Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and of course our esteemed colleagues who are leading this Special Order, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey). This is extremely important work in terms of communicating to our constituents.

Mr. Speaker, I am standing here on this February evening feeling like this is not just Black History Month, but this is like Groundhog Day. The death of Tyre Nichols is yet another preventable death, a homicide committed by those who are hired to protect us, those who are hired to protect and serve as a mission.

This is not an issue that can be resolved through just hiring more diverse officers or merely providing more training. It really requires us to take a deep dive and look at the role that law enforcement plays in our communities, the relationship that law enforcement has with our communities, and get a better understanding of what those needs are and how those needs are not being met.

That is why the Congressional Black Caucus in both the House and the Senate have introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, because we recognize the familiar fact patterns. Although Tyre Nichols is one of the most recent incidents, it is the same fact pattern. Pretextual stuff.

We have no idea at this point why Tyre Nichols was stopped. That there is bias in these stops, bias against a man of color, excessive force, failure to exercise deescalation strategies, and of course qualified immunity, really creating no incentive for police officers to exercise good judgment and to use legal police tactics.

This problem, there are a lot of famous people who have been subjected to this police brutality. We have heard some of those names tonight, but I just want to talk about my district. I want to talk about my community in Wisconsin. We have seen this devastation firsthand.

Since 2013, 149 people in Wisconsin have been killed by violence, with nearly all of them being shot by police officers. It is a systemic issue when it comes to police departments. People who face mental health crises, traffic violations, or nonviolent offense should not be given the death penalty.

People who face mental health crises, traffic violations, or nonviolent offenses should not be given the death penalty, those like Joel Acevedo, who was murdered by an officer; 17-year-old Alvin Cole, who was shot by police after leaving the mall; 18-year-old Ty'Rese West, who was killed after police stopped him for not having a light on his bicycle; 19-year-old Terry Williams, who was shot eight times after a traffic stop; 22-year-old Adam Trammell, who was killed in his home by police who tasered him 18 times--18 times--while he was in the shower; and 23-year-old Sylville Smith, who was shot by police even after the police saw him throw his weapon away.

How about 25-year-old Jay Anderson, Jr., who was sitting in a parked car and was shot five times in the head?

Dontre Hamilton is a person that I actually don't understand why he is dead. He would have turned 40 years old on January 20. Nine years ago, Dontre Hamilton was shot 14 times. What was his crime? He was asleep on a public Milwaukee County park bench, unarmed. One group of cops came by, did a wellness check, saw that he was fine. Another cop came by, beat him with his baton, and when Dontre disarmed him, when 140-pound Dontre Hamilton disarmed the cop, he was shot 14 times. That police officer retired with his pension and his disability benefits for having PTSD for killing Dontre Hamilton.

Guess what? Beyond those who are killed by the police, we have others who have survived their violent encounters with those entrusted with public safety, but they are, nonetheless, scarred--like Jacob Blake in Kenosha or my guest tomorrow for the State of the Union Address, NBA basketball player Sterling Brown.

Sterling Brown was an arrogant Black man, I guess, who parked in a handicapped spot about 2 o'clock in the morning to go into Walgreens to get some medication. When he came back out, the police saw his fancy car there--very consistent with his status as a high-paid individual-- and asked him why he was parked at 2 a.m. in an empty parking lot in a handicapped spot. What did Sterling Brown say? Officer, just give me a ticket.

That led to him being tased and guns drawn on him. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, taxpayers had to pay for the insult of this driving while Black in a fancy car, this uppity Negro. There was no deescalation of police.

This is why the Congressional Black Caucus will consistently come to this well, Mr. Speaker, and insist that we look at elements of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

I will tell you, being Black is not a crime, and therefore, it should not be a death sentence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to strongly oppose this misnamed Republican bill, which purports to protect families and small businesses, but instead, continues the unrelenting effort to starve the

Mr. Speaker, I rise to provide enthusiastic support of this bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program, now to be named after our late, marvelous colleague, Ms. Jackie Walorski.

This strong reauthorization for 5 years would provide additional funding. It would double the Tribal home visiting set-aside to respond to the needs of Tribal communities for home visiting and address workforce shortages, among other things.

Now, home visiting is not just some feel-good policy. As my colleagues on both sides have indicated, it has been repeatedly evaluated and consistently proven to provide improved outcomes for families and children, and we have good data that shows that it works.

Importantly, we have families that are stronger because they have gotten the help that they needed when they needed it. We have new moms, for example, who have access to help at critical points as they try to navigate this exciting but frightening moment in life.

Oh, my goodness. It reminds me of when I was 18 years old some 50 years ago and had my first baby. I had a baby who had an asthma attack 4 days after birth, and I didn't even know how to change a diaper. The home visiting program was a fail-safe for me.

I think, too, of women like Brittany who live in our community. She benefited from Children's Wisconsin's Healthy Families Milwaukee County Home Visiting Program 8 years ago but then reached out to the Home Visiting Program earlier this year for help because she was now pregnant again after a recent cancer diagnosis.

Brittany trusted her home visitor to help guide her through this pregnancy as they had supported her in the past. They were able to set up home visits and help Brittany advocate for her own healthcare, for herself as well as her unborn child, and supported the entire family.

When they asked Brittany what was the most valuable thing that she got from the program other than, of course, the plethora of help, one of the things that struck me was that her home visitor helped her to learn to trust her own instincts, something that you have to have if you are a mom.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in memoriam of Frank Hoadley, a longtime resident of Lodi, WI, and legend in public finance circles.

Frank served the State of Wisconsin from 1988 to 2013 as the Capital Finance Director under 4 Democratic and Republican governors. His dedication to a strong, robust capital finance program ensured that our state was on solid fiscal standing and able to serve the citizens of Wisconsin through the construction and maintenance of important public facilities and infrastructure projects.

Wisconsin benefited enormously from Mr. Hoadley's exemplary stewardship of public finances, but so did the entire public finance community as Frank led numerous industry efforts to enhance market practices and disclosure standards as a member and Chairman of the Government Finance Officers Association's Debt Management Committee. He also contributed mightily over the years to initiatives at the National Association of State Treasurers' State Debt Management Network, and the Council for Infrastructure Financing Authorities.

I had the pleasure of working with Frank on numerous occasions through the years on projects to strengthen the municipal bond market, such as maintaining the tax-exemption of municipal bonds, Dodd-Frank municipal advisor rules and regulations, and various other key public finance issues where congressional actions could help states responsibly finance public works projects. He truly did enrich communities throughout the country, including Milwaukee, with his generosity of knowledge and dedication to public service.

While Frank was not a native son of Wisconsin, his family has a long history in the state. His great-great grandfather, Edmund Ross, worked at the Milwaukee Free Democrat and the Milwaukee Daily Sentinel newspapers in the middle 1800s. At the time, Mr. Ross contributed to numerous anti-slavery efforts in Wisconsin and around the country.

Frank will be remembered for the extraordinary contributions he made across our great state and to the public finance community. I extend my condolences to Frank's wife, Elizabeth, his daughters, Marci and Jessica, and their families, and Frank's extended family.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5118, the Wildlife Response and Drought Resiliency Act. This much- needed legislation will take steps to help protect communities from the devastating consequences of extreme weather events by providing crucial investment and response measures to help prevent and respond to wildfire, drought, and other climate related weather issues. These provisions include disaster assistance and environmental justice measures for communities disproportionately harmed by drought, wildfire, and other extreme weather events.

Extreme weather exacerbated by the climate crisis is increasingly wreaking havoc throughout our country, putting lives in danger while causing tremendous damage on private property and public lands. Currently, much of the western United States is experiencing the driest conditions in over 1,200 years. It is estimated that 1 in 6 Americans live in areas of significant wildfire risk and more than 65 million experienced severe to exceptional drought this summer. Portions of our country are suffering under intense heat waves while in other places, too much rain in too short a period is causing flooding. My heart goes out to families of those who have died in flooding in Kentucky, a toll that stood at 30 at last report, with many still missing.

The Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act includes policies and resources to strengthen federal efforts to better understand, prevent, and respond to wildfires and other extreme weather events that are affecting our nation, including calling for a 10-year federal wildfire strategy and supporting our federal wildland firefighters and land managers who are on the frontlines in the fight to protect communities and lives. The bill would also create a National Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Program that would coordinate Federal efforts to reduce the loss of life and property from wildland fires especially in the face of a changing climate.

The Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act delivers critical drought relief for communities in several ways including authorizing investments in new water supply projects, promoting the delivery of reliable water to Native American communities, and supporting the development of technologies to enhance effective water management.

I want to take a moment to highlight the bill's provisions on environmental justice because we know that some communities bear a disproportionate share of the burden of extreme weather events as they do environmental hazards such as poor air and water quality, lead exposure, and other environmental threats. For example, in Kentucky, some of the worse hit areas of the recent flooding are low-income. A recent EPA study found that people of color, regardless of region or income, are significantly more likely to live with exposure to air pollution. This leaves communities of color at a heightened risk of developing health complications like chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function, and increased mortality from lung cancer and heart disease. A study by Clean Wisconsin found that people of color in my state are exposed to more ``dangerous particulate matter'' than the state average.

This bill would authorize Environmental Justice Community, State, and Tribal Grant Programs to empower local nonprofits, state governments, and tribal communities to identify and implement programs that reduce or eliminate disproportionately adverse human health or environmental impacts in specific communities. For example, the bill authorizes new grants to develop community-led partnerships that implement projects addressing climate justice needs, like solar and wind energy, home and building electrification and weatherization, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

In addition, H.R. 5118 would establish a federal Environmental Justice Interagency Council to guide federal agencies actions to identify and respond to environmental inequities among communities of color, tribal communities, and low-income communities. The bill would also require federal agencies to more closely consider the needs of and engage with communities that bear a disproportionate share of environmental burdens including by preparing community impact reports assessing the potential consequences of a proposed federal action on these communities. The bill would also require early and meaningful community involvement in federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act review process.

I support passage of this bill and urge my colleagues to do so as well.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 8294, legislation that would authorize appropriations for Fiscal Year 2023 for a number of federal agencies and programs, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.

I want to thank Chairwoman DeLauro and Chairman Price, among others, for their support and leadership in putting together this strong package. While there are many good provisions in this package, I want to take a moment to highlight one of the key victories for our communities.

Americans nationwide have faced difficulties finding affordable housing long before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the pandemic has exacerbated an existing crisis. As rent increases and wages stay stagnant, many members of our communities are facing the threat of homelessness.

Without stable housing, children face challenges in school, adults struggle to maintain employment, and those battling physical and mental health disorders, as well as substance abuse, lack the support they need to adequately address and treat these issues.

According to the Housing and Urban Development 2021 Annual Assessment Report, the number of sheltered individuals that identified as chronically homeless increased by 20 percent between 2020 and 2021. The report also identified that more than 326,000 people are still experiencing sheltered homelessness in the United States on any given night. Homeless Assistance Grants, like the Continuum of Care and the Emergency Solutions grants, help people who are at risk of or are currently experiencing homelessness through non-profits, community organizations, government agencies, or other providers. These programs are successfully used by state and local governments, as well as an extensive network of providers of shelter and housing services in hundreds of communities, to reduce homelessness.

I am delighted that the package that passed the House would provide $3.6 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program. Earlier this year, I led a letter, signed by 140 of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, urging the inclusion of that amount.

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, like the Continuum of Care grant, have a profound impact on our communities, including my own city of Milwaukee. According to the City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Continuum of Care was able to track a 77 percent decrease in people experiencing chronic homelessness over the last 10 years. This decrease was made possible through robust federal funding of supportive housing programs to end homelessness, including the Homeless Assistance Grants program.

Given the lack of affordable housing across the Nation and the ongoing effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic, strong funding for HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program is necessary to address homelessness and to get more people off the streets and into permanent housing. The increase in this bill is necessary and will provide much-needed resources to state and local governments to address the housing crisis. I look forward to working with the Chair and my colleagues to ensure this increase is maintained and even increased as the FY 2023 appropriations process moves forward.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my amendments to the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act that will help save lives and promote the health and well-being of those who are serving or have served our country.

The CDC estimates that nearly 264,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and as many as 1 in 8 women will live with this disease at some point in their life. The American Cancer Society predicts that 43,250 women will lose their lives to breast cancer in 2022.

My colleagues must also understand that the plight of breast cancer is not an equitable one. Black women are more likely to die of breast cancer. In my home state of Wisconsin, black women with breast cancer have a mortality rate of 56 percent, far outpacing the death rate for white women according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

While treatment for this disease has evolved drastically, access to a conclusive, accurate, early, and expedient diagnosis remains challenging.

Mammograms are a basic screening tool to help try and detect breast cancer as soon as possible. However, for women with dense breasts, mammograms alone may not be sufficient to help identify breast cancer as dense breasts can make mammograms harder to accurately read. As a result, women with dense breasts may be called back for additional follow-up tests more frequently than others and dense breasts can also put women at higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer within 12 months of a normal mammogram result.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), nearly 50 percent of women over 40 who get mammograms have dense breasts and live with an increased chance of developing breast cancer, a risk that is separate from the effect of dense breasts on the ability to read a mammogram.

For individuals with dense breasts for whom additional testing may be needed to confirm breast cancer, even with insurance they may face additional costs for these potentially life-saving diagnostic screenings.

My amendment directs the GAO to examine current health policies at the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to ensure that those with dense breasts can access additional cancer screenings without facing burdensome financial barriers. Cumulatively, the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs provide healthcare to over 18 million American service members and veterans. My amendment would require GAO to examine whether existing VA and DOD programs provide beneficiaries with low-cost screenings and diagnostic tools needed to confirm breast cancer, especially when standard mammograms are inconclusive or ineffective. Additionally, GAO will be required to examine and provide recommendations on how each agency can improve their policies to address the unique challenges of identifying breast cancer in those with dense breasts.

We must do all we can to ensure that our veterans and active-duty personnel receive the highest quality care available. We can accomplish this by evaluating current policies and developing new ones that prioritize the health of those who serve or have served our country. While there is no cure for this disease, we can certainly do more to improve access to screening and treatment.

Additionally, I have offered an amendment that would require the Secretary of Defense to ensure that TRICARE includes programs and

policies to promote universal education on healthy relationships and intimate partner violence.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 1 in 4 women have experienced sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime. Sadly, it can occur in every community, including our military community, to both men and women regardless of age, economic status, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other characteristics.

The amendment would require TRICARE to provide guidance to healthcare providers, health workers, and managed care entities to help educate and to establish routine assessment and screenings for signs of intimate partner violence.

I thank the Chairman for his support of my amendments.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of legislation to address the mental health and substance use needs of our college students. Our Nation continues to struggle with adequately meeting these needs, resulting in devastating consequences for too many of our constituents.

Milwaukee has long been a magnet for higher education. Students from across the globe enter our city to attend any of our twelve colleges and universities. When students enroll, we must offer them the support they need to attend and successfully complete their education. This includes those who need additional physical health, mental health, and substance misuse services during this exciting yet trying time of life.

We know the need for mental health and substance misuse services is increasing in our communities. It is critical that we take steps to protect the mental health of all Americans, especially our college students. Across the country, young adults struggling with mental health and addiction lack access to the quality, on-campus treatment they desperately need. With an average of 1,100 suicides on campuses each year, suicide is currently the number two leading cause of death among college students.

Today, I am proud to join my colleagues in supporting the passage of H.R. 5407, the Enhancing Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Through Campus Planning Act, and H.R. 6493, the Campus Prevention and Recovery for Students Act. These bills will fund programs that better support students on our college campuses.

The Enhancing Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Through Campus Planning Act would authorize federal support to encourage campuses to establish comprehensive, evidence-based mental health and suicide prevention programs that meet their student populations' diverse and urgent needs.

Such plans would consider existing Federal and State efforts to address mental health and suicide prevention at higher education institutions. They must also align with existing federal and state programs, including those authorized under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act.

The Campus Prevention and Recovery for Students Act would mandate all college campuses receiving federal funding or participating in the federal student loan program to have in place evidence-based programs and policies that prevent alcohol and substance misuse by students and school employees.

The legislation would also increase authorized funding (to $15 million annually) for federal grants, allowing institutions of higher education to implement and support evidence-based programs (including programs to improve access to treatment, referral for treatment services, or crisis intervention services) that eliminate illegal substance use, decrease substance misuse, and improve public health and safety for students. Universities may utilize these funds for a range of new activities, including recovery support services, peer-to-peer counseling, and integration of campus-based health services that coordinate screening, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental, behavioral, and substance use disorders.

Our students are struggling. In my home state of Wisconsin, opioid misuse outnumbered national trends by half a percent. According to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 3.5 percent of Wisconsin youth admit to misusing opioids. Implementing the measures outlined in these bills will help our schools and educators provide much-needed support to millions of college students throughout the country, including an estimated 68,000 in the Milwaukee area.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Keep Kids Fed Act.

I want to thank Chairman Scott for his steadfast leadership and determination to work to get something worked out to help ensure that our school meals are available to as many of our students as possible.

The school meals provisions were an effective response by this Congress to the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools, children and families were disrupted as this deadly disease raced through our country. Congress acted to make sure that we provided flexibility to ensure that no child would miss a meal that they would otherwise have received in school.

Why is that important? Because Congress has long recognized that hunger and learning do not mix well, if at all. This isn't some theoretical or academic debate. I know what its like to be hungry and in school. And I am saddened that decades after I went through that experience as a student, many other children still must deal with that reality each and every school day.

Food is not a luxury. So hearing that the USDA COVID waivers that had allowed millions of kids to stay nourished were expiring was an emergency for me. And I know the Chairman shares that sentiment.

Frankly, it has been hard to sleep thinking of what happens in communities like Milwaukee when families find this lifeline cut off arbitrarily even while the pandemic that spawned these provisions, continues.

The reality is that hunger and food insecurity did not take a break during this pandemic. In fact, reports indicate it got worse. Hunger doesn't take a summer vacation even though our schools do.

It shouldn't have taken all of this to get us to agree on this: Feed our kids so they can concentrate on learning and being kids. These waivers have done a great deal to help us achieve that and I hope we can continue to work to ensure that we can take the great lessons learned about how to effectively reach and nourish school children during this pandemic and use them to put in place permanent provisions that will ensure that all of our children can go to school and focus on their education

That includes taking up and passing bills like the Universal School Meals Program Act which I have joined with Rep. Omar in introducing that would provide the most cost-effective and inclusive model for ensuring all students have access to nutritious meals during the school day without facing barriers such as stigma or burdensome paperwork.

Madam Speaker, today, I rise in support of H.R. 7666, a bipartisan response to rising substance use disorders and mental health needs in our communities.

The need for this bill is clear.

We've heard about the growing mental health crisis, including about alarming rates of mental health hospitalizations, suicide rates and depression. The need for mental health services continues to grow, including among our children. In my district, the emergency department at Children's Wisconsin saw a 60 percent increase in young patients who attempted suicide between 2020 and 2021.

Substance misuse also remains a crisis in our communities. Milwaukee county has among the highest rates of overdose deaths in Wisconsin and has seen high numbers of emergency calls related to overdoses in the past few years. According to Milwaukee County, from 2014 to 2020, the opioid overdose fatality rate in the country was 30.9 per 100,000 persons, more than twice the rate statewide.

This bill includes strong provisions to reauthorize and revitalize federal programs that support access to treatment and services, while boosting access to crisis services. The whole continuum of services needs to be strengthened to ensure that no one in need of help goes without.

The bill would also reauthorize and increase funding for the Mental Health First Aid grant program. Mental Health First Aid is an evidenced-based program that teaches ordinary people how to identify, understand, and respond to the signs of mental illness and substance use disorder.

The bill would also reauthorize the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Grant, a program that supports the ability of pediatric primary care providers to deliver mental health care with the help of rapid consultation with psychiatrists, social workers, and/or psychologists. The program also provides training and education on early identification, diagnosis, and treatment of behavioral health condition, allowing more families to access high-quality mental health treatment in their pediatrician's office.

I am pleased to offer an amendment that will improve this bill by ensuring that state and local officials who administer programs serving pregnant and postpartum individuals are consulted by those operating the new maternal mental health hotline. This hotline will provide free and confidential support before, during, and after pregnancy providing yet another tool for those in need.

Through programs such as WIC, SNAP and the Maternal and Child Health Service Block grant, among others, the federal government reaches numerous pregnant and postpartum individuals. State and local officials are key

partners in the operations of those programs and often are on the frontlines of reaching and serving populations that would immensely benefit from access to this important new resource. It only makes sense that they be involved in efforts related to making this hotline truly effective and that individuals know about the resources it offers.

I thank the chairman and Ranking Member for their support of my amendment. I urge my colleagues to support it and the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Recovering America's Wildlife Act, legislation that I have cosponsored which would strengthen our response to habitat loss, climate change, and disease impacting the health and well-being of threatened and endangered wildlife throughout our country.

Habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, disease, and severe weather have all taken a severe toll on birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, and bees. It is important that we take bold steps and invest in collaborative solutions to protect our wildlife.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, approximately one- third of bird species in North America are in urgent need of conservation action and over forty percent of American freshwater fish are currently at risk of extinction. Recent ecological changes, such as the increasing number of wildfires and rising average water temperatures, are pushing many species of animals towards endangerment and extinction. As the representative for the great city of Milwaukee, located on beautiful Lake Michigan, I know just how important wildlife is to our economy, outdoor recreation, and the well-being of the environment.

This bill would bring much-needed resources to state, local and tribal wildlife professionals tasked with conserving wildlife and their habitat. The legislation would provide funding for the conservation or restoration of wildlife and plant species of the greatest conservation need, to implement the wildlife conservation strategies of states, territories, the District of Columbia and tribal governments, and support wildlife conservation education and recreation projects. Unless we invest in proactive, innovative solutions, we risk losing thousands of species.

I was happy to support this bill. Passing this legislation would be a good step in our continuing efforts to protect our environment and wildlife for the enjoyment of current and future generations.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Protecting Our Kids Act, legislation in response to the gun violence that is affecting our communities, especially our children.

Mr. Speaker, our communities continue to be ripped apart by gun violence. In the high-profile recent mass shootings in Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, TX shootings, 31 lives were lost, and many more lives were tossed into turmoil because of the actions of armed individuals. It is too easy for guns to end up in the wrong hands.

According to the Washington Post, there have been 61 mass shootings in the month of May alone. It is important that we protect our children and our communities from gun violence.

What is more important than protecting our children? Which is why I again call on the Senate to act on the commonsense legislation the House has already passed to expand background checks (H.R. 8) and our bill to close the Charleston loophole to help keep guns out of the hands of prohibited buyers.

And this week, the House will consider legislation to put in place effective and commonsense protections that can help stop gun violence and contribute to safer communities.

This includes the bill on the floor today that would bar those are under the age 21 from purchasing semiautomatic rifles. The legislation would also largely bar the sale, transfer, or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, create new gun trafficking penalties including for straw purchasers who buy guns to pass on to someone who is prohibited from having one, and would strengthen regulations against hard to trace ``ghost guns'' that are turning up at more and more crime scenes in our communities.

We must do everything in our power to protect our children. Our children must be able to feel safe in their classrooms. Or the movie theater. Or in their place of worship. Our seniors and others must feel safe to go to the grocery store.

This legislation is a start. But there is more that we can and must do, including increasing investments in our children and communities such as my bill to provide grants to community-based organizations to provide deescalation training to help keep conflicts from turning violence or escalating in the first place.

I urge support of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Access to Baby Formula Act, bipartisan legislation in response to the infant formula shortage that is affecting the most vulnerable in our communities, our children.

This legislation recognizes the important role that WIC plays in meeting the health and nutrition needs of our nation's mothers, babies, and children.

WIC is the premier public health nutrition program that provides supplemental food aimed at improving the health and well-being of millions of pregnant mothers, infants, and children.

In FY 2021, average monthly WIC participation in my state of Wisconsin was 80,000, including about 19,000 infants.

Studies have proven time and again food is medicine, and that availability of nutritious food reduces adverse maternal and infant health outcomes.

Unfortunately, families across the country are struggling to find formula that their babies need.

The Biden Administration has acted to respond to this shortage and I am pleased that today Congress will build on and support those efforts.

With around half of the formula purchased through WIC benefits, our WIC families are particularly vulnerable which is why it is critical that Congress pass this bill swiftly.

What can be more important than feeding our babies?

This bill authorizes new flexibilities to respond to supply chain or other disruptions such as a recall that adversely affects the ability of WIC agencies and programs to meet the needs of those who rely on the program.

We must do everything in our power to ensure that all babies have access to formula that they may need to start life strong and that includes giving WIC programs and the incredible people who staff them the flexibility they need to provide immediate relief to the families they serve.

I urge support of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5129, the bipartisan CSBG Modernization Act, and in support of my amendment to the bill.

I appreciate the chairman for his support of my amendment and for bringing this bill to reauthorize the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), which supports critical efforts to help those living in poverty, to the floor.

The CSBG supports a comprehensive effort in our communities to help families find jobs, obtain housing and food, and achieve self- sufficiency.

CSBG funds are to be used for activities that have a ``meaningful and potentially significant impact'' on causes of poverty. The law broadly defines allowable activities including education, help finding employment, removing obstacles to self-sufficiency, and maintaining adequate House. But the actual use is determined by local communities through a needs assessment.

This reauthorization reflects a renewed commitment to streamline and revitalize the program's stated purpose: to reduce poverty through support for Community Action Agencies that improve economic security of low-income individuals and families and create new opportunities in the communities where they live.

There are sixteen CSBG funded Community Action Agencies in Wisconsin including the Social Development Commission in Milwaukee.

One of the challenges low-income individuals and families in Wisconsin and elsewhere in our country face every day is food insecurity. In the richest country on this plan, too many low-income individuals and families find themselves struggling to feed themselves and their families each and every day.

According to Feeding America (as of March 2021), an estimated 680,330 Wisconsinites (11.7 percent or just over 1 in 8), including 1 in 5 children, experienced food insecurity in 2020. That includes 147,000 food insecure people in Milwaukee County alone.

Feeding America Wisconsin likewise noted that its food banks saw an average sustained increase in demand for food assistance of 40-55 percent in the first months of the pandemic. But I know I don't need to remind anyone that food insecurity has long been a problem in our country.

This problem is only worsening as food prices rise while at the same time, federal supports that have helped these families keep food on the table, such as the American Rescue Plan's child tax credit improvements and the USDA's school meal waivers, are coming to an end.

Vulnerable communities most at risk for food insecurity include seniors and the disabled living on fixed incomes, people of color, families with children.

My amendment would strengthen efforts to address nutrition and food insecurity through the Community Service Block Grant. As noted by WISCAP, ``food insecurity is foremost not a condition, but a symptom--a particularly painful and persistent symptom--of our local, state, and national failure to fundamentally confront and eliminate economic inequality. Food insecurity stands at the crossroads of a host of causal factors--social, corporate, economic, cultural, personal, educational, and governmental--with which it is deeply intertwined. When households lack sufficient income to meet their basic needs-- whether housing, utilities, health care, education, childcare, and transportation--families will first prioritize inflexible bills--like rent, electricity, heat, gas that cannot be negotiated--thus reducing amount of money in the household budget to buy food. Thus, economic insecurity `translates into' food insecurity.''

As we modernize and improve the CSBG for the 21st Century, we must make sure that we do not forget the need to help families put and keep food on the table.

I urge my colleagues to support my amendment and the underlying bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and service of Commissioner Hattie Daniels Rush, an innovator, entrepreneur, business consultant and former White House appointed Commissioner to the Commission on Presidential Scholars. It saddens me to say that this amazing community leader passed away on April 17, 2022.

Commissioner Rush started her journey as a trailblazer when she was just a child. She was one of the first African American children to attend 35th Street School and began to desegregate the Milwaukee Public School System. She did encounter racism and learned to confront and mediate such situations. The early lessons she experienced as a child helped mold her into the strong and inspirational woman she became as an adult.

Commissioner Rush was a graduate of the HBCU Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. She always understood the importance of education. Commissioner Rush committed her life to public service, serving as a cheerful educator and licensed family therapist in the City of Milwaukee for many years. She also had a deep commitment to her faith in God and served in many roles with her church, Holy Redeemer. Her combination of skill sets from being a trained teacher and her work with the church put her in the perfect position to help Holy Redeemer open the first African American Christian school in the city, Holy Redeemer Christian Academy, where she served as the school's Program Director. Under the leadership of Commissioner Rush, the Holy Redeemer campus expanded to five separate schools and a range of social service institutions providing impoverished children with educational opportunities across Milwaukee.

One of her greatest contributions to this community was to cultivate the minds of young Black people by teaching them how to break down barriers and obstacles to achieving their goals. President Bush was so impressed with Commissioner Rush's work that he offered her a position in his administration. Commissioner Rush accepted a part-time appointment to the Commission on Presidential Scholars so she could continue her work as the Program Director for Holy Redeemer Schools.

Hattie Daniels Rush has been my friend since kindergarten and a close friend of my family. My sister Brenda and I often debated who Hattie was most fond of and I had the privilege of visiting her before her transition. Hattie had a true loving and giving spirit; she accepted people as they were and encouraged them to be the best they could be. I count it all joy to have celebrated 65 years of friendship with Hattie Daniels Rush. I will truly miss her, and the people of the 4th Congressional District and the State of Wisconsin will miss this incredible woman.

She leaves behind her beloved husband and daughter, Robert Rush and Ericka Rush, siblings that include Attorney John Daniels, Bishop Sedgwick Daniels, Valerie Daniels-Carter and a host of other relatives and friends to celebrate her life and enormous legacy of strength and determination.

Madam Speaker, for these reasons, I am honored to pay tribute to Commissioner Hattie Daniels Rush. She has helped transform the lives of so many people. May she rest in peace.