Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Moore for organizing this Special Order hour so that we can recognize women who have led the way who are trailblazers, history makers, glass breakers, and overall fantastic human beings.

You may know or you may not know, Mr. Speaker, that Ohio has elected 13 women to Congress. These women have been incredible role models and leaders for girls and women as well as boys and men across this country, but particularly for us in Ohio.

I am going to take a few moments today just to talk about a few of those women, just about eight of them, starting in 1977 with the first Democratic woman elected to Congress from Ohio. Her name was Mary Rose Oakar. She, at the age of 36, was one of the youngest women ever elected to Congress and the first Arab-American woman ever elected to Congress in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, the next Democratic woman elected to Congress, you know her, we all serve with her, she is the dean of the Ohio delegation and the longest-serving woman in Congress, Marcy Kaptur. She has been called the queen of the Great Lakes because of her advocacy. But there is nothing you can mistake about Congresswoman Kaptur that would make you think that she did not believe strongly in the people of Toledo and the people of northwest Ohio.

Our third Democratic woman from Ohio was none other than Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first Black woman elected from the State of Ohio.

Unfortunately, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones lost her life in 2008, but I got to know her and my family got to know her very well. Her spirit and her passion were unmatched. The people of Cleveland were the people whom she always, always championed.

Something that she said stuck out to me. I want to read it to you here, Mr. Speaker, because this is a great reminder for all of us who serve in this hallowed institution. She said that if they--our constituents--are willing to stand at the polls for countless hours in the rain, then I should surely stand up for them here in Congress.

The fourth woman from Ohio I would like to acknowledge is Congresswoman--now judge of the Ninth District Court of Appeals--Betty Sutton. She was the youngest woman elected, and I am honored to take her seat, Ohio's 13th District in Congress. Betty Sutton was not only a Member of Congress, now the judiciary, but also local city, county, and State elected office.

Following Betty Sutton, I am going to acknowledge Marcia Fudge, a woman who certainly needs no introduction, who now serves as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Congresswoman, now Secretary, Fudge served the House from northeast Ohio honorably for seven terms, and we are grateful for her new position where she leads this Nation in affordable housing for all people, no matter where they may reside across the country.

Mary Jo Kilroy, the Congresswoman from central Ohio served one term, and she was a vocal supporter of the Affordable Care Act. It is a fitting tribute to talk about her today, considering it is the 13th anniversary of that bill passing. She was instrumental in a very important vote ensuring healthcare for people across this Nation.

The first Democratic minority leader in the Ohio House you may not know, Mr. Speaker, was none other than Joyce Beatty. She was the former CBC chair, most recently serving, and someone who I was able to follow in the Ohio legislature. She is a towering figure here in Congress, and we are so excited to have her as a leader in central Ohio.

Shontel Brown, who won not one, not two, but three elections in a very short amount of time to make sure that folks knew how serious she was about representing the people of northeast Ohio. She came from Warrensville Heights City Council to the Cuyahoga County Council to becoming the first Black woman to lead the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I am number 13, Emilia Sykes, representing the 13th Congressional District of Ohio and Ohio's 13th female Member elected to Congress.

Mr. Speaker, as I close my remarks, I remind those who may be watching that none of us would be here, none of the women that we have talked about, without the gracious and tenacious activities of the suffragettes who made sure that we even had the right to vote so we could stand here in Congress to advocate for our communities.

I always like to talk about Sojourner Truth. Although she was not a Member of Congress and although she was not a person from Ohio, she gave a very important speech in my district, Ohio 13, called Ain't I a Woman. At the end of that speech, she reminded us that if the first woman that God ever made was strong enough to turn this world upside down, then all these women together ought to be able to get it right side up again.

That is the legacy of the women from Ohio and throughout the Nation who have served in this Congress have done, get this world right side up again.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.J. Res. 27, which would nullify the rule titled: ``Revised Definition of `Waters of the United States.' ''

As the vice ranking member of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, I am extremely aware of the crucial role clean water plays in the success of our Nation's economy, including agriculture and energy development, as well as the health of our communities.

This resolution is the latest attempt to attack longstanding critical safeguards for clean water with an utter disregard for the devastating impact this will have on hardworking American families.

In Ohio, we have had to bear the brunt of the reckless disregard for safeguards that has contaminated water supplies and caused irreversible harm, some of which we can't even begin to quantify.

My colleague aptly identified multiple issues and examples from Ohio that explain why it is necessary to protect our water, whether it is toxic chemicals from a train derailment; a burning lake--imagine that; or compromised drinking water due to algal blooms, which happened in northeast Ohio in our Great Lake, Lake Erie, which is a significant resource for us in our Ohio community. A good clean water source has been impacted, and many others across the country could be as well.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation unquestionably undermines the Clean Water Act, and it is unnecessary and a glaring attack on future attempts to protect our Nation's water quality.

When a rule is undone using the Congressional Review Act process, future administrations are prevented from issuing rules that are substantially the same, which could and very likely will undermine agencies in their activities to stop bad actors who pollute our waterways.

I understand the need for regulatory certainty, and I certainly want to help us achieve that. Whether it is to provide certainty for businesses, local governments, State governments, farmers, hunters, fishers, or builders, Americans deserve that certainty.

Mr. Speaker, isn't it important to ensure that our constituents, including my constituents in Ohio's 13th District, have certainty when they turn on the tap that they are sure they are not drinking toxic water that may be a carcinogen that will impact their health in the future?

It is important that all people, regardless of where they live, or their economic standing, creed, or color, have access to clean water. It is how we put people above politics.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote ``no'' emphatically.

Mr. Speaker, let me first start by acknowledging my colleagues from the great States of Illinois and Florida for organizing this Special Order hour to discuss protecting the Voting Rights Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to emphasize the most sacred right we have as Americans, a cornerstone of our democracy, the freedom to vote.

Mr. Speaker, you may know that on January 6, 2023, exactly 2 years after the antidemocratic insurrection on this Nation's Capitol, my home State, the State of Ohio, enacted one of the strictest, most restrictive antivoter laws in the entire country. This law works to silence the voice of Ohioans, including my constituents in Ohio's 13th Congressional District, by creating deliberate barriers to voting, including reducing the number of early voting hours and enacting unnecessarily strict photo ID requirements, one of the most stringent in the country.

Just a few weeks ago, the largest county in Ohio's 13th Congressional District had the fourth highest amount of names purged from the voter rolls, over 5,000 of the 125,000 statewide.

But this blatant attack on freedom to vote is not just a phenomenon in my home State of Ohio. No, Mr. Speaker, since the 2022 election, 19 states have enacted laws that make it harder for Americans to cast their ballot.

Mr. Speaker, remember it was the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a bipartisan piece of legislation, that ensured that States who are plenty happy to disenfranchise Black and Brown voters had to take additional steps to ensure and allow people to vote.

It is our duty as Representatives elected by the people of these United States to put people over politics and do everything within our power to strengthen our democracy and protect the sacred right to vote in free, fair, and secure elections.

We must restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act and take the

necessary steps to ensure access to the ballot box by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to rise to the urgency of this moment by using every tool at our disposal to protect the right to vote. Our democracy simply cannot wait. Equal access to the ballot for every American must be our focus.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to celebrate a philanthropist, a community activist, a constituent of Ohio's 13th Congressional District, the birthplace of champions, and the greatest basketball player of all time, LeBron James, but we know him as just a kid from Akron, the GOAT, or King James.

Yesterday, LeBron broke the NBA's scoring record previously set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 38,390 points. It was a feat that once seemed almost impossible for anyone except for LeBron, but James has become known for making the improbable part of his routine, including four NBA championships and numerous MVP titles.

Mr. Speaker, LeBron James has scored 38,390 points in his career, making history on the 38th day of the year of his 38th year of life with 38 points.

LeBron, we celebrate you and all of your accomplishments. You have, indeed, earned the title of greatest of all time and cemented Ohio's 13th Congressional District as the birthplace of champions.

From one kid from Akron to another, LeBron, we are proud of you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today during the first Congressional Black Caucus Special Order of the year to stand in solidarity with the families and loved ones in support of the safety and security of American citizens.

Tomorrow, during the State of the Union, I will be joined by Ms. Pamela Walker, a police accountability advocate and mother of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old unarmed Black man from Akron, Ohio, who was fatally shot 46 times by police in June of 2022.

Jayland Walker was just 25 years old. He was a kind, quiet, and thoughtful young family man who regularly spent time with his mother, grandmother, and sister.

He was just beginning to live his life with aspirations of starting his own business or becoming a professional wrestler.

His mother described him as the son that every mother dreams of, talked about how proud she was to be his mother.

Ms. Walker is coming to the Capitol in honor of her son, demanding accountability, public safety, and change so that her son will not have died in vain or anyone else's son. No mother should ever have to go through what Ms. Walker experienced.

Despite her unimaginable grief, she has displayed unwavering strength, dignity, and perseverance.

Mr. Speaker, we must reexamine our institutions, how they operate and are governed, without the polarizing rhetoric that only leads to division and not solutions because the longer we are divided and legislation is not passed, the more lives hang in the balance, and public safety and security is too important to play with.

We need to create a level of trust where our law enforcement officers feel like they are a part of the community, and we must also take steps to improve police accountability.

There is still much work to be done to restore trust between the police and the communities they serve. That is why I felt it was important to have Ms. Walker join me tomorrow.

Let her presence signify that enough is enough. We, as a Nation, have reached an inflection point because too many lives have been lost.

I join my colleagues in calling for robust reexamination of our policing system, wholesale public safety policies, and bipartisan national solutions to this issue before more lives are lost.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act.

H.R. 21 is unnecessary, and it is harmful legislation that will have devastating consequences for hardworking American families, and its impact on our environment will resonate for generations to come.

My district is home to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which receives more than 2.2 million visitors every year. Under H.R. 21, this irreplaceable national park and others across the Nation could be subjected to unnecessary oil and gas drilling, devastating ecosystems, our environment, our economy, and our communities.

Our National Park System plays an essential role in the advancement of our communities. They create jobs, strengthen the local economy, contribute to local infrastructure development, and help to conserve the natural environment, cultural assets, and traditions that we hold dear.

H.R. 21 is not a comprehensive, strategic legislative undertaking that puts the needs of hardworking Americans first; in fact, it does the opposite. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I cannot support this wholly unnecessary and harmful legislation in its current form, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote ``no.''

Madam Speaker, I rise to voice my opposition to legislation brought before this body today.

Our focus in this Congress should be to guarantee the American people have access to accurate health information, including their reproductive health. As we talk about crisis pregnancy centers today, we need to be clear and transparent about what these centers are actually able to do and, most importantly, not do.

Too often, people go to these centers expecting a certain level of care due to their misleading name, but they cannot actually get the medical attention they deserve and need. They target low-income and minority communities and shamefully insinuate that they are healthcare providers when they are not.

As such, these centers are inherently contributing to misinformation that fuels the high infant and maternal mortality across our country, which disproportionately impacts Black women and babies.

If we are serious about protecting life, we need to be honest and these centers need to be honest and provide transparent information about the services they provide to pregnant women and their families.

I hope this Chamber will work together to find real solutions to improve maternal and infant health outcomes for the American people. Lives are certainly dependent upon it.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the legislation before us today.