Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, just over 100 years ago, my mother was born without the right to vote. Like other women of her time, she had no vote, and she had no voice in her government.

Today, we honor the courageous women who marched, staged hunger strikes, went to jail, and persevered in order to win this fundamental right for half the country, forever altering our democracy by ensuring that everyone in this country, including women, had the constitutional right to vote.

I am deeply grateful that my mother benefited from their efforts and that she would live to see her daughter run for and be elected to Congress.

Millions of women voted for the first time in November 1920 and in the nearly 100 years since. But we still have much more work to do.

I am determined that, one day soon, all of our daughters and sons will witness the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which, at long last, makes it clear that equal means equal.

Madam Speaker, the LGBTQ community cannot wait any longer for their full rights and equal protection to be guaranteed across this country.

We must pass H.R. 5, the Equality Act.

Only 29 States have laws explicitly barring discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Only 20 States have these protections for gender identity. That is unacceptable.

Being able to be your true self should not depend on where you live. Your protections and equal rights should not depend on where you live.

All LGBTQ Americans deserve nothing less than full rights and equal protection under the law, and that is exactly what the Equality Act will do.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this historic civil rights bill to guarantee full equality for all. It will be on the floor later.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Harley Lippman, who is being recognized today as part of Jewish American Heritage Month. Harley has been a generous philanthropist and humanitarian who has been dedicated to uncovering mass graves of Jews murdered by the Nazis in Poland. His persistence and dedication have meant that the Nazis' victims will never be forgotten.

Deeply concerned about the possibility that Jews murdered during the Holocaust would simply disappear from memory, Harley has made a unique contribution to the remembrance of the Jewish community that was destroyed by the Nazis. With singular purpose and dedication, Harley has searched for unknown gravesites and has paid for the restoration of historic Jewish graveyards.

At my urging, Harley was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad which is involved in restoring desecrated cemeteries in Eastern Europe. Created in 1993, the Commission is tasked with identifying and reporting on cemeteries, monuments, and historic buildings in Eastern and Central Europe that are associated with the heritage of U.S. citizens, particularly endangered properties. Congress recognized that, as a nation of immigrants, the United States has an interest in preserving sites related to the heritage of Americans, particularly Jewish gravesites since the Holocaust wiped out the communities that would ordinarily have cared for them. It is a credit to him, his enthusiasm and dedication, that he was reappointed by both Republican and Democratic Administrations.

Harley has been the sole funder of an effort to find mass graves in Poland--sites where Jews were slaughtered by the Nazis and then buried. So far, his team has found 52 sites. When he finds a site, he ensures that a memorial plaque is erected to honor the victims. He also arranges for a service with the Chief Rabbi of Poland, a Catholic priest and a Protestant minister and invites school children to help memorialize the dead. These ceremonies provide a meaningful opportunity to remind people of the Jews who perished, the tremendous loss in culture and humanity for Poland, the brutality of the Nazis and the success of the Jewish community that survived.

Harley has been a leader of a host of organizations from the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy, an organization founded by Eli Wiesel, which he currently serves as President, to the American-Israel Friendship League and American Jewish Congress.

With great generosity and compassion, Harley has also helped orphans in Cambodia. He is the sole funder of an orphanage, enabling children to find stability, get an education and go on to college. It truly has been life-changing for many of these kids.

Harley Lippman created Genesis 10, a company that currently employs over 2,000 people across the country. Genesis 10 helps companies solve technology problems and find talent to address their needs. Unquestionably, Genesis 10 succeeds because it has a great leader at the helm. USA Today ranked Harley among the top 30 CEOs in America of all large companies including the Fortune 500.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating Harley Lippman for his extraordinary contributions to America and the Jewish community.

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the CIVITAS 2019 honoree, Ian Wardropper. Mr. Wardropper is the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Frick Collection, one of the great cultural institutions of the 12th Congressional District and one of the most renowned museums and research centers in the world.

The Frick Collection displays one of the premier assemblages of Old Master paintings and European sculpture and decorative arts begun by the American industrialist Henry Clay Frick in his former Fifth Avenue home. Additionally, the Frick Collection building is one of only a few extant Gilded Age mansions in New York City.

The museum opened in 1935 and has continued to expand its collection to the benefit of countless New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. In addition to hosting special exhibitions, educational programs, a concert series, and symposia, the Frick Collection is home to the Frick Art Reference Library, one of the leading institutions for art history research.

Ian Wardropper attended Brown University for his undergraduate studies with a major in Art History before completing MA and PhD studies at New York University. For his PhD, Mr. Wardropper wrote his dissertation on the Florentine artist Domenico del Barbiere. After completing his studies, Mr. Wardropper worked for 19 years as a curator in the European Decorative Arts and Sculpture, and Ancient Art departments at The Art Institute of Chicago, where he was promoted to head of department. In 2001, Mr. Wardropper returned to New York City to become the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Chairman of the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In the fall of 2011, Mr. Wardropper began his tenure at the Director of the Frick Collection. Mr. Wardropper has distinguished himself by his leadership and his dedication to the long-term success of the Frick Collection. Mr. Wardropper has taught art history at six universities and is a prodigious author, publishing myriad books, catalogues, and articles including the recent Limoges Enamels at The Frick Collection and Director's Choice: The Frick Collection.

CIVITAS is a community based organization that focuses on quality of life for Upper East Side and East Harlem residents. Founded in 1981, CIVITAS is concerned with promoting contextual urban planning and land use policies, with a special emphasis on environmentally-conscientious development and vibrant street level retail activity.

Madam Speaker, I ask my distinguished colleagues to join me in recognizing Ian Wardropper for his forward-thinking and dedicated leadership of one of the nation's preeminent cultural and research institutions, the Frick Collection.

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the 100 Committee to Commemorate the Children's Court, on the occasion of the designation of Children's Court Way, located on the northwest corner of East 22nd Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan. Children's Court Way will recognize the unique role of the Children's Court in the development of the juvenile court system and the principle of treating children differently from adults.

The 100 Committee to Commemorate the Children's Court was established in August 2015 by community activists in Gramercy Park and Kips Bay area, including Dr. Samuel D. Albert, Edith Charlton, Louise Dankberg, Molly Hollister, Judge Judy Kim, Alan Krevis, Greg Lambert, Judge Andrea Masley, Greg Martello, Lois Rakoff, Marti Speranza, Mark P. Thompson, Tiffany Townsend, Kathleen C. Waterman, Claude L. Winfield and the Committee's Chairperson, Michelle Winfield. Their goal has been to gain recognition of the site where America's first juvenile court operated for more than six decades.

Before the early 1900s, children under the age of 16 who were accused of crimes were tried and sentenced as adults. Progressive reformers believed young people awaiting trial in the same jails as adult criminal suspects were more likely to become repeat offenders than to be rehabilitated. In 1902, an act of the New York State legislature established the Children's Part within the NY Court of Special Sessions, making New York County the first in the United States to have a juvenile court housed in its own building. The court, initially located at 66 Third Avenue, near East 11th Street, opened that summer.

The reform law also reclassified all crimes committed by minors under the age of 16, other than capital offenses, as misdemeanors so as to shield children from harsh sentencing laws. Emphasizing reform instead of detention helped countless children avoid being labeled as criminals. The guiding principle was, as a 1902 NY Times article put it, ``to guard children against the exposure and environment of crime.''

By 1912, the original building was viewed as unsanitary, and noise from the nearby elevated train line made it hard to carry out court, proceedings. The decision was made to invest $250,000 in a new Children's Court building. On July 1, 1915, the Children's Court was officially established as a separate entity from the Court of Special Sessions and relocated to 137 East 22nd Street, near Third Avenue. The new site was chosen due to its proximity to other social welfare institutions, including the YMCA, United Charities, the Catholic Mission

House, the Manhattan Trade School for Girls, and the Free Academy--a predecessor of City College and the current site of Baruch College. A testament to New York's commitment to reforming young people's relationship with the justice system, the building housed a large main courtroom, physical and mental health services, and its own probation department. The Children's Court occupied this space until 1981, at which point the Family Court, as it is now called, relocated to 60 Lafayette Street.

Today, the Children's Court building is home to Baruch College's Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute. More than a century later, though, the original inscription on the building's cornerstone still reads: ``For every child let truth spring from earth and justice and mercy look down from heaven.'' Like the inscription, the designation of this corner as Children's Court Way will serve as a reminder of the advances we have made in child welfare and the far-sighted reformers who dedicated their lives to the protection and advancement of America's children.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the dedication of the 100 Committee to Commemorate the Children's Court and celebrating the designation of Children's Court Way.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a distinguished leader and dedicated advocate of the New York Jewish community, Mr. Charles S. Temel.

Mr. Temel has served for nearly three years as President of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY). During that time he has led JCRC-NY in advocating for and ensuring the rights, interests, and values of the New York Jewish community.

Mr. Temel is being honored on April 9th, at the JCRC-NY's 2019 Gala Dinner for his extraordinary leadership and contributions to this organization that he has led for the past three years.

Under Mr. Temel's leadership, not only has JCRC-NY helped strengthen the Jewish community in New York, it has also operated at the local community level to form partnerships with other ethnic and religious communities to solve issues that are of collective concern. These cross-organizational coalitions serve to promote understanding and cultural appreciation across diverse communities while improving local resources such as health services, nonprofit operations and governance, and the special needs of the aging, emigres, and youth.

In addition to his exemplary leadership of JCRC-NY, Mr. Temel has served many other worthy nonprofit organizations over the years including the American Friends of Ben-Gurion University's executive and investment committees, the latter of which he chaired. Additionally, he is an active member of the Cornell University Library Advisory, the Cornell University Council, and the Cornell Friends of Jewish Studies through his alma mater, Cornell University.

Mr. Temel has also led a successful professional career as an accomplished consultant in the financial services industry. He currently works as Managing Director at UBS Financial Services, Inc., focusing on portfolio construction and investment returns. He has been named as one of the ``Top 400 Financial Advisors in the United States'' by the Financial Times from 2014/ 2019. He has been recognized in Barron's Best-in-States Advisors List for 2019. Additionally, he was named to the Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors List in 2018 and 2019.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Charles S. Temel for the honor he is receiving tomorrow night and to recognize all he has done to strengthen New York's Jewish community, help unify New York's diverse ethnic and religious communities, and create a better New York for all.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her outstanding work on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule and the underlying bill, H.R. 1585, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019.

I want to be associated with the remarks that the gentlewoman just gave

that this is about protecting women, and the addition that says that if you take away guns from convicted abusers or those who are being watched and being restrained, this will save lives. So this is an important part of protecting women.

VAWA is a law that literally, absolutely literally, saves lives, and this bill we are voting on today provides even more lifesaving resources to women and families, like closing the boyfriend loophole that she just mentioned and providing housing and beds for abused women.

It is important to point out that this landmark legislation was created in 1994 and has been reauthorized many times. But I would say that protecting women or providing lifesaving resources should be permanent law. We should not have to come back to this body and be subject to the whims of legislators who don't think it is important to protect women, which this bill does.

One of the lifesaving resources in this bill is the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program, which was created by legislation I first authored in 2004, and it is renewed in this bill through 2024.

This legislation, which has been called the most important anti-rape prevention legislation ever signed into law, provides funding to localities to audit and process DNA evidence kits, including unprocessed rape kits. Each rape kit represents a life. If you convict that rapist and get them off the street, you save the lives of other women and prevent rape. This is just one example of this important bill.

Madam Chair, I rise today in support of this amendment.

Power and control. The tools of human traffickers are the same as those of domestic abusers.

Human trafficking and domestic violence are not distinct crimes. They often overlap. In both cases, it is often intimate partners who traffic or abuse their victims. In both cases, abusers and traffickers use emotional manipulation, economic abuse, physical violence--all tactics to exert power and control over their victims.

Support services for survivors need to recognize the intersections between sex trafficking and domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

That is why this amendment from Congresswoman Wagner is so important.

This amendment would ensure that the Justice Department's Creating Hope through Outreach, Options, Service and Education for Children and Youth Program can continue to include programs that address sex trafficking. We must address both of these crimes individually and we do.

But we must also acknowledge that these crimes can often overlap and where they overlap we need to address the patterns that perpetuate this violence, in order to best serve survivors and connect them with the resources they need to get the help they deserve.

So I urge my colleagues to support this important amendment and thank the gentlewoman from Missouri for all of her efforts to combat human trafficking and domestic abuse.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mrs. Sue Bricker Dorn as she celebrates her 85th birthday this weekend. A longtime resident of New York City, Mrs. Dorn has fulfilled the finest American traditions of family, faith and service to community.

Born on April 21, 1934 to Barney and Frances Bricker in Seattle, Washington, Mrs. Dorn was raised in Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. In 1955, Mrs. Dorn graduated from Stanford University, where she met and later married Philip Henry Dorn. As the Dorns settled in Southern California and Michigan for his work in the burgeoning computer industry, she got involved in the local community. Most notably, in Warren, Michigan, Mrs. Dorn was elected President of the League of Women Voters and was even selected as Warren's ``Man of the Year.'' Mrs. Dorn later earned a Master of Science degree from the Bank Street College of Education and served on the College's Board of Trustees.

Mrs. Dorn began her career as a public-school teacher in Long Island City, where she taught students with special needs. Later in her career, she pivoted to the development industry, where she served in high-level roles for some of the world's major cultural institutions including Yale University, the Museum of Modern Art, the Aspen Institute and New York Hospital. Mrs. Dorn was also appointed to the Regional Selection Panel of the President's Commission on White House Fellowships. In the years since retiring, she has become a tireless volunteer in New York City, including with Central Synagogue, where she sits on the Social Action Committee. She also played an instrumental effort in the creation of New York's municipal ID program.

Finally, Mrs. Dorn is the matriarch of a proud family. For nearly 40 years she shared a loving marriage with Philip Dorn. Whether known as ``Mom,'' ``Nana,'' ``Tante,'' or another title, Mrs. Dorn's home and ear are always open to her son, daughter-in-law, daughter, three grandchildren, five grandnieces and nephews and more. Mrs. Dorn also remains close with her siblings Monte and Nadine, with whom she regularly travels. In her spare time, she enjoys patronizing Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera and attending the theatre.

We are grateful for the spirit and service of Mrs. Dorn. Her life has been a blessing to so many in our local community, and it is an honor to celebrate her 85th birthday.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Sue Bricker Dorn. Her life has been dedicated to family, faith, and serving others.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the rule and the underlying bill, and I particularly thank my colleague, Rosa DeLauro, for decades of work in support of H.R. 7.

In 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act prohibiting an employer from paying men and women different wages for the same work. It helped, but 56 years later, the typical woman working full- time year-round is still paid only 80 cents for every dollar paid to her male coworker. That amounts to more than $10,000 each year.

The gap is even worse for women of color. African American women make only 61 percent of a White man's earnings. Native American women make just 58 percent, and Latina women a mere 53 percent.

But let's be clear. Pay discrimination doesn't just hurt women. It hurts entire families and the overall economy. Women are the sole or primary breadwinners in half of U.S. households with children. So passing this bill would not just help women and families, it would help our entire economy. According to some estimates, equal pay could cut poverty among working women and their families by more than half and add over half a trillion dollars to the U.S. economy.

The Paycheck Fairness Act is simple and straightforward. It protects all employees' right to free speech by ending the unfair prohibitions that can make it a firing offense for someone to simply tell a coworker how much they make. It strengthens workers' ability to challenge gender-based wage discrimination.

It is long overdue, and it is fair. When women succeed, America succeeds, and our overall economy succeeds.

Madam Speaker, I, along with Representative Ocasio-Cortez, rise to recognize our colleague, Congresswoman Grace Meng, who received a women's history month award from us and from Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas at a ceremony in Queens on March 22nd in recognition of her passionate advocacy for women. Congresswoman Meng has been fearless in standing up for women, taking on issues that are critical for women's health and well-being.

Congresswoman Meng has been a force for greater diversity, inclusion and change. She is the first and only Asian American member of Congress from New York State. As a member of the New York State Assembly and as a member of Congress, she worked to strike the term ``Oriental'' from New York State and federal statutes. Congresswoman Meng is also First Vice Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific Americans Caucus, which works to reflect the needs of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

Congresswoman Meng has been a champion for women. She has passed legislation to expand child care services for women in the military, and required the Department of Defense to review military uniforms for pregnant women to ensure proper fit, design, price, availability and utility. Understanding that menstrual health is critical to women's lives, she has been particularly concerned with menstrual equity, working to outlaw the tampon tax, to ensure access by inmates to menstrual hygiene products, and to enable homeless shelters to use federal funds to provide tampons and pads. When women lack access to proper hygienic products, they face embarrassment, ridicule and possible health consequences. Fortunately, Congresswoman Meng is winning the battle to ensure that vulnerable women are no longer denied full participation in society because they lack access to feminine hygiene products.

Recognizing that traveling mothers often lack safe places to pump milk, Congresswoman Meng has introduced legislation to require that airports set aside private spaces for nursing mothers. Working mothers need to pump both to provide their infants with milk when they return home and to ensure that their milk supply does not dry up. Travelers may spend hours waiting at airports in large public areas with no privacy, and women could use the time to pump milk if they have access to a secure private space.

Congresswoman Meng was elected to represent the 6th Congressional District of New York in the House of Representatives in 2012. She serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and its Subcommittees on

State and Foreign Operations, Homeland Security, and Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. Congresswoman Meng is also a Senior Whip and a Regional Whip for New York. She has also served as a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee since 2016.

Before being elected to the House, Congresswoman Meng served in the New York State Assembly for two terms, and before that she was a public interest attorney. Congresswoman Meng is married to her high school sweetheart, Wayne Kye and has two children, Tyler and Brandon.

Madam Speaker, we ask our colleagues to join us in recognizing Congresswoman Meng's efforts to expand access to basic hygienic supplies and ensure that women are not denied essential products because of low income, lack of housing, incarceration or military service.

Madam Speaker, I, along with Representative Ocasio Cortez, rise to recognize Angela Garvin, who received a women's history month award from us and from Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas at a ceremony in Queens on March 22nd. Ms. Garvin, who is now 12 years old, is being celebrated for her innovative proposal to develop rain gardens as part of the renovation of Astoria Park. These gardens will improve sustainability and make good use of stormwater.

Although Angela Garvin was just 10 years old when she developed her plan, her idea attracted the attention of New York City Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, who decided to incorporate it into the design for Astoria Park, which is in the process of being renovated as part of the Anchor Parks initiative. Commissioner Silver said that he was ``blown away by what she wrote about the importance of our future, about sustainability and how we have to do the right thing here in Astoria Park.'' The 60 acre park was selected to receive $30 million of funding for major capital improvements. Ms. Garvin's rain gardens will be part of phase 1 of the renovation plan, which calls for the reconstruction of 12 acres of the park, including its track and field facilities and improvements in the surrounding area, including new seating areas, an adult fitness area, pathway realignments, bleachers and plantings. The plan includes the development of site drainage and grading improvements, including Ms. Garvin's rain gardens to collect and treat stormwater, as well as a detention system under the synthetic turf field to reduce discharge into the East River.

Rain gardens are low-impact, sustainable landscaping that are designed to mitigate the effects of rainfall on impermeable surfaces. The gardens slow the flow of stormwater with plants that can absorb excess nutrients and filter pollutants.

Since she was very young, Ms. Garvin has wanted to improve the facilities in her community. When she heard that Astoria Park would be renovated, she became passionate about the idea of incorporating sustainability into the plans for the park. She began attending meetings with her grandmother, Mary Baker.

The oldest of three daughters, Ms. Garvin is a 4th generation native of Astoria who attended PS 122 from kindergarten to 5th grade, just as her mother, grandmother and great-grandfather did before her. She now attends The Cathedral School of St. John the Divine in Manhattan for middle school.

Madam Speaker, we ask our colleagues to join us in celebrating the creativity and vision of Angela Garvin who persuaded the Parks Department to use a sustainable design in its reimagining of Astoria Park. Her forward thinking will benefit generations of New Yorkers and can be implemented at parks around the city.

Madam Speaker, I, along with Representative Ocasio-Cortez, rise to recognize Julie Schwietert Collazo who received a women's history month award from us and from Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas at a ceremony in Queens on March 22nd. Ms. Schwietert Collazo is being recognized for her part in founding Immigrant Families Together, which works to support families in danger of being separated by anti-immigrant policies.

In June 2018, along with her husband, Francisco Collazo, she founded what has evolved into Immigrant Families Together (IFT), an organization of rapid response volunteers who fight back against punitive immigration policies, including zero tolerance and family separation, that have traumatized the nation's diverse population. IFT was created when a group of mothers learned about Yeni Gonzalez, a Guatemalan immigrant who was jailed in Arizona because she could not post bond, and whose three children were taken to New York. Ms. Gonzalez could not put together the $7500 needed to secure her release. When Ms. Schwietert Collazo and others heard about her plight, they raised the money to pay her bail and then helped transport her to New York, arranging for her to sleep at the homes of volunteers. They eventually helped her gain full custody of her children, and found her shelter, food and legal counsel.

In six short months, almost entirely through social media, Ms. Schwietert Collazo and IFT raised nearly a million dollars. IFT now provides funding to pay bonds to secure the release of other immigrants facing deportation, and often donates critical funding to cover living expenses, medical costs and legal fees. To date they have posted bond for more than 65 parents, grandparents, and older siblings who had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and separated from their families. They also provide ongoing support and services for families who have filed asylum applications so that they can build healthy, stable lives while their applications are being processed.

As a result of her work with Immigrant Families Together, Ms. Schwietert Collazo has become a much sought-after speaker and commentator on immigration policy, migration, and resettlement issues.

Ms. Schwietert Collazo is a former social worker and creative arts therapist, who is currently working as a writer, editor, and translator. She left the field of social work and psychotherapy in 2004 to live abroad and to focus on her own writing full-time. She has interviewed the First Lady of Belize and the Spanish chef Ferran Adria, has covered the state visit of Prince Harry in Belize, and in 2008 was one of the few journalists permitted to visit the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. She co-wrote/edited a book about Pope Francis, which to date has been translated into more than a dozen languages and is a bestseller in Italy.

Madam Speaker, we ask our colleagues to join us in recognizing the compassionate work Julie Schwietert Collazo and Immigrant Families Together are doing to help recent immigrants achieve their American dream.

Madam Speaker, I along with Representative Ocasio-Cortez rise to recognize Julia Sorrentino and Megan Stotts who received a women's history month award from us and from Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas at a ceremony in Queens on March 22nd for their leadership of Hearts Across Queens, an organization that is dedicated to protecting, supporting and empowering their neighbors and acting together to create positive change. Lifelong activists, Ms. Sorrentino and Ms. Stotts joined with other local mothers to create an organization to amplify their concerns and bring like-minded neighbors together.

In 2016, an inspired group of women started Hearts Across Queens with the goal of sharing information about local events and social issues, while advocating for tolerance and diversity in Western Queens. Their aim is to help women understand and exercise their own power, while fostering beneficial relationships among people with common purpose. Hearts Across Queens creates a sense of community through local activism and community events that support positive change, enabling and empowering people of all ages and backgrounds.

Every Wednesday, the members of Hearts Across Queens unite to meet other mothers and develop alliances, while teaching their children to face their fears and make plans for a brighter future. They have organized events, including a candidates forum, mini-speakouts, and a program to teach children how to get involved and de-escalate violence.

Ms. Sorrentino teaches at LaGuardia Community College. She is the creator of the series, Queens Women in STEAM, where local women are featured each day of Women's History Month, sharing their stories with District 30 students, and their neighborhoods. Ms. Sorrentino was also a founding member of No IDC NY, a highly successful grassroots movement that challenged a group of Democrats that had been caucusing with Republicans in the New York State Senate. Their progressive, Democratic candidates unseated 7 of the 8 Independent Democratic Caucus members in the 2018 election.

Megan Stotts has volunteered for several local organizations and campaigns. Her current focus is Immigrant Families Together, which works to combat anti-immigrant policies of the current administration. She also serves on the Queens County Committee. In 2017, Ms. Stotts helped organize a rally protesting the MTA's decision to renovate subway stations without making them accessible. She was inspired to take action because as a mother of young children she knows how difficult it is to travel with a stroller when there is no elevator.

Ms. Sorrentino and Ms. Stotts were co-recipients of the Taminent Regular Democratic Club 2018 Political Activism award.

Madam Speaker, we ask our colleagues to join us in honoring the work done by Julia Sorrentino, Megan Stotts and the members of Hearts Across Queens whose collaborative activism is making a real difference in their community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues on the Women's Caucus in celebrating Women's History Month.

I am very fortunate to come from New York State, the birthplace of the women's rights movement in Seneca Falls, and a State that has given many great women leaders to this country, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Bella Abzug, Geraldine Ferraro, and Shirley Chisholm.

But the truth is that many women who have made extraordinary contributions to our country are largely left out of the telling of our Nation's history. That is why I am reintroducing bipartisan legislation this week to establish a Smithsonian Women's History Museum in Washington, D.C., and I hope that all my colleagues will join me in this goal.

It comes down to a basic question: How can we empower women if we do not even recognize them? There is not one comprehensive women's museum anywhere in the United States of America. The U.S. needs and deserves a women's history museum that will inspire men and women of all ages for future generations during Women's History Month and all through the year. It

is important. I hope we can make it happen in this Congress.