Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2940) to extend the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families and related programs through September 30, 2019.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2940 is bipartisan legislation that extends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, TANF, and the Child Care Entitlement to States, CCES, through September 30, 2019. This legislation will allow the Department of Health and Human Services to make on-time payments to States, Tribes, and territories for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year.

I thank my friend and ranking member, Mrs. Walorski, for her support of parents and grandparents and for partnering with me to ensure that there is no disruption in help for families or promised funding to States.

States depend on Federal TANF and childcare funding to help struggling parents and grandparents work and to provide basic necessities for children. Without the funding we are extending today, States would likely reduce access to childcare assistance, transportation, and job training, and delay or reduce assistance families use to buy basics like food, housing, and diapers.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record this letter from the bipartisan leadership of the National Governors Association urging Congress to quickly enact H.R. 2940.

National Governors Association,

Washington, DC, May 30, 2019.

Hon. Mitch McConnell,

Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Chuck Schumer,

Minority Leader, U.S. Senate,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Nancy Pelosi,

Speaker of the House, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Kevin McCarthy,

Minority Leader, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer,

Speaker Pelosi, and Minority Leader McCarthy:

We write to urge you to support and pass H.R. 2940,

introduced by Chairman Davis and Ranking Member Walorski of

the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker and Family

Support, which would extend the Temporary Assistance for

Needy Families (TANF) program through September 30, 2019. As

you know, the program funding is currently slated to expire

on June 30, 2019.

TANF is a critical program for states and served 3.1

million recipients, including 1.2 million families in 2018.

TANF provides vital cash assistance, job training, child

care, and other critical services for families and children.

The program provided a total of $16.5 billion in 2018 in

federal dollars for these services for the 50 states, the

District of Columbia, the territories, and American Indian

tribes. States also are required to contribute at least $10.3

billion in state funds per year under the maintenance-of-

effort requirement.

We ask that Congress act quickly and pass H.R. 2940, a

clean TANF extension, and send it to the President for

signature in order to avoid any lapse in funding for states

and to mitigate any adverse impacts to American families.

While continued short-term extensions make it challenging for

states to allocate resources strategically, we look forward

to working with you on a long-term reauthorization bill in

the near future.

Sincerely,

Governor Kate Brown,

Chair, National Governors Association, Health and Human

Services Committee.

Governor Charlie Baker,

Vice Chair, National Governors Association, Health and

Human Services Committee.

Mr. Speaker, in my home State of Illinois, we use more than half of TANF dollars to provide childcare to working parents and grandparents, and almost a fourth of it is for child welfare services to reduce child abuse and neglect. If the Federal Government fails to make TANF and CCES payments on time, it will affect our State budget, but it will also harm the most vulnerable families.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the ranking member, Representative Walorski from Indiana, and all of my colleagues who have supported and who cosponsor and support this legislation. Congress can and should do far more to reduce child poverty and help hardworking families to make ends meet.

For example, a recent study by the National Academy of Sciences found multiple paths to reducing child poverty by 50 percent in just 10 years using well-known evidence-based tools like the earned income tax credit, the child independent care tax credit, and the Child Care and Development Fund.

Mr. Speaker, I hope to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find new ways to support the parents and grandparents who are working so hard. But while we are looking for ways to make sure that States and the Federal Government do more, we should certainly not allow a funding lapse that would result in States having to do less.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this simple, bipartisan legislation to allow us to meet our commitments to State governments and to families in need across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge full support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, when only 39 percent of Americans have enough savings to cover an emergency costing $1,000 and when 67 percent of Americans say that they will outlive their retirement savings, the SECURE Act becomes a lifesaver.

It becomes a lifesaver because it makes it easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans. It gives retirement benefit opportunities to home healthcare workers, more than half of whom are women of color, working for extremely low pay.

And I must take note of that, because these individuals are at the low end of not only quality of life but low end of earnings. They now have an opportunity for some serious consideration of retirement.

It creates a small employer automatic enrollment credit to make it easier for workers to participate in 401(k) plans.

These are important changes. It is a great bill, not just a good bill.

Madam Speaker, I strongly support it, and I urge all my colleagues to do so.

Madam Speaker, the Obesity epidemic is a long-standing issue in American society with two-thirds of our population being affected by excess weight. This nation is facing the consequences of limited policies and funding to resolve this public health issue. Obesity affects all populations but some groups are disproportionately impacted such as racial and ethnic minorities. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, African American women have the highest rates of being overweight or obese with about 4 out of 5 women fitting the description. Constituents in my district are also highly affected by this phenomenon. A National Health and Nutrition Examination survey revealed that in the North Lawndale community in Chicago 46.4 percent of children aged 2-12 were considered obese. This is unacceptable especially when compared to the national average of childhood obesity which is 18.5 percent. Therefore, we must examine the factors that lead to such disparities. One primary factor in my district that contributes to this issue are food deserts. The lack of access to healthy food options is due to both the lack of food retail businesses and income within these communities. Unfortunately, high-calorie foods are less expensive and more available in neighborhoods with more corner stores than supermarkets. Additionally, there is a lack of safe, accessible places to walk, bike, and play in low-income neighborhoods, leaving residents with very few options. Health policies and programs need to be promoted in every sector from schools to local businesses to grassroots organizations. Addressing this epidemic will require us to work together to garner resources to battle obesity at the federal, state, and community levels. These resources could help communities facing health disparities fund projects such as community gardens and rebuilding playgrounds to get them on a path to healthier living. It is imperative that we address the issue of obesity to ensure the health of the country.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize and honor the life of Ms. Earnestine Rasberry who was affectionately known by her family, friends and loved-ones as ``Mommy''. Ms. Rasberry was born on December 15, 1940 in Edwards, Mississippi, to the late Genella Jones and Floyd Hopkins, Sr. She accepted Christ at an early age while living in Mississippi and later moved to Chicago while a teenager. In April of 1965 she and Mr. Moses Rasberry were united in holy matrimony. Earnestine enrolled in Malcom X College and earned and Associates of Science Degree in Nursing and began her nursing a career at Cook County Hospital where she worked for many years and then retired from Hartgrove Hospital in 2005. Her nursing career spanned for fifty years. Fifty years of looking after and caring for others. In addition to nursing, Earnestine had strong interests in traveling and cooking. A few of her favorite destinations included Alaska, Antarctica and China. The highlight of one of her many excursions was meeting Grammy Award winning Gerald Levert. Earnestine knew her way around the kitchen and hosted many holiday meals for family and friends. Cooking was one of her ways she expressed her love. Earnestine was the matriarch of her family and was instrumental. All of you should be comforted by these words. And I say ``let not your heart be troubled, you who believe in God, also believe in Earnestine. Her father's house has many rooms; if it was not so, would I not have told you so. She is gone to prepare a place for you, and where she is, you will be there also. And if she goes and prepares a place for you, she will come back and take you to be with her and you will be where she is. You know the way to the place where she is going.'' You can go where she is.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1759) to amend title III of the Social Security Act to extend reemployment services and eligibility assessments to all claimants for unemployment compensation, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1759, the BRIDGE for Workers Act, continues our committee's bipartisan work to help Americans who are receiving earned unemployment insurance benefits to get back to work faster.

Unemployment benefits are a vital lifeline for Americans who have lost their jobs, helping them keep the lights on and pay the rent while they search for work. But unemployment benefits replace less than half of a worker's paycheck, on average. Especially for lower paid workers, who may not have any savings to fall back on, the best outcome is to find a new job as quickly as possible.

When you lose your job, it can be difficult to find a new one, especially if you are older, haven't looked for a job in a long time, or have made mistakes in the past. Reemployment services give people looking for help the personal help they need to overcome those barriers.

For instance, States might provide assistance targeted to a claimant's needs, things like customized career and labor market information, help with application materials, or allowing them to practice for tough job interviews.

Last year, we passed important legislation to improve reemployment services and eligibility assessment grants, or RESEAs. Our legislation added important worker protections, gave States incentives to improve the quality of the services being provided for workers, and ensured that sufficient funding is available in every State and territory.

When I asked how RESEA grants were being used in my home State of Illinois, they told me about Tara, who struggled to find a new job after she was laid off, both because her skills weren't up to date for the current labor market and because she had a criminal record. The Illinois RESEA helped her upgrade her job skills and find a job with an employer willing to take a chance, a chance on someone who had made mistakes. She is now working and going to school to get an associate's degree in welding, so she will have better pay and benefits in the future.

The BRIDGE for Workers Act would add important and needed flexibility to allow States to serve all workers who could benefit from reemployment services, not just those who are expected to run out of benefits before finding work.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the National Association of State Workforce Agencies endorsing the BRIDGE for Workers Act.

National Association of State

Workforce Agencies,

Washington, DC, March 13, 2019.

Hon. Stephanie Murphy,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Jackie Walorski,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Xochitl Torres Small,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Darin LaHood,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representatives Murphy, Walorski, Torres Small and

LaHood: We are writing on behalf of the National Association

of State Workforce Agencies

(NASWA) to endorse the BRIDGE for Workers Act and express our

appreciation of your bipartisan effort to authorize the

Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA)

program as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L.

115-245).

Until the passage of the Act, RESEA had been limited to a

widely-successful pilot grant program. Today, States around

the nation now have the ability to accelerate unemployment

insurance (UI) claimants' transition back to employment

faster than non-participants, which is particularly important

in an economy desperately in need of skilled workers.

To enhance these efforts, we are pleased to see the

proposed minor statutory fix proposed in the BRIDGE for

Workers Act that reflects your intent to ensure any UI

claimant, not just those most likely to exhaust their

benefits, are eligible for RESEA services and assessments.

The current language in Section 306 of Act needs to be

modified to ensure this intent is actualized and while the

Appropriations Committee made such a modification in their FY

19 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill, a permanent fix would

provide clarity and stability for states actively focused on

helping claimants return to work expeditiously.

NASWA is the national organization representing all 50

state workforce agencies, D.C. and U.S. territories. These

agencies deliver training, employment, career, and business

services, in addition to administering the unemployment

insurance, veteran reemployment, and labor market information

programs. NASWA provides policy expertise, shares promising

state practices, and promotes state innovation and leadership

in workforce development.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Jon Pierpont,

NASWA Board President, Executive Director, Utah Department

of Workforce Services.

Scott B. Sanders,

NASWA Executive Director.

Mr. Speaker, the BRIDGE for Workers Act will ensure that more workers who need reemployment services get them. Those individuals and workers, like Tara, will get back to work faster, in better jobs, and on a path to a better future.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the BRIDGE for Workers Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Murphy), the sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), a member of our subcommittee

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Torres Small), a cosponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I came to this session with the simple notion of coming to do a job and to go do my work. Listening to my colleagues' representations and their articulation of experiences and what this bill really means, I am renewed, and I am delighted because it is an important bill, seriously important.

Yes, in many places the economy is good; people are able to work. But bridges connect and transport, and this bridge connects people to the opportunity to get a job, to go back to work, to be able to take care of their families, to have money so that their children can go to college or they can sustain themselves while their daughter is completing her education.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues, Mrs. Murphy and Ms. Torres Small; the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mrs. Walorski; and Mr. LaHood, my colleague from Illinois, for their ingenuity, creativity, and for the introduction of this tremendous piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Chairman Lewis and Ranking Member Kelly for their tremendous work on this bill.

I feel like today might be one of my best days in Congress, because I had the opportunity a moment ago to talk about helping individuals who are unemployed.

Now, we are talking about helping individuals with their income tax preparation, individuals who might be low income; individuals who have difficulty reading and writing and understanding; individuals who are disabled; individuals who are poverty stricken, people who make less than 250 percent of what is known as the poverty level in this country.

I feel good because I have spent much of the day talking about helping those individuals in our country and in our society who need help the most. It is a great bill, and I am proud to support it.

I thank all of those operations in Chicago, the Center for Economic Progress, the City-Wide Tax Assistance Program via Ladder Up, the United Way, and all the rest of those agencies in the city of Chicago that are helping low-income people with their income tax.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which prepared this statement for me in acknowledgement of Black History Month.

Minority populations, especially the African American population, continue to remain in relatively poor health when compared to the majority population and also continue to be underserved by the healthcare delivery system.

One of the biggest health challenges facing our country today is obesity, and the African American community is especially at risk. In a 2015-2016 study by the CDC, the report found non-Hispanic Black adults, at 46.8 percent, had a higher prevalence of obesity than non-Hispanic White adults, which was 37.9 percent.

Compared to other States, Illinois' obesity rate is a significant area of concern, with 31 percent of adults having obesity. This statistic is higher than the U.S. median.

Illinois has the 27th highest adult obesity rate in the Nation and the 7th highest obesity rate for youth ages 10 to 17. Chicago's African American community is the demographic with the highest obesity rate at 39.8 percent.

With such a high percentage of the African American community falling in the obese category, this demographic runs a higher risk for obesity- related conditions, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer that are some of the leading causes of preventable, premature death.

Compared to the general population, African Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes. African Americans constitute more than 35 percent of all patients receiving dialysis treatment for kidney failure but only represent 13.2 percent of the overall U.S. population.

High blood pressure is the second leading cause of kidney failure among African Americans and remains the leading cause of death due to its link with heart attacks and strokes.

With these troubling statistics, where do we go from here? Awareness, education, and access are the keys to changing our Nation's health, and food and nutrition practitioners play a very important role in leading the health revolution.

Obesity is partially attributed to poor nutritional intake and has been implicated as a contributor to cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Food and nutrition practitioners have an opportunity and an ethical obligation to positively influence the healthcare experience of individuals. These experts have the power to influence factors affecting health disparities at the individual and the population levels, including programs such as SNAP, WIC, adult care food programs, and other nutrition programs.

By connecting with individuals who are most at risk, food and nutrition practitioners can make a huge change when it comes to the health of African Americans, as well as the health of all Americans.

I thank the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for preparing this information for me.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics who prepared this statement for me in acknowledgement of Black History Month.

Minority populations, especially the African American population, continue to remain in relatively poor health when compared to the majority population, and also continue to be underserved by the health care system.

One of the biggest health challenges facing our country today is obesity, and the African American community is especially at risk. In a 2015-2016 study by the CDC, the report found non-Hispanic black (46.8 percent) adults had a higher prevalence of obesity than non-Hispanic white adults (37.9 percent).

Compared to other states, Illinois' obesity rate is a significant area of concern, with 31.1 percent adults having obesity. This statistic is higher than the U.S. median.

Illinois has the twenty-seventh highest adult obesity rate in the nation, and the seventh highest obesity rate for youth ages 10 to 17.

Chicago's African American community is the demographic with the highest obesity rate at 39.8 percent.

With such a high percentage of the African American community falling in the obese category, the demographic runs a higher risk for obesity- related conditions, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer that are some of the leading causes of preventable, premature death. Compared to the general population, African Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes.

Adult Illinoisans with hypertension is 32.32 percent, while 11 percent have diabetes--both illnesses directly related to obesity.

13.2 percent of all African Americans aged 20 years or older have diagnosed diabetes.

African Americans are 1.7 times more likely to have diabetes as non- Hispanic whites.

African-Americans are significantly more likely to suffer from blindness, kidney disease and amputations.

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure in African Americans. African Americans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes as Caucasians.

Approximately 4.9 million African Americans over 20 years of age are living with either diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes.

African Americans constitute more than 35 percent of all patients in the U.S. receiving dialysis for kidney failure, but only represent 13.2 percent of the overall U.S. population.

High blood pressure is the second leading kidney failure among African Americans, and remains the leading cause of death due to its link with heart attacks and strokes.

With these troubling statistics, where do we go from here? Awareness, education, and access are the keys to changing our nation's health. And food and nutrition practitioners play a very important role in leading the health revolution.

Obesity is partially attributed to poor nutritional intake and has been implicated as a contributor to cancer, heart disease, stroke, arid diabetes. Food and nutrition practitioners have an opportunity and an ethical obligation to positively influence the health care experience of individuals.

These experts have the power to influence factors affecting health disparities at the individual and the population level, including programs such as SNAP, WIC, adult care food programs, and other nutrition programs. By connecting with individuals who are most at risk, food and nutrition practitioners can make a huge change when it comes to the health of African Americans, as well as all Americans.

Madam Speaker, I was unable to cast votes on the following legislative measures. If I were present for roll call votes, I would have voted ``aye'' for the following votes:

Roll 88, February 25, 2019: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 539, the Innovators to Entrepreneurs Act of 2019.

Roll 89, February 25, 2019: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 276, Recognizing Achievement in Classified School Employees Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a dear friend and one of the most revered ministers of the gospel that the Chicago metropolitan area has ever known.

Reverend James Bass was born on May 7, 1920, to the late Frank and Hattie Bell Bass in a rural Mississippi town.

James began school at the age of 6 in a little church house near Sunflower River Road, where he attended with his two brothers and one sister. His first teacher, Mr. Lee, taught all of the classes that were in session when the farming seasons were not in force.

As a little boy, James loved playing marbles, pitching horseshoes, and playing church, with him preaching. He also would preach the funeral for any of the animals that died and became known as the boy preacher.

Every Sunday, James attended church with his family in their mule- driven wagon. In 1929, he officially joined church after sitting on the mourners bench during a revival. He continued to grow and develop, got a job at the church as custodian, and attended and graduated from the Booker T. Washington High School in Ruleville, Mississippi.

In 1938, James revealed his calling and preached his first sermon as a full-fledged minister at the age of 18.

On December 7, 1941, James was drafted into the military and served 3 years in the U.S. Army during World War II. He carried no weapon and continued his ministerial work.

After being discharged, he returned home and enrolled at Tougaloo College in 1948, majoring in history. He attended the Mississippi seminary in Jackson in 1951. He became pastor of the Mt. Israel Baptist Church in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he sponsored a radio broadcast for senior citizens and those who were sick and shut in.

In December of 1955, James was invited to Detroit to preach a revival at Canaan Baptist Church. On the way back, he stopped in Chicago to visit his brother and sister and was honored to preach at the Greater Open Door Baptist Church.

In August of 1956, Reverend Bass organized a small mission. The mission grew, and the Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church was founded in September of 1956.

He returned to Chicago and commuted between Chicago and Mississippi for 6 years, and, after fasting and praying, he decided that his type of ministry really needed to be in a large urban city.

In 1967, Reverend Bass and Helyn Maxine Julius were united in holy matrimony and were blessed with two children, Vincent in 1968 and Vikkeda in 1970.

Under Reverend Bass' leadership, Mt. Olive grew into a substantial Baptist church, with significant influence in the community.

When Dr. Martin Luther King came to Chicago and lived on the West Side, Reverend James Bass was there with him and stood shoulder-to- shoulder when others sleeked away or refused to stand.

Reverend Bass was known as an activist, independent-minded preacher who used his pulpit effectively to foster something called liberation theology. He will be remembered as one who knew that the doors of the church must be open both ways: inside so that people could come and be spiritually nurtured, but also outside so that they could use the information for the benefit of themselves and their communities.

For more than 90 years, Reverend James Bass preached what he called the gospel. He was an effective messenger, and what a messenger he was. May his soul rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, age is relative, and many people look at it in very different ways. Many people look forward to being old enough to work, and of course, many of us look at it in terms of opportunity to retire. Work is indeed a virtue and it is indeed a dignified way of contributing to the well-being of society.

Today we highlight and honor Mrs. Torres for her longevity, her dedication to service and her inspiration to human kind. Mrs. Luz Gonzalez Torres was born in Trujillo, Peru on January 2, 1935, which marked her almost 84 years old. She came to the U.S. in 1963 and married Victor Torres in 1966. She and her husband have six (6) children, three (3) boys and three (3) girls and five (5) grandchildren. She widowed in 2007. Prior to becoming a letter carrier, Mrs. Torres worked for Walgreens, Illinois Bell, Western Electric and a travel agency. In 1985, Mrs. Torres was hired by the postal service and worked until 1989. She took a break and came back in 1992 as a PTS. Luz became a regular in 1994, and has had her current route since 2010. She had two knee surgeries and a broken left hand, yet she is still an active carrier.

What a woman. What mail carriers do for all of us.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to cast votes on the following legislative measures. If I were present for roll call votes, I would have voted ``No'' for the following vote:

Roll No. 423, November 29, 2018: On Agreeing to the Resolution, H. Res. 1160, Providing for consideration of the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 88) to modify the boundary of the Shiloh National Military Park located in Tennessee and Mississippi, to establish Parker's Crossroads Battlefield as an affiliated area of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

If I were present for roll call votes, I would have voted ``Aye'' for the following votes:

Roll No. 424, November 29, 2018: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 7187, the National Flood Insurance Program Further Extension Act; and

Roll No. 425, November 30, 2018: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, H.R. 6901, the Federal CIO Authorization Act of 2018.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding.

I also want to commend the Subcommittee on Health and the Committee on Energy and Commerce for its outstanding work under the leadership of Dr. Burgess.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to speak about sickle cell, a bill that has been worked on and passed. Of course, sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder characterized by affected red blood cells that mutate into the shape of a crescent or sickle. And as such, these cells are unable to pass through small blood vessels. It is a recessive- genetic condition that occurs when a

child inherits two sickle cell genes, or traits, from each parent.

The consequences and complications of this disease are extreme. The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, whom we have worked with for many years on this legislation, have studied and reported that common complications with this disease include early childhood death from infection; stroke in young children and adults; lung problems similar to pneumonia; chronic damage to organs, including the kidney, leading to kidney failure; damage to the lungs, causing pulmonary hypertension; and severe, painful episodes. In fact, pain episode are a hallmark of sickle cell disease.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we are at this juncture in passing S. 2465, a bill designed to help improve, treat, prevent, and conduct research on sickle cell disease and to include other blood diseases for surveillance and data collection.

While this legislation includes other blood diseases, its original intent and its continuing focus is to put major emphasis on sickle cell disease and issues related to it.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues, Representative Michael Burgess, and Representative G.K. Butterfield, Senator Tim Scott, and Senator Cory Booker for their tireless support and efforts to bring this bipartisan and bicameral bill to fruition.

There has been a great deal of back and forth on this bill. Therefore, I want to thank, again, Dr. Burgess, the chief Republican cosponsor and advocate. I want to commend the leadership on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Chairman Greg Walden and Ranking Member Frank Pallone.

Mr. Speaker, I want to highlight the work of my colleague and friend, Representative G.K. Butterfield, who carried the bill for this legislation in the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Our staffs did outstanding work, and I commend all of them, especially my Health Subcommittee staffer, Dr. Caleb Gilchrist. I want to acknowledge and thank our advocate organizations, the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, the American Society of Hematology, and other organizations, hospital providers, families, and those infected with the sickle cell disease.

Mr. Speaker, those who say that Congress does not work and is not working, I tell you, when we pass legislation of this sort, it tells me that America is on the right track and we are, indeed, moving forward to help make our communities as safe and healthy as they can possibly be.

I end by just thanking Dr. Burgess, again, for his outstanding leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, the cruelty, heartlessness and failure of the Trump administration immigration policy have reached a new low point with the reprehensible use of chemical agents against unarmed asylum seekers including children. The unilateral, unlawful policy requires those seeking asylum in the U.S. to remain in Mexico after adding their names to an interminable waiting list facing deteriorating living conditions in what increasingly have come to resemble detention camps. The use of violence and fear to deter legal asylum applications ignores the real social, political and economic forces driving emigration and the role of current and historical U.S. foreign and economic policies in creating those conditions. A nation of immigrants such as the United States deserves, demands, a policy collectively-negotiated with our neighbors grounded in democracy and human rights and dedicated to mutual social and economic development.

Mr. Speaker, when I came to Chicago in 1961, one of the first radio shows that I listened to was the Big Bill Hill's Shopping Bag Show on WOPA Radio. Being a native Arkansan, anything or anybody connected to Arkansas gets my attention and perks me up. Such has been the cause with Big Bill Hill, born in England, Arkansas.

True to form, Big Bill Hill was a big man, 250 lbs, and over 6 feet tall. He was born in England, Arkansas in 1914 and rolled into Chicago in 1932 looking for work. He found work at a steel mill, but he wanted to be on the radio. Nobody would hire him so he saved his money and bought air time on brokered stations. He started on WLDY-AM in Elmwood, and later WCRW-AM. He had his shtick down by the time he started his program ``Shopping Bag Show'' in 1995 on WOPA-AM in Oak Park.

WOPA-AM signed on in 1950. It's call letters the Oak Park Arms, a hotel on Oak Park Avenue, where their studio was originally installed. Their 250 watt signal was strongest on the west side of Chicago, and William Klein's Village Broadcasting Company wisely targeted those black demographics so the schedule was full of blues, jazz, R&B, and gospel. Most of their day was brokered time so it was also peppered with ethnic programming of every stripe. But 1490 was short spaced between WXRT-AM and WMOR-AM, so it was never going to have much juice. The solution in 1953 was 102.3 WOPA-AM. WMOR had gone bankrupt and they bought the license at 3,600 watts. This signal had solid Chicago coverage. Though FM listenership was low in the 50s, it grew steadily. Initially, the stations just simulcast all programming. But in 1966, the FCC mandated that FM simulcasts carry 50 percent originating programming. The brokered ethnic moved to the FM side, but Big Bill Hill remained simulcast in the evening, even after the station bumped the wattage up to 6,000 watts.

His career changed forever in 1963. He already owned a booking agency, a dry cleaner, a management company and he owned his own club, the Copa Cabana. Supposedly, he did remotes from all locations, even the dry cleaner. In 1967, it looked like it was all going to fall apart. WOPA was born again as a free form FM station full of underground music and hippies. His already floundering club, the Copa Cabana, closed. However, Bill defied all odds and started a R&B TV dance show on WCIU-TV. The ``Red Hot and Blues'' show ran until 1971. It was overtaken by another R&B dance program . . . Soul Train.