Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Roselle Park High School wrestling team for reaching the milestone of 1,000 varsity wins after beating Scotch Plains last week. The Roselle Park Panthers became only the fourth program in the country and just the second in New Jersey to reach this milestone.

The entire community played a part in propelling the Panthers to this milestone. The Panthers have always had strong support from local businesses, community groups, and, of course, their loyal fans and neighbors.

Mr. Speaker, Head Coach Ryan Rooney and his team have worked hard to get to this point, but they aren't letting the record distract them from their ultimate goal: winning another State championship.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Coach Rooney and the Roselle Park Panthers for their 1,000th win and wish them continued success on their way to another State championship.

Go Panthers.

Mr. Speaker, let me first thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans) for hosting tonight's Special Order. I am glad to see that his celebrating allowed them to get here on time, since his team was victorious yesterday in the Super Bowl.

Let's see. For 84 percent of the American voters, the economy is the number one issue to care about. Tonight's Special Order is made even more important after the huge drop in the stock market today. But, of course, the stock market is not the only measure of a healthy economy or economics of our community.

Building wealth matters. Wealth is what families accumulate and pass down generation after generation. It is the house you pay for and give to your children so they can grow their families without paying rent.

It is the retirement fund you live off of and pass on to your children so they can pay for their own children's college education. By building wealth, we are building a safety net that allows us to start a business or survive if we lose our jobs. Yes, building wealth matters, but the Black community has been shut out from building its wealth.

More than 25 percent of the Black community has zero net worth or has a negative net worth, and the median Black family is worth 12 times less than the median White family.

Why is that?

One reason for the vast majority of households in the United States, two-thirds of the family's wealth is tied up in the value of their home. That means the racial gap in wealth is mostly a racial gap in housing, and the housing wealth gap is not by chance.

For decades, Federal law and policy favored Whites and discriminated against Blacks. For decades, private banks discouraged lending to Black people, and for decades, restrictive covenants outright prevented Black people from owning homes in certain areas of town.

There are young people today struggling to rent apartments in major cities because, in 1950, their grandfather was denied a loan by a bank because of his race. The young people of color are, in essence, forced to play catchup with their White colleagues.

To build wealth in Black communities, we need to work towards ending the racial unemployment gap. As the President has repeatedly proclaimed, Black unemployment has been dropping for the past 8 years, reaching a historic low this year, but that statistic doesn't tell the whole story.

While unemployment has gone down, the gap between Black and White pay has not been going down. Black men only earn 70 cents an hour for every dollar a White individual makes. As long as that remains true, our communities will continue to struggle economically.

To close the economic gap, it requires us to close the wage gap. Workers everywhere need to be free to bargain collectively. We need to make unions and their workers stronger, not weaker. We need to raise the minimum wage for both tipped and untipped workers. We need to strengthen the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

These basic steps will help generate Black wealth by closing the wage gap. Those are a few of the short-term solutions to closing the wealth gap and the wage gap among people who are in the workforce today. But we need a long-

term plan. We need to increase the participation and the success of Black, Latino, and female students in careers that rely on science, technology, engineering, and math.

Fewer than half of all high schools in the United States offer calculus. Many high schools across the country don't even offer physics or chemistry. And the students who don't have access to senior-level science or math classes are disproportionately students of color or low-income students. This is a national disgrace.

This disparity continues through college, where only 4 percent of engineering majors are Black or African American, and only 8 percent are Hispanic or Latino.

Look, the world around us is undergoing rapid change and will continue to evolve, and there is a growing gap between jobs that are in high demand and the people who have the skills to fill them. Over the next 10 years, 80 percent of careers will require a deep understanding of STEM skills, but our young women, Black youth, and people of color are being left behind. They are among the least likely to pursue studies in the most in-demand STEM fields, despite the fact that they are among the fastest growing demographics in the country.

It is our duty to create an educational system that encourages young people, whatever their backgrounds, to dream big, to achieve big. Only then will we be positioned to create a future in which technology reflects the strength of America's diverse communities.

I would just like to say we are here tonight to discuss this matter that has plagued our community for decades, as I stated, but it is time for us to level the playing field once and for all, for all families to be able to benefit from what this country has to offer, the great American Dream.

It is a dream for everyone, and we are bent on making sure that all communities have an opportunity to benefit from this great Nation's wealth.

Mr. Speaker, if Mr. Evans missed it, I missed it because I don't believe the President mentioned it at all.

Look, I mean, people who are struggling in this country making $7 an hour, $8 an hour, $9 an hour, $10 an hour, it does not meet their essential needs. It is not enough money to live in this Nation, to have decent housing.

Sure, you can make $7 or $8 an hour, but what are you going to be able to afford as a home?

Sure, you can make $7 or $8 an hour, but what does your children's future look like in terms of saving money for education?

You are using everything primarily to feed and to clothe them.

It has been discussed over the past 5 to 6 years that a minimum of $15 is needed for people to survive in this country. So we need to get up off of this high horse that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle said: Well, just pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

Those days are over. And we were never given the bootstraps to hold onto. There is always, always something in our way.

Anytime an African-American family finds themselves in a position to move forward, the goalpost is moved and it is further away, the rules are changed. Every time we get to a point where there might be equality, somehow there are different issues which don't allow you to move forward as your counterparts in the majority population. It is wrong and it needs to stop. We need to continue to bring light to it as a Congressional Black Caucus.

It is our duty, as the voice of people in this country of color, to make sure we know that this travesty is going on, we understand it, we see it, we are not going to tolerate it anymore, and we are going to have to fix it. That is the way I feel.

They have to. It is the only way for people in this country to make it.

Mr. Speaker, hard work pays off. Rasul Douglas, a graduate of East Orange Campus High School in East Orange, New Jersey, is now a cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles. This Sunday he will play in the Super Bowl.

Rasul is one of seven siblings raised by his grandmother. He spent his first 2 years of college at Nassau Community College where he trekked 50 miles from home to class and practice every day, slept on the floor, and sometimes went hungry in pursuit of his dream.

Rasul transferred to West Virginia University and was then selected by the Eagles in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft.

Mr. Speaker, Rasul Douglas' success is a testament to how far a good work ethic can take you. Rasul is a shining star for young people in my district. Even a Giants fan like me can recognize talent like his.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to wish Rasul and the Eagles good luck in this weekend's Super Bowl.

Mr. Speaker, let me first thank Congressman Scott for hosting tonight's Special Order hour and his continual dedication to making sure that working families are represented by his great leadership.

Tonight, the Janus-Council 31 case and the value of unions is what we are here to speak about. As we hold this Special Order hour, there are efforts across the country working to trample workers' rights. The Supreme Court case, Janus v. AFSCME, aims to take away the freedom and the opportunity for working people to join together and strong unions to speak up for them, their families, and their communities.

Any effort that threatens to undermine public sector collective bargaining rights is an attack on working people and their ability to negotiate with a strong voice in their workplace. We must be unwavering in our support of workers' rights.

Over the decades, unions were vital in our communities, particularly for women and communities of color. African-American women in unions earn an average of $21.90 an hour, while nonunion women earn $17.04 an hour. In addition, more than 72 percent of women in unions have health insurance, while less than 50 percent of nonunion African-American women do. The important work that unions do every day is improving our economy and the lives of countless working families in this country.

Mr. Speaker, I had much more to say, but in the interest of time, I will say I know how important it is to be represented. I, in my working career, have been in two labor unions myself, and I worked at a company and was fired. My uncle fired me. My father was the hearing officer against me, and my grandfather was the witness against me. Mr. Speaker, I know how important it is to be represented because the union got my job back.

Thank you, Congressman Scott, for hosting tonight's Special Order Hour on the Janus case, Council 31, and the Value of Unions.

As we hold this special order hour, there are efforts across the country working to trample workers' rights.

The Supreme Court case, Janus v. AFSCME, aims to take away the freedom and opportunity for working people to join together in strong unions to speak up for themselves, their families and their communities.

Any effort that threatens to undermine public sectors collective bargaining rights is an attack on working people and their ability to negotiate with a strong voice in their workplace. We must be unwavering in our support of workers' rights.

Over the decades, unions were vital in our communities, particularly for women and communities of color. African-American women in unions earn an average of $21.90 an hour while nonunion women earn $17.04. In addition, more than 72 percent of women in unions have health insurance, while less than 50 percent of nonunion African-American women do.

The important work that unions do every day is improving our economy and the lives of countless working families across this country.

For example, in New Jersey, unions are helping train the next generation of health care professionals. To address New Jersey's nursing shortage, the AFSCME Local 1199J developed a system for union members to develop and maintain the skills needed for career advancement in nursing.

The union also supports programs like the Youth Transitions to Work Certified Nursing Apprenticeship, which helps prepare Newark-area high school juniors and seniors as they start a career in nursing.

As you can see, unions and strong union membership fill the gaps when others drop the ball. Janus is the culmination of decades of attacks on working people by corporations, the wealthiest one percent, and hostile politicians. This right-wing attack against the middle class must not stand.

The forces behind this case are the same forces that have pushed for limiting voting rights, attacked immigrants, and undermined civil rights protections.

In fact, this is the third instance where the Trump Solicitor General's office is reversing that office's position, seriously jeopardizing the Department of Justice's reputation before the court and undermining the rule of law.

It is undeniable that unions have played a critical role in building and protecting the middle class in America.

Unions provide hard working people economic stability and give them the tools to build a good life, home, and education for themselves and their children. We must stand together to ensure that America has strong labor protections that work for everyone.

Mr. Speaker, the chaos Presidency has spawned a chaos Congress. Now that they control the White House as well, they still can't govern--no more excuse, no more bogeyman Obama in the White House.

Instead of governing, my esteemed Republican colleagues have spent the last year trying to rip healthcare away from children and families in order to give their billionaire friends a tax break. That is the only thing that they have accomplished: giving to the rich.

Then, at 12:01 Saturday morning, Republicans told the American people that the United States is closed for business.

This is the fifth time in 30 years that Republicans have shut down the Federal Government. It is the first time ever that a single party has controlled the entire Federal Government but still refused to keep the country running.

Mr. Speaker, let us govern. Let them govern. If my Republican colleagues want to enter into good faith negotiations for a budget that fully funds the Federal Government and pursues bipartisanship priorities, such as funding community health centers, permanently reauthorizing CHIP, providing disaster relief, and protecting DREAMers, then you know where to reach me.

Madam Speaker, last month, 12 people died in a raging inferno that tore through an apartment building in the Bronx.

I rise today to honor the life of Army Private First Class Emmanuel Mensah, a 28-year-old man who repeatedly ran into that burning building to rescue his neighbors. This decorated young American soldier lived by the Army's values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. Private Mensah lived and died by these values in selfless service to his community.

Madam Speaker, Private Mensah's life exemplifies the best of our Nation. His tragic death teaches us that every life has value, every life has meaning, and every life is worth protecting.

Madam Speaker, Private First Class Emmanuel Mensah was not only a brave and courageous American soldier, he was also an immigrant from the African nation of Ghana. Let us honor his life by keeping the gates of liberty open to immigrants like him.

Mr. Speaker, Republicans have got to start working with Democrats to govern. We can't keep moving from one shutdown crisis to the next.

Here is what we can do today, right now:

First, we can work together to keep the Federal Government open by pursuing bipartisan priorities of the American people; funding community health centers, permanently reauthorizing CHIP, providing disaster relief, and protecting DREAMers. Let's do that, not for politics, but for people.

Second, we can work together on a Federal budget that raises caps for domestic spending. We should increase veterans funding so there is not a single veteran left behind in our great Nation.

We need to protect pensions, provide the disaster relief funds for hurricane and wildfire victims, create good-paying jobs and full-time jobs for American workers, and protect healthcare.

Let's create a bipartisan budget that is a better deal for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, it is too easy these days to be partisan and cynical. Let us, instead, work together to keep the Federal Government open and functioning for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, 8 years ago, a devastating earthquake in Haiti killed hundreds of thousands of people. Still today, our neighbor is suffering from the remnants of that disaster.

But instead of extending American hospitality to Haitians, the President cursed them out, laying bare his racist intention to destroy the fundamental ideals of our immigration policy.

Mr. Speaker, the American Dream must remain open to anyone from anywhere who wants to come here for any reason, especially if they are seeking refuge from disease, famine, or oppression, just as generations have come here in our history.

The diversity visa program does just that. It helps people-- particularly the African diaspora--achieve the American Dream.

We must protect the diversity visa program and not sacrifice ourselves to the false promise of America-first nationalism.

Mr. Speaker, we are a nation of inclusion. We are a nation of open- armed freedom for all people, not just Norwegians. The President may speak for the alt-right, but he does not speak for America.

Mr. Speaker, Congress must stop deferring the American Dream for bright young people simply because they were brought here as children.

DACA recipients represent the best of our Nation. These are young people who are in school, got their education, or served in our Armed Forces. These are people who never committed a felony offense or significant misdemeanor. These are people who pose no threat to public safety. These are people who just want to live the American Dream, and each day that passes without Congress voting on the Dream Act darkens their futures.

Mr. Speaker, if it is numbers my esteemed colleagues on the other side of the aisle want, I have got them. Deporting DACA recipients would cost the U.S. economy $400 billion. Deporting the 5,300 eligible people for DACA in my district alone would cost the economy $140 million.

Aren't we supposed to be growing the economy, not shrinking it?

Madam Speaker, I represent Newark, New Jersey, home of Port Newark and Newark Liberty International Airport.

Port Newark is the busiest container port on the East Coast, handling over 700,000 cargo containers annually. In 2015, over 37 million passengers traveled through Newark Liberty International Airport, including many traveling into the United States from abroad.

As a Member of Congress representing the largest port on the Eastern seaboard and one of the busiest international airports in the country, it is important to me that the Federal Government do everything in its power to push out our borders--to prevent dangerous cargo and dangerous people from coming into our country.

The DHS Overseas Personnel Enhancement Act of 2017 would do just that by directing the Department to develop and execute an overseas personnel assessment and enhancement plan.

As we speak, nearly 2,000 DHS employees are stationed around the globe, engaging in terrorism prevention, counternarcotics, and antihuman smuggling activities in more than 70 countries.

About half of DHS personnel deployed overseas are from Customs and Border Protection, who are responsible for screening U.S.-bound passengers at airports, inspecting cargo being loaded onto ships bound for the U.S., and training other nations' customs and border forces.

The Department also sends Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents, Secret Service special agents, and Transportation Security Administration officials abroad to help prevent international criminal and terrorist activity from spreading into the United States.

These activities have a direct impact on the security of my district. Over the course of the past year, multiple people have been caught attempting to smuggle drugs into the country through Newark Liberty International Airport, including a man who tried to bring over 1 kilogram of heroin into the country by disguising it as a six-layer cake.

While I applaud CBP for apprehending bad actors as they attempt to enter the United States, I would prefer to keep bad people and bad cargo outside of our borders, particularly in light of the drug epidemic affecting many of our communities.

Accordingly, I am committed to ensuring that the Department has optimized the deployment of its international personnel.

Madam Speaker, therefore, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4567.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1486, the Securing American Non-Profit Organizations Against Terrorism Act of 2017.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1486 would authorize the Department of Homeland Security's Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which awards grants to nonprofit organizations at risk of a terrorist attack, in statute.

Since early last year, nonprofit organizations throughout the United States have experienced an uptick in threats, vandalism, and violent acts. According to the Anti-Defamation League, anti-Semitic incidents jumped 67 percent from 2016 to the first three quarters of 2017. Many nonprofit organizations, however, do not have the resources to make their facilities more secure by installing proper surveillance, hardening their facilities, and undergoing general preparedness activities.

The need for nonprofit organizations across the country to have access to the Homeland Security grants to bolster security is substantial. Given the security challenges associated with the current terrorist threat environment, it is important that this critical Homeland Security grant program be codified in law.

This bill goes further than just codifying the existing program. It expands it to include jurisdictions that are located outside funded UASIs but are still at risk of terrorism.

H.R. 1486 authorizes the Nonprofit Security Grant Program at $50 million, a $25 million increase over its current funding level. Language similar to this measure was included in the Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act of 2017, which passed the House earlier this Congress.

I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, with the emergence of lone wolves and small terrorist cells, we have seen that acts of terror are not just limited to urban areas. As threats to our homeland continue to evolve and as violent extremists continue to exploit soft targets, the risk to nonprofit organizations grows. We need to make sure that we do our part to ensure that places of worship and other nonprofit organizations throughout the country have access to resources necessary to keep themselves safe and secure.

H.R. 1486 was endorsed by The Jewish Federations of North America. I appreciate its support.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the letter of support.

The Jewish Federations

of North America,

Washington, DC, December 7, 2017.

Hon. Michael T. McCaul, Chairman,

Hon. Bennie G. Thompson, Ranking Member,

Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Daniel M. Donovan, Chairman,

Hon. Donald M. Payne, Jr., Ranking Member,

Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and

Communications, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairmen McCaul and Donovan and Ranking Members

Thompson and Payne: We commend you for scheduling the mark-up

of H.R. 1486, the Securing American Non-Profit Organizations

Against Terrorism Act of 2017. The Jewish Federations

strongly endorse this bill, and respectfully urge Members of

the Committee to adopt Ranking Member Thompson's amendment of

the bill in the nature of a substitute, in order to align it

with Sec. 2011 of House-passed H.R. 2825, the Department of

Homeland Security Authorization Act of 2017.

The vulnerability of places of worship to violent homegrown

extremists (HVEs) is a growing threat in the United States.

According to a joint assessment by the National

Counterterrorism Center, Department of Homeland Security

(DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, HVEs are

increasingly favoring softer civilian targets, such as houses

of worship, having judged them to have lower levels of

security (and, for some, as a result of encouragement from

overseas violent extremists, such as ISIL).

Last month, the FBI released its annual hate crimes report

for 2016, which found that Muslim bias crimes increased ,

and, for the 20th consecutive year, anti-Jewish hate crimes

amounted to the majority of all religious bias crimes

reported. This year, synagogues, churches, mosques, religious

centers, cemeteries, and other nonprofits have been subjected

to arson/fire-bombing, shooting/mass shooting, attempted

bombing, death threats, robbery, vandalism/destruction of

property, hate-based/anti-Semitic graffiti, assault,

intimidation, and the targets of incitement to violence.

According to DHS, religious facilities share a number of

common vulnerabilities that make them ready targets of

attack, including unrestricted access to facilities and

contiguous and peripheral areas, easy identification,

predictable schedules, and large congregations of people. To

minimize these vulnerabilities, DHS recommends protective

measures that include, access controls, barriers, monitoring,

surveillance, and other physical target hardening and

preparedness investments, such as planning and training.

Unfortunately, DHS acknowledges that common vulnerabilities

also include the limited resources nonprofit institutions

have for security.

Passage of the amendment in the nature of a substitute to

H.R. 1486 would address the vulnerabilities of at-risk

nonprofit institutions, by authorizing a nonprofit security

grant program for the acquisition and installation of

physical target hardening, including fencing, bollards, and

other barriers; lighting, surveillance, and metal detection

equipment; blast proofing doors and windows; cyber-security;

and related employee training and awareness exercises.

For these reasons, JFNA strongly endorses H.R. 1486, and

respectfully urges Members of the Committee to adopt the bill

as amended.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Goldberg,

Senior Director, Legislative Affairs,

The Jewish Federations of North America.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 1486, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jordan Thomas, a senior at Princeton University and a graduate of University High School in Newark, New Jersey, for being selected as a 2018 Rhodes Scholar, one of only 32 in the country.

This young man, who graduated high school in my district, is the first Newark Public Schools student in over a decade to receive this prestigious honor.

In addition to getting straight A's since his freshman year at Princeton, Jordan is writing a thesis on school-based support services that Newark Public Schools offers pregnant and parenting teens.

In the next year, he will be taking his talents abroad to study social policy at Oxford College in England. Jordan plans to return to his home of Newark as a public servant. He told the Star Ledger newspaper: ``Newark built me. Newark shaped me.'' As a lifelong resident of Newark myself, I know that feeling.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Jordan Thomas for his successes, service, and future. His love for his community shows that our country's future is in good hands.

Mr. Speaker, let me thank Congressman Evans for hosting tonight's Special Order hour on Dr. King's life and legacy. The gentleman from Philadelphia has come to this body and has made an impact in his first year on the floor of Congress. We are delighted to have had him join the CBC.

Mr. Speaker, as I sat here and listened to my colleagues, the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Cedric Richmond, not the eldest member of the caucus, but a young man who has demonstrated the leadership to be the head of this august body; and to hear my colleague--and I use the term in reverence--John Lewis, I am fortunate to be able to serve the 10th Congressional District of the State of New Jersey at this time. Because, you see, I was sitting here as I listened to Barbara Lee, Sheila Jackson Lee, John Lewis, Terri Sewell, and Mr. Evans, that to whom much is given, much is expected.

I hear the story of the ``Boy From Troy.'' I hear the story of my chairman, Cedric Richmond. But I have been fortunate in my life because, you see, I had a father who felt that the most important thing to do was to serve this country and this world. He instilled that in me. A lot of his teachings come from Dr. Martin Luther King.

Fifty years after his death, Dr. King's legacy has been shrouded in myth by people who prefer being comfortable to being real. Mr. Speaker, at this time, as young people back in my district say, I am going to keep it real. His personal truths have been twisted into lies by people who want to appear woke but whose eyes are blind to the harsh reality of injustice.

This year, in 2018, we must reclaim Dr. King's legacy for those who are apt to quote ``I Have a Dream'' as they seek to silence people of color for fighting to preserve that dream.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. King understood that nonviolence does not mean nonconfrontational. He knew that social change requires sacrifice. He knew that doing what is right does not mean doing what is always easy.

When Black Lives Matter protesters peacefully rally in the streets to protest police brutality against young men of color, conservatives and White moderates shout that Black Lives Matter incites violence and should be peaceful like Dr. King.

What they are really saying is: Sit down, boy, and know your place.

That is the same thing they said 55 years ago, when Dr. King led peaceful protests against racial injustice in Birmingham, Alabama. Conservatives shouted that Dr. King was causing hatred and violence. They told him to sit down and to know his place, but he persisted. Dr. King was not in Birmingham to make everyone comfortable. He was there to upset the status quo and to change our democracy.

Then, 4 years later, Dr. King proclaimed that the Vietnam war was morally unjust. He pointed out that profit had become more important to the government than people who were sacrificing their lives overseas. Conservatives, once again, attacked Dr. King. They said he was being slanderous and that he was tragically misleading people.

Now, Mr. Speaker, you see the great outcry and support that we have for our soldiers and our military people now in this country. We honor and revere them now. That came out of the struggle of the Vietnam war, where they were spat on and told that they weren't worth anything. That is where it came from, Dr. King bringing up the unjust war that this was. So out of Dr. King's protests against the Vietnam war, we began a great reverence for our soldiers once again.

That is what we see now in the streets when we see a Vietnam vet and we tell them: Thank you for your service.

Or whether they were in Afghanistan: Thank you for your service.

It was Dr. King who first raised that issue. They told him to be quiet and to know his place. But like Dr. King told one of his friends at the time, he might have been politically unwise, but he was being morally wise, and that is what mattered. This year, in 2018, we must be morally wise.

Dr. King's life and legacy show us that doing right is rarely the same thing as doing what is easy. We, too, must persist.

As we head into a consequential year when Americans will go to the polls, let us not lose sight of the fact that to protect and preserve Dr. King's legacy demands that we protect and preserve our democracy from voter suppression, cybersecurity weakness, and foreign meddling.

We must expand voting rights for all Americans.

We must modernize our voting systems.

We must appoint an independent commission to investigate foreign meddling into the electoral system before the 2018 Federal election.

We must break down barriers to voting, not build them.

We must make registering to vote easier, not harder.

We must ensure elections are competitive, not guaranteed.

We must restore the right to vote, for felons who have served their prison sentences.

We must end partisan gerrymandering.

We must protect the sanctity of our elections.

We must restore the Voting Rights Act. Dr. King knew that it was important.

As I go to my seat, I just want to thank my colleagues for their endurance. As ``Amazing Grace'' says: ``I once was lost, but now am found.'' Serving with these great people in the United States Congress has saved a wretch like me.

Mr. Speaker, our public schools and public universities are essential for economic growth and educating future generations.

But knowledge alone is not enough. Our Nation's future depends on innovative ideas, and innovative ideas require diverse people working together. In the public schools and public universities across the country, educators are helping foster diverse ideas through cultural studies.

One such educator, Dr. Antoinette Ellis-Williams of New Jersey City University, has used poetry, film, scholarship, and service as a way to help young people explore issues that affect women and minorities. She has spent her career helping public university students understand the experiences of marginalized communities in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Dr. Ellis-Williams and cultural studies educators like her for helping future leaders develop the knowledge and wisdom to work together for a better future. She has been an asset to educating young people in the State of New Jersey for years, and I commend her.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a public servant from my district in Union County, New Jersey, Freeholder Vernell Wright, on the occasion of her retirement.

Freeholder Wright began her career in public service in 1966 as a title 1 teacher at Jefferson School in Union Township, New Jersey. For 36 years, she helped educate the county's public schoolchildren.

In 2012, the people of Union Township sent their beloved educator to represent them on the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Freeholder Wright's legacy as an elected official is best characterized by her unselfish devotion to the constituents whom she represents. As recognition for her dedicated work and selfless service, she has been awarded New Jersey's Freeholder of the Year Award and Union County's Chester Holmes Humanitarian Award.

Freeholder Wright is a model for the next generation of public servants.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me and the people back in Union County tonight at a dinner to honor Freeholder Wright's lifetime of service. I am honored to be her Member of Congress.

God bless Freeholder Wright.