Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Colorado, the Honorable Greg Lopez, be permitted to take the oath of office today.

His certificate of election has not arrived, but there is no contest and no question has been raised with regard to his election.

Mr. Speaker, as the dean of the Colorado congressional delegation, I am so honored to welcome Representative-elect Lopez to this Chamber to represent Colorado's Fourth Congressional District for the next 6 months.

Representative-elect Lopez is an Air Force veteran, a small business owner, a husband, and a father. Born into a hardworking family in pursuit of the American Dream, Representative Lopez is committed to working to improve the lives of his constituents.

He met his wife, Lisa, during his military service, and they married and moved to Colorado, where they raised their two children. At the age of only 27, Representative Lopez was elected mayor of Parker, Colorado, which was, at the time, the fastest growing town in Douglas County.

He worked with the town to improve infrastructure, manage growth, and support families and small businesses. Following his mayoral term, he was the director of a nonprofit that provided students from low-income families with scholarships to pursue their educational dreams.

I had the honor of working with Representative Lopez when he was the president and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and later as the Colorado director of the Small Business Administration.

Representative Lopez and his wife live in Elbert County, Colorado, where they continue to serve their community and give back to the State they call home.

I look forward to working with the Representative to support the people of Colorado with our delegation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn), my friend and the senior member of our delegation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lopez).

Mr. Speaker, thanks to all of the Members here today who have worked on this legislation.

I rise in strong support of S. 870, legislation that includes the ADVANCE Act, which I co-lead with Energy Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Duncan, to modernize our nuclear energy policy and to maintain important safety provisions and environmental protections.

Transitioning to clean energy needs to be an all-of-the-above approach that leverages every aspect of our energy production in the United States, including nuclear.

Nuclear energy provides nearly 20 percent of the electricity in the United States. It is also our largest source of carbon-free energy, making up more than half our emissions-free electricity.

We know that nuclear energy is not a silver bullet, but if we are going to get to zero percent carbon emissions by 2050, it must be part of the equation.

This bill helps ensure that our approach to nuclear energy is modernized, focusing on safety and environmental protections.

I am glad that my provisions to improve safety measures at nuclear energy facilities, recruit a highly trained and skilled workforce, and keep our nuclear regulations up to date were included in the bill.

These steps will help enhance our nuclear energy supply chain while protecting against failures that could negatively impact communities in the workforce.

One of the provisions included in this legislation will strengthen the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's ability to attract and retain highly qualified and competent employees, ensuring the commission is up to the challenge of licensing the advanced reactors that we anticipate will come in increasing numbers over the next decade.

In 2022, the NRC reported it was 23 percent smaller than it was 6 years earlier, and a third of the commission is currently eligible for retirement.

We need to incentivize a strong nuclear energy workforce so we can ensure nuclear energy is safe and effective. This will be an important part of taking on the climate crisis.

This bill is overwhelmingly bipartisan, it is supported by a variety of advocacy groups, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this bill.

Our Nation is home to some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. These public lands promote biodiversity, they support local economies through tourism and recreational opportunities, and really, they truly showcase what we mean when we sing ``America the Beautiful.''

I have been working my entire time in Congress to pass meaningful legislation that would conserve public lands in Colorado and beyond.

My home State of Colorado has more than 8.3 million acres of public lands, and the entire West has tens of millions of acres more.

Enjoying these public lands is intrinsic to the cultural idea of the American West and protecting them helps communities who are powered by outdoor recreation tourism.

These public lands are also vital in mitigating the impact of climate change and in improving the health of our planet.

Restoring and protecting ecosystems throughout the land supports the biodiversity of plants and animals, and it leads to a healthier balance for all of those who rely on these protections.

Last year, along with Senator Martin Heinrich from New Mexico and Congressman Jared Huffman from California, I called on the Department of the Interior to finalize the Conservation and Landscape Health rule, because BLM-managed lands are often overlooked in conversations about addressing biodiversity and climate change, even though these areas are some of the most unique and special public areas that we have throughout this country.

I was excited when the Biden administration finally announced the rule earlier this month because I knew it

would build on the administration's work to protect States like mine and to support a healthier and cleaner environment for all.

The rule is a major victory for preserving and protecting those landscapes and enhances our ability to ensure that future generations can enjoy them for years to come.

Just last week, I met in Denver--which by the way is just within a few miles of many of these lands that will be protected--with the Bureau of Land Management Colorado State Director Doug Vilsack, to discuss the importance of this rule, BLM's work in Colorado, and how we can protect additional lands throughout our country.

Congressman Neguse's and my home State of Colorado is ground zero for the important work that BLM is doing, and I support their efforts here in Congress because I know defending public lands is good public policy. Attacking our hardworking agency is not.

The bill we are considering today is a waste of our time, and it only serves one purpose: To undermine the important public land goals of the Biden administration.

By gutting this rule, Congressional Republicans would open the beautiful lands for exploitation and would prevent any administration from implementing any other rule that would further protect public lands. They are putting the mining and drilling lobby over the American people, millions of whom enjoy these lands every day.

This bill would also harm the local communities whose lifeblood is these important public lands. Western States, who are home to the overwhelming majority of BLM-managed lands, would be significantly impacted, and not in a good way, by this bill. These efforts are misguided, and they further reinforce that the majority is not focused on the issues that matter to our constituents.

I will continue to work to protect public lands, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the motion to recommit and ``no'' on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the Tennyson Center for Children in Denver, Colorado.

Established in 1904, Tennyson Center for Children has been committed to serving Colorado's most neglected and abused children.

Their high-quality programs have changed lives and led to successful outcomes for many of those who use their services. Supporting at-risk youth and keeping families together helps to secure bright futures for children and puts them on a path to success, and Tennyson has worked to support families across Colorado.

Ninety-one percent of the children who rely on Tennyson services have experienced trauma, neglect, or abuse. To address the complex needs of this population, Tennyson offers a breadth of services, including child and family therapy, parenting support, behavior management, education support, and childcare.

Thanks to these services, 98 percent of families who sought assistance at Tennyson stayed together.

In 2023, I worked with Tennyson to secure federal funding to assist in the construction of the mental health residential treatment center.

This center focuses on the urgent and unmet mental health needs of vulnerable, low-income children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The new center will help Tennyson better serve vulnerable youth in our communities by increasing access to essential mental health treatment.

I look forward to our continued partnership to ensure Tennyson can continue to provide life-changing care to those most at risk of abuse and trauma.

One hundred and twenty-nine years of service to Colorado is a tremendous accomplishment, and I congratulate the entire staff at Tennyson on achieving this milestone. Tennyson Center for Children is a fixture of our community, and I am honored to recognize its 120th anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Dr. Michael C. Burgess Preventive Health Savings Act.

A great frustration for those of us who work a lot on healthcare policy is the difficulty in accurately predicting the cost of preventive care. Right now, as you heard from my coauthor of the bill, Dr. Burgess, when Congress looks at the cost and benefits of preventive healthcare, we only look at a 10-year window. That is true even when the savings associated with preventive care would accrue 15, 20, 30 years in the future.

That is why Dr. Burgess and I wrote this bill, so that we could look at preventive care over a longer time frame and actually see the cost savings that it will give us. That will help us refocus our healthcare legislation on prevention rather than waiting until serious diseases occur.

Preventive care averts illnesses, helps catch problems before they get too bad, and also saves lives. It has another benefit. It saves money. Therefore, Congress should be able to consider how preventive healthcare saves taxpayers' dollars when we prepare to vote on legislation.

This bill provides a framework for committees to request an extended estimate for legislation related to preventive healthcare from the Congressional Budget Office. With the framework laid out in this bill, committees can, on a bipartisan basis, request an estimate of the effects of a preventive healthcare bill up to a 30-year window.

This sounds a little technical but, frankly, I believe it will revolutionize how Congress considers preventive healthcare legislation. It is going to make it so Congress will have long-term cost estimates on preventive care legislation from a nonpartisan, trusted source.

As new innovations to keep Americans healthy are developed, we can better consider their long-term effects as we try to make them more available to the American people.

At the same time, as you heard, this bill does not allow any new budgetary gimmicks. Instead, it just gives us the framework to get the information we need.

Part of the genesis of this bill was when Dr. Burgess and I and others were working on the Affordable Care Act. I really wanted to put in the mandated benefits the inclusion of smoking cessation.

Now, everybody in this room and in the gallery knows, helping Americans stop smoking cigarettes is one of the most obvious areas where preventive care can just save lives but also save money. We all know the terrible results of smoking: higher risks of lung cancer, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, COPD, and more. Treating these conditions is expensive, but it is also deadly for people.

CBO was working on this 10-year window when it made an estimate on my ideas, and they said: Congresswoman, we think the idea of smoking cessation is a great idea, but, unfortunately, the smoking cessation programs like the patch and Nicorette and things like that are just too expensive, and so we can't afford to pay for them as part of the mandated benefits of the ACA. To me, that is crazy, and that is why we need this bill.

Dr. Burgess and I have been working on this bill ever since, over 10 years now, and I am proud to see it come to the floor. Here it is now. It is among the first bipartisan bills from the Budget Committee to be reported to the full House in years.

We talk a lot about needing a long-term view. I can't think of a better example of a long-term view than a bill that takes more than 10 years, but yet we persevere.

Finally, I thank Mike Burgess for his partnership on this bill and his partnership on the Energy and Commerce Committee for many other bills. We disagree a lot, but we have found a lot of common ground, and we always work in good faith to deliver for our constituents and the American people.

This bill is a perfect example of how we work together to write commonsense legislation that centers on what Americans need to lead healthy lives. It is truly a bipartisan victory. It is good legislation. I am going to miss Dr. Burgess and his vision on the committee. I hope that we can work together to get this bill through the other body just as quickly as we can. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. As Dr. Burgess said, we are facing a maternal health crisis in this country.

From 2018 to 2021, the overall maternal mortality rate in the United States nearly doubled. We are simply failing American women as they become mothers, and we are particularly failing Black Americans, who in 2021 were nearly three times as likely than White Americans to die becoming mothers, irrespective of education or socioeconomic status.

This is exactly the trend that the former gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Herrera Beutler) and I sought to address when we passed the original Preventing Maternal Deaths Act in 2018.

Through the programs developed by that legislation we now have a much greater knowledge of what is causing this crisis and the infrastructure we need to build further understanding and drive solutions.

Data generated by the Maternal Mortality Review Committees have provided us with the insight that 80 percent of maternal deaths are preventable. This understanding is the first step toward solutions, and we have to ensure that we not only don't lose but that we strengthen the process we have made in building, understanding, and standardizing data so that we have a clear picture across the country of why this is happening.

The Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act will continue and bolster our support for the Maternal Mortality Review Committees. It will also ensure the timely and frequent dissemination of best practices to prevent maternal mortality.

Make no mistake, further action is needed, and this reauthorization in itself will not solve the crisis, but that further action depends on the critical insights that we can get from this legislation. It is the foundation on which the solution stands.

I am very grateful that my friend, Dr. Burgess, has taken up the mantle on this legislation. I also thank my dear friend, Kathy Castor, and our ranking member here, Ms. Schrier, for their work on this legislation, and I urge a ``yes'' vote on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I am so confused. President Biden took action to ensure that future LNG exports are actually in the interest of Americans. His action had no impact on current production of LNG.

Let me say that again. The projects that President Biden's order impacts are future projects. We are going to see if, in the future, those projects are in America's best interest.

What this bill does is not just overturns this pause on future actions; it goes so much further. It says all LNG exports must be in the public interest, and it prohibits the Department of Energy from finding otherwise.

Let's say, for example, these increased exports lead to higher rates for ratepayers, which may happen. The Republican bill says to forget about any kind of public interest review. It must be approved even if ratepayers' rates are higher.

If the increased exports all went to China, that would be in the public interest, too. If the exports lead to an exorbitant release of pollution, that would be in the public interest, too.

That simply defies logic and sense. It is a fundamentally unserious policy proposal. In fact, I would call it not really a policy proposal at all but a campaign-year idea to try to somehow make people think we are trying to stop LNG exports. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We have already permitted enough LNG exports to triple our export capacity by the 2030s. That is under current law. That is not something that President Biden's order is going to impact. That is more than enough LNG to assist our European and Asian allies.

The U.S. is already the world's top LNG exporter and will be for years to come, not to mention that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle know the Senate is never even going to take up this bill. Even if the Senate somehow did pass this, they know the President would never sign this bill into law. Also, this bill has already come up on two other occasions.

Like I said, we need to be clear about why the Republicans are bringing this bill to the floor. They think this will be some good campaign ads or something else. Like so much of what else we have done on the floor, this is not going anywhere.

I came here on behalf of my constituents to legislate. I came here to make the lives of the American people better. This bill doesn't do that.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a distinguished member of Denver's academic community and a cherished friend, Professor Ved Nanda. His recent passing is a profound loss, not only to the University of Denver and our local community, but to many across the U.S. and the world.

Professor Nanda was more than just an esteemed colleague; he was a kind and passionate individual whose impact on our community extended far beyond the walls of the university. His commitment to education, international law, and the promotion of cultural understanding left a mark on all who knew him.

Born in 1934 in Gujranwala, India, Ved Nanda built an exemplary career starting at Punjab University where he received an M.A. in Economics. He went on to receive a law degree from Delhi University, a law degree from Northwestern University, and completed subsequent postgraduate work at Yale University.

After joining the University of Denver's (DU's) Sturm College of Law in 1972, Professor Nanda inspired generations of scholars, students, and activists, whether it was through his teachings or the 24 books he authored--spanning various fields of international law.

For over five decades, Professor Nanda uplifted the students of DU and the Indian diaspora community, becoming a prominent figure and a bridge between our two nations. He also served in several illustrious positions, including Chairman of the Board of Hindu University of America and Vice President of the American Society of International Law.

In 2006 Professor Nanda was honored with a $1 million founding gift from the University of Denver to launch the Ved Nanda Center for International and Comparative Law, promoting programs and scholarships in the field of international law. He was also honored with the prestigious Gandhi-King-lkeda Award for Community Peace Building in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2018. These accolades are a testament to his significant impact on the field and tireless efforts to advance knowledge and cultural exchange. His work was noticed and rightly honored for its impact.

For more than 30 years, Professor Nanda shared his wisdom with the larger Colorado community through his regular columns in the Denver Post. His clear and reasoned explanations of international issues provided important perspectives to readers.

As we remember and mourn the passing of Ved Nanda, we also celebrate the enduring legacy he leaves behind. I have no doubt his

intellectual contributions, passion for education, and love for both India and the United States will continue to inspire us all.

Sadly, Ved lost his beloved wife and partner Katharine last August. During this difficult time, my heart goes out to his friends and family--his daughter, Anjati, son-in-law, granddaughters, extended family, and all those who counted him as a friend, teacher, and mentor.

He will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, last year set the record for the highest number of mass murders with a firearm in more than a decade. In fact, 2023 marked yet another year where there were more mass shootings than days in the year.

These events continue to retraumatize our communities and our Nation because no community has been untouched by this deadly epidemic.

One common denominator in these mass murders is the use of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, or high-capacity magazines. These magazines hold 30, 40, or even 100 rounds of ammunition, and they have been used in all 10 of our Nation's deadliest mass shootings. High- capacity magazines increase a shooter's ability to kill or injure large numbers of people quickly.

One event that I still remember starkly is the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, at the movie theater, which is just a few miles from my home. One single perpetrator used an assault rifle and a 100-round magazine to fire 65 shots within just minutes, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others.

Despite the fact that many members of the audience for that movie were either Active-Duty military or veterans who were trained to respond to a situation just like this, they were unable to respond because the volley of bullets was simply too extreme. The high-capacity magazine allowed that shooter to continue firing, pinning people down as shot after shot rang out.

There are so many more examples of this terrible, terrible destruction: Columbine, also right outside my district; Dayton; Las Vegas; Parkland. No other developed country experiences this level of violence from firearms.

Now, I recognize there is not one single piece of legislation that will completely end gun violence, but something must be done. In mass shootings with four or more people killed between 2015 and 2022, high- capacity magazines led to more than twice as many people being killed and nearly 10 times as many people being wounded per incident on average.

It makes sense if you think about it because if you have just a few rounds of ammunition, then those highly trained soldiers and veterans in that movie theater audience would have been able to stop the shooter, tackle him, and disable him after he stopped shooting. Instead, when you can shoot up to 100 rounds in rapid fire, this is not possible.

High-capacity magazines were designed for war. They weren't designed for hunting. They weren't designed for self-defense. Yet, they continue to be used against our fellow citizens in our hometowns and communities.

Experts agree that reinstating the limit on high-capacity magazines would be an effective step in protecting our communities.

Today, Representatives Titus and Schneider, along with the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and I, are announcing that we are filing a discharge petition to bring the Keep Americans Safe Act up for a vote so we can reinstate the U.S. ban on high-capacity magazines.

My bill would prohibit the sale or transfer of any high-capacity magazine capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition. This is legislation that has been passed by this Chamber two times 2 years ago as part of the Assault Weapons Ban and the Protecting Our Kids Act.

It is our obligation as Members of Congress to keep the American people safe and to protect our communities. Now is the time to reinstate the limit on high-capacity magazines.

The petition will now be filed at the desk, and I urge all of my colleagues to sign it. It will take 218 signatures to bring this bill to the floor and to move us one step closer to eradicating the terrible ravages of gun violence for the American people.

Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment and associate myself with the very powerful statement made by my colleague from Virginia, it is just part of a very extreme agenda that is threatening to hijack the Nation's annual defense bill, which usually passes in a bipartisan way.

One of the core things they are trying to do through the NDAA, make no mistake, is to further their agenda to ban abortion on a nationwide basis, and I am here to sound the clarion call. They are going to be trying this week after week through the next few months.

The Jackson amendment, amendment No. 5, which we will be voting on in a few minutes, is a direct threat to the health and well-being of our servicemembers and their loved ones. If that amendment were to pass, it would put abortion access even further out of

reach for our servicemembers, in particular, for the over 2 million people who are stationed in States where they have little to no access to abortion.

Even more appalling, this amendment would force a servicemember who was raped by one of her own colleagues or superiors to travel at their own expense to terminate a resulting pregnancy.

Our servicemembers fight for our country every day. As lawmakers, we should be prepared to fight to protect their freedoms, not voting to take their freedoms away.

Mr. Chair, I urge objection to this amendment, the Jackson No. 5 amendment, and all of these extreme amendments which are taking us away from the critical functions we should be providing.

Mr. Speaker, Saturday marks 1 year since the U.S. Supreme Court announced its now infamous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and for the first time in our Nation's history, it took away one of America's most fundamental rights: the right to privacy.

In overturning Roe v. Wade and taking away Americans' right to abortion care, the U.S. Supreme Court has rolled back the clock on women's rights in this country and put the health and lives of millions of women at risk.

Everybody in this country deserves the freedom to make their own healthcare choices. Nobody should have to experience the pain and trauma that countless women in this country have now suffered as a result of the GOP's efforts to criminalize abortion care in this country.

While poll after poll shows that an overwhelming majority of the American public supports women's rights to abortion care, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle remain intent on outlawing it once and for all.

We may not have the majority in this Chamber just now, but there is no doubt that we have the majority of Americans on our side in this fight. If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle aren't willing to stand up for the people they represent, then we must.

Today, Representatives Lee and Chu and I announce that we have filed a discharge petition to bring the Women's Health Protection Act up for a vote so that we can restore Americans' fundamental rights to abortion care.

This is legislation that was passed by the Chamber not once but twice last year. There is no reason why any Member who doesn't have their head in the sand shouldn't be ready to support it a third time.

Now is the time to end the devastation that too many Americans have already experienced. Now is the time to let the American public know exactly where every Member of this Chamber stands.

I urge my colleagues to sign this petition that is now at the desk. Madam Speaker, 218 of us is all it takes to bring this bill to the floor and take us one step closer to ending this nightmare.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu), the author of the Women's Health Protection Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, along with my colleagues, Congressman Doug Lamborn, Congressman Ken Buck, Congressman Joe Neguse, Congressman Jason Crow, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen and Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo, to congratulate the Denver Nuggets on their first-ever NBA championship.

After an impressive 53 wins in the regular season and a historic run through this year's NBA playoffs, the Nuggets--led by five-time NBA All Star Nikola Jokic--defeated the Miami Heat on Monday night in Denver to clinch the team's first-ever NBA championship.

It's a moment that Nuggets fans, including myself, have been dreaming about since the franchise started in 1967, and I couldn't be more proud of everyone associated with this historic team on achieving what many thought was impossible.

For more than 56 seasons, Nuggets fans have been cheering our team to victory. While we've had no shortage of talent and victories over the years, this is the first time that Denver can now officially call itself home to the NBA champs.

After a spectacular regular season, the Nuggets were able to clinch the top seed in the NBA's Western Conference for the first time in franchise history. The team then went on an incredible run, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs 4 games to 1; eliminating the Phoenix Suns in the second round 4 games to 2; and then sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to none to win its first-ever Western Conference championship.

It was the first time the Nuggets had ever beaten the Lakers in a playoff series, the first time they had ever swept another team in the playoffs, the first time they'd ever won the Western Conference Championship, and the first time they'd ever have a chance at hoisting the coveted Larry O'Brien trophy in the Mile High City.

Led by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, that's exactly what the Nuggets did this week. After a hard-fought series against the Miami Heat, the Nuggets clinched the franchise's first-ever championship trophy on Monday.

It was a fitting finale to a historic championship run. Just days earlier, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray made history of their own in Game 3 when the pair became the first NBA teammates ever to record 30- point triple-doubles in the same game during an NBA Finals. They were also the first pair of teammates to ever record a combined 300 assists during the playoffs, and the first pair to score a combined 1,000 points in a single postseason.

Nikola Jokic, who was named MVP of the final series, recorded more triple-doubles in this year's postseason than any other player in NBA history. He's the first player to lead the league in all three major statistical categories during the playoffs: points, rebounds and assists; the first center, since Shaquille O'Neal, to lead his team in scoring while winning a championship; and only the second player in NBA history to average more than 30 points and 8 assists while winning an NBA title, a feat that, before now, had been accomplished by only one other player in NBA history--and that was Michael Jordan.

Like so many Denverites, I couldn't be more proud of what our Nuggets have accomplished this year--and how, under the leadership of their visionary coach Mike Malone, they were able to put teamwork over personal gain to bring one of the Nation's most coveted prizes to the Mile High City.

As Coach Malone said right after Monday night's historic victory, ``I got news for everybody out there. We're not satisfied with one, we want more!''

We couldn't agree more--and we can't wait to see what this incredible team does next.

Mr. Speaker, due to a long-standing family commitment, I was unable to be recorded for votes today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 208, ``nay`` on rollcall No. 209, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 210, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 211 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 212.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an institution that has shaped countless lives in my community, Denver's South High School.

First established before the turn of the century, this renowned institution has been educating students living in the south side of Denver for more than 130 years, including two generations of my family.

South's traditions date back to the city's earliest days, and its storied history has recently earned it a coveted spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

What started as a two-room schoolhouse now enrolls more than 1,700 students a year, each and every one of them helping to shape the school's rich history and continuing to build upon its tremendous legacy of success.

As a proud second-generation alumna of South High School, I can tell you that what makes it so special is not just the ornate brick and mortar building you see from the outside, or the gargoyle that stands watch over its entrance, it's the people.

It's the faculty and staff who have dedicated their lives to giving every student who walks through the door an opportunity to be the very best version of themselves.

It's the students who are driven not only to achieve their own success, but to help their classmates and peers succeed as well.

Some of my fondest memories are from my time at South High School-- including as the captain of the debate team, where I found my passion for the law and developed a drive that led me down the path to serve my community as a member of this distinguished body.

Alumni of South High School have gone on to achieve amazing success-- from Olympians to professional athletes, from actors to filmmakers, from world-renowned scientists to Nobel laureates. That type of remarkable success doesn't come by accident, or by chance. It's the product of tireless dedication by countless people who have made South High School what it is today.

The friendships I formed at South remain strong to this day. And I frequently make new South alumni friends from all walks of life who are making a difference in our community.

So, I want to congratulate everyone at Denver's South High School for their continued success and becoming one of the newest additions to the Nation's prestigious National Register of Historic Places. Go Ravens.