Emily Randall

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Mejia for her leadership.

Mr. Speaker, the 14th Amendment means what it says: ``All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States. . . .'' Those are the words on paper.

Donald Trump and Stephen Miller attempted to rewrite the Constitution through an executive order banning birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants. It is the same legal arguments that were first used when a white supremacist wanted to deny U.S. citizenship to Chinese Americans.

Four Supreme Court Justices dissented in the ruling to protect the 14th Amendment. That tells us that we are not safe from these continuous attacks from Donald Trump and his administration on our Constitution, on our freedom, and on our neighbors.

We know that the White House is currently scheming to have Trump's activist Supreme Court rehear the case that upheld the 14th Amendment, that upheld birthright citizenship.

This is all part of a larger agenda to dehumanize Black and Brown people in this country, to strip away their rights, and to normalize questioning who belongs here. Who is American enough?

It is why Republicans have funded Donald Trump's immigration agenda by $200 billion and why on the 158th anniversary of the 14th Amendment, my colleagues and I launched the Defend the 14th Amendment Task Force.

Our goal is simple: to defend the Constitution, to coordinate oversight and public education efforts, and to respond strongly to the Trump administration's attacks on our rights, on our freedom, on our Constitution, our country, and our communities.

We will stand up to these attacks on civil liberties. We must continue this fight to ensure that the citizens of the United States are protected and that nothing erodes these constitutional protections. It is our duty. It is our responsibility, and it is the oath we swore when we took this public office.

Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to be a co-chair of this task force and so proud to stand here in defense of our Constitution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Pride Month ending today for most of the country, but still ongoing in our great State of Washington, where we just can't get enough.

I am also rising today to honor the resolution that I introduced alongside Representative Green, a longtime champion for LGBTQ equality.

LGBTQ people have been dutifully serving in our military for decades. We are your neighbors. We are your elected officials, teachers, mentors, and friends. Despite Republicans' unrelenting attempts to erase queer and trans people from our history books, from our public spaces, and from our military, LGBTQ Americans are standing strong in our truth.

That is the beauty of Pride Month and why I am so proud to introduce this resolution today to honor the many contributions of LGBTQ Americans to our country, contributions which are outlined in this resolution, so that no matter what attacks come on our government websites and in agencies across the executive branch, we will still have the story of so many brave LGBTQ leaders.

Who knows when the majority party will be organized enough to move the NDAA through the House, but we know when it does come, it will come with several anti-LGBTQ amendments that have absolutely no business being attached to the overall package.

Our Republican colleagues talk a lot about protecting our freedoms yet spend so much time trying to strip freedoms away from LGBTQ Americans, like the freedom to access healthcare by stripping TRICARE coverage for medically necessary, lifesaving care for trans people, and even taking away mental health coverage from trans kids and the freedom to

serve our country by moving to codify Trump's ban on trans servicemembers.

There are thousands of trans people who are willing to die to protect our country, but Trump, Vance, Hegseth, and House Republicans want to ban them from serving, or even the freedom for kids to participate in sports without being subjected to invasive and traumatizing exams to determine their gender before they can put on a jersey.

I would like to see some of my colleagues experience what a transvaginal ultrasound feels like. For a kid who is a survivor of sexual assault or trauma, or even one who is not, it is incredibly painful and traumatizing.

These actions are all part of a larger pattern we are seeing at the State level, across the country, by this administration, by House and Senate GOP leadership, and even by our activist Supreme Court, to attack and villainize LGBTQ Americans.

I want to be clear. The NDAA amendments do absolutely nothing to strengthen our military readiness or improve the lives of everyday Americans. Like everyone else, LGBTQ people want to afford childcare and housing, and have access to healthcare, and be able to contribute to an economy that works for all of us.

I look forward to a day where Members of Congress drop this bizarre and personal vendetta against queer and trans people and get back to working on real issues: to lower costs, ensure we all have healthcare and housing and childcare, and make America the country we know it can be.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the tremendous occasion that is happening in my district this weekend.

A memorandum of understanding, the first of its kind, between the Suquamish Tribe and the U.S. Navy has finally been reached after years of good faith negotiations. This MOU sets a new standard for how our U.S. military collaborates with Tribal Governments to respect Tribal sovereignty and to preserve treaty rights.

The Suquamish Tribe has stewarded the lands and waters of the Salish Sea or the Puget Sound since time immemorial and has been a gracious neighbor to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the U.S. Navy's Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton.

The shared waterways include Tribal fishing grounds and shellfish beds, and this MOU will compensate the Tribal members for the access that will be impacted during the construction of the Navy's proposed Multi-Mission Dry Dock.

The Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program and its M2D2 project are a once-in-a-century investment to modernize four aging naval shipyards into new, modern facilities that will serve our Nation into the future.

In my district alone, there are 12 federally recognized Tribes that often neighbor our four DOD installations, and this serves as a model not only for Washington State but the Nation.

I commend the Navy and the Suquamish Tribe for their years of leadership and perseverance in reaching this historic agreement.