Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Code Returning Citizens Coordination Act, which would require the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide information to the District of Columbia on individuals convicted of felonies under D.C. law in BOP custody. Currently, BOP provides no information to D.C. on these individuals, even immediately before release, which inhibits reentry, increases recidivism and harms public safety. In the 117th Congress, the Committee on Oversight and Reform passed this bill.

Federal law requires BOP to incarcerate individuals convicted of felonies under D.C. law. As of December 29, 2023, there were 3,200 such individuals in BOP custody, and they are in BOP facilities throughout the United States. This unique custody arrangement creates several obstacles to successful reentry, including information sharing among agencies.

BOP asserts that federal privacy laws prohibit it from providing any information to D.C. on these individuals, which prevents D.C. from having services ready for them when they return from prison. Yet, studies consistently show the importance of health care, housing, education, job training and substance use disorder treatment for successful reentry.

This bill would require BOP to provide D.C. two types of information on individuals convicted of a D.C. Code felony in BOP custody.

Every 90 days, BOP would provide the name, age, Federal Register Number, facility where housed and the scheduled release date. Upon D.C.'s request, BOP would provide D.C. the same information that BOP provides to the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA) on these individuals, such as their release plan. CSOSA is a federal agency that provides community supervision for individuals convicted of D.C. crimes.

D.C. would be allowed to provide the biographical information only to counsel for the individuals, and to organizations that provide legal representation to individuals in criminal or post-conviction matters, or in matters related to reentry. D.C. would not be allowed to provide any of the other information, and D.C. law enforcement agencies would not have access to any of the information.

The overwhelming majority of people in prison return home. I hope all my colleagues agree on the importance of successful reentry.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Federal Judicial Officials Residency Equality Act, which would require the federal district court judges, federal circuit court judges, U.S. Attorney, U.S. Marshals and federal court clerk appointed to serve D.C. to reside in D.C. In nearly every other jurisdiction in the United States, such officials are required by federal law to reside in the jurisdiction they have been appointed to serve. The only exceptions are the U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshal for the Northern Mariana Islands who at the same time are serving in the same capacity in another jurisdiction, and officials appointed to the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York, which are the only districts in different parts of the same city.

The requirement that these federal officials reside in the jurisdiction they serve is related

to knowledge of the community and to the effect of decisions. As stated in the official commentary to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, ``a judge should not become isolated from the society in which the judge lives.'' The same holds true for other federal officials. This bill recognizes that D.C. deserves federal officials with the same understanding of and links to the community as Congress has seen fit to require for federal officials in other jurisdictions.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Prosecutor Home Rule Act, which would give D.C. the authority to prosecute all crimes committed under its laws. Congress already allows D.C. to write D.C. criminal laws and allows D.C. to enforce them against some violators. Congress should allow D.C. to enforce D.C. laws against all violators. This bill would effectuate a 2002 advisory referendum, approved by 82 percent of D.C. voters, to create a local prosecutor's office.

Currently, the U.S. Attorney for D.C. has the authority to prosecute most D.C. crimes committed by adults and some by juveniles, while the D.C. Attorney General has the authority to prosecute most D.C. crimes committed by juveniles and some by adults. Giving D.C. the authority to prosecute all D.C. crimes would not only give D.C. residents a say in the enforcement of all their laws, it also would save the federal government tens of millions of dollars a year by reducing the number of assistant U.S. attorneys in the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.

In the 117th Congress, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform passed this bill as part of my District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act of 2022.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, which the House passed in the 117th and 118th Congresses. I thank Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larsen for bringing this bill to the floor again.

This bill would revoke the independent real estate leasing authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission and direct the Government Accountability Office to update its 2016 report on independent real estate leasing authority in the Federal Government.

While a number of Federal agencies have independent real estate leasing authority, the SEC has a history of egregious real estate leasing practices. In 2005, the SEC disclosed that it had underbudgeted costs of approximately $48 million for the construction of its headquarters near Union Station.

In 2007, after moving into its headquarters, the SEC shuffled its employees to different office space at a cost of over $3 million without any cost-benefit analysis or justifiable explanation.

In 2010, the SEC conducted a deeply flawed analysis to justify the need to lease 900,000 square feet and to commit over $500 million over 10 years, overestimating its space needs by over 300 percent.

In addition, the SEC failed to provide complete and accurate information and

prepared a faulty and backdated justification and approval after it had already signed the lease.

In August 2016, the General Services Administration and the SEC entered into an occupancy agreement to authorize GSA to secure a new 15-year lease. In December 2016, GSA, with the approval of the SEC, submitted a prospectus to Congress for approximately 1.3 million square feet, which Congress approved in 2018.

In 2019, GSA had received final bids, resolved all protests, and even selected a final bidder. A month later, the SEC canceled the occupancy agreement, citing concerns about the value of the purchase option, which the SEC refused to document to Congress.

The SEC effectively vetoed the entire 3-year procurement process despite not having the authority or funding to exercise the purchase option without GSA's involvement.

Finally, after much back and forth between the two agencies, GSA entered into a lease for a new SEC headquarters in September 2021, which GSA terminated in October 2024.

While the SEC has said it will continue to have GSA do its leasing in the future, the SEC's history of egregious leasing conduct, squandering hundreds of millions of dollars, makes this bill necessary.

The SEC's conduct risks undermining the reputation of GSA and the Federal Government among developers and building owners who participate in Federal lease procurements. The threat of uncertainty ultimately drives up the cost of all GSA real estate procurements.

It is time for Congress to return the SEC's leasing authority to GSA, the Federal Government's civilian real estate arm. As the SEC has demonstrated over three decades, it is incredibly inefficient, wasteful, and redundant to have the SEC do real estate procurements when GSA exists for that very reason.

Like other Federal agencies, the SEC will continue to have input into GSA's real estate decisionmaking process, but GSA would have the ultimate authority.

Again, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Legislative Home Rule Act, which would eliminate the congressional review period for legislation passed by the D.C. Council. D.C. legislation takes effect after a congressional review period, unless a joint resolution of disapproval is enacted into law during the review period. The review period imposes significant costs on both D.C. and Congress, but only four disapproval resolutions on D.C. legislation have been enacted since passage of the D.C. Home Rule Act in 1973.

Congress loses nothing by eliminating the review period. Congress can legislate on any D.C. matter at any time, and has done so many times outside of the review period, such as through the appropriations process.

The congressional review period (30 days for civil bills and 60 days for criminal bills) is based on legislative days, not calendar days, often delaying D.C. bills from becoming law for many months. The D.C. Council has had to develop a Kafkaesque legislative process to comply with the review period. The review period forces the D.C. Council to pass most bills several times, using a cumbersome and complicated process to ensure that the operations of this large city continue uninterrupted.

Placing a congressional hold on D.C. bills has not only proven unnecessary, but has imposed costs on the D.C. government, residents and businesses. It is particularly unfair to require the D.C. Council to engage in this unnecessary, labor-intensive and costly process. D.C. residents and businesses are also placed on hold because they have no certainty when D.C. bills, from taxes to regulations, will take effect, making it difficult to plan.

In the 117th Congress, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform passed this bill as part of my District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act of 2022.

I urge my colleagues to support this good-government measure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) Established in the District of Columbia as the Central American Refugee Center, CARECEN is celebrating its 43rd anniversary this month.

CARECEN was founded in 1981 to provide legal assistance to Central American refugees. Today, in addition to providing such assistance, CARECEN provides several services to D.C.'s Latino community, including citizenship classes, tenant organizing and legal services. CARECEN also advocates for refugees and immigrants from Central America on the federal level. Since the 1990s, CARECEN has advocated for granting Temporary Protected Status for nationals from Latin American countries.

I ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing CARECEN for its contributions to D.C. and D.C.'s Latino community over the last 43 years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Project REAP (the Real Estate Associate Program).

Project REAP, which was founded in the District of Columbia, is celebrating over 25 years of service to the commercial real estate industry and professionals of color. Its silver jubilee event will be held in D.C. on October 16, 2024.

Project REAP was formed by commercial real estate executives who recognized that the industry's workforce was grossly unrepresentative of the demographics of the United States. Project REAP provides professional education, networking and employment opportunities for professionals of color in the commercial real estate industry.

Project REAP's mission is ``to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the commercial real estate industry through education, mentorship and partnerships.'' Through its work, Project REAP has helped address historic barriers to participation by professionals of color in the commercial real estate industry.

Nearly 2,000 professionals of color have graduated from Project REAP and proudly identify themselves as Project REAP alumni. Project REAP alumni have obtained employment with Fortune 500 companies, as well as major commercial real estate firms. Throughout its history, Project REAP has been supported by or collaborated with some of the nation's leading commercial real estate industry associations.

I ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Project

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Marvin Turner, who passed away on August 12, 2024. Marvin was a dedicated civil servant and worked tirelessly to make the District of Columbia the 51st state.

Marvin was a native of Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating high school, Marvin joined Job Corps and then began his career fighting for the rights of workers and for fair housing in North Carolina and South Carolina with the Service Employees International Union.

Marvin came to D.C. to work for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Soon after arriving in D.C., Marvin became a staffer for then-Mayor Sharon Pratt and then became a member of my staff. In 2013, Marvin was appointed as a commissioner on the District of Columbia Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission, where he worked with other commissioners and D.C. Councilmembers to revise sentencing guidelines and the criminal code.

During his career, Marvin worked closely with Reverend Jesse Jackson as an advance staffer, as well as serving as the D.C. Statehood Coordinator for the National Rainbow Coalition. Marvin's work on the local and national levels ultimately led to him working for the Democratic National Committee's Office of the Secretary for nearly 20 years.

Marvin's work left an indelible mark on both D.C. and our Nation. I ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring the incredible life and legacy of Marvin Turner.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce a bill to make the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC), a nonprofit, eligible for funding under the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (FSP) Program, the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program, the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Program and the National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program, also known as the Mega Program. Funding under these transportation programs is essential to implement the planned expansion and modernization of Union Station in the District of Columbia, known as the Washington Union Station Expansion Project (USEP). I am pleased Senator Chris Van Hollen has introduced this bill in the Senate.

Union Station is owned by the federal government, and USRC manages and operates the station under a lease with the federal government. The members of USRC's board of directors are the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak, Federal City Council, the District of Columbia and the USRC President and CEO. USRC is the only entity exclusively dedicated to the management and operations of Union Station and therefore should be eligible for funding under the FSP Program, the CRISI Program, the RAISE Program and the Mega Program.

Union Station is a vital local, regional and national intermodal transportation hub that, pre-pandemic, welcomed more than 100,000 travelers and visitors each day--more than either Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport or Washington Dulles International Airport. Located five blocks from the U.S. Capitol, Union Station serves as a gateway to the Nation's capital, as well as the backbone that connects East Coast rail lines to the north and south. People rely on Union Station every day to get to work and to visit the Nation's capital.

Despite the vital role Union Station plays in the Nation's capital, it has not undergone major renovation since the 1980s. The USEP represents a historic transportation and economic development opportunity for the Nation's capital and the national capital region, but billions of dollars are needed to carry it out. This bill would give USRC access to critical funding.

Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the District of Columbia Courts and Public Defender Service Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments Act. This bill, which the House passed in the 114th Congress, would make a small but important change to the authority of the District of Columbia Courts (D.C. Courts) and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS), giving them the same authority federal agencies and federal courts already have to offer voluntary separation incentive payments, or buyouts, to their employees.

Congress has provided this authority to the D.C. Courts and PDS on an annual basis in the last several appropriations bills. However, this bill would make this authority permanent. This authority would give the D.C. Courts and PDS additional flexibility to respond to administrative and budgetary needs.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has opined that voluntary separation incentive payments may be made only when statutorily authorized. Federal agencies and federal courts already have permanent statutory authority to offer buyouts, and there is no reason why the D.C. Courts and PDS, which are both exclusively federally funded, should not have this permanent statutory authority.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the Congress Leads by Example Act of 2024, which would apply to the legislative branch many of the laws that protect employees in the private sector and the executive branch. Congress should abide by the laws it imposes on others.

In 1995, Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA), which applied 13 existing civil rights, labor and workplace safety and health laws to the legislative branch. In 2018, after reports of sexual harassment in Congress and in light of the #MeToo movement, Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act (Reform Act), which changed the name of the Office of Compliance to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR), revised the process to resolve workplace claims and extended CAA protections to unpaid staff, interns, and fellows. It also made Members of Congress personally liable for their own violations of workplace harassment and retaliation laws.

The CAA and the Reform Act were important steps in making the legislative branch accountable for its employment practices, but they did not finish the job. As noted, the CAA brought the legislative branch under 13 existing civil rights, labor and workplace safety and health laws but it omitted important substantive and procedural protections. In its three most recent Section 102(b) biennial reports to Congress, OCWR identified additional federal workplace laws and procedures that should apply to the legislative branch. This bill takes into account OCWR's recommendations, and seeks both to apply the standard of fairness for employees of the legislative branch that Congress requires for other employees and provide a safer work environment for the legislative branch and visitors by bringing the legislative branch obligations in line with the legal requirements for the private sector and the executive branch.

This bill provides general whistleblower protections and anti- retaliation measures and makes additional Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) retaliation provisions applicable to the legislative branch. This bill also provides subpoena authority to OCWR to conduct inspections and investigations into OSHA violations. It also provides extended paid parental bereavement leave to legislative branch employees.

This bill also furthers the CAA's goal of preventing workplace discrimination in the legislative branch by prohibiting the legislative branch from making adverse employment decisions based on an employee's wage garnishment or involvement in bankruptcy proceedings pursuant to the Consumer Credit Protection Act or Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code.

Finally, this bill bolsters the CAA's recordkeeping requirements. It applies to the legislative branch the obligation to maintain accurate records of safety information and employee injuries, as otherwise required by OSHA, as well as employee records necessary to administer anti-discrimination laws.

This bill would help restore the public's trust in Congress by redoubling our efforts to exercise leadership by example. I urge support for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Ensuring Child Health Coverage Compensation in Divorce Act of 2024. This bill would require that when a court directs a non-custodial parent (including a stepparent) to provide health insurance for a child, the other parent may get reimbursed directly from the insurer for any out-of-pocket medical expenses for the child incurred by such parent, regardless of the source of insurance.

In a divorce, one parent is typically court-ordered to provide health insurance for the child. However, the other parent may pay for out-of- pocket medical expenses for the child that are reimbursable by the insurer. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, group health insurers are required to directly reimburse a parent who pays for reimbursable out-of-pocket medical expenses when the other parent has been court-ordered to provide health insurance for the child. However, other health insurers are not required to reimburse the other parent directly. This bill would require all health insurers to provide such reimbursement.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduced the Promoting Healthier Lifelong Improvements in Food and Exercise Act of 2024, or the LIFE Act, which would establish a national program to combat overweight and obesity, a major health problem in the United States that cannot be remedied through the health care system alone. Increasing rates of overweight and obesity are found among Americans of every age, race, and major demographic group, and threaten the health of Americans like no other condition or disease. In fact, the key to reducing or eliminating many of the most serious health conditions is not only to reduce overweight and obesity but also to encourage exercise of all kinds.

This bill would provide $75 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a coordinated national effort to reverse increasingly sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets. Specifically, the CDC, either directly or through grants and contracts, would train health professionals to recognize the signs of overweight and obesity early in order to educate patients about proper nutrition and regular exercise; conduct public education campaigns about how to recognize and address overweight and obesity; and develop intervention strategies for use in everyday life, such as in the workplace and community settings.

The National Survey of Children's Health found that 17 percent of children ages 10 to 17 had obesity in 2020-2021. The CDC National Center for Health Statistics reports that Type 2 diabetes, once considered an adult disease, is now widespread among children. The rising cost of the health care system, including insurance premiums, reflects this epidemic. Today, chronic diseases, many of which are caused or exacerbated by overweight and obesity, account for 70 percent of all deaths in the U.S. and 75 percent of U.S. medical care costs, according to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The national program established by this bill would provide a model for states and local governments to establish similar programs.

To cite an example of the need for action, the District of Columbia is one of the fittest cities in the U.S., according to a 2023 study by the American College of Sports Medicine, yet, even here, obesity continues to be a severe problem. Approximately one-fifth of D.C. residents are considered obese. Most of the obesity epidemic is exercise- and food-related.

I urge support for this bill to mobilize the country before entirely preventable health conditions, which often begin in childhood, overwhelm the Nation's health care system.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 12 and under Mamie Johnson Little League softball team for winning the 2024 District of Columbia Little League State Championship and advancing to the Eastern Regional Tournament of the Little League Softball World Series. The team has made D.C. proud.

Founded in 2021 and named after the first woman to pitch in the Negro Leagues, the softball division of the Mamie Johnson Little League has given girls in D.C. the opportunity to learn softball fundamentals. Congratulations to the entire team: Noelle O'Brien, Cayla London Smith, Sasha Wilson, Shawndella Walker, Emily Alvarenga, Alayana Kennedy, Aryn Davis, Lyric Barnett, Devin Barnes, Kellyn White and Karsyn White.

I ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring these talented young women from the District of Columbia on their tremendous achievement.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Department of the Treasury Officer Protection Act of 2024. This bill would help protect Treasury Department police officers and the public by allowing all the officers, including those who work at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), to carry their government firearms home.

BEP officers are not allowed to take their government firearms home. However, BEP officers can be targets because they wear uniforms to and from work. Many BEP officers carry personal firearms to and from work because they are not allowed to take their government firearms home, and some are forced to leave those personal firearms in their cars while they are on duty, creating a possibly dangerous situation.

Allowing BEP officers to carry their government firearms home will put them in the same position as Mint officers. Although both agencies are under the Treasury Department under Treasury Department rules, Mint officers are allowed to carry their government firearms home, while BEP officers are not. There is no meaningful distinction between officers for these two agencies. They should be treated equally.

This bill would allow all police officers in the Treasury Department to carry their government firearms home to protect officers and the public, eliminating separate carrying rules for the Treasury Department's different law enforcement agencies.

I ask my colleagues to support this bill.