson, Onilda Taylor, and Myrtle Price.

They remained a ``city-wide'' chapter until the 1960's.

The chapter's first President, Vivian Osborne Marsh, went on to become Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.'s 7th National President. Throughout her life she worked to promote literacy and provide opportunities for underprivileged teenagers and children. In honor of her service and their Centennial Kappa Chapter has created the ``Vivian Osborne Marsh, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Kappa Chapter Endowed Scholarship Fund.'' This is the first endowed scholarship created by any Greek Letter Organization at UC Berkeley. The $100,000 fund will generate scholarships for Black students at UC Berkeley for years to come.

Over the last 100 years Kappa Chapter and its members have continued a legacy of service to the Black community and to those in need. Current members have made exceptional efforts to promote health for women of color, social justice, professionalism, and the empowerment of Black women on campus in the greater community. Kappa Chapter has gone above and beyond to engage and inform the community by hosting programs that discuss important topics likes COVID-19, Holistic Health, Black love, relationships, womanhood, empowerment, de-stigmatizing HIV/AIDS in the Black Community, and social justice.

Today we celebrate 100 years of commitment to change. From the legacy of Kappa Chapter's charter members to its current membership and newest initiates Karsyn Terry, Christine Harris, Symone Gilliam, and Robynne Oliver the legacy continues to grow.

On behalf of California's 13th Congressional District, I want to extend my sincere congratulations on this important milestone of 100 years. I thank Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Kappa Chapter for their commitment to sisterhood, scholarship, and service. Their history of empowering black women will forever be important to Black history and I look forward to witnessing the accomplishments that will define your next 100 years.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Yarmuth for his leadership in putting forth this budget resolution.

COVID continues to ravage our communities. Black and Brown people have been disproportionately impacted the hardest. Now that vaccines are being distributed, the disparities in who has been vaccinated are quite shocking.

On top of this health crisis is an economic crisis. Eight million more families have fallen into poverty since May. Food banks have lines around the block, and 12 million children are going hungry. Enhanced unemployment insurance expires next month; small businesses are going under; and our State and local governments are struggling to make payroll for millions of essential workers.

Our constituents and communities can't wait. We have to go big, and we have to move fast.

The relief package enabled by this budget resolution is the rescue needed to keep people from falling off the cliff. It will also allow us to address the glaring racial and ethnic disparities in our pandemic response.

Let me tell you, I am one who believes we should provide ongoing payments until the end of the pandemic. Through no fault of their own, people's lives and livelihoods have been shattered, but we do provide in this package and in this budget enhanced unemployment insurance and direct payments.

We don't have the luxury of time, nor of nickeling-and-diming our constituents. We must deliver for the American people a rescue package that matches the scale and the scope of the pain in our country.

Remember, a budget is a moral document that reflects our values, which, of course, means we must put people first, regardless of party affiliation.

Madam Speaker, on January 6, Donald Trump incited his white nationalist supporters to initiate an attempted coup against the heart of our democracy, the United States Capitol. This heinous act of domestic terrorism demands that Congress act to remove this President.

Donald Trump has been, and remains, a threat to our national security and our democracy, and he is wholly unfit to serve as President. He and his supporters must be held accountable for inciting violence against the Government of the United States. Congress must act immediately to remove this clear and present danger from our country.