Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the 2021 Northern Virginia District PTA Annual Award recipients. Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and Parent Teacher Student Associations (PTSAs) in Northern Virginia serve a critical role in helping to provide the best possible educational environment for our students.

The Northern Virginia District PTA represents 225 school PTAs representing 5 school divisions. Maintaining a healthy and strong organization is an important part of allowing these groups to have the greatest possible impact on the students they serve. To encourage such strength, it is important to note the individual PTAs that excel in this mission, as well as the volunteers and educators who support them. It is my honor to include in the Record their names:

2021 NOVA District PTA Elementary Volunteers ofthe Year Honorees: Rebecca Stebbins, Camelot ES PTA; Erin Anderson, Hollin Meadows Science & Math Focus PTA; Jen Blackford, Little Run ES PTA.

2021 NOVA District PTA Secondary Volunteers of the Year Honorees: Shirley Alexander, Kilmer MS PTA; Samantha Mulvaney, Mark Twain MS PTA; Sherry Nachnani, Mount Vernon High School PTSA.

2021 NOVA District PTA Outstanding Educator and Staff Member of the Year Honorees: Ann Jopke, Hollin Meadows Science & Math Focus PTA, Educator; Charlotte Quigley, Little Run ES PTA, Educator; Marion Hawthorne, Arlington Science Focus School PTA, School Counselor; Brittany Belscher, Little Run ES PTA, School Counselor.

2021 NOVA District PTA Excellence in Communications Award Honorees: Jennifer King, Laurel Ridge ES PTA; Andrea Kramer, Thoreau MS PTA; Monique Roberts-Rabil, Oakton HS PTSA; Kara Jenkins, Fairfax County Council PTA.

2021 NOVA District PTA Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Honorees: Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School PTA; Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy PTA; Union Mill ES PTA.

2021 NOVA District PTA STEM/STEAM PTA of the Year Award Honorees: Arlington Science Focus School PTA; Hollin Meadows Science & Math Focus

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the 2021 recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Woman in Sales Leadership Award, IES Member of the Year, and the Rising Star Award presented by the Institute for Excellence in Sales & Business Development (IES).

IES was created to foster excellence in business sales and development practices and to help sales professionals and organizations maximize their efforts. IES conducts a variety of workshops and programs designed to provide the knowledge and tools necessary to advance the careers and growth of those who attend. Each year, IES recognizes individuals, teams, and organizations throughout the

United States who demonstrate exemplary performance through leadership, risk taking, innovation, vision, and customer development.

The Sales Excellence awards seek to promote and advance corporate and organizational sales excellence by recognizing organizations that have demonstrated outstanding leadership and strategic vision in Enterprise Sales. These honorees will each respectfully fall into the award categories of the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Woman in Sales Leadership Award, the Member of the Year Award, and the Rising Star Award.

The recipient of the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award is Ms. Toni Townes-Whitley, President, U.S. Regulated Industries, Microsoft. As president of U.S. Regulated Industries at Microsoft, Toni Townes- Whitley leads the U.S. sales strategy for driving digital transformation across customers and partners within the public sector and commercial regulated industries. Her organization is responsible for executing on Microsoft's industry strategy and go-to-market for both public sector and regulated industries in the United States, including Education, Financial Services, Government, and Healthcare. In addition to leading a sales organization, Townes-Whitley is helping to steer the company's work to address systemic racial injustice.

The recipient of the 5th Annual Women in Sales Executive Leadership Award is Ms. Courtney S. Bromley. Courtney S. Bromley has been with IBM for 31 years serving federal, state and local government agencies. In her current role she manages all the Federal Government (non-DOD/Intel) as well as the State and Local Government and Education markets across the United States as part of IBM's U.S. Federal and Public Sector Market. Her business units are responsible for IBM's cross brand execution with all the Federal, State and Local Agencies and Educational institutions including all IBM lines of business--hardware, software and services.

John Asher is the IES Member of the Year. John is the CEO of ASHER Strategies, a preeminent sales and marketing advisory services company. His team has trained more than 80,000 executives, salespeople and other customer facing managers in 22 developed countries over the past 19 years. His team has advised a number of Global Fortune 5000 companies including Goldman Sachs, General Dynamics, Alibaba, China Mobile and 1400 other small and medium sized companies. John is a graduate of United States Naval Academy with degrees in mathematics and nuclear engineering.

Veronica Poissant is the recipient of the IES Jay Nussbaum Rising Sales Star Award. Veronica Poissant is a Director of Inside Sales for the North American Public Sector at Red Hat, the world's leading provider of enterprise open source solutions. During her 12-year tenure at Red Hat, she has directly contributed to the strategic development of the public sector inside sales organization which has grown in size and scope by 500 percent.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Toni Townes-Whitley, Courtney S. Bromley, Veronica Poissant, and John Asher for their exceptional dedication and leadership within the business community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 2021 graduating class of the Fairfax County High School Firefighter program. In 2016, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department in partnership with Fairfax County Public Schools created its High School Firefighter Program to provide training to students who are considering a career as a firefighter.

Students who participate in this program attend courses taught by qualified instructors at the Fairfax County Fire Academy. In fact, they receive the same training as new professional and volunteer firefighters. The course is grueling but upon successful completion, the students are eligible to receive six college credits. Should these students decide to apply to the Fairfax County Fire Academy, this program will make them competitive candidates and will have prepared them for recruit school.

Fourteen seniors are graduating in the Class of 2021 of the High School Firefighter Program. It is my honor to include in the Record the names of the following graduates:

Seth Ballard, William Beavers, Nicholas Carpio, Peyton Czikra, Moeed Ghazi, Matthew Hargrave, Mai Mohamed, Sarah Moummi, Michael Muldoon, Spencer Neyland, Robert Rupp, Joshua Scurlock, Isaac Spar, Jalen Wray.

Madam Speaker, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department is one of the best fire departments in the country and in the world. I commend the Department as well as the public school system for partnering in the creation of this program. I also applaud these young people for their desire to learn more about the Department and for their interest in protecting our community. Northern Virginia is fortunate to have such dedicated young citizens. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating these students on the successful completion of this program and in wishing them success in their future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and the graduates of the 148th Recruit Class. As they prepare to join the ranks of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, I encourage the 42 graduates to reflect on the history of the department and the contributions and dedication of the brave men and women who have served before them to protect our community.

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department's Recruit School consists of an extensive and demanding 30-week program. In addition to two weeks of orientation, recruits completed twelve weeks of EMT training and sixteen weeks of fire suppression training. Upon graduation, these recruits will be certified at the level of Firefighter I/II by the Virginia Department of Fire Programs.

These recruits have the distinct honor of joining one of the best Fire and Rescue Departments in the United States. The efforts of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department have been recognized across this country. Members from the Department serve on the elite VA Task Force I, which is among the first units called to disaster zones to provide search and rescue support. Members of that Task Force were recognized by the International Association of Fire Chiefs with the Benjamin Franklin Award for Valor as a result of their efforts in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes that struck Nepal in 2015.

Fairfax County is fortunate to have such excellent ambassadors for our community and I commend them for all that they have done to protect lives and property not only here in Fairfax County, but around the world. As the newest members of the Fire and Rescue Department, the 148th Recruit Class graduates join the department as integral parts of our community's emergency response and public safety team. I am confident that this graduating class will serve the residents of Fairfax County with honor and distinction. It is my great honor to include in the Record the names of the 148th Recruit Class:

Paul Ayers, Juan Bailey, Jacob Biller, Joseph Boccabello, Andrew Brinton, Timothy Cahill, Jason Cook, Zion David, Joshua Davidson, Andrew Duke, Matthew McKay, Ariel Molina Heredia, Gary Moore Jr, Ricardo Munoz Caceres, Charles Nelson III, Christopher Ong-Hay, Kelly Paszkiewicz, Tyler Pennington, Elijah Quiceno, Brandon Rafferty.

Keith Fosco, Rachel Guszick, Jonas Holz, Timothy Hussey, Caroline Jarvis, Michael Kloosterboer, Cameron Kotwicki, Adam Ladd, Joseph Leis, Maria-Clarice Lingat, Tyler Martin, James Reed III, Darious Rush, Matthew Sisinni, Mark Taggart-Perez, David Tezza, Armin Saadi, Jason Vargas, Benjamin Welty, Taylor White, Matthew Wilson, Ian Wood.

Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating the newest members of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. I thank them for their service to their community and to all members of the Fire and Rescue Department, past and present, I say: ``Stay safe.''

Madam Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life of my dear friend Marvin Wagner, a pivotal Northern Virginia leader who passed away on May 23, 2020, at the age of 90.

Marvin Wagner grew up in the Williamsburg public housing projects in Brooklyn, New York. From a young age Marvin had to support his mother and sister by working to put food on the table for his family all while going to school. In 1946, Marvin enlisted in the Army and was able to utilize the GI Bill to then attend Long Island University. After earning his four-year degree from LIU, he attended Brooklyn Law School and successfully passed the bar exam. Shortly after, he met and married the love of his life, Harriet, who became his partner and best friend for the next 66 years.

Throughout his career, Marvin dedicated himself to service and strived to make the world a better and safer place. Marvin quickly became involved in Democratic politics and worked in local government on highway safety issues on Long Island. To learn new best practices for highway safety, Marvin traveled to Scandinavia to study their use of breath and blood alcohol tests to identify drunk drivers and introduced the concept locally in the town of Oyster Bay and Nassau County, New York. Later, he would go on to introduce his ideas as a member of the National Highway Traffic Safety Board within the Department of Transportation. Nationally, he helped formulate strategies that were instrumental in reducing drunk driving deaths such as: data-based testing, implied consent laws, and the legalization of roadblocks. Marvin also helped create national standards by continuing to educate lawmakers and judges all over the country.

In addition to his groundbreaking work in the public health and safety area, Marvin focused his attention on helping juvenile offenders as an attorney in Fairfax, Virginia. Marvin's commitment and service to youth offenders led two governors to appoint him to the Juvenile Justice Commission in Richmond, where he served for eight years. His personal experience with poverty and adversity at a young age allowed him to skillfully advocate for the children and young adults that came through the juvenile justice system.

Public service was at the core of who Marvin was. In addition to his contributions in public safety and the juvenile justice system, Marvin served as a leader of party committees throughout his adult life, the last eight years as the chair of the Democratic Club at Greenspring retirement community in Springfield, Virginia. He was passionate about music, theater, and dance, and he channeled that by serving as a volunteer usher with his wife, Harriet, at Wolf Trap in Vienna for 30 years. Marvin also had an adventurous spirit--he loved to travel and made sure to take annual trips with his wife and family. But above all Marvin was a dedicated and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and legacy of Marvin Wagner. His leadership and commitment to public service helped save lives all over the country, and he will be missed by all who knew him. I also extend my deepest condolences to his wife, Harriet; his loving children, Carole, Robert, Janet, and Steven; daughters-in-law, Laura and Jenny; son-in-law, Bill; and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. May his memory be a blessing.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the INVEST Act.

This bill represents a substantial investment in American infrastructure that will touch every corner of this country .

It will rebuild crumbling highways and bridges, reduce traffic congestion, enhance auto and pedestrian safety, expand transit options, help local governments finance their infrastructure and capital needs, and commit our nation to clean energy future.

I want to thank Chairman Defazio and Chairwoman Norton for working with me to include in this bill the Metro Accountability and Investment Act (H.R. 694), which helps the federal government meet its financial obligations to the national capital's transit system.

The bill increases the existing federal commitment to Metro, provides annual operating funds for the first time, and conditions new funding on important accountability and ethics reforms that will strengthen the role and independence of the WMATA Inspector General.

I also welcome the reinstatement of the Build American Bonds program, a direct subsidy bond program that helps municipalities access financing for infrastructure project and which I have previously championed with my own legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2662, the IG Independence and Empowerment Act. I want to thank the chairwoman of the committee for her leadership, especially in bringing forward this important legislative package to bolster the independence and protection of oversight of Federal inspectors general while holding them more accountable to Congress and the American people at the same time.

Our Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing in April that highlighted the need for this legislation. At the hearing, we discussed how the former President, Mr. Trump, exploited statutory loopholes repeatedly to attack Federal IGs, firing well-respected IGs for investigating policies of political allies he liked.

President Trump also appointed political agency officials to serve as acting IGs, this double-hatting Ms. Porter just talked about. This legislation would address that. We cannot allow these actions to be repeated.

IGs are unique in the Federal Government, serving to root out waste, fraud, abuse, and gross mismanagement. They report both to the executive and legislative branches of government. This bill bolsters IGs on both fronts.

Importantly, the bill ensures the President or an agency head can remove an IG only for documented cause, and I think that is a very important new standard. This measure will ensure that IGs can be removed when appropriate and cannot be removed simply because they speak truth to power.

I authored two additional provisions included in this legislation. The first, the Integrity Committee Transparency Act, is a bipartisan provision I drafted with my ranking member, Mr. Hice. This provision would codify and enhance administrative reporting reforms at the Integrity Committee. Just this week, we saw how important that can be.

It would also require the Integrity Committee to report immediately any particularly serious and flagrant problems, abuses, or deficiencies at the Office of Inspector General to the IG of that office.

Importantly, the provision also expands the membership of the Integrity Committee to include a former inspector general, increasing acumen and accountability and some distance.

These are critical measures necessary in the wake of cases in which the Integrity Committee has sometimes fallen short in its reporting to this body, to the Congress. In one recent allegation of wrongdoing, it took nearly 4 years for the Integrity Committee to complete its investigation, and employees at that office continued to struggle under an IG who conducted herself with clear negligence. That case got resolved today with the announcement that that IG is going to retire.

IGs cannot afford to be poor leaders, nor can we afford to have them be poor leaders. They must be model Federal employees if their credibility and integrity are to be trusted.

We also champion title VII of this bill, the Enhanced Whistleblower Engagement Act. This provision requires OIG employees to undergo whistleblower training, mandates engagement between a designated whistleblower coordinator and the Integrity Committee, and requires CIGIE to identify best practices for the timely and appropriate handling of alleged reprisals within an OIG.

Madam Speaker, this measure is nearly identical to a bipartisan provision in the Senate crafted by Republican Senator Grassley from Iowa.

In addition to these provisions, the bill includes several other important measures to bolster the independence of our nonpartisan watchdogs. This bill is an important bill in reasserting the independence, accountability, and transparency of IGs. They are a critical part of making this government work and rebuilding American trust in its government.

I thank the distinguished chairwoman for her leadership in bringing this bill before us. I urge Members on both sides of the aisle to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee; and my good friend, the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, for their generous remarks, for their leadership, and for bringing yet again a bipartisan bill to the floor of the House, which many people think we can't do, but we, in fact, do do.

I also want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), my good friend, for being my partner in this legislation for 3 years now.

Our legislation, the Global Health Security Act, reaffirms the United States' commitment to promoting global health security.

Prior to COVID-19, there was a dearth of leadership and strategy around U.S. planning for a global health security emergency. Now, as we start to emerge from the worst of the pandemic, we understand just how important planning is.

COVID-19 has underscored not only the need for a robust Federal response, but also the importance of investing in global health security and pandemic preparedness throughout the world. Diseases do not stop at national borders.

I am honored and pleased the House Foreign Affairs Committee has coalesced around this legislation, which offers a bipartisan solution that addresses deficiencies in the current pandemic response effort. It also demonstrates, I think, a commitment to a comprehensive and sustainable approach to global health security moving forward.

The bill establishes a Global Health Security Agenda Interagency Review Council overseen by a National Security Advisor, whose membership includes the heads of agencies relevant to carrying out the Global Health Security Agenda.

It establishes a U.S. Coordinator for Global Health Security responsible for coordinating interagency responses.

It requires the President to develop a global health security strategy with specific and measurable goals, benchmarks, and performance metrics to improve U.S. leadership on global pandemic preparedness.

Finally, it establishes an international Fund for Global Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness.

Mr. Speaker, I also appreciate both Chairman Meeks' and Ranking Member McCaul's willingness to work to strengthen this bill as it passed through the committee during our markup. We made improvements, with their suggestion, in elevating the participants of the interagency review council in a manner commensurate with the scope of the work. We strengthened the scope of the global health security strategy with lessons learned; and we added a multilateral Federal fund.

These improvements are consistent with the Biden administration's National Security Memorandum on United States Global Leadership to Strengthen the International Response. This statutory framework is not overly prescriptive, and it does not prejudge the outcome of the current response framework offered by this administration.

Republican and Democratic Presidents alike have recognized the critical importance of global health security; from President Obama's role in launching a global health security agenda to President Trump's National Security Strategy and National Biodefense Strategy.

Global health crises are ongoing and increasing, and they affect national security.

Saving lives from the next global pandemic starts now, by investing in preparedness before it strikes.

Diseases, as I said, don't respect borders, and global health crises have immense security, economic, and humanitarian consequences as all too tragically we have learned from the one we are still going through.

I am proud that the Global Health Security Act has passed the House three times already, and I hope the Senate will act swiftly on this piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Members of the Bush administration seized on our fear at that time to persuade Americans that Saddam Hussein posed a grave threat to the United States, and Congress passed an Authorization for Use of Military Force without any limitation on how long it could be in effect.

Nineteen years later, and ten years after we formally ended ground operations, it is still law. This is an abrogation of Article I responsibilities and duties of the Congress of the United States.

There is no more profound power vested in us in the Constitution than to send our young men and women into combat. It is long past time that we dealt with this AUMF and righted the imbalance between the powers of Article I, which are exclusively those of Congress, and the powers of Article II for a Commander in Chief only after Congress has acted.

I am proud to support this measure today.

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for her leadership.

I also want to salute our colleague, Congresswoman Chu, for her persistent advocacy and her moral clarity on the subject we address today.

I commend the House for passing the resolution to condemn the horrific shootings in Atlanta on March 16 and to reaffirm the House's commitment to combating hate, bigotry, and violence against the AAPI community.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, we have seen racist sentiment, discrimination, and hate crimes targeting Asian Americans skyrocket to alarming levels. Members of the AAPI community have been calling out for help for over a year now. They should not have to live in fear of facing discrimination, hate, or violence while walking in their neighborhood, going to the grocery store, or going to work.

Since the pandemic's outbreak, there was a 1,900 percent increase in violence against this community in 2020 alone and a 150 percent increase in hate crimes against AAPIs in America's major cities.

There were 3,800 reported cases of Asian-American discrimination related to COVID-19 over the past year, 68 percent of which targeted Asian-American women. Three in five Asian Americans have experienced discrimination during the pandemic.

Let me be clear: These events do not occur in a vacuum. America has a dark history of vilifying minorities, including targeting the Asian- American and Pacific Islander community, in particular, and using Federal law to enable that discrimination and even violence.

Look no further than the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, the first Federal law to bar an entire group of people from immigrating purely based on their race, and the internment of Japanese Americans in 1942.

No one should feel unsafe in America ever. We all play a role in stopping the spread of violence and racism against the AAPI community. Solidarity is greater than racism. Today, we are all Asian Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, the distinguished chairwoman of our full committee, for yielding, and I thank my good friend, Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Congresswoman from the District of Columbia, who soon I hope will have the right to vote on the floor of the House.

Today, Mr. Speaker, we come together to right a wrong. 750,000 fellow Americans are denied the right to representation in their Congress in the very place in which Congress is located, ironically. It is the only capital in the democratic world that denies its own citizens the right to vote and be represented.

We heard a lot of subterfuge here today, and we will hear more about the Constitution, the Constitution that clearly gives Congress the right of admission of a State.

Mr. Comer comes from Kentucky. Kentucky was composed of territory claimed by my State, Virginia, and there were a bunch of Whigs. We didn't object. Congress, not a constitutional amendment, admitted Kentucky into the Union, and they elected Whigs, if you can think about that, Mr. Speaker.

We didn't make how you might vote a condition, but we do in this case.

I have to say that there is a lot of smokescreen to cloak what is really at stake here. When some say this is not about race or partisanship, you can be sure it is about race and partisanship.

A city with a minority-majority population that apparently might vote in a different way from some? So what. How somebody votes cannot be a test of whether they have the right to vote in a democracy.

Will we right this wrong today? Will we rise above our petty partisan perspectives and fears and empower and enfranchise people who are fellow citizens? Simply because of their race, their party identification, or their geographic location, that is not the America I know and love. It has gone on too long.

When the Constitution was written, this place didn't exist, nor did the Founders and the writers of the Constitution know that it would. The first Capital was New York. The second Capital was Philadelphia. And there was a lot of back and forth about where it would finally be. It ended up here.

Let's right this wrong after 200 years and give our fellow Americans voting representation here in the United States Congress by granting statehood.

Madam Speaker, I rise on behalf of Ms. Bass, the author of this legislation, the Young African Leaders Initiative Act of 2021.

The chairman has described the bill. This is an important piece of legislation, as we help try to nourish and develop the next generation of African leadership.

This is an important initiative for the United States to build on those ties, to build those bridges. I commend Congresswoman Bass for her leadership on the YALI program and for this legislation. I urge its passage. I will include the full statement of Ms. Bass in the Record.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 965, the Young African Leaders Initiative Act of 2021, introduced by my good friend and Chairwoman of the Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights Subcommittee, Congresswoman Karen Bass. Her leadership both on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and on this bill is unparalleled, and I am honored to speak on her behalf today.

I also wish to thank Chairman Meeks and ranking Member McCaul for bringing this important legislation to the House floor.

The YALI Act of 2021, is a bipartisan bill that seeks to build the capacity of young African leaders in Africa in the areas of civic engagement, entrepreneurship, and business development by:

Offering professional development and a global network to share expertise, including in the areas of civic leadership, elections, human rights, good governance, and public management;

Providing increased economic and technical assistance to young leaders and entrepreneurs; and strengthening business and economic ties between the United States and the continent;

Awarding Mandela Washington Fellowships to young leaders who have had a positive impact in their communities and demonstrated strong capabilities in entrepreneurship, innovation, public service, and leadership;

Establishing regional leadership centers in sub-Saharan Africa allowing young leaders to strengthen their skills and aptitude in entrepreneurship, innovation, public service, and leadership.

The YALI program has two vital components that will be carried out by participants in the program. The U.S.-based component led by the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator for USAID will include the following:

The Mandela Washington Fellows will participate in a six-week Leadership Institute at a U.S.-based university or college focusing on business, civic engagement, or public management. The sessions will include professional networking opportunities, community service, cultural activities, academic learning, and leadership training.

The Mandela Washington Fellows will also participate in the annual Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit held in Washington, D.C., which will provide an opportunity to meet with U.S. leaders from the private, public, and NGO sectors.

The YALI program was built on the premise of young leaders strengthening their knowledge and skills at U.S. institutions, connecting with other Africans from different regions and countries in Africa, and ensuring young leaders can harness their skills and take them back to their home countries while strengthening their own business, public, and civic spaces.

The YALI Act of 2021 would also continue to allow the United States to support and help strengthen the Africa-based component of the program including:

Quality leadership training, professional development, networking, and online courses for Mandela Washington Fellowship alumni when they return to their home countries;

Opportunities for networking with alumni of the Mandela Washington Fellowship; alumni of participants at the YALI Regional Leadership Centers; and American and African professionals and experts; and

Opportunities through the United States Africa Development Foundation to facilitate professional development and sharing of expertise in the home countries of Mandela Washington Fellowship alumni and throughout the African continent.

Through the implementation of the YALI Act of 2021, the United States will:

Promote U.S. policy goals in Africa by providing tools and resources to help young African leaders develop important skills and connections through online campaigns and public diplomacy initiatives; and establish a system for monitoring, evaluating, and continued improvement of the YALI program.

The bipartisan support of H.R. 965 shows that this bill is critical to U.S. national security. It also highlights that our relationship with Africa is a priority, and we want to continue to rebuild and strengthen our partnership in trade and investment, peace and security, and human rights and good governance, because it is in the best interest of the United States and Africa.

I thank, again, my good friend Mr. Meeks, the distinguished chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Mr. McCaul, the ranking member; and my good friend from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner) for their support on this bipartisan effort.

We cannot sit idly by in this body and watch an American resident, my constituent, brutally murdered and dismembered in the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Turkey. We cannot allow that to go unaddressed. The human rights abuse that represents is all too characteristic of the methods used by certain forces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against dissidents.

America remains the beacon of hope for those who seek freedom, basic simple freedoms to express themselves politically, religiously, and to be able to assemble peacefully. This bill ends the impunity against those voices of dissent. This bill provides that beacon of hope for so many who look to this body for protection and safe harbor.

I urge passage of H.R. 1392, Protection of Saudi Dissidents Act, which passed our committee unanimously, with the enlightened leadership of our distinguished chairman, Gregory Meeks, who has always committed himself to human rights.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 1392, the Protection of Saudi Dissidents Act of 2021.

Let me start by thanking my friend and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Gregory Meeks, for his leadership in bringing this important bill to the floor.

In February of this year, more than two years after the cold blooded murder of Washington Post journalist, and my constituent, Jamal Khashoggi, the Director of National Intelligence released a previously classified U.S. intelligence report.

The report clearly stated: ``We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.''

It continued: ``We base this assessment on the Crown Prince's control of decision making in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman's protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince's support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi.''

Finally, it concluded that ``since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom's security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince's authorization.''

We've always known, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman directed the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.

We also know that this operation is part of a broad and ongoing effort to use violence to intimidate and silence dissidents abroad.

And yet, the previous administration shielded Crown Prince MBS and Saudi Arabia from accountability, signaling this kind of abhorrent behavior was somehow ok, inviting further atrocities.

That impunity ends with this bill.

The Protection of Saudi Dissidents Act will stop the Kingdom and the Crown Prince from acting with impunity to commit gross human rights abuses like these.

My bill is targeted and does four specific things:

One: It limits arms exports to Saudi intelligence, internal security, or law enforcement entities if the President finds that Saudi Arabia has engaged in the following activities:

Forced repatriation, intimidation, or killing of dissidents in other countries;

The unjust imprisonment in Saudi Arabia of United States citizens or residents or the placing of travel restrictions on them or their family members; and

The torture of detainees in the custody of the Government of Saudi Arabia

Two: It requires the closure of one or more Saudi diplomatic facilities if the President finds that Saudi Arabia is using diplomatic or consular personnel to harass or harm Saudi nationals in the United States.

Three: It requires a report on whether Saudi Arabia has been engaged in a consistent pattern of acts of intimidation or harassment directed against individuals in the United States.

Four: Finally, it requires a report on whether the U.S. intelligence community fulfilled its duty to warn Jamal Khashoggi of threats to his life.

These provisions are long overdue.

This bill comes after years of fighting for the victims of Saudi Arabia's war on dissent.

I have spoken out on behalf of Dr. Saad Aljabri and activist and former political prisoner Loujain Al-Hathloul. I am currently fighting for my constituents, Salah Al-Haider and Aziza Al-Yousef, as they battle political persecution in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia will not change their ways unless we act.

I ask my colleagues to join me in sending a message to human rights defenders, dissidents, and journalists worldwide and reaffirm the unshakeable American commitment to basic rights and freedoms.

I ask my colleagues to end the ``two-year pageant of impunity'' by finally holding Saudi Arabia accountable for Jamal Khashoggi's brutal murder.

I ask my colleagues to support the Protection of Saudi Dissidents Act of 2021.

Madam Speaker, I thank my distinguished friend for the wonderful work he is doing as our new chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. And I thank my friend, Mr. McCaul, the distinguished ranking member.

Madam Speaker, this is an important bipartisan statement. Lives are at stake. It is urgent this House speak with one voice about what is happening in Myanmar, formerly Burma. The current crisis in the wake of a military coup in which violence is escalating by the day and protestors are being killed by the dozens demands a timely response.

I was pleased to introduce this bill in collaboration with the House Democracy Partnership chairman, Mr. David Price, and our Republican colleague, Mr. Vern Buchanan of Florida.

On February 1, the Burmese military seized control of Burma's Government in a coup d'etat by detaining democratically elected leaders from the National League of Democracy, NLD, just hours before the country's new parliament was set to meet for its first session. And that was following an overwhelming election result in that country.

Among those detained were State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; President U Win Myint; and other senior NLD leaders. In one fell swoop, the military plunged this national democracy into renewed political turmoil just as it was emerging from five decades of military rule and isolation.

In 2015, more than 30 million voters elected the NLD and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to power in the country's first general election.

The country's first peaceful transfer of power from military rule to a civilian government was celebrated around the world. Pictures of voters proudly raising their ink-stained fingers after the voting in the country's 2015 and 2020 elections had been replaced tragically by images of anger and tears and bloodshed.

The military takeover has jeopardized hard-won progress on everything, from infrastructure or education investments to the country's fragile peace process. It seeks to snuff out the hopes of the Burmese people for a better future.

At least 149 people, including children, have been killed by the security forces. Mass funerals have been conducted all across the country. More than 2,100 individuals--civilians, students, journalists, unionists--have been detained. Millions have poured onto the streets all across Burma to demand a return to democracy, putting themselves at grave risk for the sake of their own freedom.

A civil disobedience movement has emerged with medics, bankers, lawyers, teachers, engineers, factory workers, students, leaving their jobs and their study as a form of resistance against the coup. Despite military orders to shoot to kill, they have not backed down.

While we cannot be on the streets of Yangon or Mandalay or Nay Pyi Taw, we must stand in solidarity with those brave people in their peaceful protests against this coup.

That is what this bill seeks to do. The Protect Democracy in Burma Act would establish that it is the policy of the United States Government to engage with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their member states to condemn the coup, urge unconditional release of detained leaders and civil society members, and support the immediate return to a democratic transition. It instructs the United States Government to use its voice, vote, and influence in the U.N. to hold accountable those responsible for this coup.

Finally, the legislation states, as the sense of Congress, that the Burmese military has effectively nullified its participation with the House Democracy Partnership--a partnership here at the House that has been in place for the past 5 years.

Madam Speaker, I was privileged, along with our chairman, Mr. Price, to travel to Burma and meet with Aung San Suu Kyi as part of that partnership delegation back in 2016, a visit that reinforced our commitment to supporting Burma's democratization and development. The Burmese military must respect the results of democratic elections and allow the democratic transition in Burma to continue.

Madam Speaker, with this bill, with one voice, Congress will send a clear signal to the military junta that its unlawful seizure of power will not be accepted and there will be hope for the Burmese people.

Madam Speaker, my amendment would strengthen the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights by providing survivors the right to be informed of the status and location of their sexual assault evidence collection kit.

The Survivors' Bill of Rights was enacted in 2016 and provides fundamental protections to survivors, including: the right to receive a free medical forensic examination; the right to have a sexual assault kit preserved and to be informed of any results related to the examination including a DNA profile match or toxicology reports; the right to be informed of any disposal of a kit; and the right to prevent such disposal if desired.

These are important protections that can be funded through Federal grants made available through the Victims of Crime Act.

This amendment would add one additional and critical protection to that bill of rights.

It would entitle survivors to know the status and location of their kits, providing greater transparency to how kits are handled and tracked by hospitals, forensic professionals, and law enforcement.

My home state of Virginia launched just such a tracking program in 2019.

In Virginia, each kit has a unique bar code and each survivor is provided with a PIN that allows them to track the status of their kit online.

Privacy concerns are allayed by the fact that no personally identifying information is included in the tracking system, and it is entirely up to the survivor whether or not they want to report their assault to law enforcement.

This is a transformative transparency regime for a process that has far too long been kept in the shadows, which has given rise to backlogs and anxiety among survivors about the status of their kits and whether they are being used to hold their attackers accountable.

The amendment is about empowering survivors, and I urge its adoption.