Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the significance of investing in education. Education is widely seen as a key determinant of social mobility within a person's lifetime.

As the father of two school-age children, Justin and Kyler, my job is to love them, share with them about the importance of faith, provide for them, and ensure they receive a quality education. That is why education is so personal to me.

Mr. Speaker, there are 246 schools in the First Congressional District of North Carolina. Of those, 48 percent, nearly half, are fully funded by title I; and schools within 13 of the 19 counties I represent, 100 percent rely upon title I funding.

Mr. Speaker, we must invest in our public education system to set our kids up for a lifetime of success, while laying the groundwork for generations of prosperity across eastern North Carolina and America.

As part of my Live the Dream Down East tour, I will continue visiting schools in every county of my district.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to stand with farmers. For decades, farmers across eastern North Carolina have been left behind.

As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, addressing barriers to our farmers' growth and success has to be a significant priority for us.

Our farmers are struggling to break even because input costs for items like fertilizer and fuel are rising faster than commodity prices. This imbalance forces farmers to pass unaffordable input costs on to the consumers.

Mr. Speaker, I know we can ease the financial burden of farmers and consumers alike by championing rural development initiatives.

Let's allow our farmers to do what they do best: feed America, because at the end of the day, food security is national security.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on International Women's Day to honor a trailblazer.

Mr. Speaker, Bessie Coleman inspired women to reach for their dreams just as she did soaring through the skies as the first African-American and first Native-American woman pilot. She continued to follow her dreams no matter how often those around her told her not to or to find a different path.

She wanted to be a role model so that future generations of women are inspired to accomplish whatever they set their minds to accomplish.

Because of Ms. Coleman, 21 women at Elizabeth City State University, located in my district, now have hands-on flight simulation, interactive panel

conversations, aviation program tours, and more as part of the Bessie Coleman Aviator Academy for Women.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, was inspired by Bessie Coleman. We must continue to celebrate and cherish Ms. Coleman for all she has done and for her contributions to women's history and American history.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ensure Sarah Keys Evans' name is engraved in history forever.

We are taught about Rosa Parks, but Sarah Keys Evans' story occurred well before Ms. Parks, and please allow me to share with you her story.

Mr. Speaker, it was August 1, 1952, when Ms. Evans, an enlistee in the Women's Army Corps, boarded a bus for Washington, North Carolina, on leave from Fort Dix to visit her parents.

It was a long trip, so she took the most comfortable seat she could find. However, the bus driver demanded Ms. Evans give up her seat. When she refused, the police took her into custody where she spent 13 hours in jail in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, and paid a $25 fine for disorderly conduct.

I recently introduced a bill that would honor Sarah Keys Evans with a Congressional Gold Medal, an honor she is more than deserving of. Indeed, she is a trailblazer, and this is a significant part of not only women's history but American history.

Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of eastern North Carolina.

Today begins the start of Women's History Month. And I would take this time to acknowledge a group of young women who represent the best of eastern North Carolina.

During my Live the Dream Down East tour, I had the pleasure of visiting the Radiant Rays program at the Center for Energy Education in Roanoke Rapids.

The program allows students to visit colleges and corporate renewable industries while working with teachers and industry professionals to extend knowledge beyond classroom walls.

I was honored to spend time with the students of this program who emphasized why representation matters.

Madam Speaker, we must do all that we can to empower young women and girls to pursue STEM-related career paths. I will continue fighting to ensure the next generation of women, like our Radiant Rays, have the tools they need to thrive in the East.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate Elizabeth City State University women's basketball team and North Carolina Wesleyan University men's basketball team for their remarkable championship wins this past weekend.

For Elizabeth City State University, this impressive achievement is the first CIAA championship win in the institution's 132-year history. The Lady Vikings showed everyone in the arena that teamwork brings home triumph.

In their championship game, North Carolina Wesleyan University defeated second seed William Peace to claim the program's fifth USA South title.

On behalf of North Carolina's First Congressional District, I applaud Elizabeth City State University coach, Tynesha Lewis, and North Carolina Wesleyan University coach, John Thompson, for building their respective programs.

I thank the student athletes for their determination and for showing the entire country the best of eastern North Carolina.

Elizabeth City State University:

Student Athletes: Jessica Adams, Dy'Jhanik Armfield, Isa Banks, NyAsia Blango, Asaya Bulgin, Asia Cochran, Sierra Davenport, Makayla Everette, Jamia Guilford, Maryam Hashim, Zyaire Hayes, Alanis Hill, Jasmine Holmes, Akyia King, Ceanna Kinney, Naomi Lockamy, Jada Nowlin, Kamille Pickens, Sireann Pitts, and Elizabeth Sherrill

Coaches: Tynesha Lewis and Ron Woodard

North Carolina Wesylean University:

Student Athletes: Deejay Cox, Jalen Mattocks, Wy'Kise Allen, Brayden Dixon, Omari Bolden, Marquis Eskew, Khalid Chavis-Hinds Jr., RJ Bailey, Justin Burden, Jeremy Aldrich, Austin Manley, Isaiah Lewis, Tyler Spence, James Jones, Sal-Bey Young, Kyron Kelly, John Jackson, Jackson Thompson

Coaches: John Thompson, Cornelius Snow, and Donte Samuels

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight Elizabeth City State University, an HBCU that understands the importance of educating and empowering remarkable leaders.

This year, Elizabeth City State University will celebrate 133 years of service and, over those years, the university has left a significant mark on our district, State, and Nation.

Mr. Speaker, Elizabeth City State University is home to the only 4- year aviation science program in North Carolina. I am proud of students such as Aleathia Hudson, who is not only a student in this program, but was my special guest for the State of the Union.

Mr. Speaker, we must continue to help provide resources for Elizabeth City State University, those resources they deserve to be successful.

I commend Chancellor Karrie Dixon for her commitment to preparing the next generation of Viking leaders for their future.

Viking pride.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Black History Month.

It is particularly meaningful to me this year because I am so honored to represent the great people of North Carolina's First Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand here today to celebrate the integral roles that African Americans have played in every aspect of American life. I stand on the shoulders of giants who came before me despite the obstacles in their way and the glass ceilings they had to shatter.

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the ideals of Black History Month, I am reminded of the legacy of my predecessors, like the Honorable Eva M. Clayton, the first Black woman to represent North Carolina in the Congress. She and others, all fighting the good fight of faith to ensure young boys and girls can thrive in eastern North Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, this moment is about taking a look at the past so that we can better shape tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of North Carolina's First Congressional District.

Right now, the American people are down on the government and tired of the politics of division.

When I am at home in the district, I am reminded that there is still hope for the future, for the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, eastern North Carolinians are tired of what they see in Washington. They want us, Democrats and Republicans, to do right by them, to find solutions to the most pressing issues being discussed at the dinner table.

Mr. Speaker, I will do just that. I will fight to ensure those who fought to defend our freedoms do not have to fight their country to survive. I will fight to ensure our families and farmers are better connected, because they, too, deserve every resource to thrive.

Mr. Speaker, I will fight to ensure our most vulnerable communities have access to affordable healthcare. We owe it to our communities. We must act together.

Madam Speaker, I rise on behalf of eastern North Carolina.

Nearly 100,000 eastern North Carolinians do not have access to affordable healthcare, placing them in the Medicaid coverage gap.

Madam Speaker, more than a decade after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, 12 States have declined to expand coverage. This is simply unacceptable.

That is why one of my first acts as a Member of Congress included cosponsoring H.R. 31, the COVER Now Act. This bill, introduced by my good friend, Lloyd Doggett of Texas, is a critical piece of legislation that would allow local authorities to provide health benefits to residents of States that have not expanded Medicaid.

Madam Speaker, the hardworking people of eastern North Carolina make up more than 20 percent of our State, and we must do all that we can to keep them safe and healthy.