Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentlewoman from New York, for organizing tonight and for inspiring rising generations of Americans, including my own daughters, to dream bigger and to do better.

I want to start my remarks by addressing those who have belittled, dismissed, minimized, or criticized anyone who has experienced trauma of any type, at any time, in any form. To you, I say I take pity on you, and I say shame on you.

I was in this very room on January 6 when the insurrection began. I was 1 of 20 colleagues up in the gallery, just over my shoulder, who had to take cover behind our seats, on the floor, and struggle to activate our gas masks, the whizzing sounds, the collective whizzing sounds in this room, which none of us will ever forget.

We know the sound of the breaking glass, of the screams, and of the furniture being moved in front of the doors. We know the feeling of being trapped in this room and believing that being taken hostage may be the best-case scenario.

We know what it feels like, searching for something, anything, with which to defend ourselves, and realizing a pencil is about all we had. We know what it feels like thinking that it is a real possibility that we would not see our families and loved ones again.

We won't forget. We won't forget.

But I am not here this evening to seek sympathy or just to tell my story--rather, to make a public apology.

Recognizing that we were sitting ducks in this room, as the Chamber was about to be breached, I screamed to my colleagues to follow me across the aisle to the Republican side of the Chamber so that we could blend in--so that we could blend in--for I felt that the insurrectionists who were trying to break down the doors right here would spare us if they simply mistook us for Republicans. But within moments, I recognized that blending in was not an option available to my colleagues of color.

So, I am here tonight to say to my brothers and sisters in Congress, and all around our country: I am sorry. I am sorry, for I had never understood, really understood, what privilege really means.

It took a violent mob of insurrectionists and a lightning bolt moment in this very room, but now I know. Believe me, I really know.

I want to close with an invitation, a hopeful invitation at that, to everybody watching or listening. Whether you experienced January 6 right here in this room; whether you were barricaded in an office across the street; or whether, like most Americans, you experienced it through a television screen, please do not allow that day to change you for the worse. Rather, please find something in it to improve yourself, to improve our country, and to improve our world.

I surely did, and I hope you will join me.

Madam Speaker, I'm honored today to recognize two of America's best, Lieutenant Colonel Juddson Floris, United States Army, and his wife, Rebecca, for their extraordinary selfless service to our Nation. Lieutenant Colonel Floris will soon retire from the Army after a long and distinguished career.

A native of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Judd has distinguished himself as a true leader of character both at work and at home. Lieutenant Colonel Floris began his Army career as a plebe at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1995, and, upon graduation from West Point, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry Branch in 1999.

Upon graduating from the Infantry Officers Basic Course, Lieutenant Colonel Floris was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he served as an Airborne Rifle Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, and Battalion Air Operations Officer. However, Judd always dreamed of something different, and he decided to apply for and attend Special Forces Assessment and Selection to begin the long journey of becoming a Green Beret.

After completing the Special Forces Qualification Course and earning his ``long tab,'' Lieutenant Colonel Floris was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Commander's In-Extremis Force in Okinawa, Japan as a Special Forces Operational Detachment--Alpha Commander, Assault Force Commander, Company Executive Officer, and Company Commander. Lieutenant Colonel Floris was then assigned to the Pentagon as an Operations Officer in the joint Staff J-3 and the Army G-3 Special Operations Division. He then returned to 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) where he commanded a Special Forces Company and Task Force, and subsequently served as an Operations Officer at the Battalion, joint Special Operations Task Force, and Group levels. Lieutenant Colonel Floris most recently served as a Special Operations and Counter-Terrorism Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict in the Pentagon.

Lieutenant Colonel Floris has deployed fifteen times in support of named operations and Theater Campaign Plan events in the Middle East and Pacific areas of operations.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Joint Service Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat and Expert Infantryman's Badges, the Special Forces and Ranger Tabs, Master Parachutist Badge, Military Free Fall Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Air Assault Badge, and the Staff Identification Badges from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, and the Army Staff. Lieutenant Colonel Floris also holds parachutist's badges from seven countries.

Judd earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Systems Engineering (Distinguished Graduate) from West Point and a Master of Arts Degree in Policy Management from Georgetown University.

But the accolades, awards, degrees, and badges don't tell the full story. They don't tell you how superiors, peers, and subordinates alike respect and revere Judd, not just for his military prowess, but for the care, compassion and empathy which he brought to every situation. They don't give insight into the selflessness shown by Judd and Rebecca to the soldiers and families under Judd's command. And they certainly don't tell the full story of twenty years of sacrifice, which the Floris family has endured as a result of fifteen deployments away from home.

So, on this day and on behalf of a grateful Nation, it is my honor to recognize the selfless service and sacrifice of Lieutenant Colonel Juddson Floris, his wife, Rebecca, and sons, Callum and Max. I wish them the very best as they begin this new chapter of their lives.

Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago today, a mother woke up at 2 a.m. She woke up to a flurry of text messages from her son. He was trapped in a nightclub bathroom at the mercy of a man with an MCX rifle and a death wish. His first text: ``Mommy, I love you''; then at 2:39 a.m.: ``He's coming. I'm gonna to die.'' Eddie Justice was murdered in the Pulse nightclub that morning, and he was 30 years old.

Today we stand with Eddie's family and loved ones. We stand with Orlando. We stand with the LGBTQ community. And we stand up here to say doing nothing to prevent mass shootings in our country is a dereliction of our duty.

The Senate must pass the gun violence prevention measures that the House put forward in February. Thoughts and tweets do not save lives. Action saves lives.

In honor of all the Pulse nightclub victims, we need action, and we need it now.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is long overdue in the U.S. and in my State of Minnesota.

In Minnesota we are home to a thriving community of Liberian refugees who fled two civil wars and an Ebola outbreak, refugees like my good friend, Louise Stevens. She escaped civil war, left her life behind, and slept on a friend's floor for over a year just for the chance at the American Dream.

Now she is over 60. She has worked hard in Minnesota's healthcare industry for 18 years. She is the mother of American children. She pays taxes, and she is here legally under DED. But because of that DED status, she still has no path to citizenship. The same is true for thousands of Liberians in America.

I am so proud to help lead the Dream and Promise Act and finally, at long last, change that. That is the American Dream and, at long last, it should be our reality.

Mr. Chair, I thank Mr. Levin for yielding.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of Representative Levin's amendment and H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act.

I know when you think of Minnesota, the first thing you think of is snow. It is true that we know how to handle a snowy winter. But this year, the Midwest was hit with record levels of snowfall, and when all that snow melted, it led to record levels of flooding.

Farms and homes across the entire region have been devastated, and it is because of climate change, one of the greatest threats of our time.

We must lead, and we must be on the right side of history, so I cannot understand why the President pulled us out of the Paris climate agreement.

I support H.R. 9 to recommit us to this agreement because we should be running toward sustainable solutions, not away from them.

Madam Speaker, while traveling recently through my home State of Minnesota, I met a wonderful couple in their early 60s. They were both teachers who had dedicated their professional lives to enriching our community by educating our children.

They had done everything right, saved as much money as they could, and it was time to retire, until the husband was diagnosed with early- onset Alzheimer's. Now, the out-of-pocket costs for his care will wipe out all of their retirement savings--all of their savings.

Madam Speaker, I ask: What is our President thinking?

This is an all-too-common story played out in blue and red districts throughout our Nation. Yet, we have a White House determined to wipe out the Affordable Care Act. It is callous; it is wrong; and it is unacceptable. It is time for us to make the moral decision to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable, high-quality healthcare, no matter their circumstances.

That is why we just introduced a bill in the House, led by my Minnesota colleague, Angie Craig, to reduce premiums and lower healthcare costs. That is why I am a cosponsor of Congressman Doggett's bill to make prescription drugs more affordable.

There is hard work to be done to make our health system work for all Americans, and we are doing it in the House.

I say to President Trump and my Republican colleagues that it is not too late to abandon this misguided effort to dismantle the ACA and join us to work on real solutions. That is what we are sent here to do.

Mr. Speaker, the clock is ticking and thousands of Minnesotans are running out of time. Business owners are going to lose their workforce, workers are going to lose their jobs, and children are going to lose their parents, and it will be because we here in Congress failed to take simple action when we were called to make change.

We have been handed a game-winning layup or, in Minnesota terms, an empty net, and all we have to do is tap in the puck. All we have to do is say to our Liberian population who came here fleeing bloody civil war and the terrors of the Ebola virus: You matter; you are doing everything right. The world took everything from you, and you came to our country. You work hard, legally, you pay your taxes, and you are valued members of our community.

But because we gave Liberians an immigration status DED, that does not allow a pathway to citizenship; and because that status expires now in 4 days, these friends, neighbors, and family members will be subject to deportation, and it will tear our community apart, and it will be on us.

Mr. Speaker, I recently heard from Nicole Mattson, a healthcare employer in senior care back in the Twin Cities: ``We don't have enough workers. At my facility, 60 percent of employees are immigrants, and over half of those are Liberians. We would have to say good-bye to a pool of talent that is highly skilled and educated.

``I have no idea why we would leave behind such a critically important group of people to the healthcare industry. Very simply, we cannot do the work, we cannot care for people, we cannot care for seniors without them. We need them here, and we are glad they are here.''

Mr. Speaker, I would say that we need courage to pass a legislative fix to save Minnesota's healthcare industry and keep hardworking members of our population home. I would say that we need courage to keep our families and communities and brothers and sisters together. This is so simple and so easy, that we do not even need courage. We just need to pass a bill.

These are immigrants who have done everything the right way: They are here legally; they work hard; they pay their taxes; and they have made themselves irreplaceable contributors to our communities.

Their immigration status has been extended by every President from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump. These would be undocumented citizens of our very own creation.

If you need the human argument, hear it from my constituent, Michael: ``Going back to Liberia is not an option for me. My only brother, who we were not able to bring to America, died in Liberia a few years ago. My parents and siblings all live here in the United States.

``I was recently accepted into a doctoral program in education. My whole life is here. This is my home. Liberia is a fragile country still recovering from a decades-long war.''

Or Matthew, who could lose his older brother: ``It affects me deeply as a U.S. citizen. This is someone I look up to. If he was to up and leave the U.S., that would be very difficult for him, for me. He has a daughter. I cannot take on that responsibility of being my niece's caretaker.

``I cannot even imagine the nightmare that this will create in my community. This is not just about me and my family; it is about our community. We are going to be losing friends and family. I am not ready for this.''

We have the legislation. We have a fix ready to go to move DED holders to TPS for 3 years while we pass a more comprehensive fix.

So, Mr. Speaker, I say to my colleagues, ask yourselves: Are we here to make a difference? Are you here to make people's lives better? Are you here to help business owners and workers, or are you here to keep playing politics with people's lives?

Let's rise to the occasion and be better than that and finally, at long last, give our Liberian community the peace of mind that they so richly deserve.

Madam Speaker, our Nation is the land of promise and the land of opportunity. We open our doors to the tired, to the poor, and to the huddled masses. And, for decades, we have opened our doors to Liberian refugees fleeing vicious civil wars and the Ebola virus.

The Liberian community in Minnesota--my home State--is the hardworking bedrock of our healthcare industry. They are parents, children, brothers, sisters, workers, businessowners, and taxpayers.

In 1999, they were given a special immigration status in the United States: deferred enforced departure, or DED. They work legally, they pay taxes, but currently have no pathway to citizenship.

Madam Speaker, if you are here legally, play by the rules, and contribute to your community, you should have nothing to fear. But if we don't act by March 31, the Liberian community's DED status will expire. It will subject our friends and our neighbors to deportation, and our community is terrified.

Since its inception, DED has been a bipartisan issue. Both Republican and Democratic Presidents have acted to extend it for two decades. Now it is our turn.

This week, we have the chance to send a legislative fix to the President's desk. I urge all of us, on both sides of the aisle, to do the right thing, the humane thing, and keep our Liberian community here in their homes in the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise with great urgency to sound an alarm because we have a community in peril.

The Liberian community in Minnesota and around the Nation is dealing with a crisis of our very own making. When the DED, Deferred Enforced Departure, program expires on March 31, thousands of our Liberian friends and neighbors will be at risk of losing their jobs and their homes and being deported back to a nation that they no longer know.

Thousands of Liberians settled in the United States in the 1990s and early 2000s when their country was devastated by civil wars. My friend Louise Stevens was one of them. She was a woman with a dream of a good life who worked hard to get an education and worked hard to get a good job; and because of a civil war she had nothing to do with, she had the courage and bravery to flee her home and start over in America.

She slept on a mattress in a friend's living room for over a year. She and her kids shared two rooms for another year. And when President Clinton introduced the DED program in 1999, she was finally able to work without fear of being deported.

She went to Boston Scientific and, with her education and work ethic, was able to get a good job and start a career that spanned 18 years. Now, she is over 60 years old, and she could lose everything once again.

``The world took everything from me,'' she told us. ``Now I have a home; I have a job; I have a hospital to go to; I have friends; and Minnesota is my home. America is my home. I can't wrap my head around a piece of paper telling me we don't care; you can't live here anymore.''

Another of my Liberian constituents, Michael, told us that ``I am almost 50. My friends in Liberia are either dead or living outside of the country. If I am sent back, I will have accomplished nothing. My whole life is here, and this is my home.''

Another, Abdi Mohamed, who is afraid of losing his brother: ``I cannot begin to imagine the nightmare this will create in my community,'' he said. ``I am not ready to let my bond with my brother go. We love to go shopping at the Mall of America. Dave and Busters is so much fun together. I am not ready for this.''

Mr. Speaker, we can do something about this. We can stop the nightmare from becoming a reality. We can legislate a fix.

It is time to act. This is what we are here to do: to put people before politics and make a real difference in our communities.

Our Liberian neighbors are friends; they are workers; and they are taxpayers. They have played by the rules; they have worked exceptionally hard; and they have thrived in good jobs. If we lose them, we will be losing our workforce; we will be losing our community; and we will be losing our family.

We have 18 days to act, 18 days to do something to make sure that our Liberian community will never have to spend another sleepless night wondering if the world will take everything away from them once again.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer my amendment that would allow the Federal Election Commission to represent itself in actions before the United States Supreme Court so that it may fulfill its role as the people's top election watchdog.

Under current law, the FEC is almost always represented by the solicitor general when it has business before the U.S. Supreme Court, effectively removing the FEC attorneys from the process and centralizing litigation within the Department of Justice.

It is a revelation that troubles me and many and should worry us all.

Unfortunately, we have seen the President use the Department of Justice and its appointees not to promote truth and accountability, but as a political tool with which to suppress those who challenge his unilateral approach to campaigning and governing.

The identity, priorities, skills, and role of lawyers representing the government play a significant role in determining the nature and outcome of litigation.

These cases are often charged with partisan politics, and the American people need an advocate who operates with a degree of separation from a particular party or administration and can faithfully execute the unique mandate bestowed upon the FEC.

As the people's last line of election oversight, the FEC must have the power to act independently in its business before the courts so that it may hold this administration, and all administrations to come, accountable to the people, the law, and the Constitution.

My amendment would ensure that it can.

At a time when campaign finance law has become increasingly complex and dangers of direct conflicts of interest have become more prevalent, my amendment will strengthen the FEC's enforcement powers and help the court navigate the increasingly blurry boundaries of what is and what is not legal during Federal elections by having a subject matter expert empowered to present arguments.

Mr. Chair, I respectfully urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I appreciate the comments of my colleague from Illinois.

However, to say that this weaponizes the FEC I do take exception to because, indeed, it is just the opposite.

It empowers the FEC to actually do its job, which is to look out for voters. That is quite simple and quite apparent to me.

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

Mr. Chair, I want to thank Representative Sarbanes for his tireless work in bringing this important legislation to the floor and Chairman McGovern for making my amendment in order.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to voice my full-hearted support of H.R. 1, the For the People Act.

As I spend time with parents and business owners, retirees and millennials, Republicans and Democrats back home in Minnesota, one thing is clear: People are losing faith in the integrity and fairness of our political system, and for good reason.

When I arrived in Washington, I witnessed firsthand the corrupting influence of money and politics: envelopes with PAC checks offered after handshakes and a culture in which votes often seem to have price tags attached.

We can do better, and we must do better. That is why I say, no matter your number one issue, please make campaign finance reform your number two because we cannot address our country's greatest challenges when we place special interests over our common interests.

So let's pass H.R. 1 and begin the hard and principled work of restoring our democracy for the people.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand before you as a Member of the most diverse freshman class in our Nation's history, sent to Washington to inspire collaboration and rebuild the American people's faith in their elected leaders. But much of our tenure in Congress has been spent under a shutdown, proving the American people were right to demand change.

This dynamic must stop. To that end, Representatives Houlahan, Slotkin, Allred, and I rallied an energetic group of 22 freshman Members, nearly one-third of the entire class, behind the Shutdown to End All Shutdowns Act, known as the SEAS Act.

As we near agreement and the fear and immediacy of a shutdown fades, I will not forget the conversations I had with Federal employees, parents, and business owners in my district--the real human stories of the shutdown.

It would be irresponsible and unforgivable for us to betray them once again. They are not political pawns, and many provide the very safety and security we cherish in this country. That is why I stand here to urge the passing of the SEAS Act, to eliminate this destructive tactic from the negotiation toolbox forever.