Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, as I am back home in Dallas, Texas on paternity leave with my family, I submit the following vote explanation. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 78, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 79, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 80, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 81, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 82, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 83.

Mr. Speaker, as I am back home in Dallas, Texas, on paternity leave with my family, I submit the following vote explanation. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 84.

Mr. Speaker, as I am back home in Dallas, Texas, on paternity leave with my family, I submit the following vote explanation.

Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 76 and YEA on Roll Call No. 77.

Mr. Speaker, as I am back home in Dallas, Texas, on paternity leave with my family, I submit the following vote explanation.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 72, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 73, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 74, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 75.

Mr. Speaker, I am back home in Dallas, Texas, on paternity leave with my family, I submit the following vote explanation.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 68, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 69, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 70, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 71.

Madam Speaker, today I include in the Record the life, the story and the legacy of Ressie Davis English. The grandmother of my colleague, friend and fellow Texan, Congressman Marc Veasey.

Mrs. English passed on January 18, 2019, after 106 years of life. Throughout her life, she was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, gardener and student of scripture.

On July 29, 1912, in the small town of Rice, Mr. William and Mrs. Mary Hart Davis completed their family of six with a newborn girl they named Ressie Davis. Mr. Davis, like most black citizens of Navarro County at the time, was a farmer. Mr. Davis's father, a well-educated and regarded Baptist minister was resolute in his belief that to do well, his children

needed to be well educated and passed this belief onto his children.

To be black and well educated required that the Davis family find schools beyond the small, rural, operations for black children that existed at the time. Ressie attended high school at Jackson in Corsicana. Jackson was the designated school in town for black students during the era of segregation in Texas. Ressie 's family left Rice and moved to where she met the love of her life, Robert March English.

She and Dr. English, `Bob', married in the spring of 1939, and a few years later had their first child, a daughter named, Mary LlaBetta. By the time a second daughter, Lizzie Elizabeth Janet arrived, the family was living in the bustling town of Mineral Wells, Texas, and Dr. English had become an established young and dynamic Baptist minister working in Jacksboro, Texas.

Dr. English soon became vice-moderator and later moderator of the West Texas District Baptist Association. His ministry flourished, but the need for better medical resources dictated a return to Corsicana. They later added to the family daughters Doris Theresa, ``SanDei'', and Eva Carolyn and their two sons, Robert James and Joseph Hart-Davis English.

Ressie settled into her role of minister's wife working as a homemaker and running her household with great diligence. She agreed to move to Fort Worth with the caveat that if the church was to be in Lake Como, housing had to be found within walking distance to Como elementary school. Her last three children, Constance Grace, John Moses and Rubye DeiGratia were born in Lake Como. Fully settled in Fort Worth, all nine of the children graduated from or attended Como senior high school.

The English's were well regarded in the Lake Como community, unwavering in their commitment to the church, and steadfast in overseeing the activities of their nine children. The children participated in everything the school had to offer. Ressie made sure her children became fixtures in the recreational and academic setting in the Como community; from piano lessons to track and football, to the PTA, Drama and Debate Club to the National Honors Society, they did it all.

After the establishment of the first church commissioned by the West Texas Baptist Association, Ressie became ``First Lady'' of another church, independently established by her husband. They named it Mount Moriah Baptist Church. Dr. English guided this church until his death in 1987. Ressie always put God and family first, and in her spare time, she enjoyed gardening and harvesting fruit and vegetables at her Lake Como home. Trips to the now obsolete retailers, Handy Dan and Sutherland's, were her favorite places to buy outdoor and home improvement items. While she did enjoy fresh food; she never turned down a good Breakfast Jack or a two-piece meal from Churches on Lackland and Camp Bowie.

In addition to gardening, Ressie was also very handy at sewing; and always kept a machine, which she was very proud of, nestled near a corner window in her dining room. But most importantly Ressie enjoyed studying the Bible, and for most of her 106 years, she could quote scripture and the words of Jesus Christ with remarkable accuracy and clarity. She oftentimes hummed churched hymns while knitting, reading, or working outdoors. And her memory allowed her to be a master storyteller of days long gone. The summer of 2018 marked 106 years in the life of Ressie Davis English. On January 18, 2019, she went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We celebrate her life today with these words forever enshrined into the Congressional Record of the United States House of Representatives, where her grandson Marc Veasey serves. She was preceded in death by her husband Dr. Robert English and three children Mary LlaBetta Sowels, Robert James English and Joseph Hart English, and two granddaughters.

Her legacy continues through her children, Elizabeth English Burky, Doris Theresa English, Eva Carolyn English-Clay, Constance English Cash, John Moses English and Charley Rubye English-Carter. She is also survived by many grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and great- great-grandchildren. Her kids and grandchildren have gone on to work in broadcasting, higher education, politics, the food and beverage industry, and many other endeavors of hard work and accomplishment of which Mrs. English was very proud.

I wish Mrs. English peace and my deepest condolences to Congressman Veasey and his family.

Madam Speaker, I rise to support the resolution against white nationalism and against white supremacy.

Madam Speaker, I am honored to commemorate a historic achievement by the young student athletes at Highland Park High School.

The Highland Park High School varsity football team won the 5A state championship for the third year in a row, and the Highland Park tennis teams also won state titles this very school year.

On Saturday, January 12, 2019, at Goar Park, the Highland Park Independent School District and the cities of Highland Park and University Park will host a well deserved Parade of Champions.

As their Congressman, I am excited to celebrate these hard fought victories with them.

Achievements such as this don't happen overnight and they take the support of families, friends, teachers, coaches, faculty, staff and volunteers. It really does take a community. And this community should be proud.

As a former student athlete myself, I know the hard work it takes, day in and day out, to practice and work to win as a team. All while prioritizing work in the classroom and studying hard.

They have shown that North Texans are champions, and we couldn't be prouder of what they all have accomplished together.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to correct an injustice and to urge passage of this resolution that will put the United States House back on the side of the people and protecting their healthcare.

For far too long, seeking to fulfill empty partisan promises at the expense of the American people, politicians in Congress have sought to tear apart the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with preexisting conditions. That ends today.

When the American people chose this new Congress, they said: Enough with the sabotage and the kowtowing to special interests seeking to divide us.

Too many times this very body has voted against the American people to repeal the Affordable Care Act and, with it, the protections for people with preexisting conditions. Now, a Federal court has put at risk those same protections.

That brings me to the story of Natalie. As I traveled around my district, which I am now truly honored to represent, I met Natalie. She told me her story.

She was a lawyer with young children, Hugo and Mia, and was married to a law professor at Southern Methodist University. I met with her on the same day that the House had voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. I learned that Natalie had stage IV cancer and that she had come to my event from her chemotherapy treatment. She explained to me that her goal was to fight her cancer as long as possible so that her children would know her.

Natalie came to my event that day because she was worried about future moms like her who would lose their care if the Affordable Care Act was repealed. Natalie was worried about a return to the bad old days, with lifetime caps and discrimination against people with preexisting conditions. She knew that, because of her treatment, she would have blown through any lifetime cap in a matter of weeks.

Stories like Natalie's are all too common across America.

Tomorrow will be 1 year, to the day, since we lost Natalie, and she is still an inspiration to me and to many other north Texans and Americans across the

country. You see, Madam Speaker, Natalie spent her final days, while she was in pain, while she was saying her good-byes, emailing and posting on social media an talking to her community about the need to protect the Affordable Care Act so that other moms could get the care that they need.

That is who we are as north Texans, and that is who we are as Americans. We believe in something larger than ourselves. We believe in protecting 130 million Americans and more than 320,000 people in my district in north Texas who have a preexisting condition.

Let me be clear. The Affordable Care Act is not perfect, and this resolution does not solve all the healthcare problems facing our country. But, as one of our first acts, I hope that this measure tells the American people that we are on their side.

I know I speak for many of my colleagues when I say that this Congress will not stop working for the American people. We will not relent to the special interests and the forces of cynicism. The American people now, more than ever, need us to work together to address the rising cost of healthcare. Americans like Natalie and her family deserve no less.

Madam Speaker, it is truly an honor to address this body for the first time, and it is my first act to lead this resolution to defend the Affordable Care Act.