Floor Statements

Madam Chair, my amendment would add an additional $5 million for DOJ grants to Tribal Governments to support the exercise special jurisdiction over those who commit domestic violence related offenses on tribal lands.

Tribal sovereignty is absolute and non-negotiable.

This amendment fulfills our trust obligation to our First Peoples.

That is why in 2013, when I led VA WA reauthorization, I fought to grant tribes the ability to prosecute those who commit acts of domestic violence on tribal lands.

This ability is essential to protecting American Indian and Alaskan Native women who currently experience the highest rates of domestic and sexual violence.

Relying solely on federal law enforcement to investigate and prosecute these cases has been wholly inadequate, allowing many to escape justice despite committing despicable crimes against Native women.

With this year's VA WA reauthorization, we built on previous changes to allow tribes to act swiftly against those non-Native perpetrators who assault law enforcement, commit sexual violence, engage in sex trafficking, and engage in stalking.

We need to give them funding to robustly carry out existing and new responsibilities. My amendment helps to that.

I thank my cosponsors, Rep. Deb Haaland, and Rep. Sharice Davids, for their support and for working on this issue and I urge the House to support my amendment.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of my amendment to increase funding for the Air National Guard's Facility Modernization and Sustainment account. I appreciate the support of the chairman for its inclusion in en bloc No. 2 to the Defense Appropriations bill.

I am so proud of the work of the men and women in the National Guard, including in my home state of Wisconsin.

Unfortunately, decrepit, outdated, and decaying Air National Guard facilities are a disservice to the men and women who put on the uniform.

They deserve facilities that are up-to-date and which will help improve their ability to carry out their missions in defense of our nation and their communities.

Yet, we know that such aging and inefficient facilities exist nationwide including in my district where the 128th Air Refueling Wing is operating out of a building which was built in 1970, has aging and hard to maintain critical building systems and where much of the current square footage is unusable. That's according to the Defense Department. This is not an isolated story which is why I think an increase here is necessary.

I appreciate the chairman, in his mark, for boosting funding for this critical account. I applaud his recognition of the situation facing many Air Guard units across the country and his commitment to putting funding into this account.

But the needs simply continue to outpace available resources.

I am aware that there are National Guard units across our country that have worthwhile projects directly related to military readiness that they would like to pursue. This additional funding should be prioritized for projects that can help increase mission readiness at minimal additional costs to the taxpayers.

For example, projects that would give help Air Guard units take advantage of and utilize available local assets such as national jet fuel pipelines to provide instant access to additional fuel reserves and provide a critical second, reliable, secure and convenient fuel delivery method that would help ensure that strategic missions such as refueling could continue uninterrupted should the primary method of receiving fuel be disrupted.

Now that the House has approved my amendment, I would urge the Defense Department to utilize these additional funds for needed projects that directly sustain mission readiness and contribute to our national defense. The reality is that there are plenty out there.

Again, I support the Chairman's mark and I am grateful for the inclusion of my amendment to help enable more projects that can build greater resiliency for execution of critical State and Federal Air National Guard missions.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, my amendment relates to the Centers for Disease Control, establishing a national standard for investigating childhood deaths from sudden infant death syndrome.

The death of a child, Madam Chair, is always a tragedy, but the unexplained nature of some of these deaths only makes it harder for grieving families, as well as public health officials and policymakers who are working to prevent them.

I have had the heartrending experience of walking into the home of parents who are grieving. That grief doesn't just begin when their infant dies, but goes on for a lifetime, wondering: Was it my fault? Could I have done something? Am I a bad parent?

My amendment would help us better understand why thousands of infants between the age of birth and 1, and hundreds of children between the ages of 1 and 4, are still dying unexpectedly in our country. These deaths include those from sudden infant death syndrome.

Scarlett Lillian Pauley was one of those children, Madam Chair. Scarlett loved her pets, including her dog, Stitch, who she called ``Sitch,'' and her cat, Colby, who she called ``Max'' or ``Maps.''

Scarlett loved to smile. She loved books. Her favorite book was ``Barnyard Dance'' by Sandra Boynton, which her mom read to her right before she put her to sleep on January 7, 2017. A few hours later, her mama went to check on her and Scarlett was not breathing in her crib. After being taken to the hospital, this beautiful 16-month-old baby was declared dead on January 8, 2017.

That is just one story. In 2017, there were 3,600 infants who died suddenly and unexpectedly, according to CDC data, including 1,400 from

Madam Chair, I thank the ranking member, Mr. Cole, who is a leading cosponsor of my stand-alone legislation to help families that see their children and infants die suddenly get some resolution.

This is an example of smart investments in our healthcare sprinkled throughout this bill.

Madam Chair, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, this amendment would provide $4.5 million in additional funding for the CDC's Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances, also known as DELTA, program to reach the level that the domestic violence advocates have made clear that they need to adequately support this effort.

The DELTA program is dedicated to the prevention of domestic violence. While most Federal programs provide victim services, or hold perpetrators accountable, and train healthcare providers and others to spot or respond to domestic violence, the DELTA program works directly with over 50 communities nationwide to prevent first-time victims and to prevent first-time perpetrators of domestic violence.

With one in three women and one in four men experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetimes, we need this funding now more than ever.

This program works with stakeholders, activists, and mentors to teach youth about sexual assault and teen dating violence while promoting healthy relationships.

This investment was important in my home State of Wisconsin, where the DELTA program created meaningful initiatives among our Tribal communities, like the Oneida's Wise Women Gathering Place and Milwaukee's own Diverse & Resilient organization that worked with LGBTQ youth on safe relationships.

Madam Chair, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), chairwoman of the subcommittee.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I rise to offer an amendment to add funding to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Madam Chair, this amendment to add funding to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration would support the distribution of fentanyl test strips by our State and local public health partners.

Unintentional drug overdose deaths have climbed to record high levels, claiming around 70,000 lives in the United States in 2017. One of the drivers is fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is significantly more potent than heroin. Because fentanyl is so cheap and strong, dealers have an incentive to use it to cut drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

In New York City in 2017--just to name one locality, but the story is the same in many other places--fentanyl was involved in 57 percent of all the drug overdose deaths. Between 2000 and 2012, that rate was only 2 percent, but in 2017 it was much higher.

This crisis, a public health epidemic and emergency, means that we need to bring more tools to the fight. While some agencies, like the NIH, have noted the need to consider all evidence-based programs that can help address the damage being caused in our communities by opioids, others, like SAMHSA, have clearly not, which is troubling.

In April, the NIH awarded a grant to the University of Kentucky that aimed at reducing opioid overdose deaths by 40 percent in 16 counties using evidence-based solutions. One of the evidence-based solutions that could be pursued would be using these funds in overdose prevention efforts, such as naloxone distribution and fentanyl test strip distribution.

Unfortunately, it appears that SAMHSA has taken the opposite

stance and has warned its grantees against funding such efforts. This is perplexing, Madam Chair, since it receives hundreds of millions of dollars from this Congress to address the opioid crisis, including overdoses.

What is a fentanyl strip? Fentanyl strips are used to detect the presence of fentanyl in drugs. While there are other ways to detect the presence of fentanyl in drugs, testing strips are more sensitive and significantly less expensive than other methods.

Madam Chair, studies have found this approach works to positively influence behavior. Recent studies have found that using these strips can be helpful to reduce fentanyl overdose risks, including leading some individuals to discard their drug supply or taking some other action to reduce harm to themselves.

In one study, those who saw the positive results were five times more likely to change the way they used the drug in an effort to avoid overdosing, and so people want to make moral judgments about it.

Sure, we need to provide rehabilitation services to people, Madam Chair, but it is impossible to rehab someone who is dead.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time, and I withdraw my amendment.

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the career and ongoing legacy of Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson, the first woman and longest serving justice on our state's highest court. Born and raised in New York City, Justice Abrahamson often says, ``At first I intended to be a teacher, but somewhere around 5 or 6 years old, I decided to be a lawyer, and when I really looked back to before wanting to be a teacher, I was going to be President of the United States, and don't count me out yet.''

Her path to the potential presidency led her to the Indiana Law School in 1953 after graduating magna cum laude from New York University. Justice Abrahamson was one of the only two women enrolled during a time when there were not a lot of women in the law practice. While attending, her fellow classmates stood in awe of her performance and ability to recite cases and make arguments. According to her it was often the gossip amongst the students that whoever finished top in the class would automatically get an offer from large leading Indianapolis law firms, but the Dean thought that they wouldn't hire a woman.

Despite that belief, she persisted, graduating with high distinction from the Indiana School of Law, she was then hired and quickly promoted to partner at a law firm in Madison, Wisconsin. As she continued her private practice, Justice Abrahamson served as a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Her career would be redirected in 1976 when she was appointed to be an Associate Justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Justice Abrahamson would be repeatedly elected to 10- year terms on the bench with clear majorities each time and would be later sworn in as Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1996.

When she joined the court, she was given a voice--a voice that she was never reluctant to use. At times when our state and court's fundamental values were continuously challenged, she expressed her views off the bench when necessary. She is an unshakable defender of progressive values, a protector of victims and a voice who fought against the special interests, and corporate wrong-doing. She is a judicial heavyweight, one of the most respected justices in United States history, and a trailblazer for women everywhere.

Justice Abrahamson often says that her accomplishments are due to the generations of women who blazed that trail so that she can walk on it. However, Madam Speaker, in a time when very few women were in the law practice, she took that risk, picked up the mantle and continued to pave the way so women like myself, in this Congress and across the nation could walk on it. As Justice Abrahamson heads to retirement, her absence will leave a void in our state, but the legacy she leaves behind will inspire generations to come.

Madam Speaker, Justice Shirley Abrahamson has helped change the course of American History for the better, and I applaud her for everything she has contributed to the state of Wisconsin and our nation.

Mr. Speaker, here we are, yet again, to extend block grants to States for the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Act through September 30, 2019, this time in the form of H.R. 2940. I support that initiative.

However, with the reform of ``welfare as we knew it'' pre-1996, instead of helping people out of poverty, as the narrative goes, we have created a permanent underclass of primarily women workers who have been denied education, denied training, and denied childcare while being required to work at below-subsistence levels or, worse, forced to engage in work activities with absolutely no compensation, which is violative of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery and uncompensated work.

Mr. Speaker, our so-called welfare reform can more accurately be described as ``welfare deform,'' given the flagrant flaws that amount to government-sanctioned child abuse--for example, the requirement to work without guaranteed, safe, and affordable childcare, and the imposition of time limits during countercyclical episodes, like the one we saw during the Great Recession.

Mr. Speaker, I have drafted a bill called the RISE Out of Poverty Act that would do more than just extend TANF. It would reform it by stipulating that reducing child poverty and securing childcare while the parent is at work would be the primary purpose of TANF.

We would lift people out of poverty. The block grants would be spent on programs that would alleviate poverty, not on projects like filling the holes in a government's budget.

While I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2940, I also encourage us, Mr. Speaker, to roll up our sleeves and get to work and craft an overhaul of this program that would fix the shortcomings that exist in the TANF program we now have.

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership and for moving this bipartisan legislation forward. This is really a necessary step to ensuring that more Americans can save for retirement.

I also commend the chairman for his swift action to redress the harsh tax rate and unintended consequences caused by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 on Gold Star families, low-income children, and young adults who receive payments from Tribal governments.

Our special tax rules on unearned income of children and young adults to prevent wealthy families from engaging in tax planning to artificially lower their tax burden, of course, is not relevant to these payments made to Gold Star families, survivor benefits, and Tribal children.

The 2017 rate repeal only partially addressed an underlying problem where additional legislation is required relative to Tribal youth. Mr. Estes and I introduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 2018, to fix the underlying problem of the kiddie tax on taxable disbursements made by Tribal governments.

So, Madam Speaker, I ask the chairman to tell Members of this Chamber and the Tribes who are watching closely throughout the country what his intentions are relative to the underlying problem with the kiddie tax.

Madam Speaker, this is a first step toward meeting our trust obligations to the sovereign first peoples of this country.

I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairwoman Waters so much for yielding to me, and I want to than Chairwoman Waters and my former colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee for getting this important legislation, the Consumers First Act, to the floor.

The CFPB, as Members have heard, has been a great equalizer in our financial markets for regular Americans. It makes sure that financial institutions follow the law and that regular people are treated fairly.

Every business claims that they put their customers first, but what happens when they don't? For far too long, the answer was nothing.

We have seen the car loans at higher interest rates for people of color and mortgage products that almost brought our economy down and created and pushed us into the Great Recession.

Then along came Dodd-Frank and the CFPB, which set the table for the economic expansion that we have seen since 2010. The dedicated men and women of the CFPB have literally put $12 billion back into the pockets of victims of fraud, harmful financial schemes, and other abuses.

Let me say to my colleagues on the other side: Speaker after speaker has gotten up and talked about subjecting the CFPB to the appropriations process. They have claimed that they are against the independence of the agencies, calling them independent bureaucrats. That is exactly what their comments lean toward is taking away the independence of this agency to determine fraud and abuse and subjecting it to the whims of whoever is the President or whoever is the administration.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation because it is good for consumers, good for businesses, good for our financial markets, and good for the American people.

Madam Speaker, I am so honored to join my colleagues in commemorating the 100th anniversary of House passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote everywhere in our country.

My State, Wisconsin, was the very first State to ratify the 19th Amendment, and I am wearing this yellow rose today in honor of the remarkable women who fought for their seat at the table.

They persevered; they resisted; they persisted; and the face of Congress is different because of them. Women like Ida B. Wells, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth said that, if women want rights, we must be sisters in arms and fight for what is right.

Wisconsin was the first State to ratify the 19th Amendment, and, unfortunately, they are now leading in the efforts to disenfranchise people. But it is because of the powerful legacy that I will continue to fight to make sure that no one is denied access to the ballots due them as citizens.

Madam Speaker, I am so happy that H.R. 2480 includes several noteworthy improvements to the CAPTA Act. One is a bill that I introduced last Congress called Family Poverty is Not Child Neglect Act. It recognizes that 75 percent of child abuse referrals are not because of malicious abuse, but because of symptoms of poverty that officials categorize as neglect.

It would mandate States to treat those conditions of poverty with service-based remedies that will reduce the parental separation risk disproportionately affecting low-income children and families.

I am so pleased that federally-supported distinctions between poverty-based lack and parental maltreatment unrelated to poverty has been added to our Stronger CAPTA bill.

Poverty-related conditions should be met with poverty-alleviating solutions, not child separation.

Madam Speaker, I just want to share my own personal story. My own experience, at age 18, was that I was separated from my child, who was placed in foster care, because my scholarship money would not cover living expenses. And while she was placed in a loving foster home, this was traumatic for me, and constituted an adverse childhood experience for my daughter.

So I am so pleased to stand here today to say, as a witness, that we should do everything we can to avoid child separations, and this bill addresses it.

Madam Speaker, I thank all of the authors on both sides of the aisle.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Detroit, Michigan, for yielding time to me.

Madam Speaker, you heard it just a moment ago, those words from the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: ``Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.'' That is why I am so proud to support this historic legislation that will be on this floor tomorrow, H.R. 5, the Equality Act, that will truly provide equality for members of the LGBTQ community.

Now, many people might argue, Madam Speaker, that we have made important strides against prejudice over the last few years, and it has been amazing. We have had States pass legislation outlawing discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation. Likewise, we have had Federal courts that have ruled that discrimination based on someone's sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal under existing laws. Yet tens of millions of Americans live in areas where these laws have not been passed and Federal courts have not made the same determination.

H.R. 5 is the remedy for making sure that we don't have this checkerboard of rights and checkerboard of discrimination among our LGBTQ community.

My district of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Fourth Congressional District of Wisconsin, is notable to mention here. LGBTQ youth, in particular, face significant obstacles and barriers because of their LGBTQ identification.

We have 500 youth in my district who are homeless, and more than 40 percent of them identify as LGBTQ, many permanently homeless because they have been abandoned by their families and turned out onto the streets.

To add to their distress, the overly represented LGBTQ youth in the foster care system in Milwaukee and around the country face huge disparities in treatment and higher rates of harassment than their non- LGBTQ peers.

There are many foster care organizations that are turning away potential loving families and homes based on discriminatory practices even though LGBTQ couples are seven times--did you hear me, Madam Speaker?--seven times as likely to adopt and are more likely to adopt minority children or disabled children as compared to heterosexual couples.

Here is what we know. Every child wants a loving home. Trans people, like all people, just want to be treated like people.

For these reasons, and so many others, I fully support H.R. 5, and I look forward to voting for it tomorrow.

I applaud our leadership's commitment to protecting our LGBTQ community and all communities from pernicious forms of hate and harm of discrimination.

We are all in this together, Madam Speaker. And in order to protect all of our rights, we ought to remember the oath that we take as we stand under this ``e pluribus unum''--``out of many, one.''

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following letter from the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah expressing their concerns about this legislation. I want to reiterate that I support this legislation. However, I believe it is important that the concerns of this sister tribe be included in this debate.

Wampanoag Tribe of

Gay Head Aquinnah,

Aquinnah, MA.

To: The United States House of Representatives, Honorable

Representatives

From: Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, The Wampanoag Tribe

of Gay Head Aquinnah (The Aquinnah Wampanoag)

Date: May 15, 2019

Re: H.R. 312

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah (Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe)

Strenuously Opposes H.R. 312, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation

Reaffirmation Act

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah (Aquinnah

Wampanoag) strenuously opposes the above referenced Bill due

to the fact that it creates two classes of Tribes within the

same Wampanoag Tribal Nation.

H.R. 312 unfairly provides a pathway for economic

development for one Tribe (the Mashpee Wampanoag) while

simultaneously creating an obstruction to the other Wampanoag

Tribe (the Aquinnah Wampanoag) whose Tribal community also

lives within the same shared Ancestral territory of the

Wampanoag Nation.

The Bill sets forth a pathway for one Tribe (the Mashpee)

to acquire lands in trust outside of its original homeland

``village site'' of the Town of Mashpee and does not provide

the same opportunity for the other Tribe (the Aquinnah).

H.R. 312 also removes all clouds of the applicability of

the Indian Reorganization Act (as Amended), and all other

laws enacted for the benefit of Federally Recognized Tribes

for one Tribe (the Mashpee) and not for the Aquinnah who is

of the same Wampanoag Nation and who was federally recognized

25 years earlier.

The Bill provides a remedy to the Department of the

Interior's (DOI's) egregious determination that the Wampanoag

are not eligible to have lands taken into trust for one Tribe

(the Mashpee Wampanoag), while

omitting the other Wampanoag Tribe (the Aquinnah Wampanoag)

from this remedy from which the Aquinnah Wampanoag are also

suffering.

The Aquinnah Wampanoag would support this Bill, H.R. 312 if

included as part of ``and for other purposes''. The simple

request is for a simple amendment to create fairness, equity

and parity for both Wampanoag Tribes within Massachusetts.

Madam Speaker, of course I am reading from volume I, pages 22 through 24, inclusive.

``Dozens of IRA employees were responsible for operating accounts and personas on different U.S. social media platforms. The IRA referred to employees assigned to operate the social

media accounts as `specialists.' Starting as early as 2014, the IRA's U.S. operations included social media specialists focusing on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. The IRA later added specialists who operated on Tumblr and Instagram accounts.

``Initially, the IRA created social media accounts that pretended to be the personal accounts of U.S. persons. By early 2015, the IRA began to create larger social media groups, or public social media pages that claimed (falsely) to be affiliated with the U.S. political and grassroots organizations. In certain cases, the IRA created accounts that mimicked real U.S. organizations. For example, one IRA-controlled Twitter account, @TEN--GOP, purported to be connected to the Tennessee Republican Party. More commonly, the IRA created accounts in the name of fictitious U.S. organizations and grassroots groups and used these accounts to pose as anti-immigration groups, Tea Party activists, Black Lives Matter protesters, and other U.S. social and political activists.

``The IRA closely monitored the activity of the social media accounts--redacted. By February 2016, internal IRA documents referred to support for the Trump campaign and opposition to candidate Clinton. For example,--redacted--directions to IRA operators--redacted. `Main idea: Use any opportunity to criticize Hillary Clinton and the rest, (except Sanders and Trump--we support them)'--redacted.

``The focus on the U.S. Presidential campaign continued throughout 2016. In--redacted--2016 internal--redacted--reviewing the IRA- controlled Facebook book `Secured Borders' the author criticized the `lower number of posts dedicated to criticizing Hillary Clinton' and reminded the Facebook specialist, `it is imperative to intensify criticizing Hillary Clinton.' IRA employees also acknowledged that their work focused on influencing the U.S. Presidential election-- redacted.''

``The IRA organized and promoted political rallies inside the United States while posing as U.S. grassroots activists. First, the IRA used one of its preexisting social media personas (Facebook groups and Twitter accounts, for example) to announce and promote the event. The IRA then sent a large number of direct messages to followers of its social media account asking them to attend the event. From those who responded with interest in attending, the IRA then sought a U.S. person to serve as the event's coordinator. In most cases, the IRA account operator would tell the U.S. person that they personally could not attend the event due to some preexisting conflict or because they were somewhere else in the United States. The IRA then further promoted the event by contacting U.S. media about the event and directing them to speak with the coordinator. After the event, the IRA posted videos and photographs of the event to the IRA's social media accounts.

``The office identified dozens of U.S. rallies organized by the IRA. The earliest evidence of a rally was a `confederate rally' in November 2015. The IRA continued to organize rallies, even after the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. The attendance at rallies varied. Some rallies appear to have drawn few (if any) participants, while others drew hundreds. The reach and success of these rallies was closely monitored--redacted.''

``Redacted.''

``From June 2016 until the end of Presidential campaign, almost all the U.S. rallies organized by the IRA focused on the U.S. election, often promoting the Trump campaign and opposing the Clinton campaign. Pro-Trump rallies included three in New York, a series of pro-Trump rallies in Florida in August 2016, and a series of pro-Trump rallies in October 2016 in Pennsylvania. The Florida rallies drew the attention of the Trump campaign, which posted about the Miami rally on candidate Trump's Facebook account (as discussed below).

``Many of the same IRA employees who oversaw the IRA's social media accounts also conducted the day-to-day recruiting for political rallies inside the United States.''

Madam Speaker, I will be reading now from volume I, page 36.

``Beginning in March 2016, units of the Russian Federation's Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU) hacked the computers and email accounts of organizations, employees, and volunteers supporting the Clinton campaign, including the email account of campaign chairman John Podesta. Starting in April 2016, the GRU hacked into the computer networks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

``The GRU targeted hundreds of email accounts used by Clinton campaign employees, advisers, and volunteers. In total, the GRU stole hundreds of thousands of documents from the compromised email accounts and networks. The GRU later released stolen Clinton campaign and DNC documents through online personas, `DCLeaks' and `Guccifer 2.0,' and later through the organization WikiLeaks. The release of the documents was designed and timed to interfere with the 2016 U.S. Presidential election and undermine the Clinton campaign.

``The Trump campaign showed interest in the WikiLeaks releases and, in the summer and fall of 2016--redacted. After--redacted--WikiLeaks' first Clinton-related release--redacted--the Trump campaign stayed in contact--redacted--about WikiLeaks' activities. The investigation was unable to resolve--redacted--WikiLeaks' release of the stolen Podesta emails on October 7, 2016, the same day a video from years earlier was published of Trump using graphic language about women.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 54th anniversary of the successful national Head Start program, which empowers children to succeed across the country.

Head Start is a critical program that is based on the simple premise that every child, regardless of their socioeconomic status, should be able to succeed in life. Head Start offers education, health and nutrition services to economically disadvantaged children, as well as parenting and employment supports to their parents.

Head Start is a wise and cost-effective investment in families and communities. For every dollar invested in Head Start by the federal government, the country realizes almost nine dollars in benefits through increased earning and reduced reliance on social programs.

In my state of Wisconsin, Head Start provides parent education, preventative health care, and home visits to nearly 17,000 Wisconsin children and families at over 280 locations statewide. In addition, just last year, Head Start provided crisis assistance to over 3,700 families in Wisconsin in the form of emergency food, clothing or shelter.

Yet, the need is much greater. In 2017, of the nearly 42,000 children in Wisconsin ages of three and five in poverty, only 31 percent had access to Head Start. Of the 50,985 children under the three in poverty, only 6 percent had access to Early Head Start. This is troubling when we know the difference that this program can make. Earlier this year, I again joined colleagues in asking the House Appropriations Committee to boost funding for Head Start.

So I commend those who have helped make this program such a vital part of communities in the past 50 plus years, the dedicated teachers, parents, and others who invest so much in our children. Madam Speaker, I commend Head Start for the difference it is making for children and families in Wisconsin and throughout the nation and urge this Congress to improve and strengthen it for another 50 wonderful years.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Reverend Andrew B. Warner. He is a pastor, social justice activist, devoted husband and father. Reverend Warner is a graduate of Harvard University with a Master of Divinity Degree.

Reverend Warner is leaving his current post as Senior Pastor of Plymouth Church United Church of Christ on May 5, 2019. He served in many pastoral capacities during his 22-year tenure at Plymouth and was always attentive to the care of his congregants throughout times of both joy and grief. Under his guidance, Plymouth embodied the spiritual practice of ``extravagant welcome'' to the building, the mind and the spirit. I have benefitted from and borne witness to this extravagant welcome on many occasions as both a visitor and preacher at Plymouth Church.

Reverend Warner led a major capital campaign and managed the remodel of the 100-year-old edifice. The project received a Mayor's Design Award in 2013 for honoring its historic Eschweiler design while adapting to accessibility and technology needs.

Reverend Warner led Plymouth Church in collaboration with other organizations on topics such as racial justice, interfaith relations, and the role of the arts in healing and forgiveness. I personally have participated in Plymouth's tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, as well as a tribute to the 150th Anniversary of the 14th Amendment. Reverend Warner created the Reviving Justice, Peace and Hope series of interfaith social justice conferences held at Plymouth.

Following its remodel, Plymouth has opened its doors to Congregation Shir Hadash. During his tenure, Plymouth has also continued to fully live out its Open and Affirming (ONA) status through embrace of and advocacy for the LGBTQ Community. In the spirit of cross-sectional community building, Reverend Warner has served on a number of boards including Pathfinders, Cream City Foundation, and Rotary Club of Milwaukee.

Reverend Andrew B. Warner now takes leave of shepherding Plymouth to take on two new roles in the wider United Church of Christ. He will serve as Director of Development for the Wisconsin Conference where he will lead the fundraising efforts of the conference to support the planned giving and effective philanthropy of congregations and work to organize a foundation-based community foundation model for the endowments of the conference and congregations. He will also serve as a Generosity Outreach Officer of the national setting of the UCC. In that role he will train, coach and mentor conference and congregational leaders across the country to strengthen the culture of generosity in the UCC. As part of the work, he will teach as an adjunct faculty member with the Lake Institute of the School of Philanthropy at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis.

Reverend Andrew B. Warner is a truth faith leader. I am proud that he resides in the 4th Congressional District in the Village of Whitefish Bay with his husband and two sons--one

in college, the other in high school. He opens his home to friends like me, where he cooks and practices his gastro-evangelism. I, along with others in the Greater Milwaukee area and Wisconsin, admire and thank Reverend Warner for his positive impact on all around him. I am proud to call Andrew B. Warner my friend. Madam Speaker, for these reasons I rise to pay tribute to a man whose legacy as a true leader will serve as a beacon for those who assume his duties upon leaving Plymouth Church.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis).

Mr. Speaker, I am absolutely delighted to rise in support of H.R. 1759, the Building on Reemployment Improvements to Deliver Good Employment for Workers Act, also known as the BRIDGE for Workers Act.

I do want to congratulate the authors of this bill, Mrs. Walorski and my colleague Mrs. Murphy, for their effort in putting this forward.

This bill aims to provide workers receiving unemployment benefits the support they need to not only get back into the workforce as soon as possible, but to prevent them from being unemployed in the first place.

This legislation is so important because it would extend reemployment services and eligibility assessments to all claimants of unemployment benefits, rather than limiting these benefits to only those who are expected to run out of benefits. Helping all unemployment insurance claimants reenter the workforce is vital for a robust economy that will only thrive with a skilled workforce.

Mr. Speaker, research shows that the longer workers are out of work, the harder it can be to maintain their skills. Reemployment services equip workers with important tools, such as individualized career counseling and job search assistance, to find a job well matched to their skills and experience more quickly. This helps to stabilize families' income.

These are the kinds of services that we need to invest in as a nation, especially since we know that not all boats are rising in this economy.

In my own State of Wisconsin, funding to the Department of Workforce

Development's Reemployment Services Program was bolstered for fiscal year 2019, with an increase of nearly $722,000. Already, we have seen improvements in the program's effectiveness for Wisconsinites in need of just a little bit of extra assistance with finding suitable employment.

Mr. Speaker, I would also note that the BRIDGE for Workers Act was a bipartisan effort, so important for getting things done. We are pleased with the overwhelming cooperation on both sides of the aisle, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage.