Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor an Arizona legend, Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr., and congratulate him for reaching the milestone of 45 years of service as the senior pastor of First Institutional Baptist Church of Phoenix. Our community is so fortunate that Pastor Stewart has devoted his life to meaningful service that has made a difference in the lives of many, and I am personally grateful to call this civil rights leader, humanitarian, scholar and author a friend.

Pastor Stewart answered the call early in life and preached his first sermon when he was just 17 years old. Several years later he became the pastor at First Institutional Baptist, the youngest--and eventually longest serving--in the church's history.

During his tenure, he has led his congregation through transformative growth and his impact stretches far beyond his spirited sermons from the pulpit. He created a family resource center, the Samaritan House for homeless families, a home for teenage mothers and expanded the church's education and outreach services. Each of these have changed the trajectory of people's lives for the better.

Through many challenging moments in our community's recent history, Pastor Stewart has offered a voice of moral clarity. He's stood up to the darkest forces in our state and prevailed. When the extremists first stopped Arizona from recognizing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it was Pastor Stewart who organized, mobilized and energized the campaign to make that day a reality in our state.

It's not just Arizona where his legacy lives. He's preached throughout the United States and in more than 50 countries. While overseas, Pastor Stewart helped build a new church edifice and parsonage in the Republic of South Africa.

Arizona is fortunate to have experienced 45 years of Pastor Stewart's leadership, and we are hopeful for many more.

I thank Pastor Stewart for his friendship and service, and extend congratulations to him on this significant milestone.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this commonsense, bipartisan legislation, and I thank Chairman DeFazio and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves) for working with me on it.

Our country must do a better job inspecting infrastructure. There is a nationwide backlog, and it is because traditional methods of inspecting critical infrastructure are often time-consuming, dangerous, and expensive. Inspections are essential, though, and we have seen tragic results around the country when structural flaws go unnoticed.

Modern technology has given us a great tool that we can use for inspections: Drones. Using a drone to inspect infrastructure in hard- to-reach places, such as underneath bridges, can speed up the inspection process so that we

can get through the backlog more quickly, and it can help save money, as well.

In fact, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials estimate that utilizing drones reduces the cost of infrastructure inspections by 74 percent and the time needed to conduct the inspection by 88 percent.

Not only that, but drone inspections are much safer for the workers than having a human hang under a tall bridge. It is an easy way to improve job safety.

In my home State, the Arizona Department of Transportation has been using drones for several years to inspect hard-to-reach areas on bridges, and survey near highways where falling rocks or ground movements are potential hazards.

What this bill does is simple: It gives more States, Tribes, and local governments the opportunity to use drones. It creates competitive grants to purchase, contract for services, or develop program capability for American-made, small, unmanned aircraft systems to perform critical infrastructure inspection, maintenance, operation, or repair projects. And it provides resources to train the next generation and upskill our existing workforce.

This bill has broad support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Association of State Aviation Officials, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, and many, many others.

I urge my colleagues to support this important bipartisan bill.

Madam Chair, I join my colleagues in support of the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act. I support this bill because we are in the midst of a crisis. After decades of severe drought, the Colorado River, which supplies water to 40 million people across seven States, is on the brink of collapse. The future of Arizona and the entire American Southwest depends on how we respond.

Bold action to protect our water supply has never been more important, and the Federal Government needs to act with the urgency before it is too late.

The Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act is a necessary step to help our communities deal with the impacts of climate change and a drier future. It builds on the investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law to use our water more efficiently, and it includes my legislation to provide $500 million for immediate action to protect critical water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell.

Time is of the essence. We must act now. We cannot allow this crisis to turn into a catastrophe. I urge my colleagues to save the Colorado River, save the American Southwest, and support this bill.

Madam Speaker, thanks to years of hard work, we have made Arizona a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing. It is one of our State's fastest-growing industries.

We have supported innovative, local companies that produce base materials, we have trained a talented STEM workforce through our colleges and universities, and we have attracted billions of dollars in investment to build semiconductor fabs in the Valley of the Sun.

These days microchips are in everything from consumer electronics and cars to technologies that support our national defense. Increasingly, those chips are made in Arizona. In the future, I want more of those chips to be manufactured in Arizona. That was why I was an early and vocal supporter of the CHIPS Act.

It comes down to one word: jobs.

This bill will help drive down costs for consumers and lower our reliance on foreign countries all while creating and supporting tens of thousands of high-paying jobs in my home State of Arizona.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill to recharge America's economy.

Madam Speaker, for 126 days now, Brittney Griner has been wrongfully detained by Russia.

Every single day that goes by is a lifetime for her wife, Cherelle, her family, friends, and teammates on the Phoenix Mercury.

As mayor of Phoenix, I was so lucky to watch her develop and grow as a professional athlete and also as a respected leader in the Phoenix community. One of the best basketball players of our generation, she has won gold medals representing the United States twice at the Olympic Games. Like many WNBA players, she needed to supplement her income by playing professional basketball in Russia, and she was proud to do so.

But, now, Brittney finds herself a prisoner of the Russian Government. Her legal hearings continue to be delayed without good reason. It is unacceptable.

It is time for the House to speak with one unified voice and call for Brittney's safe return and to show support for every American wrongfully detained in Russia.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 164 inventors who will soon be inducted as the 2021 Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) in an induction ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona that will feature a keynote address by U.S. Commissioner for Patents, Andrew Hirshfeld. To be named as a Fellow, these men and women were nominated by their peers and have undergone the scrutiny of the NAI Selection Committee, having had their innovations deemed as making significant impact on quality of life, economic development and welfare of society.

Collectively, this elite group holds over 4,800 patents. This year's class of Fellows includes individuals from 118 research universities and non-profit research institutes spanning across the United States and the world. The now 1,567-member group of Fellows is composed of more than 200 senior leaders of research universities and nonprofit research institutes, over 600 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; 45 inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, 63 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation and U.S. National Medal of Science, 45 Nobel Laureates, 450 AAAS Fellows, 314 IEEE Fellows and 251 Fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, among other awards and distinctions. The NAI was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society.

We are greatly indebted to innovators such as the ones being inducted for their contributions to society through their inventions. I commend these individuals, and the organizations and taxpayers that support them, for the work they do to revolutionize the world we live in. As the following inventors are inducted, may it encourage future generations to strive to meet this high honor and continue the spirit of discovery and innovation.

The 2021 NAI Fellows include:

Katerina Akassoglou, University of California--San Francisco; Norma A. Alcantar, University of South Florida; Zhiqiang An, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Treena Arinzeh, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Andrea Armani, University of Southern California; Santokh S. Badesha, Purdue University; Sanjay Banerjee, The University of Texas at Austin; Ravi Bellamkonda, Duke University; Ronald D. Berger, Johns Hopkins University; Madan M. Bhasin, Louisiana State University.

Greg E. Blonder, Boston University; Jef D. Boeke, NYU Langone Health; Thomas Boland, The University of Texas at El Paso; Xandra O. Breakefield, Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute; Joan F. Brennecke, The University of Texas at Austin; Marcel P. Bruchez, Carnegie Mellon University; Vladimir Bulovic, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Anthony N. Caruso, University of Missouri-Kansas City; Babu Chalamala, Sandia National Laboratories; Joseph Chappell, University of Kentucky.

Shaochen Chen, University of California, San Diego; Shigao Chen, Mayo Clinic; Yingying Chen, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Shih Cheng-Yen, Tzu Chi University of Science and Technology; Tze- Chiang Chung, The Pennsylvania State University; William W. Clark, University of Pittsburgh; Stuart L. Cooper, The Ohio State University; Max D. Cooper, Emory University; Gerard L. Cote, Texas A&M University; Douglas F. Covey, Washington University in St. Louis.

Gregory P. Crawford, Miami University; Ronald G. Crystal, Weill Cornell Medicine; Fa F. Dai, Auburn University; Ted M. Dawson, Johns Hopkins University; Ananth Dodabalapur, The University of Texas at Austin; Patricia Donahoe, Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute; Elmootazbellah Elnozahy, King Abdullah University of Science

and Technology; Thomas H. Epps, University of Delaware; Rong Fan, Yale University; Liesl Folks, The University of Arizona.

Holloway H. Frost, Jr., The University of Texas at Arlington; Bruce K. Gale, The University of Utah; Bruce C. Gates, University of California; Davis, Jordan J. Green Johns Hopkins University; Paula T. Hammond. Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Benjamin G. Harvey, Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division--NAWCWD China Lake; Ayanna Howard, The Ohio State University; James E. Hubbard, Jr., Texas A&M University; Alex lgnatiev, University of Houston; David Jaffray, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Cherie R. Kagan, University of Pennsylvania; Hari Kalva, Florida Atlantic University.

Richard B. Kaner, University of California, Los Angeles; Anumantha G. Kanthasamy, University of Georgia; Sanjiv Kapoor, Illinois Institute of Technology; Jeffrey Karp, Harvard University; Frederick A. Kish, Jr., North Carolina State University; George Koob, National Institutes of Health; Joerg Lahann, University of Michigan; Sidney E. Law, University of Georgia; Kelvin H. Lee, University of Delaware; Gwo-Bin Lee, National Tsing Hua University.

Craig A. Lehmann, Stony Brook University; Xingen Lei, Cornell University; Henry A. Lester, California Institute of Technology; King C. Li, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Xiaochun R. Li, University of California, Los Angeles; Chenzhong Li, Tulane University; Zhiyong Liang, Florida State University; Jianming Liang, Arizona State University; Zhi-Pei Liang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Ming C. Lin, University of Maryland, College Park.

Steven R. Little, University of Pittsburgh; Zheng-Rong Lu, Case Western Reserve University; Yi Lu, The University of Texas at Austin; Serge Luryi, Stony Brook University; Thomas R. Mackie, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Shlomo Magdassi, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Ajay Malshe, Purdue University; Terry Matsunaga, The University of Arizona; John A. McLean, Vanderbilt University; Craig H. Meyer, University of Virginia.

Alan J. Michaels, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Jeffrey Milbrandt, Washington University in St. Louis; Sumita B. Mitra, University of South Florida; Osama Mohammed, Florida International University; Subhra Mohapatra, University of South Florida; Duncan T. Moore, University of Rochester; Daniel Moran, Washington University in St. Louis; Morton M. Mower, University of Colorado Denver; Russell J. Mumper, The University of Alabama; Govindarajan Muralidharan, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Sri R. Narayan, University of Southern California; D. Scott NeSmith, University of Georgia; Tse Nga Ng, University of California, San Diego; Vincent C. Njar, University of Maryland, Baltimore; Richard D. Noble, University of Colorado Boulder; Anson Ong, The University of Texas at San Antonio; Abraham Oommen, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Karen Panetta, Tufts University; Khanh D. Pham, Air Force Research Laboratory; Rosalind W. Picard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Lawrence Pileggi, Carnegie Mellon University; Jill Pipher, Brown University; Brian W. Pogue, Dartmouth College; Maurizio Prato, University of Trieste.

Samuel Prien, Texas Tech University; Jose C. Principe, University of Florida; Susan E. Quaggin, Northwestern University; Clive Randall, The Pennsylvania State University; Amanda Randles, Duke University; Theodore W. Randolph, University of Colorado Boulder; Venigalla B. Rao, The Catholic University of America; Nalini K. Ratha, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York; Behzad Razavi, University of California, Los Angeles; Charles M. Rice The Rockefeller University.

Subrata Roy, University of Florida; Bulent Sarlioglu, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Majid Sarrafzadeh, University of California, Los Angeles; Richard Sayre, New Mexico Consortium; David V. Schaffer, University of California, Berkeley; Richard A. Schatz, Duke University; Julie M. Schoenung, University of California, Irvine; Richard R. Schrock, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Chandan K. Sen, Indiana University; Cyrus Shahabi, University of Southern California.

Fergus Shanahan, University College Cork; K.B. Sharpless, The Scripps Research Institute; Pei-Yong Shi, The University of Texas Medical Branch; Andrei Shkel, University of California, Irvine; Steven J. Simske, Colorado State University; Raghupathy Sivakumar, Georgia Institute of Technology; Alexander H. Slocum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jill P. Smith, Georgetown University; Joshua Smith, University of Washington; Susan L. Sokolowski, University of Oregon.

Milan Sonka, University of Iowa; Natalie Stingelin, Georgia Institute of Technology; Gerald B. Stringfellow, The University of Utah; Luyi Sun, University of Connecticut; Earl E. Swartzlander, Jr., The University of Texas at Austin; Juming Tang, Washington State University; Michael M. Thackeray, Argonne National Laboratory; Ganesh Thakur, University of Houston; Bruce Tromberg, National Institutes of Health; Mark E. Van Dyke, The University of Arizona.

Thirumalai V. Venkatesan, The University of Oklahoma; Jian-Ping Wang, University of Minnesota; Binghe Wang, Georgia State University; Nien- Hwa Wang, Purdue University; Shan X. Wang, Stanford University; Bennett C. Ward, Virginia Commonwealth University; James J. Watkins, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Anthony S. Weiss, The University of Sydney; Gregory F. Welch, University of Central Florida; David G. Whitten, The University of New Mexico.

David Williams, University of Rochester; Darren Woodside, Texas Heart Institute; Hong Yan, City University of Hong Kong; Paul G. Yock, Stanford University; Richard A. Yost, University of Florida; Habib Zaghouani, University of Missouri-Columbia; Ya-Qin Zhang, Tsinghua University; Ming-Ming Zhou, Mount Sinai Health System.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 3294, a bill to honor Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg with statues here in the United States Capitol.

Both overcame formidable barriers and defied the odds, paving the way for future generations of women, but Justice Sandra Day O'Connor holds a special place in the hearts of all Arizonans.

Born on a ranch in eastern Arizona, Justice O'Connor brought a tough, no-nonsense attitude with her throughout her career in public service. She blazed every trail she set foot on. And just this past Saturday, she celebrated her 92nd birthday.

Justice O'Connor served as Arizona's assistant attorney general, the first female majority leader to serve in any State senate across the United States of America, and as a Maricopa County Superior Court judge. In 1981, she took her Arizona brand of independence and pragmatism with her to the United States Supreme Court.

Justice O'Connor shattered the highest glass ceiling in the legal profession, but Arizonans most admire her for the way she made it there, with unparalleled talent, intelligence, and relentless grit.

Her independent-minded commitment to interpreting the Constitution and reaching workable decisions served our Nation and the rule of law well.

One of the things that I most admire about Justice O'Connor is what she did after she retired from the United States Supreme Court. She foresaw deep divisions in our society and our politics. She knew that we needed to improve civil discourse if we hoped to keep our democracy strong.

Mr. Speaker, after 25 years on the Court, she came back to Arizona and got right back to work.

She founded the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute For American Democracy in Phoenix to promote civic education, inspiring future generations to not only participate in our democracy but to contribute to it with the same degree of thoughtfulness, civility, and grace that she has throughout her amazing career.

I have been lucky enough to work with her and the institute through the Camp O'Connor civics education program for middle school students. I saw firsthand the difference that program makes in the lives of our next generation of leaders, and I saw how much Justice O'Connor truly cares about those children and about all people.

That is her legacy to me.

Justice O'Connor and Justice Ginsburg were deeply committed in their service to the American people. They are more than deserving of this recognition.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor and congratulate Mrs. Nancy Parra-Quinlan for being named the 2022 Arizona Teacher of the Year by the Arizona Educational Foundation. Mrs. Parra-Quinlan, a 7th and 8th grade teacher at Kino Junior High in the Mesa Public Schools district, has inspired her students over her 27-year career to reach for the stars and create a better and brighter future for our state.

School year after school year, Mrs. Parra-Quinlan has distinguished herself as a uniquely gifted and hardworking educator. She has revolutionized STEM education in the Mesa Public School District and has selflessly served our community both inside and outside of the classroom. Her lessons expose her students to valuable real-world skills in a rapidly evolving technology industry throughout Arizona. Mrs. Parra-Quinlan has sponsored and directed incredible programs like the STEM Institute for Manufacturing and Innovation, and Mesa Public School's Aerospace Academy. Through it all, she finds time to volunteer with the Civil Air Patrol as a statewide Assistant Director of Aerospace Education and with the 305th Squadron at Falcon Field in Mesa as the Aerospace Education Office.

Mrs. Parra-Quinlan is an exemplary advocate for girls, students of color, and all students who are underrepresented in STEM, and is helping create a more diverse and equitable future for Arizona. By innovating and expanding the kinds of courses and activities offered at Mesa Public Schools, she opens new

doors of opportunity for her students every day--even before they begin high school. She plans to spend a year of service as an Arizona Teacher of the Year continuing her mission of getting more of our students involved in STEM and making the field more inclusive and representative of our ever diverse and vibrant community.

I am beyond proud to honor Mrs. Parra-Quinlan for her remarkable service and astounding legacy at Kino Junior High School. Mrs. Parra- Quinlan cares deeply about her work, students, coworkers, and our state. She chose to become a teacher to inspire the next generation and change the lives of her students--and we are all grateful for her work as a teacher, role model, and mentor. I wish her and her students the very best as she continues to innovate, inspire, and shape a promising future for the STEM field, and the state of Arizona.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a fine Arizona public servant who we unexpectedly lost just a few days ago: Grant Woods, our State's former attorney general, someone who made a lasting impact on every person he met and on our State and on our Nation.

Before he was an elected official in his own right, Grant was a staff member right here in the people's House. Then-Congressman John McCain chose Grant as his first chief of staff and they formed a friendship that lasted the rest of the great Senator's life.

They had a lot in common. They believed in bipartisanship and compromise, and they were both willing to ruffle a few feathers if they thought it was the right thing to do. And when it counted most, they lived by the most simple creed: country first.

In the 1990s, as Arizona's top law enforcement official, Grant earned a reputation as a fighter for the little guy, and for good reason. He was one of the attorneys general who took on Big Tobacco and won, earning the largest civil settlement in our Nation's history on behalf of countless Arizonans who had been harmed.

After he left elected office, he continued his crusades as one of the Nation's top trial attorneys. He was a true Renaissance man, a writer and a musician, and he was a passionate supporter of the arts and local artists. In fact, he is a member of the Arizona Music Hall of Fame.

He was a tireless advocate for children. In fact, there is a Boys & Girls Club in the East Valley named after Grant Woods. No one was a bigger fan of Arizona sports and sports teams than Grant Woods, and he was an occasional critic of those teams when they deserved it.

Grant reminded us that public service isn't about partisanship. It is about making life a little bit easier for the hardworking people you serve. His passing is a tremendous loss for all of Arizona. He will be forever remembered for his faithful service to our State, our country, and our democracy.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate a significant milestone that will be reached in my district on Saturday, October 30: the 100th anniversary of the construction of the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center. It was the first synagogue built in the city of Phoenix and this historic place has deeply enriched our community for a century.

In the spring of 1920, a group of 32 residents joined together to form Phoenix's first Jewish congregation, Congregation Beth Israel. The next year, on October 30, 1921, they broke ground and began to the lay the cornerstone for a place of worship, Temple Beth Israel.

Madam Speaker, the early days for this congregation were not easy, particularly when you consider they had no air conditioning during the sweltering heat of an Arizona summer. But these individuals were united by their deep-rooted faith and unwavering commitment to the values of Judaism.

Temple Beth Israel was a place of worship, but it was also a place where members of our community came together to celebrate culture, faith and education. It hosted meetings with members of the B'nai B'rith and the National Council of Jewish Women, and frequently held Passover Seders and special dances.

In 1949, Congregation Beth Israel sold the property to the Southern Baptist Convention and the building became home to Phoenix's first Chinese-speaking Christian Church. In 1981, the property was sold again, this time to a Spanish-speaking Baptist Church. It remained under their care until purchased by the Jewish Historical Society in 2002, upon which time it was bestowed its present-day name: the Cutler- Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center.

Today, the building serves as an important religious and cultural archive, housing more than 50,000 artifacts of Jewish history in Arizona and the Southwest United States. It also continues to host forums and educational events, and remains a regional nexus of the Jewish faith.

I am proud to recognize the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center's extraordinary accomplishment and ask that my colleagues join me in expressing deep gratitude to the many individuals who have called this building home, including the late Rabbi Albert Plotkin and the Arizona Jewish Historical Society's Executive Director Lawrence Bell, Treasurer Lawrence Cutler, and Founder Jerry Lewkowitz. Mr. Lewkowitz's parents were original leaders of Congregation Beth Israel and fifth generation family members will be celebrating at this year's centennial.

The leadership of these individuals and so many others will ensure the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center remains a positive influence in our community for years to come. Collectively, they helped make Phoenix the culturally rich and diverse place that it is today. Best wishes for the next 100 years.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life and legacy of Richard Stahl, who passed away on January 3, 2021. A community leader and LGBTQ+ advocate, Richard

was a fearless champion for LGBTQ+ causes and fought tirelessly to bring us one step closer to eradicating HIV. Today, Arizona is a better and brighter place for his presence among us.

A New Jersey native, Richard had a profound love for Arizona. Put best by Richard himself, ``I will retire here someday.'' After moving to the Grand Canyon state, Richard immediately rooted himself firmly giving all his time, heart, and soul to the betterment of our community. Casa Ben Dita--his beloved McCormick Ranch home--became a gathering place for some of the premiere LGBTQ+ organizations in Phoenix--particularly Lambda Legal, the oldest national legal organization dedicated to working for the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Year after year, Richard inspired so many and had a unique sense of bringing people together for the common good.

When Aunt Rita's Foundation brought the AIDS Walk back to Phoenix, Richard was one of the first to jump in and support its success. He also was relentlessly active in Aunt Rita's Red Brunch to celebrate World AIDS Day and joined the Foundation's Red Purse Club, generously donating his time, talents, and treasure year after year.

His commitment to LGBTQ+ rights and the eradication of HIV extended beyond excellence in service and volunteerism. Together, with community partners, Richard helped form permanent financial legacies for the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDs. His generosity transformed the Southwest Center from a small organization to a thriving pillar of our community. Richard showed that by giving, anyone and everyone can change the world.

Today, the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDs is known as Arizona's premiere leader for financially accessible, culturally competent, LGBTQ+ friendly healthcare. For his lifetime achievement, he received the Southwest Center Philanthropist Lifetime Legacy Award and was named a Partner for Life. In his honor, the Center named its clinical trials division the ``Richard P. Stahl Research Wing''.

As we reflect how long we have come in the work to eradicate HIV, there is no doubt our progress was shaped by Richard Stahl. Arizona owes him a debt of gratitude, and he will be deeply missed by his friends, family, and all those he uplifted with his positivity and unwavering support.

Madam Speaker, in this spirit of remembrance, I rise to honor the life and legacy of Richard Stahl. I thank Richard, and Godspeed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate the Arizona Informant on 50 years of excellence in reporting on our state's most important issues. Since its start, the paper's motto has been: ``98% of Our News You Won't Find in Any Other News Media in Arizona,'' and it's delivered on that, shining a light on members of our community. For five decades, the paper has chronicled stories of Black Americans. It has reported on the importance of African American representation in Arizona politics, racial disparities in the criminal justice system, the need to improve policing in communities of color, and the stories of resilience throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. But most importantly, it has documented the history, successes, and leadership of African Americans in our community.

The newspaper was founded by Cloves Campbell, Sr., Arizona's first Black state senator, and his brother Charles Campbell, a respected and accomplished educator. They knew firsthand that the press of the '50s and '60s rarely told the full story on any issue affecting communities of color that seldom came across the newswire. Too often, mainstream media coverage of Black Americans focused mostly on large Civil Rights demonstrations. Those stories usually covered the events themselves and rarely took the time to tell what happened after these influential demonstrations, nor the work of Black Americans whose brave and courageous actions made those events possible. As they lived through this history, Cloves and Charles realized they could tell these stories better themselves--and so they did.

In 1971, with just $1, Charles and Cloves bought the Arizona Informant and transformed it into the paper we know now. Today, as much of Arizona and national media suffer from shrinking readership, the paper is seeing growth, boasting 100,000 weekly readers. The Arizona Informant remains Arizona's only Black-owned weekly newspaper. The paper also uses the influence of its non-profit foundation, the Arizona Informant Foundation, to provide and develop valuable resources and opportunities to help build and bolster Black and African American communities in Arizona.

For 50 years, the paper has successfully captured the history of our community--bringing important issues and voices into the spotlight. As our country continues to see disparities in the Black community and communities of color, we are reminded that we need outlets that see and embrace their identity, as members of the community they cover, not as a ``bias'' but as an asset to report the truth. Journalism needs more outlets like the Arizona Informant who not only do quality journalism but do so with newsrooms that reflect and empathize with the communities and issues they carefully cover.

The Campbell brothers and the Informant remind us that diversity is essential, not only to the success of journalism, but to the success and vibrancy of our community. Their spirit lives on with Cloves' son, Cloves Campbell, Jr., who has followed in his father's footsteps and continued his legacy of journalistic excellence as publisher of the newspaper.

I thank the Arizona Informant for being a pillar of our community. Congratulations on 50 years of reporting with integrity and diligence on the issues that matter most to Arizona. Here's to the next 50 years and beyond.

Madam Speaker, I want to commend Chair DeLauro and Chair Pingree for their work on this bill and the significant progress it makes in addressing so many issues that have impacted tribes across the nation, including Arizona.

This is by far the most funding provided to tribal nations in the history of our country, and I appreciate your commitment to consulting with tribal governments as this bill was drafted

The bill before us includes funding for staffing newly opened health facilities. Very near my district, the River People's Health Center, located on the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community Reservation, is one of these new facilities.

I am grateful it would fully fund the Indian Health Service's (IHS) request for staff at the River People Health Center, and that language is included to ensure the facility will receive staffing funding should the opening date come earlier than IHS currently projects.

However, I also understand that the Community has raised concerns with the IHS that the funding request does not include 11 positions that are in the original authorized staffing plan for the Health Center.

Unfortunately, while the Community sent a letter more than two months ago requesting clarification and justification for this discrepancy, they have yet to receive a response.

While this issue is being worked out between the Community and IHS, I would ask that the Committee continue to work with me to ensure the final bill will fully fund the authorized staffing levels and 638 contracts for the newly-opened facilities, as agreed to in the final contract between the tribe and the federal government.

Chairwoman Chellie Pingree:

I want to thank the gentleman from Arizona for raising this

concern and for his consistent support for strong funding for

Tribal Nations. I am proud to say that our subcommittee has

strongly supported Tribal priorities and programs, because we

know that these accounts are still far underfunded and

oversubscribed.

I also want to thank him for his support of the Indian

Health Services' River People's Health Center on the Salt

River Reservation. I am very pleased that this bill provides

the funding necessary to open this new facility and others

across the nation. With the pandemic still raging in many

parts of the Country, it is essential that we get these

facilities up and running as soon as possible.

Staffing for new facilities is an issue we closely monitor.

We look forward to updates on negotiations between the Salt

River Pima Maricopa Indian Community and IHS and will work

with our colleagues in the Senate as the situation evolves.

I thank Madam Chair for her support. I look forward to working with her and supporting the wellbeing of our Tribal communities

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of the ALLIES Act.

I believe, as my colleagues have stated so eloquently, that we have a moral

obligation and a duty to take care of those who protected and safeguarded American troops in Afghanistan.

Future allies will look at how we treated those who put themselves in harm's way: the thousands of interpreters and others who aided our mission when they are asked to help us in other times of need.

There is one particular group I would like to call special attention to: the Afghan Female Tactical Platoon. This small group of elite Afghan women sought a better future for their country. They were trained by our country's Special Forces and supported our special operation missions during the war. They gathered essential intelligence and helped protect the lives of innocent civilians and American troops. We owe these brave women more than our gratitude. We owe them what they gave us: loyalty and protection.

Because of their gender, they are marked for especially heinous retaliation and punishment by the Taliban. Without our help they will almost certainly be raped, sold into sex trafficking, tortured, or executed all because they helped the American people.

I want to thank Representative Crow for his steadfast leadership on this critically important issue, and I urge my colleagues to approve this essential bill.