Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today I recognize the historic Plum Hollow Country Club which has been a staple in the Metro Detroit community as one of the premier country clubs in the Midwest since 1921, and is now celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Plum Hollow Country Club has been known to have a world-class golf course, playing host to several national events and tournaments including its very first PGA Championship in 1947. For a century, Plum Hollow Country Club has worked tirelessly to provide an inclusive environment for members of all skill levels to enjoy a great golf experience.

Plum Hollow Country Club continuously works to offer a variety of member options to provide a comprehensive and diverse club for networking and more. Plum Hollow also provides a strong community service element through its well-known Caddie Program that allows for younger generations to grow and learn in the game of golf.

Plum Hollow Country Club is indeed an integral part of the Southfield community, a place that noticeably touched the lives of each member over the last 100 years in concrete ways and will continue to do so for years to come.

On this momentous occasion, I wish to proclaim Plum Hollow Country Club as an American Landmark Site of Distinction. On behalf of the United States of America, I salute them for their many years of faithful service and celebrating 100 years.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my CBC colleague, my CBC chair, an amazing leader for our country, Joyce Beatty, for leading this Special Hour. I also want to thank Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, my colleague and mentor. She is just amazing.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of Build Back Better. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a transformational change for women, for families, and for communities of color.

Abigail Adams wrote a strong letter to her husband, John Adams, ``Remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.''

Today, I stand on the floor so proud and blessed to say that we have President Biden and Vice President Harris, who are laser-focused on helping women and families in Michigan and across the country.

We are talking about remembering women and women of color. From affordable childcare, eldercare, expanding the child tax credit, and providing universal pre-K, this agenda lifts women out of poverty and educates our children while lowering costs.

I want to be very clear as we stand here today as the Congressional Black Caucus, Black women in America carry the highest amount of student debt in America. So when we talk about Pell grants, this has a direct impact for Black women in America. When we talk about childcare and eldercare, women are the predominant workforce in eldercare and childcare, and they are disrespected with one of the lowest salaries for employment in the country.

Let's talk about expanding the child tax credit. We know that for single women heads of households and families who are struggling to work and put their children in safe and affordable childcare, this is transformational.

Madam Speaker, I had a father text me. We were on a Zoom townhall on this issue of childcare. He said: Congresswoman, I pay more for childcare than I do for the mortgage of my home.

This is transformational. When we talk about build back better, we are not talking about going back to a time in history. We are talking about being transformational and visionary and planning and plotting a path to success for all Americans. We know it is women--we saw this very clearly during the pandemic--who are bearing the brunt of all of these social challenges and Black women being in the top of that group bearing the brunt of this pandemic.

It is Black and Brown women who disproportionately make up our childcare workers, and, again, I emphasize making poverty level wages. We can't turn a blind eye to this. The Black Caucus will not be quiet. The Women's Caucus will not be quiet. We know that when we lift women-- when we lift Black women--out of poverty, we are changing the economic structure in America. There are women who work two jobs--one to pay for childcare and one to pay for the mortgage, food, and shelter. I want you to know, Madam Speaker, that the Build Back Better plan builds back better for women and families, and it is time to get it done.

I am so proud today to sit outside and watch the President sign into law the largest investment in our infrastructure to fix roads. For me, the priority is fixing the water infrastructure in America. A pothole is an inconvenience, but we need water to drink to stay alive and for human life.

We know we have kicked this can down the road. We have had so many infrastructure weeks. But now history will say that Joe Biden led the way with this Congress and this Senate to start investing in our infrastructure. We are going to get the job done. We are really going to build back better.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Build Back Better agenda.

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make transformational change for women, transformational change for families, and communities

of color. From affordable childcare and eldercare to raising the pay of care workers and providing universal pre-K to expanding the child tax credit, this agenda will lift women out of poverty, educate our children, and lower costs.

We can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, because there is so much good in this bill. This agenda is about who we are as a country and the values we represent. The Build Back Better agenda will build back better for women and families.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the month of October as National Women's Small Business Month and recognize the accomplishments and impact of our women entrepreneurs and business owners across the country.

While women-owned businesses have faced setbacks due to the pandemic, they remain the fastest growing segment of our economy. Black and Brown women entrepreneurs are the main drivers of this growth, even though they are far more likely to also be the primary breadwinners and caregivers for their families. We must continue to invest in and support women business owners, especially Black and Brown women business owners, as we begin our economic recovery.

I also want to recognize the 136 Women Business Centers nationwide, such as the Great Lakes Women's Business Council which has done so much to support women-owned small businesses in my home state of Michigan. In addition, I want to recognize the U.S. Small Business Administration, which has continued to provide resources to women-owned businesses in their 68 district offices. My district is fortunate to host the U.S. Small Business Administration's Michigan district office. Businesses that have received support from these institutions are far more likely to succeed, and when women succeed, America succeeds.

As we mark National Women's Small Business Month, on behalf of the United States of America, I salute all the women business owners and women entrepreneurs for their vital contributions to our country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and service of Bishop Phillip Brooks, who passed away at 88 years old, as the First Assistant Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ.

After moving to Michigan in 1949, Bishop Brooks became a leader in the faith community for Detroit. He was also the first African-American pastor to broadcast on television in Detroit.

Bishop Brooks also stressed and taught the importance of relationships and service within the community.

The bishop became the supporter of several Detroit institutions, including the Charles Wright Museum of African American History, and he raised money and resources to aid displaced New York workers after 9/11 and supported relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

His 36 years on the executive board of the Church of God in Christ was the longest of any bishop. Detroit and the faith community will always remember Bishop Brooks for his devoted service.

I take personal privilege to honor his spiritual leadership for me and for my family, the Cranford family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5661, the Continued State Flexibility To Assist Older Foster Youth Act.

As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, this issue is incredibly important to me. In my home State of Michigan, there are approximately 13,000 children in foster care. Unfortunately, they have been at particular risk during this COVID-19 pandemic.

This legislation would take meaningful action to ensure that States have the opportunity to assist children in foster care by extending pandemic-related provisions passed under the Consolidated Appropriations Act for an additional year.

Mr. Speaker, I am confident that these flexibilities will help States, like my own Michigan, provide foster children with the assistance they need.

We must do everything in our power to assist and support at-risk youth. It is necessary that we follow through on this commitment to them.

Mr. Speaker, I often remind people: Foster children are a ward of the State and are our responsibility.

Madam Speaker, unfortunately, on October 20, 2021. my vote was not recorded on the first vote of the series (Roll Call No. 319 on H.R. 4611). Had my vote been recorded. I would have voted:

YES on DHS Software Supply Chain Risk Management Act of 2021, as amended (Rep. Torres (NY)--Homeland Security).

Madam Speaker, I want to recognize the strong leadership of our co-chair, not only just now in her leadership role in the Democratic Women's Caucus, but throughout her tenure in Congress, Jackie Speier. I thank her for this Special Order hour.

Since the start of this pandemic, women have lost more than 2 million jobs, and our labor force is down, for women, to 57 percent. Why does that matter? It is because women's labor force participation--please hear this number--contributes more than $7 trillion to the U.S. GDP every year. So when you talk about building back with women, there is an economic incentive for us to do that in America.

The reality is there are far too many women in the United States who care for their children and the elders in their families. They are looking at situations where it is far too expensive.

We heard the description of my two colleagues caring for their elder parents. Do you know what that would mean if they didn't have a childcare or elder care system to take care of them?

In reality, in America, there are women who call in sick and who take off from work because they have a child that is suffering from cancer or a parent who is dying, and they are the only ones to do this. And they cannot afford to pay for it. We know that caring for our loved ones should not force women to make a choice between the two.

In Michigan, 44 percent of the Michiganders live in a childcare desert. As we talk about this, some people go like, you know, let them figure it out. In some scenarios, there isn't even a childcare facility for the parent to even consider or try to figure out how to pay for it. The reality is that there is such a large number of women who work two jobs, one to pay for childcare and one to put food, shelter, and clothing on their children, because there are not other options. They can't afford the childcare. So, do I lose my home and have childcare?

They work two jobs, and being away from home for an extended period of time has its own built-in problems.

I want you to know that the Build Back Better agenda increases access to

affordable childcare. How amazing is it to say that every family in America would not have to pay more than 7 percent of their income for childcare? We talk about childcare workers--and I just want to go back to the page that my colleague was just talking about.

Disproportionately, when we are at that point where we have needs, it is a woman who knocks on our door to provide the childcare, and it is a woman who knocks on the door to take care of our elderly. And, disproportionately, they are women of color, Black women, Hispanic women, Asian women who are the majority of caregivers in this country.

What do we do? We say our children and our elders are our most precious in our family. I will walk through fire for my child. There is nothing I won't do for my parents. But we disrespect these workers every day with these pathetic salaries that we have in America. In the Build Back Better agenda, we will be boosting the compensation for our care workers so that they can feel the respect and the honor and go home and take care of their own families.

Madam Speaker, I was a dear friend of Aretha Franklin, and every time I talk about this, I think about that song: All I am asking for is just a little respect.

In America, how can we say something is so precious to us but we disrespect those who show up, hold the hands, wipe the noses of our children, who tuck in our elders, and sometimes they are there when they take their last breath. America, we can do better.

I want you to know that building back better--and we have coined the term, and we will not walk away from that--and our colleagues are working because we can build back better in this country with human infrastructure. You can't do it unless you build back better with women, and that means paying attention to the service, to the need for care, for the need to invest in our human infrastructure.

If you want to improve poverty in America, invest in jobs and invest in women. The majority of those in poverty in the United States of America are women heads of households who have children. We make an effort to ensure no one goes hungry in America, but we disrespect those who care for our loved ones.

Madam Speaker, I want you to know that I am standing here today locking arms with my colleagues. I want to, and I will, demand that America build back better. I know that my colleagues in the Democratic Women's Caucus are fired up and ready to go because we know this opportunity to put our thumbprint on the values of America, of what we are going to do, is laid out in Build Back Better.

We know that we are negotiating and fighting, and we will not step down, just like the suffrage women who fought and knew it was time to stand up, march, chain ourselves to the fence, whatever we have to do to continue to build back better, and we are making this investment.

We have a President who has joined in. We have a Speaker of the House who has joined and locked arms with us and the Democratic Caucus. We are saying that Build Back Better will build back families, and it will transform the lives of women in America.

We can't wait any longer. On infrastructure, a pothole is an inconvenience, and we need to fix our potholes. We need to make sure that our children are not drinking lead-poisoned water. We need to make sure that our bridges and all those are fixed. But we also need to know that the human beings in this country deserve our passion, our work in the build back better agenda.

Yes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the FY22 NDAA.

As the co-chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, I am proud to see two of my amendments, 238 and 239, included as part of this en bloc.

These amendments would help us understand the factors that influence women servicemembers to stay in or leave the military as well as to take action to improve mental health outcomes for pregnant veterans.

Unfortunately, pregnant veterans have been found to be disproportionately impacted by mental health disorders and must be given adequate support to prevent childbirth complications.

This language would encourage the VA to support the use of doulas for expectant mothers and increase access for doulas for pregnant veterans.

This is a time we must come together in our support of the growing number of women in the military.

Madam Speaker, like in many States, Republicans in Michigan's legislature have introduced legislation to suppress the right to vote. Make no mistake about it, the fundamental right to vote in this country is under assault. That is why my dear friend, John Lewis, once said: Voting is the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have in our democracy.

Today, we fight back. Today, we have an opportunity to restore the power of the vote. I urge my colleagues to support the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Madam Speaker, I thank the Congressional Black Caucus. I want to recognize and say how much we appreciate and how much Congress has benefited from the bold leadership of our chair, Joyce Beatty. I thank her for hosting, with the Congressional Black Caucus leadership, this Special Order hour.

Madam Speaker, I rise to speak on the urgent infrastructure issue that needs and deserves the attention and the action of this body. Our water infrastructure in the United States is in serious need of repair.

Families in Michigan and across this country are struggling to get safe and clean drinking water because of lead pipes in their homes and communities, not to mention the contamination of our water system sources.

I am from Michigan, and the Great Lakes weigh on my mind constantly as the largest body of freshwater in this country.

A 2016 study found that there were more than 6 million lead service lines across the United States, serving 15 to 22 million Americans. This is a crisis.

Madam Speaker, I have lived through and witnessed the Flint water crisis in Michigan. I saw where the people, the United States citizens of this country,

their drinking water was poisoned, and because of that, we saw them getting sick and being hospitalized.

I am sad to say, not only did it happen in Flint, but it is happening all over our country. This issue disproportionately affects communities of color and the poor.

We have an opportunity, a once in a generation chance, to rebuild our infrastructure and to build back better for the American people. The Americans Jobs Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure framework both tackle our water infrastructure problem.

These proposals will replace lead pipelines across this country. It is an action that is long overdue.

This is an investment that could not come soon enough. I want this Congress to know that the Federal investment in public water infrastructure projects--it is embarrassing to say--under our watch has fallen from 63 percent of our overall investment in 1977 to just 9 percent in 2014. Let me repeat that. We invested, at one time, as a government, 63 percent in our water, and now it is down to 9 percent. This is unacceptable.

Let's pass a comprehensive infrastructure package to rebuild our water infrastructure, fix our roads and bridges, and invest in electric vehicles while creating good-paying jobs and positioning ourselves for the future.

This is a public health issue; it is a racial justice issue; and it is an economic justice issue. Access to clean water is a basic necessity for human life.

I am grateful to stand with my colleagues from the Congressional Black Caucus and call for our Nation's investment in infrastructure. This is our power, and this is our message. We must get this done.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a much-needed investment in our Nation's infrastructure, specifically our water infrastructure.

Let me be very clear: Our crumbling and outdated water infrastructure is in a state of emergency. It is leaving our most vulnerable Americans struggling with water access and unaffordable rates, including my hometown of Detroit, Michigan.

I want to commend President Biden and my colleagues for promoting the American Jobs Plan, a comprehensive Federal investment to repair and strengthen our infrastructure.

This could not be more timely, as Federal investment in public water infrastructure projects have fallen from 63 percent of our overall investment in 1977 to just 9 percent in 2014.

The American Jobs Plan will deliver the investments we need and eliminate all lead pipes and service lines in our drinking water systems.

It is unacceptable that in the United States of America, schools are forced to put plastic bags over their drinking fountains because it is not safe for our children to drink water because there are elevated levels of lead.

Too much of our existing infrastructure is jeopardized because of lead pipes. My home State of Michigan knows about this issue all too well. The Flint water crisis brought national attention to the dangers of elevated levels of lead in our drinking water.

Unfortunately, what happened in Flint is happening all across this country. In my district, the same problem exists in the city of Detroit. About 1,500 children under the age of 6 test positive for elevated levels of lead every year, and of those tested, about 7 percent are diagnosed with lead poisoning.

Congress cannot stand by and watch as Americans get sick and poisoned from their own drinking water.

I always like to emphasize: Water is not a luxury. A pothole is an inconvenience, but water is a necessity to life.

We have the opportunity to address this issue right now by passing the American Jobs Plan. It is a once-in-a-generation investment in our communities and families. It also includes provisions similar to my legislation, the WATER Act. My bill would fully fund the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds, provide funding for public schools to test and replace drinking water infrastructure, provide grants to replace lead service lines leading to our households, and much more to fix and strengthen our water infrastructure.

Earlier this Congress, I submitted Community Project Funding requests to support water system improvements for two of my communities: Pontiac and Royal Oak Township. These communities are not alone. Similar water system improvement projects are needed across the country. With the American Jobs Plan, we can make that a reality.

I look forward to continuing to fight for access to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water for every American.

Madam Speaker, I rise here today in strong support of Juneteenth National Independence Day.

I want to say to my White colleague on the other side: Getting your independence from being enslaved in a country is different from a country getting independence to rule themselves. It is not a day that you can loop together. That is inappropriate.

It is a day for reflection and commemorating the end of slavery. It is also a recognition that we have so much work to do to rid this country of systemic racism, discrimination, and hate.

Let's talk about the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. We still have much work to do.

Juneteenth, what we are doing today, should empower us to fight even harder every single day for criminal justice reform, for racial equality, and for economic empowerment of Black people in America.

We are still today living through the blatant racism and slavery that denied us education, denied us opportunity for economic development and empowerment for ourselves, and denied us the right to have a job and own property. It is still today an issue in America.

We have a responsibility to teach every generation of Black and White Americans the pride of a people who have survived, endured, and succeeded in these United States of America despite slavery.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation because Black history is American history. We cannot hold our heads and try to ignore the sins of this country, but we can come together and celebrate a time when we made the right decision.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the remarkable life of Pastor Phillip Aquilla Brooks, II, a man who dedicated his life to public service and to his church community for nearly seven decades.

Pastor Brooks was born on December 21, 1931, after his older brothers, Jesse and Cecil, and followed by his little sister, Barbara Jean. In 1949, he moved from Chicago, Illinois, to Detroit, Michigan, to pursue his religious calling and after meeting the love of his life. Phillip Brooks married Doris Brooks on February 2, 1952, and they enjoyed an astounding 68 years of marriage. With his wife and his mother-in-law, Pastor Brooks established the New St. Paul Tabernacle Church Of God In Christ in Detroit, which he would go on to lead for 66 incredible years.

Under Pastor Brooks' guiding hand, the New St. Paul Tabernacle Church Of God In Christ grew in both membership and expanded its evangelical reach. Pastor Brooks purchased the church's first building in April 1969. He later established the March of Faith Telecast and Radio Ministry, which operated for more than four decades, and ministered to millions across the nation in homes, hospital rooms, and prisons. Adding to an already impressive career of service, Pastor Brooks was consecrated Jurisdictional prelate of the Northeast Michigan Jurisdiction in 1975 following a recommendation by his mentor, the late Pastor C.J. Johnson, Sr. He served 45 years as jurisdictional prelate-- the longest serving Pastor in both the Northeast Michigan Jurisdiction and in the history of the Church of God in Christ in Michigan. In 1984, Pastor Brooks was once again recognized for his service and elected to the General Board of the Presidium of the Church of God in Christ, where he served for 36 years. His tenure on the Presidium was the longest of any Board Member, past or present, and he held multiple leadership positions with grace.

Pastor Brooks' service did not end at the Michigan border. He spearheaded and assisted in raising funds for people affected by the 9/ 11 World Trade Center terrorist attack in New York and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Additionally, he also established the nation's first Blue Cross/Blue Shield Program for local pastors, which created the first life insurance programs for local pastors and their spouses. Pastor Brooks was also the first African-American pastor to broadcast on television in Detroit, Michigan--a broadcast that aired on WGPR 62, the first Black-owned television station in the country.

Pastor Brooks will be sorely missed, but his decades of service in the Church of God in Christ in Michigan will never be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, it is beyond me that in 2021 we are still having this debate on whether men and women are paid equally. And I just want to say to my colleague on the other side, being a Black woman in America, I can tell you I do not feel that she has had the discrimination and the disrespect in the pay scale that women of color have experienced. And during the brunt of this pandemic where women are in the forefront, those who are frontline workers, the service industry--predominantly women. Paycheck fairness corrects this injustice by allowing women to challenge pay discrimination and hold employers accountable.

Many in this Chamber like to talk about leveling the playing field for all Americans. Then let's do it by passing this bill. And in America, when you walk in the room as a woman, you know you have overcome and you have work to do. And please don't continue to disrespect us by saying that everything is okay. In your world it may be, but today we can correct that.