Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 75th birthday of Elaine Brown, a community leader, civil rights activist, and advocate for the underrepresented.

Elaine Brown was born on March 2, 1943, in North Philadelphia, an area affected by significant poverty and racial segregation. She

was raised by her mother, Dorothy Clark, who worked to support her and instilled in her a love of music. Starting with classical piano lessons, Elaine grew as a songwriter and eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue music as a career.

In LA, she engaged with the civil rights movement, and after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Brown was motivated to join the Black Panther Party. As a party member, she helped establish the groundbreaking Free Breakfast for Children Program, Free Busing to Prisons Program, and Free Legal Aid Program.

In 1968, Brown was commissioned by David Hilliard, the Party Chief of Staff, to record the album ``Seize the Time,'' which includes the anthem of the Black Panther Party. The Party's co-founder, Huey P. Newton, later commissioned her to record a second album, ``Until We're Free'', to promote the party's message, ``All Power to the People.''

In August of 1974, Elaine Brown took over as the chair of the Black Panther Party--the first and only woman to lead the revolutionary organization. Under her leadership, the party focused on electoral politics and community service. In 1977, she managed Lionel Wilson's victorious campaign to become Oakland's first black mayor. That same year, I was proud to work on her trailblazing campaign for the Oakland City Council.

After leaving the party in 1977, she wrote her memoir ``A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story'' in 1982 and returned to her work on the struggle of black liberation and prison reform. In 1996, Brown moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and founded Fields of Flowers, Inc., a non-profit committed to providing educational opportunities for impoverished African American children.

Elaine also founded Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice and the Michael Lewis Legal Defense Committee, where she spent nearly two decades supporting the legal appeal of Michael ``Little B'' Lewis, who was wrongly accused of murder and tried as an adult at 13. Elaine wrote The Condemnation of Little B, exposing racism that affects millions of poor African Americans and the barbarity of trying children as adults. In 2003, Brown co-founded the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform and has continued her advocacy by frequently lecturing at colleges and universities throughout the country.

Elaine continues to co-author many books and serves in leadership roles for various committees, and is the CEO of a non-profit organization, Oakland & The World Enterprises, Inc. which is dedicated to launching and sustaining for-profit businesses for cooperative- ownership by the formerly incarcerated and those facing monumental social barriers.

On a personal note, Elaine has been a ``comrade'' and friend since the early 1970's, whose friendship, intellect, and life's work I deeply appreciate and admire.

Today, on behalf of California's 13th Congressional District, it is my honor to celebrate Elaine Brown and her accomplishments, advocacy and contributions for the underrepresented. Her work toward the empowerment of women and minorities, especially African Americans, is a true inspiration to many.

Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank Congressman Dwight Evans for, once again, hosting this very important Special Order and for really continuing this fight for racial and economic justice both here in the House of Representatives but also in his congressional district. So I thank the gentleman very much for his tremendous leadership.

Fifty years ago at the height of the civil rights movement, violence erupted in cities across America. Over generations, systemic racism had produced what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called a tale of two cities. One city was bright and full of opportunity for a select few, and another city was shrouded in darkness and locked in a never-ending cycle of poverty.

African Americans, suffocating under the pressure of institutional racism and discrimination, took to the streets.

After race riots erupted in Watts and Chicago; Newark, New Jersey; and Detroit, our government took notice. President Johnson convened the Kerner Commission, which Congressman Evans laid out, which had three goals to investigate the root cause of the unrest.

Many activists and civil rights leaders were concerned that the Commission wouldn't reveal the true facts. But to our surprise--and I remember this very clearly--the report was brutally honest.

According to the report, White racism was responsible for the rising tensions and explosive violence ripping our Nation apart. So that should have been a wake-up call.

Racism had created two societies: one Black, one White, separate and unequal. The report identified the problem and proposed a series of targeted solutions that could right this terrible wrong.

According to the report, there were three options for our government:

One, do nothing, which would result in more riots and economic devastation and racial division in our country;

Two, we could make robust investments into African-American neighborhoods and schools;

Three, take racism and discrimination head-on, removing discriminatory barriers that lock African Americans into poverty and prevent them from accessing the basics and a basic standard of living.

Option three, of course, could have drastically changed the lives of millions of African Americans. Sadly, the Kerner Commission's report was largely ignored. Again, Congressman Evans laid that out.

Instead of investing in education, employment opportunities, livable wages, raising incomes, and pathways out of poverty, this country, unfortunately, has allowed institutional racism to divide this Nation. Of course, we have made some progress, but this updated report clearly shows that is not nearly enough. We really are still a divided country. As a result, the findings of the 1968 Kerner Commission's report remain constant to this very day.

In 1968, almost half of all students of color, primarily African Americans, went to majority-White schools. Today, that number has plummeted to 20 percent.

In 1968, the unemployment rate for African Americans was 6.7 percent. Today, 7.5 percent of African Americans are unemployed.

In 1968, African Americans were 5.4 times as likely as Whites to be in prison or in jail. Today, African Americans are 6.4 times as likely as Whites to be incarcerated.

Five decades have passed and economic inequality still prevents the African-American community from accessing the American Dream.

I represent the 13th Congressional District of California, which includes Alameda County. While some are witnessing and experiencing enormous wealth and economic growth in my district, 43 percent of African-American children in Oakland are living in poverty, 23.6 percent of African Americans in my district are locked in poverty, and the average income for African-American families in the San Francisco Bay Area is $46,571 a year, compared to White families, who make more than $109,000. That is in my district in the San Francisco Bay Area. This gap is one of the hugest gaps in the country. It is a total disgrace.

We should be leveling the economic playing field for African Americans across the Nation. Instead, we throw Black workers meager wages and apply trickle-down economics that only benefit the rich.

Our Federal Government should provide the impetus, incentive, and investment for good-paying jobs for African-American workers. Instead, this administration is attacking unions and produced a budget that guts job training programs and a tax law that makes it easier to ship jobs overseas.

We should be investing in affordable housing, which, yes, is a basic human right for everyone, including the African-American community. Instead, this administration is weakening fair housing laws and rationing off affordable housing funding.

The majority of this administration's proposed budget--the cuts, especially--will disproportionately negatively impact African Americans and people of color. This really is a twisted and sick reality that shouldn't be possible in the United States of America.

But members of the Congressional Black Caucus are here tonight to say that we continue to be determined to change this reality because, yes, Black lives do matter. We are here to tell the truth about what is dividing America: racism. It is manifest in many forms in our policy, in our budget, in our funding priorities, and in many, many ways.

In January, a group of nearly 100 religious leaders came together to issue a unity declaration on racism and poverty. Mr. Speaker, I include in the record a letter, a document, entitled, ``Unity Declaration on Racism and Poverty,'' and a document entitled, ``Circle of Protection.''

Unity Declaration on Racism and Poverty

As leaders from diverse families of U.S. Christianity, we

are called by the Spirit to work together with new urgency

against the resurgence of racism and the persistence of

poverty in America. We see around us an increase of harmful

attitudes and policies toward people of color and people in

need. That painful reality and the current push for trillions

of dollars in cuts to anti-poverty programs are bringing us

together in a new way. While we have different positions on

other questions, we are united on the gospel and biblical

teaching on poverty and racism--feeling invited to do so by

the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

We believe that racism and poverty are theological issues

The integral relationship between poverty and racism

unifies us against both. They are both issues to which the

gospel of Jesus Christ speaks--which also calls us to love

our neighbors, without exceptions. Our unity on these issues

is because they are theological issues for us, not merely

political or partisan ones. These fundamentally biblical

concerns challenge all of us and both of the major political

parties.

Racism is a sin that goes back to the founding of our

nation. At its root, racism is in conflict with the opening

declaration in Genesis 1, that we are all made in the image

and likeness of God. Racism literally throws away the

biblical principle of imago dei--the image of God in all of

us, with no exceptions. Racism is a sin against God and all

of God's children. Therefore, the whole counsel of God calls

us to preach against the sin of racism from all of our

churches' pulpits and call for repentance.

The body of Christ is perhaps the most diverse racial

community in the world. When people of color in the body of

Christ suffer--while many white members of the body of Christ

do not acknowledge their pain--we are violating the principle

laid down in 1 Corinthians 12: that we are one body with many

parts, who suffer with and honor one another. As Galatians

instructs us, ``there is no more Jew or Greek, bond or free,

male or female, because we are all united as one in Christ''

(3:28).

The historical sin of racism lingers on in America today,

continuing and evolving in our social systems of economics

and education, policing and criminal justice, housing and

gentrification, voting rights and suppression, in our racial

geography, and, painfully, in the continued segregation of

our churches, which adds to our own complicity. Racism is

more than individual behavior, language, and overt hostility

toward particular people. Racism is systematic and structural

in America and harms people of color in very specific,

measurable, and tangible ways.

The failure to defend the lives and dignity of people

living in poverty, by individuals or governments, is also a

sin against God, with 2,000 verses in the Bible clearly

outlining God's fundamental concern for people who are poor,

vulnerable, and oppressed, instructing the people of God to

protect and help them and holding political leaders

responsible for them. Jesus says, in Matthew 25, that how we

treat the ``least of these'' is how we treat Christ himself.

The world and our country have made progress against

poverty in recent decades. It is possible to make further

progress--perhaps virtually end--hunger and extreme poverty

in our time. We see the alleviation of material misery as an

experience of God's loving presence in our own time, and

believe that God wants us to seize this opportunity.

To our churches: What we are doing and can do

Most of our churches are active in helping people in need,

struggling people within their congregations or in their

communities. We need to do more, but many of our churches

directly help millions of people every day. Local church

leaders often work to bridge the racial divides in our

communities, and many are searching for authentic and

specific ways to address the rise of white supremacy.

Since the God of the Bible requires social justice and

charity, our churches and many of our members also work to

influence public policies. Christians have a wide array of

political viewpoints. But a majority of the leaders of

national church bodies have spoken out repeatedly against

cuts to programs that provide help and opportunity to hungry

and poor people in our country and around the world. We have

also spoken out against renewed expressions of white racism,

ethnic nationalism, and hateful attitudes toward people of

color, immigrants, refugees, Jews, and Muslims. Many of us

are active in support of immigration reform, criminal justice

reform, and voting rights for all.

We are deeply troubled by the budget proposals coming from

Congress and the president. They outline more than $2

trillion of cuts in programs for hungry and poor people in

our country and around the world. These cuts would hurt

struggling people of all races, including millions of low-

and middle-income people who need safety-net programs at some

time in their lives. The hardest hit would be African

American, Latino, and Native American communities, where the

poverty rate is already high, and among people in the poorest

countries in the world.

The threat over the coming year of this broad assault on

anti-poverty programs that

support families struggling to make ends meet is unifying

us--bringing us together in a more vigorous, multiracial

Christian movement to maintain a circle of protection around

all people in poverty and God's children of color in

particular, who are disproportionally impacted.

To Congress and the White House: Our united appeal for healing and

reform in our nation's politics

We appeal to the president and Congress to work together

for the common good. We especially call upon political

leaders who are also people of faith to protect all the

people in our country and world who are struggling with

economic deprivation and frustration, hunger and poverty,

disability and disadvantage--and racial bigotry that often

contributes to inaction and hard-heartedness.

God's love for all people moves us to reach out to people

and leaders all across the political spectrum. We respect and

pray for all those who are in authority--that our nation and

world ``may lead a quiet and peaceable life'' (1 Timothy 2:1-

2). Conservative and liberal people, and those with differing

political philosophies, may disagree on how to live up to our

nation's ideals, but our loving God calls all of us to work

together for liberty and justice for everyone.

We appeal to all people, especially Christians, to actively

work against racism and poverty--in their personal and local

engagement and as advocates for public policies that foster

racial equity and healing, shared prosperity, and peace in

our country and worldwide. The spiritual power of a fresh,

energetic, multiracial Christian movement against both racism

and poverty is our prayer. So help us God.

Mr. Speaker, I want to share a passage from the unity statement that was developed. This was an ecumenical group of over 100 religious denominations: ``Racism is more than individual behavior, language, and overt hostility toward particular people. Racism is systematic and structural in America and harms people of color in very specific, measurable, and tangible ways.''

Mr. Speaker, the Kerner report, unfortunately, was ignored, and 50 years later, we are still feeling and reaping the consequences. The difficult truth is that, until we address the impact of the middle passage and slavery of generations of African Americans and believe that truth and reconciliation must happen, 50 years from now, two cities will have destroyed the very fabric of our Nation.

As the unity declaration goes on to say: ``Racism is a sin that goes back to the founding of our Nation.''

We know what is plaguing our society, and we know what to do about it. The time for talk is over. It is time we do what is right for all Americans. Yes, Black lives do matter.

Mr. Speaker, in many communities, housing was segregated. We passed fair housing laws. Affordable housing now is out of reach for many African Americans. This administration is now gutting all of our fair housing programs, our public housing programs, our Section 8 programs.

The banks, of course, did target African-American communities for these subprime scam loans. Unfortunately, any equity that had been built in the homes that we purchased after 1968 is gone. So the wealth gap is huge. It is greater than what it was probably in 1968.

When you look at the number of African Americans who were unemployed in 1968, I believe it was a little over 5 percent. Now we are looking at 7 percent.

When you look at the incarceration rates for the war on drugs, the marijuana laws in this country, especially in the eighties and the impacts of that, we have so many of our young African-American men incarcerated for misdemeanor and felony charges for marijuana distribution and use. We are looking at mass incarceration that has taken place since 1968 of African-American young men and women.

So, yes, we have made a lot of progress. I stand here as the 100th Black Member of Congress. Mr. Evans is here. We have a Congressional Black Caucus that has increased in size. We have many, many allies in our fight. But I think what we haven't addressed is the issue of racism and institutional racism, because it is so subconscious for so many people until many decisions are made which negatively impact the African-American community.

So from 1968 to now, we have made some progress. We have some great professionals, people doing wonderful things in our community. We have great leaders. We have great scientists, lawyers, doctors, teachers, firefighters, and workers. We have so many people who have been able to lift themselves into the middle class, but we have left so many behind.

That is the point, I think, that, while this new report shows that some of us have progressed, we didn't do what was necessary to bring everyone along with us, to lift everyone out of poverty in the Black community and provide for a level playing field for equality, for parity, and for a pathway into the American Dream.

That is really very sad and very shameful, but I have a lot of hope that our young people and that we here in the House and that the country really begin to understand that we have to address the root causes of what has happened in this country as it relates to the middle passage and slavery, and to understand that what we see today in these respects that cause these economic and racial disparities go right back to the unfortunate, devastating, and horrific middle passage.

Mr. Speaker, several years ago, we established the Whip's Task Force on Poverty, Inequality, and Opportunity. For so many years, I wanted to see our caucus talk about more issues relating to low- income and working people and people of color. I really appreciate our whip, Steny Hoyer, and our leader, Nancy Pelosi, for rallying around this concept of looking around all these issues of poverty, inequality, and opportunity.

We put together this task force to begin to look at the policies that not only we need to support that are lifting people out of poverty, but what we need to do to fight against some of the policies and funding priorities that would lead more people into the ranks of the poor.

This task force now has over 100 people. We have meetings with experts, with organizations that are doing wonderful work throughout the country in communities of color and low-income communities and the Black communities, really demonstrating that there are some grassroots efforts and community efforts that, while here in Congress we haven't been able to change many policies, at the grassroots levels and the community level there are some wonderful people doing some great things to help lift people out of poverty and into the middle class.

So we try to highlight and showcase those organizations and individuals so that we can replicate them around the country, so that, until we can get the policies right, we can support those efforts that are taking place that are really doing a wonderful job.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask Speaker Ryan for a debate and a vote on our endless wars. It has been 16 years since Congress first passed the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. At that time, of course, I knew then it was going to be a blank check to encompass conflicts all around the globe, and I couldn't vote for it.

It has been used for operations in Niger, Syria, Libya, Somalia, and many other countries. It has been used to justify the war against ISIS, which did not exist, of course, when this AUMF was first written.

Simply put, the 2001 AUMF has become a blank check for any President to wage war, anytime, anywhere, anyplace, without the consent of Congress. In 2016, the Congressional Research Service documented 37 times it had been used in an unclassified report. Now, in 2018, it has increased to 41 times.

The Constitution is clear: Congress, not the White House, is tasked with the solemn responsibility to declare war.

We have turned a blind eye to these conflicts. They have spiraled out of control. Today a bipartisan group of Members, the Progressive Caucus and the House Freedom Caucus, will be hosting an ad hoc hearing to demand a debate and vote on these ongoing wars.

Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. We need to repeal the 2001 AUMF and, yes, give at least 8 months while the current one is in place to debate and vote on a new AUMF.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Evans for his tremendous leadership and his friendship, and I thank him for hosting this very important Special Order hour. His leadership in our caucus to fight the epidemic of gun violence in America is bold, it is visionary, and I thank him for calling us together tonight.

Mr. Speaker, let me also just acknowledge my sister and colleague Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who spoke earlier. Congresswoman Kelly chairs our Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, and she continues to demand that gun violence be treated as the public health crisis that it is.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus to say enough is enough. The epidemic of gun violence in America must be brought to an end.

Two weeks ago, the world stood in shock as yet another gunman massacred innocent students and teachers in an American school. The 19- year-old killer legally purchased an AR-15 assault rifle and killed 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

My heart goes out to the victims, their classmates, families, and the entire Parkland community. We must take action so that this never happens again. Newtown, Aurora, Charleston, Orlando, Las Vegas, and now Parkland, this is not normal in a civilized society.

The United States of America is the only developed nation that experiences mass shootings with this level of frequency. This doesn't happen anywhere else in the world. Of course, we know it is because the National Rifle Association can't buy their votes in other countries, and the children's lives come first.

Speaker Ryan and the Republicans in Congress have been bought by the National Rifle Association, making it easier for mass shootings to occur.

Let me just say that mass shootings in public schools, unfortunately, are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to gun violence in America. Our communities, especially our urban communities, are war zones.

On an average day, 93 innocent lives in America are cut short due to gun violence. This year alone, there have been over 8,200 incidents of gun violence in America, including 24 mass shootings. These senseless acts of violence have taken more than 2,200 lives already.

I represent the 13th Congressional District of California in the bay area, which includes the city of Oakland, which has been brutalized by gun violence. Since 2014, 312 of my constituents have had their lives cut short by gun violence. Our community feels their loss every single day. Here are just a few of their names and tragic stories.

Davon Ellis: Davon was a star football player and an excellent student at Oakland Tech High School. He was shot and killed while walking home from school. My nephew was walking with him when he was gunned down.

Travon Godfrey: Travon was killed in 2016 while sitting in a car with his friends in front of his home. Every time I think about Travon, my heart breaks. Travon came to a town meeting that I held on gun violence in January of 2016.

He was worried about coming to that town meeting, and he shared the toll that gun violence had taken on his life and that of his friends' lives, yet he was determined to make a difference and finish school and go on to college. Less than a year later, on November 28 in 2016, Travon and his lifelong friend, Deante Miller, were shot and killed in broad daylight.

Anibal Andres Ramirez: Anibal was Oakland's youngest gun victim in 2017. He was only 13 years old and was shot outside of a community center.

Francisca Martinez Ramirez: She was one of Oakland's first homicide victims in 2018, killed by her husband during a domestic dispute.

Sadly, these heartbreaking stories are all too familiar in communities across the country. More than 30,000 Americans lose their lives to gun violence each year. Shootings now kill as many Americans as car accidents.

Last year, there were 77 gun violence homicides in my home city of Oakland.

Already this year there have been 12. This is only February, Mr. Speaker. How much bloodshed will we see this year?

We need action and we need it now. We need to pass, of course, the bipartisan King-Thompson legislation that strengthens background checks and keeps guns out of the wrong hands. And, yes, we need to reinstitute a ban on assault weapons to get these weapons of war out of our communities. We need to close the gun show loophole once and for all.

Passing our assistant leader Congressman Clyburn's legislation to close the 3-day loophole to require background checks to be completed before you can buy a gun, that legislation is long overdue. That is common sense.

At some point we have to stand up and say enough is enough and stand up to this NRA. Ninety-seven percent of Americans support some kind of gun violence prevention legislation.

So that is why I am standing here tonight with my colleagues from the CBC demanding that the Speaker take action and bring commonsense gun legislation to the floor for a vote.

Give us a vote, Speaker Ryan, give us a vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life of Simeon Booker, who passed away on December 10 at the age of 99.

Simeon Booker was a trailblazer for African Americans in journalism, becoming the first black reporter at The Washington Post before continuing his distinguished career as the Washington Bureau Chief of Jet and Ebony magazines.

Simeon's tireless dedication to uncovering the truth and seeking justice was pivotal to the civil rights movement. In 1955, Simeon traveled to Mississippi, and his story on the brutal murder of Emmett Till sent reverberations of shock, anger, and pain throughout the country. Later in the 1960s, Simeon's time with the Freedom Riders drew attention to the great dangers faced by civil rights activists and shined light on their hope and courage for change.

Throughout his life, Simeon fought hard to bring voice to narratives that might otherwise have been covered over and lost, and his words have galvanized change.

I have always looked to Simeon as a role model and leader in fighting for freedom and equality. I am deeply honored to have considered him a friend and to have learned from his compassion, bravery, and fierce love for others.

I offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Simeon Booker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life of Edwin Hawkins, who passed away on January 15th at the age of 74.

An Oakland native, Edwin was a four-time Grammy winner and gospel music trailblazer, whose work inspired generations and helped shape the contemporary Gospel music industry.

His crossover hit, ``Oh Happy Day'', was featured in the hit movie ``Sister Act 2'', reached No. 4 on the Billboard pop chart and No. 2 on the R&B pop chart. And in 2007, he was voted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.

Edwin was truly a man before his time. He was compassionate, caring, and never wavered from his faith.

I have known Ed for many years and he was a source of inspiration for me personally. He always spoke words of encouragement and like so many others, I am deeply grateful for his love and kindness, which brought me peace and joy over the years.

I offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Edwin Hawkins.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding and, once again, for her tremendous leadership on so many issues as our ranking member.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee and the Budget Committee, I rise in strong opposition to this continuing resolution. This bill kicks the can down the road for the fifth time--mind you, fifth time-- since October. It also shamelessly includes the stand-alone defense spending bill of $659 billion to an already out-of-control Pentagon budget.

This bill breaks the budget caps. It includes $75 billion for wars that Congress has never debated or voted on. It also includes more than $1 billion in funds to increase troop levels in Afghanistan by 3,500, not to mention the millions--the billions, actually--in waste, fraud, and abuse that taxpayers have already lost by irresponsible Pentagon spending.

This is outrageous. Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House. The least they could do is keep the government open. Yet here we stand, once again, with no deal on DREAMers and no agreement on a long-term spending bill.

Clearly, Republicans have no strategy on funding the government. They would prefer to pass CR after CR after CR after CR. This is beyond irresponsible, Mr. Speaker.

How long will Republicans govern from crisis to crisis? Nobody can manage their household or their business like the Republicans are managing our government spending.

This short-term resolution once again ignores urgent bipartisan priorities the Democrats have been fighting for for months with Republicans, the most urgent of which is passing a clean Dream Act. DACA recipients are American in every way except on paper, and right now their lives are hanging in the balance. We have less than 1 month until DACA expires, a deadline that the President, himself, created.

This continuing resolution is really irresponsible, and it is morally bankrupt.

Mr. Speaker, this continuing resolution fails to honor the temporary protective status for immigrants.

It fails to raise budget caps for defense and nondefense spending, and it neglects to provide desperately needed funding for hurricane- and wildfire-impacted communities, the opioid crisis, and our veterans.

This bill underscores the majority's complete lack of regard for everyday Americans and struggling families.

Continuing resolutions leave the American people out on a limb with no confidence in their Federal Government. This resolution makes it clear that that is just what Republicans want to do.

The American people sent us to Congress to govern in their best interest. Now we have spent the last 4 months passing short-term spending bills one after another, and for what? Because Republicans refuse to do their job.

Instead of wasting more time on this terrible CR, we should deal with our bipartisan priorities and fund the government for the long term. It is the right thing to do for our communities and our country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman for yielding me time and for his tremendous leadership as our ranking member on the Defense Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition once again to this bill. I think the House has taken it up now for a third time this year.

Let me just start by saying I grew up in a military family. I am a military brat. My dad fought in World War II and in the Korean War. He was stationed, among his posts, at Fort Bliss, Texas.

And I want to say that supporting our troops, making sure that they have everything they need, is extremely important. And opposing this budget, for me, of course, does not reflect my support for our troops.

But I just have to tell you, this bill appropriates the $664 billion in defense spending for this already out-of-control Pentagon budget. It also includes more than $75 billion for wars that Congress has never debated or voted on. And what is worse, this bill includes $1.2 billion in overseas contingency operations to increase troop levels in Afghanistan by 3,500 troops. This is really outrageous, and this fund should really be eliminated.

Now, the Pentagon has failed to achieve the requirement to audit itself by 2017, and we know that billions of dollars have been found in waste, fraud, and abuse. That is unacceptable.

Instead of writing blank checks--which is what I think this bill does, another blank check to the Pentagon--Congress needs to live up to its constitutional obligation to complete an audit, first of all, to determine how to make sure we have a rational defense budget that protects our national security and supports our troops, not to provide excess contracts that lead to waste, fraud, and abuse. We also need to debate matters of war and peace.

So we need to pass my amendment, which I tried to do, quite frankly, last year in this very bill, that would sunset the 2001 AUMF, and it would give us 8 months--not immediately, but 8 months--to debate and vote on a new one before it would be enacted. It took 3 days to enact the last one. That is what the debate was. I am asking for 8 months.

This important amendment would provide Congress plenty of time to do our job and finally have a debate on matters of war and peace. However, even though my amendment passed the Appropriations Committee in a bipartisan fashion, Republicans unilaterally decided to strip this amendment from the bill, really, I have to say, in the dead of night.

Mr. Speaker, this was very undemocratic and underhanded, and it makes me wonder: What is the Speaker afraid of?

So I asked for my amendment to be debated and voted on on the House floor, and again Republican leadership refused--really a shame. Our brave troops deserve us to come together and do this so that they know that their country has their back.

I voted against the 2001 authorization because I believe it opened the door for any President to wage endless war without a congressional debate or vote. Quite frankly, unfortunately, history has borne that out.

According to the Congressional Research Service report, the 2001 AUMF has been used more than 37 times in 14 countries to justify military action. This report examines only unclassified incidents, and it was conducted 3 years ago. So how many other operations have been conducted without the knowledge of Congress or the American people? These authorizations have also been used to justify perpetual wars that are thousands of miles away.

I will conclude by saying that now any President--any President--can unilaterally wage war under this outdated authorization forever, really, until it is repealed. Now we have an administration bent on increasing our presence in Afghanistan and never leaving Syria, both wars that the American public know nothing about.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this bill, and reject this wasteful spending.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding and for that gracious introduction, but, more importantly, for his magnificent leadership and for constantly looking out for working men and women throughout the country. I also thank him very much for bringing us together this evening to discuss the Supreme Court case, Janus v. AFSCME.

Mr. Speaker, as we remember the man and the movement which transformed the soul of America, we must never forget that Dr. Martin Luther

King, Jr., fought for economic justice and workers' rights.

A few months before Dr. King's assassination, two young African- American workers were crushed to death by a faulty truck in Memphis. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees-- AFSCME--union members went on strike, and Dr. King was right there with them, leading and lending his support.

In a speech to the sanitation workers on strike, Dr. King explained why he was there. He said: ``Now our struggle is for genuine equality, which means economic equality. For we know that it isn't enough to integrate lunch counters. What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn't earn enough money to buy a hamburger . . . ?''

Now, 50 years after Dr. King's tragic assassination after standing up for economic justice and fighting to end poverty, the Supreme Court is taking up a case that would gut union rights.

Make no mistake, the Supreme Court case, Janus v. AFSCME, is a political scheme to further endanger the rights of working people. This case is yet another attempt by billionaires and corporations to stop working people from joining unions altogether. This case will gut the very protections that are the fabric of our society, and that is our unions.

More than 16 million people are represented by a union, from teachers, firefighters, and nurses, to postal workers, and many more. Unions help improve lives. They increase wages. They lift families out of poverty. They fight for safe working conditions and well-deserved benefits.

Unions are especially critical to communities of color. For too long, African Americans have been locked out of wage increases because of discriminatory practices. But for African Americans who do join unions, they earn 15 percent more than their nonunion counterparts. African- American women, in particular, earn an average of $22 an hour compared to $17 an hour in a nonunion job, and those wages make a huge difference for families.

Plain and simple, unions provide a path to the American Dream and the middle class for working people.

Unfortunately, as union membership has decreased because of attacks on working people, income inequality has risen. From 1973 to 2007, as more States started forcing working people off of unions, income inequality rose by one-third. That is shameful.

So, Mr. Speaker, the Janus case before the Supreme Court now threatens the economic security of families all across the country. This case will go against what the American public wants. More than three in five Americans know the importance of labor unions, yet here we are having to defend their very existence. This is outrageous.

So we must ensure that working people, people of color, everyone, continue to have the right to join a union. It is the right thing for our economy. It is the right thing for our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for leading this very important Special Order tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to honor the McClymonds High School Warriors football team, which recently won its second straight state championship, becoming the first Oakland high school to accomplish such a feat.

McClymonds High in West Oakland, known as ``Mac'', has a proud history of academic and athletic excellence going back generations. Luminaries such as MLB all-star Curt Flood, hall of famer Frank Robinson, and NBA legend Bill Russell all attended McClymonds before going on to achieve greatness in their respective sports.

Last year, the McClymonds Warriors football team became the first high school team in Oakland's history to win a state championship, when they prevailed over La Jolla Country Day School in the State's 5A division finals.

This year it was certainly the return of the Mac, as the Warriors continued their dominance, remaining undefeated during the regular season. In fact, the team has been undefeated in Oakland Athletic League games dating back to 2009.

Following the regular season, the Warriors met Visalia's Golden West High School Trailblazers in the state Division 5AA football championship, and prevailed in an impressive 42-12 victory to earn their second statewide championship in back-to-back years.

The team is led by Coach Mike Peters, who has fostered in his athletes a commitment to excellence and a strong desire to succeed both on the field and in their studies.

I commend Coach Peters and his staff for their efforts to promote the development of the McClymonds Warriors football team. I also want to thank all of the team's family and friends for providing unwavering support of these wonderful student athletes.

Lastly, I want to recognize the members of the 2017 McClymonds Warriors football team, and let them know how proud we are of what they have accomplished:

Emoreea Fountain; Columbus Lewis; Albert Mitchell; Jamar Julien; Charles Alberty; Ja'vanz Dornners; K'aun Green; Angelo Edgerly; Gary Alexander, Jr.; Dwayne Washington; Semaj Sims; Cory Hayes; Edward Woods; Da'veonne Sanders; Day'marr Johnson; Peter Diaz; Monte Smith; D'Shun White; Damon Gardner, Jr.; Montrell Smith; Kelvin Dunn, Jr.; Earl Hollimon; Islee Cassidy; James Willoughby; Huruma Zulu; Ramone Sanders; Mark Hoching; Yaheem Brown; Amani Trigg-Wright; Usama Alomaisi; Andrew Diamond; Jaylen Williams; Charles Joseph; Ramone Kelly; Rashawn Jackson; Xavier Sanders.

Congratulations to the McClymonds High School Warriors 2017 Football Champions. You have made Oakland proud.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the remarkable accomplishment of the McClymonds High School football team located in my congressional district.

McClymonds High School capped off a 14-0 season on December 10, 2017, with its second consecutive 5AA championship, after defeating Visalia's Golden West 42-12.

By winning two State championships in consecutive years, McClymonds became the first team in the Oakland Athletic League to achieve this impressive feat.

Now, McClymonds High School is a historic public high school in the West Oakland community of my district, with a strong history of athletic excellence. NBA legend Bill Russell and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson have graced the halls of McClymonds High School.

Coach Michael Peters has carried forth the same tradition of excellence since 1992 and has continuously worked to ensure that his athletes succeed on the field but, most importantly, succeed in the classroom.

These young athletes represent the spirit, the resilience, and the passion of Oakland. Please join me in congratulating their historic championship win.

Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding and for his tremendous leadership on so many issues.

Madam Speaker, I stand in strong opposition to this bill, which is really just another attempt to criminalize abortion and limit access to the full range of reproductive healthcare for women.

This so-called Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is another cynical attack on a woman's right to make her own healthcare decisions. It is unnecessary and it simply pitches a false narrative to the American people in order to intimidate women and providers.

Madam Speaker, in 2002, Congress passed a bill with broad bipartisan support that acknowledges the rights of any child born alive in this country, and affirms that any infant should receive appropriate medical care. That is a given, and everyone believes that.

Republicans are distorting the truth about current law. This legislation before us is a step too far. It interferes with medical practice by enforcing extreme new standards of care through criminal and civil penalties on providers.

In conclusion, I would just like to say that no woman should have a politician interfering in her personal health decisions. They should be made between her and her medical provider, period.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this very cynical and sinister bill and to get out of the business of interfering in women's health.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding and, once again, for her tremendous leadership on so many issues as our ranking member.

Now, I serve as a member of the Appropriations and the Budget Committees, and I rise in strong opposition to this rule and the continuing resolution.

I just want to make one comment before I start my statement with regard to what was just said about Democrats shutting down the government.

First of all, there is no way that Democrats are voting to shut down the government, given the fact that the Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House. The numbers just aren't there for Democrats to do this. So I hope that people on the other side-- Republicans and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle--will be honest about that because there is no way, given the numbers and given the composition of the House, the Senate, and the White House, that Democrats can do that.

This bill kicks the can down the road for the fourth time, mind you, since October.

Republicans control, again, as I said, the three bodies: the House, the Senate, White House. The least they could do is honor the basic responsibility of being in the majority, and that is to keep the government open.

Sadly, they continue to drive this country to the brink of one avoidable, self-inflicted crisis after another.

This short-term resolution ignores--ignores--urgent bipartisan priorities that Democrats have been pushing for months with Republicans, the most urgent of which is passing a clean Dream Act. DACA recipients are American in every way except on paper, and right now, their lives are hanging in the balance. Every day Congress fails to take action, 122 DACA recipients lose their protections. It is time to put politics aside and pass a clean Dream Act immediately.

Mr. Speaker, this continuing resolution is really irresponsible and it is morally bankrupt. It fails to honor the temporary protected status for immigrants. It fails to raise budget caps equally for defense and nondefense spending. It fails to fund community health centers. It neglects to provide desperately needed funding for hurricane- and wildfire-impacted communities, the opioid epidemic, community health centers, and our veterans.

This bill underscores the majority's complete lack of regard for everyday Americans and struggling families.

Continuing resolutions leave the American people out on a limb with no confidence, mind you, in their Federal Government. This resolution makes it clear that is just what Republicans want to do. The American people sent us to Congress to govern in their best interest. Unfortunately, this CR is just the opposite. It is completely irresponsible.

Mr. Speaker, this CR does nothing--nothing--to help create jobs, better wages, and ultimately a better future for our children and our families.

It is really clear to me that the delay on this bill is because some House Republicans are in Pennsylvania. I was shocked when I learned this. They are in Pennsylvania with the President at a political rally.

What is that about?

They should be here in Washington, D.C., to do their job. Shame on them.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this rule and the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to Attorney General Sessions' unproductive and backwards marijuana policies. By rescinding the Cole memorandum on legal marijuana enforcement, Jeff Sessions proved that he has one goal as Attorney General, and that is reviving the failed war on drugs.

These policies have proven to be devastating for communities of color. For example, African Americans are four times more likely to be arrested and incarcerated for marijuana possession than their White counterparts. Instead of embracing outdated drug laws, the Attorney General should be working to create a criminal justice system that treats everyone fairly.

What is worse, by going after legal marijuana businesses and consumers, the Attorney General is really showing a blatant disregard for the will of the American people who have voted, mind you, in their States for more reasonable and fairer laws.

That is why I am proud to introduce H.R. 4779. Actually, we introduced it last week, along with my friend, Congressman Don Young. It is a bipartisan bill called the REFER Act, which would prevent harmful Federal overreach. Also, today we are introducing a bill that will end the Federal prohibition.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the tremendous advocacy of two UC Berkeley students whose diligent work mobilized graduate students around the country against the greatest tax scam in American history.

When President Trump and Congressional Republicans introduced legislation to reform the tax code, many of us recognized it for what it was--a blatant attempt to provide millionaires and billionaires with large tax breaks, while eliminating many of the provisions that provide the working class and the poor with means to improve their standing in society.

This terrible bill, passed without proper debate and process just before the holidays, will permanently stack the deck in favor of the rich and well-connected. In fact, we know that 83 percent of the bill's benefits go to the richest 1 percent of our society. To pay for these unnecessary tax breaks for the rich, the bill adds more than $1 trillion to the national debt--a debt that our children and generations to come will continue to bear.

In the face of this immoral redistribution of wealth to the rich, people around the country were rightfully outraged, and many of my constituents were strongly opposed to its passage.

In particular, I would like to recognize two of my constituents for their efforts to highlight a particularly damaging section of the original bill, and commend them for their actions to have it removed from the final package.

Soon after the horrible GOP tax bill was introduced, Vetri Velan, a physics PhD student at UC Berkeley, developed an analysis of the bill. With the majority of doctoral and master students receiving institutional or fee waivers, Vetri realized that if tuition remissions were deemed taxable, graduate students could see their tax bill grow by 200 percent. It would also make it harder, and even impossible, for low or middle-income students to attend graduate school.

Vetri partnered with Kathy Shield, a fellow Cal student pursuing a Nuclear Engineering PhD to develop a tax calculator allowing any graduate student to determine their new tax liability under the House proposal. This allowed students to write and call their elected officials with specific information about the negative impact of the new tax bill.

And they didn't stop there. Vetri and Kathy then organized graduate students at UC Berkley and around the country to contact 87 offices in 18 states to express outrage over this provision.

Because of their great work this harmful provision was removed from the final bill. Vetri & Kathy have saved thousands of dollars for graduate students across the country, and have ensured many hard working students will continue to have access to graduate school.

On behalf of California's 13th Congressional District, I'd like to thank Vetri and Kathy for their exceptional work to ensure all students have equal access to higher education, and most importantly for staying woke.