Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Government Accountability Office Home Rule Act. This bill would repeal the authority of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) over the District of Columbia.

GAO, a federal agency that conducts investigations and audits for Congress, has the same authority over D.C. that it has over federal agencies. GAO's authorizing statute defines D.C. as a federal agency. In addition, GAO's authorizing statute and the D.C. Home Rule Act require GAO to engage in specific types of oversight of D.C.

D.C. is not a federal agency, and it should never be treated as such. The District already has a locally appointed auditor and inspector general, so GAO's authority over D.C. is both redundant and offensive. GAO does not have general authority over states and cities, and therefore should not have such authority over D.C.

This is an important step to increase home rule for the District and does not require statehood. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, Build Back Better not only meets long- awaited critical needs, such as clean energy technology, it is fully paid for, unlike the 2001 and 2017 tax cuts under Republican Presidents.

This is because the largest corporations and the highest income Americans will pay their fair share, are not rewarded for shipping jobs and profits overseas, and will have more difficulty avoiding IRS compliance.

Moreover, 17 Nobel Prize-winning economists say the bill's investments enhance productive participation in our economy and ease the long-term inflation pressure that is the frontline concern of Americans today.

Congress will make history by passing this historic legislation.

Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Bridges Home Rule Act. This bill would repeal a redundant 1997 federal law that makes it a crime for a person in the District of Columbia to obstruct any bridge connecting D.C. and Virginia. The District already had, and continues to have, its own local law prohibiting obstructing a bridge in the District. There is no federal law that prohibits a person in Virginia from obstructing such a bridge or a person in any state from obstructing a bridge connecting two states, and, fortunately, D.C. does not need a federal law to keep our bridges clear either.

This law is as offensive as it is redundant. It harks back to a time when a private group in D.C. attempted to block the 14th Street Bridge into Virginia, although there is no evidence that D.C. authorities failed to act. The District's local criminal law prohibiting obstructing a bridge takes care of any obstruction occurring here.

Under the 1997 federal law, ``whoever in the District of Columbia knowingly and willfully obstructs any bridge connecting the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia . . . shall be fined not less than $1,000 and not more than $5,000, and in addition may be imprisoned not more than 30 days. . . .'' Under D.C. law, a person may be subject to imprisonment and/or fines for ``crowd[ing], obstruct[ing], or incommod[ing] . . . [t]he use of any street, avenue, alley, road, highway, or sidewalk.''

The courts have long held that D.C. may repeal federal laws that predate the Home Rule Act of 1973 (HRA) and apply exclusively in or to the District, but have not ruled on whether D.C. may repeal post-HRA federal laws that apply exclusively in or to the District. My bill would avoid any court challenge the District could face if it tries to repeal this 1997 federal law.

This bill is an important step in increasing home rule for the District, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join

me in celebrating Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School's 150th anniversary and particularly Carrie Thornhill for her phenomenal leadership with the Dunbar Alumni Federation. I am fortunate to be an alumna of Dunbar High School and a member of the class of 1955.

Dunbar High School, which started in a church basement, was the first public high school for African Americans in the United States and remained segregated until 1954, when the District of Columbia was one of the six Brown v. Board of Education jurisdictions that successfully challenged segregated schools in the United States. Dunbar was instrumental in making the District of Columbia a bulwark of education for almost a century, attracting students from across the District, who were drawn by the school's excellent reputation. That same reputation was reinforced by Dunbar's remarkable record of graduating more distinguished African Americans than any high school in the country. Among them were Edward Brooke, the first Black popularly elected United States Senator; Robert C. Weaver, the first Black cabinet secretary; Benjamin O. Davis Sr., the first Black general in the U.S. Army; Wesley Brown, the first Black graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy; Charles R. Drew, the discoverer of blood plasma; and Mary Jane Patterson, the first African American to achieve a college degree. Dunbar also drew teachers with advanced degrees who would have been college professors but for segregation in higher education.

In 2002, Dunbar High School established the Dunbar Alumni Federation, which works in partnership with school leadership to create better futures for Dunbar students and graduates, which has already awarded over $1.5 million in scholarships to over 700 students. Dunbar has been recently rebuilt into a state-of-the-art facility and became a neighborhood school following the Brown decision. Its storied history continues to inspire generations of students.

I have introduced a bill directing the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in recognition of Paul Laurence Dunbar, the proceeds from the sale of which would benefit of the Dunbar Alumni Association.

Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in congratulating Dunbar High School for 150 years of educating the students of the District of Columbia.

Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Paul Laurence Dunbar Commemorative Coin Act. This bill recognizes one of the first influential African-American poets in American literature and benefits the Dunbar Alumni Federation, the alumni association for the Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School in the District of Columbia, which is historic for being the first public high school for African Americans in the United States. I myself am a proud graduate of Dunbar, a storied African-American high school in our country.

Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 27, 1872, to freed slaves, and went on to pen such classics as Majors and Minors and Lyrics of Lowly Life. He also composed the lyrics to In Dahomey, the first all-African- American musical produced on Broadway. By the late 1890s, Dunbar had become a prominent author, having had his poems published in major national newspapers, including The New York Times. Dunbar died on February 9, 1906, at age 33.

Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School was established in 1870 as the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth. It was the first college preparatory high school for African-American children in the United States. The school was renamed for Dunbar in 1916.

The Dunbar Alumni Federation was organized in 2002 to provide scholarships and other financial support to students and graduates of Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School. The Federation has alumni from more than 35 graduating classes, and supports the school through its scholarship efforts, community activities and other endeavors.

This bill authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to mint 50,000 five-dollar coins, 400,000 one-dollar coins and 750,000 half-dollar coins, with a surcharge on each coin. The surcharges will benefit the scholarships and similar activities of the Dunbar Alumni Federation.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment Home Rule Act. This bill would give the District of Columbia the authority to appoint all members of the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment (Board), except when the Board is performing functions regarding an application by a foreign mission with respect to a chancery. The Board issues special exceptions, or variances, to the regulations issued by the D.C. Zoning Commission (Commission). This bill does not alter the authority of the Board.

Like every other jurisdiction in the United States, the District should be free to set its own local land-use policies. As the District continues to contend with rapid population growth and economic development, it is more important than ever that the members of the Board are accountable to District residents and local elected officials.

Under current law, in general, the Board consists of a representative each from the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and the Commission, each of whom may be a federal official, and three mayoral appointees, subject to D.C. Council approval. The Board has no authority over federal property.

Under current law, when the Board is performing functions regarding an application by a foreign mission with respect to the location, expansion or replacement of a chancery, the Board consists of the Executive Director of NCPC, the Director of the National Park Service, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior or the Administrator of General Services, as designated by the President, and the three mayoral appointees. This bill does not change this composition.

This is an important step to recognize and increase home rule for the District, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, Congress is close to delivering the Build Back Better Act this week containing our most comprehensive social provisions ever.

Build Back Better will afford a plethora of gains our country has long sought--from our first significant action on climate change to urgently addressing the 100,000 teacher shortage as our children are returning to school.

Congress is in the end zone on this bill now, although many of us are still trying to get prescription drug prices done. And Congress is paying for Build Back Better without adding to the deficit--unlike the last administration that gave tax breaks to those least in need.

Mr. Speaker, we will make history with passage of Build Back Better.

Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the District of Columbia Flood Prevention Act of 2021. The bill would amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA) to include the nation's capital in the definition of ``coastal state.'' Senator Tom Carper, the Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, has introduced the companion bill in the Senate. Our bill would correct an apparent oversight in the omission of the District of Columbia from the CZMA by making the District eligible to receive federal funding and oversight for federally issued permits, facilities and actions that affect our coastal waters. The District urgently needs the protection of the CZMA because of serious flood risks that currently affect federal assets, residents and businesses, including the National Mall and the cluster of downtown federal agencies.

Congress has authorized a number of programs to help states and territories respond to floods and mitigate risk through resiliency projects. An effort to reduce coastal flood risk, the CZMA provides planning and technical services to assist states in protecting, restoring and developing coastal communities and resources. Once the federal government approves a state's coastal management plan, the state becomes eligible for grants. Federal actions must be consistent with the state plans and vice versa.

Even though the District, including the federal complex, is located on two rivers, and has suffered substantial coastal floods in the past, it was omitted from the list of eligible states and territories in the CZMA. It is notable that under Section 304 of the CZMA, ``coastal state[s]'' include the states and U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands and American Samoa). Because territories are included in the definition of ``coastal states'' while D.C. is absent, it appears that D.C.'s omission is a mistake, which only Congress can correct. This oversight likely occurred because the CZMA was passed in 1972, which was before the District achieved home rule.

Scientists have predicted that the tides on the Atlantic Coast could rise two to four feet by the year 2100, causing property worth as much as $7 billion in the District to be routinely under threat by floodwaters. This damage includes private homes and businesses and the National Mall, federal buildings and three military bases located in the District. The Anacostia and Potomac Rivers, which surround the District, are tidally influenced, part of an ``intertidal zone'' between high and low maritime tides. In addition, the Maryland and Virginia coastal zones each include the tidal Potomac River, with Maryland's zone ending at the District line.

I initially offered the D.C. Flood Prevention Act in a previous Congress. The bill passed the House as part of the Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement Act. And again, last month, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed this bill as part of the Ocean- Based Climate Solutions Act of 2021, Chairman Raul M. Grijalva's effort to modernize federal ocean management policy to account for climate change.

The District should be eligible under the CZMA just like the states and territories already listed in the CZMA. I urge support for this bill.

Madam Speaker, as the daughter of a public school teacher, an essential and prized profession, I never expected to see a shortage of 100,000 teachers. It is catastrophic, especially now when children are being vaccinated and returning to in-person learning. The teacher shortage adds urgency to President Biden's Build Back Better agenda, which features teacher residences and grow-your-own programs to improve outcomes and develop more teachers of color.

As a ranking member who helped write the pending infrastructure bill, I particularly applaud the Build Back Better agenda's investments in upgrading school infrastructure with resilient, energy-efficient buildings enriched with technology and the labs students need for the jobs of the future.

Madam Speaker, today, I rise to congratulate the Howard University Medical Alumni Association (HUMAA) on its 150th anniversary.

Founded in 1871, HUMAA is one of the oldest medical alumni associations in the country and consists of more than 5,000 alumni.

In the 1957-58 school year, it granted its first scholarship, $550. In recent years, HUMAA has been awarding $200,000 annually in scholarships.

Today, HUMAA's mission is to promote the mutual professional interests of the graduates of the Howard University College of Medicine (HUCM), assist in the development of HUCM's programs and support the welfare of HUCM's students.

I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing HUMAA for 150 years of providing education and networking opportunities for the alumni and students of HUCM. I wish them many more years of success.

Madam Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life of Willie James ``Bill'' McNair, Sr. who passed away after a long and fruitful life at 102 years of age on September 26, 2021, in Port Saint Joe Florida.

Mr. McNair served honorably in the U.S. Army during World War II and was a member of VFW Post 10069. On his return from service, he served for 30 years as a mail carrier for the St. Joe Paper Company. As a licensed chauffeur, Mr. McNair also drove top executives to and from the airport before retiring in 1981.

Willie James McNair Sr. celebrated his 100th birthday in July 2019 with more than 200 family members and friends, including the last of Mr. McNair's surviving siblings, Mildred 98 and Mercedes 96 years old at that time. All three siblings share the same birthday--July 16th, born two years apart.

Mr. McNair was presented with a commemoration for his birthday signifying his service on the Trustee Board of Zion Fair Missionary Baptist Church and another honoring his service to the community.

Madam Speaker, again, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring the long life of Willie James ``Bill'' McNair, Sr.

Madam Speaker, the President's Build Back Better plan has become the most important legislation in our history because it is essential to overcome the effects of the first pandemic in more than 100 years. So essential are the bill's ingredients that Congress faces a daunting task in trimming the bill.

One ingredient that is particularly essential is childcare because it relates to so much else: the ability of both women and men to work, the ability of children to go to school. The United States is the only democratic country that does not afford quality childcare to all of its families. The reason so many more women than men are still out of work is the disproportionate responsibility women absorb for childcare. This makes childcare an essential ingredient in the President's Build Back Better plan.

Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Commission of Fine Arts District of Columbia Home Rule Act. This bill would prohibit the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) from exercising authority over non- federal property in the District of Columbia.

Under presidential executive orders (EOs) and federal law, the CFA has review authority for D.C.-owned parks and buildings, as well as for certain private land in D.C. Under the relevant EOs, CFA has review authority for the design of D.C.-owned parks and buildings. Under the Shipstead-Luce Act, CFA has review authority for the design of private buildings in the District ``adjacent to public buildings and grounds of major importance,'' such as Rock Creek Park and the Potomac riverfront. Under the Old Georgetown Act, the CFA has review authority for the design of private buildings in the part of Georgetown referred to as ``Old Georgetown'' in the act. The members of the CFA are appointed by the President.

The federal government, including the CFA, has no business in local land-use policies and decisions unrelated to the federal presence. Not only is the federal government's authority over D.C. buildings and private property anti-democratic, it also delays and increases the cost of public and private development in the District.

This is an important step to increase home rule for the District, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the REAL ID Gender Requirement Reform Act, which would remove the requirement from the REAL ID Act that REAL ID-compliant licenses include gender. Instead, the decision whether to have gender on a state's REAL-ID compliant would be left to the states. The bill would also require that if a state requires gender designation for licenses, an individual wishing to change their gender designation on their license be allowed to do so through self-attestation. It would also require states to have a neutral or other designation gender field, in addition to male or female. This is an important bill for equality, especially for transgender Americans.

Under the REAL ID Act, gender must be included on a license. This can be problematic for transgender or nonbinary individuals. I recognize that some LGBTQ individuals do not want gender designations on licenses at all, while others do want gender designation so as to express their identity. I believe this bill strikes the middle ground, while showing Congress' support for LGBTQ individuals.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in congratulating three District of Columbia schools recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as National Blue Ribbon Schools.

For the past 39 years, the Department of Education has recognized schools for overall academic excellence or for reducing achievement gaps. Since 1982, over 40 schools in the District have been recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools. This year, BASIS DC Public Charter School, Eaton Elementary School and Lafayette Elementary School were selected as National Blue Ribbon Schools.

BASIS DC Public Charter School, located in downtown near the Smithsonian museums, was established in 2012 and serves 640 students in grades 5-12. BASIS DC's school mascot is the Red Giants. Students at BASIS are proactive in attaining college scholarships. The total amount of college gift aid earned by the Class of 2017 was over $700,000. I applaud BASIS DC and its students for securing scholarships for college education and for its recognition this year as a National Blue Ribbon School.

Located in Cleveland Park, Eaton Elementary School strives to provide a culturally enriching education for its diverse student body. Established in 1910, Eaton Elementary serves 467 students in grades PK- 5. Partnering with the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C., Eaton Elementary created its Student Sleuth Program, which allowed fourth- grade students to learn grass-roots research in investigating their school's history. I applaud Eaton Elementary School for its recognition this year as a National Blue Ribbon School.

Lafayette Elementary School, located in Chevy Chase, serves 940 students in grades PK-5. Lafayette Elementary was established in 1928 and emphasizes the importance of integrating the arts into all subject areas to enrich their students' learning experiences. I applaud Lafayette Elementary School for its recognition this year as a National Blue Ribbon School.

Madam Speaker, again, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in congratulating BASIS DC Public Charter School, Eaton Elementary School and Lafayette Elementary School for their recognition as National Blue Ribbon Schools.