Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the incredible life of Minnesota State representative Karen Clark.

For nearly four decades, Karen dedicated her life to serving the people of Minneapolis--as a nurse, as an educator, and as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

She was also a trailblazer. Karen made history as the first openly LGBTQ+ candidate to run for office and to win a seat in the Minnesota legislature.

She was instrumental in amending the 1993 Minnesota Human Rights Act to ban discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment, education, housing, and more.

Two decades later, Representative Clark led the bipartisan effort to legalize same-sex marriage in Minnesota, a landmark accomplishment for equality across our State.

After leaving office, she continued her activism and cofounded the Women's Environmental Institute with her wife, Dr. Jacquelyn Zita.

Representative Clark's impact will be felt by generations, including by myself.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the incredible life and legacy of Minnesota Representative Karen Clark.

Ms. Clark was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1980, serving 19 consecutive terms until her retirement in 2018. In addition to her 38 years of public service in the House, Ms. Clark also served the Minnesota community as a nurse and an educator. She later co-founded the Women's Environmental Institute with her wife of 35 years, Jacquelyn Zita, which is an organization dedicated to fighting for environmental justice through education, advocacy, research, and more.

Karen Clark was the first openly LGBTQ+ candidate to run for and win a seat in the Minnesota legislature, and she was the longest serving openly lesbian member to serve in a State legislature in the United States. She chaired numerous subcommittees regarding economic justice and development, empowering the constituents she represented in the lowest income district in the state. Ms. Clark also served on Governor Rudy Perpich's Task Force on Lesbian and Gay Minnesotans in 1990, later playing a crucial role in passing an amendment to the Minnesota Human Rights Act that protected LGBTQ+ Minnesotans from discrimination in housing, employment, and education, cementing Minnesota as the first state in the Nation to include protections based on gender identity. Two decades later, Clark led the bipartisan effort to legalize same-sex marriage in Minnesota, a landmark accomplishment for LGBTQ+ rights in the state. In that same year, former President Barack Obama honored Clark as a Harvey Milk Champion of Change.

Karen Clark was also known for her steadfast dedication to championing environmental justice and socioeconomic justice, especially for lower income residents, Indigenous Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. Even after her retirement from public office, she was regularly spearheading fights for progress at the Capitol and in her community.

Karen Clark was an advocate for all Minnesotans, and she was deeply beloved by all who knew her. To say that Clark was a trailblazer is an understatement--Minnesota would not be the state it is today without her tremendous service. I proudly represent the same Minneapolis neighborhoods she served, and I am honored to carry on the legacy she built to uplift these communities. Her impact will be celebrated for generations to come, as her passing serves as a reminder to us all that every one of us can change the world by caring for our community. Please join me in honoring Karen Clark and her monumental legacy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the countless Minnesotans who have dedicated their time and resources to helping those impacted by severe earthquakes in Venezuela, which took place in June 2026, and Baila Venezuela, a dance organization based in Richfield, Minnesota, which quickly acted and made a call for donations to support Venezuelans. According to initial estimates by the International Organization for Migration, up to 6.76 million Venezuelans may be affected by this natural disaster and the need for humanitarian aid is immediate.

As many Minnesotans have family and friends in Venezuela who have been out of reach, organizations like Baila Venezuela are working tirelessly to collect and transport humanitarian aid supplies. While typically a dance group, Baila Venezuela shifted gears temporarily to help those in need, even from more than 3,000 miles away. What was initially intended to be an organizational initiative became a larger community response. Baila Venezuela collected over 220 boxes of non- perishable supplies such as medicine, diapers, baby supplements, and much more, to be delivered to Miami and then Caracas, Venezuela. In the words of Baila Venezuela's leader, Roiny Rojas, ``We don't just show up to celebrate Venezuela's wins, we also show solidarity during difficult times.''

As the death toll continued to rise and the dancers wait to hear from their loved ones, their commitment to aiding extended beyond their initial estimates and the donations received exceeded their space, leading them to sleep outside in the parking lot to ensure that these resources remained secure as they awaited shipment to Miami.

This demonstrates to the world who we are and what we value as Minnesotans: generosity, community, and unwavering commitment to help those in need. We realize that no matter if you help your neighbor across the street or someone several thousand miles away, we share a common humanity that calls us to action. It is my great honor to pay tribute to Baila Venezuela and the many individuals dedicating their time and resources to support Venezuelans facing the brunt of climate change abroad. Minnesotans have shown us that there is no limit to compassion and willingness to help those who are in need. Our community responds to these issues, not because they are easy, but because it is the right thing to do. I am deeply proud to represent a community that values supporting those in need.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Arrington recently said that Democrats are counting pennies. That feels like an insult because $95 billion is what Chairman Arrington and the Republicans are asking Congress to approve.

Here is where the money goes: tens of billions of dollars for the Pentagon, billions more for the CIA to continue funding this illegal war with Trump, and billions to help States implement the SAVE Act, legislation that could make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to vote.

Meanwhile, working families are struggling to put food on the table and gas in their tanks, pay their rent, and afford healthcare. Instead of investing in the actual needs of the American people, this resolution pours more money into war and Trump's voter suppression agenda.

This is not counting pennies. This is our tax dollars that you are wasting on death and destruction. This resolution does nothing to help lower costs or help struggling Americans. This resolution does not speak to the values that we should carry or the priorities that we should have when we put forth a budget. This resolution gets our priorities wrong.

Mr. Chair, I urge all Members to vote against it.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 250, and YEA on Roll Call No. 251.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a dearly beloved community member, Gertrude Evelyn Buckanaga, also known as ``Baswewe- Binewiik,'' which means Echoing Thunderbird Woman.

Ms. Buckanaga was born in Pine Point on the White Earth Reservation. As a child, Ms. Buckanaga and her siblings were sent to Pipestone Boarding School by a Becker County social worker. She later graduated from the Flandreau Indian School before going on to receive an Elementary Degree in Education from Concordia University in St. Paul, and finally earning a Master's Degree in Counseling at the University of St. Thomas. The culmination of her life experiences and formal education prepared her for a life dedicated to improving the lives of Indigenous Minnesotans.

Ms. Buckanaga was a fierce advocate for Indigenous rights and a guiding light for countless youth. Among her myriad accolades, she worked for the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, helping with the development of their GED program and the incorporation of Ojibwe culture in the Head Start program on the Leech Lake Reservation. Ms. Buckanaga was also one of the founding forces behind the creation of both the Upper Midwest American Indian Center in North Minneapolis and the Four Directions Charter School, later starting the Foster Care Program for the Upper Midwest American Indian Center. She also aided in the creation of the American Indian Movement in the early 1960s.

Although Ms. Buckanaga served the state of Minnesota in numerous ways, including serving on the American Indian Mental Health Advisory Council, she fought tirelessly against state-backed injustices and worked relentlessly to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act. She fought to preserve Indigenous cultures and ensure that future generations of children could grow up with the pride and security that had been deprived of Indigenous peoples for generations through government policy.

Ms. Buckanaga is survived not only by her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, but also through the legacies she left behind and the impacts she made in Minnesota and across the country. She was a resilient champion for educational equity, a compassionate guardian for youth, and a fierce advocate for Indigenous rights. Please join me in honoring Gertrude Evelyn Buckanaga for her remarkable service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Islamic Resource Group on the occasion of its 25th anniversary.

Islamic Resource Group (IRG) was founded on June 19, 2001, as a nonprofit educational outreach organization committed to building bridges of understanding between Minnesota Muslims and the broader Minnesota community. For 25 years, Islamic Resource Group has served Minnesota through educational resources, community dialogue, mosque visits, professional development, interfaith engagement, public programs, and media outreach that promote religious literacy, mutual understanding, and respect.

Since its founding, Islamic Resource Group has delivered over 8,000 educational presentations to over half a million Minnesotans in face- to-face settings. Its work has reached schools, businesses, government agencies, houses of worship, and community organizations across Minnesota and beyond. IRG has worked closely with educators and school districts, including through a long-standing presence at the Education Minnesota Professional Conference since 2002. Its interfaith initiatives have connected hundreds of faith communities with Minnesota Muslims and strengthened relationships among neighbors of many religious and cultural backgrounds. I am deeply grateful for the crucial work IRG has done to combat rising Islamophobia and build interfaith communities.

IRG's Minnesota Muslim Experience Project and Tracks in the Snow Exhibit have helped tell the stories of Minnesota Muslims and expand public understanding of a community that has long contributed to the life and history of this great state. Through its annual Building Bridges Awards, IRG has honored Minnesotans whose work advances understanding, justice, service, and relationship building across communities.

As Islamic Resource Group marks 25 years of service, I would like to recognize its important contribution to religious literacy, interfaith understanding, public education, and civic life in Minnesota. Please join me in congratulating Islamic Resource Group, its leaders, staff, volunteers, speakers, partners, and supporters on this milestone anniversary, and in thanking them for their continued work building bridges of understanding across Minnesota.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of David L. Moore (1936-2025), for his boundless dedication to servicing the Hmong- American community through scouting education. As a lifelong educator and recognized community leader, David exemplified the greatest qualities of Minnesotan character, offering compassion and welcomeness to a first-generation Hmong-American community.

As a native resident of Minneapolis, David exhibited strong academic and leadership qualities, carving a pathway from his alma mater of Southwest High School to the prestigious Yale University, earning a B.A. in History and an M.A. in Teaching, planting a strong foundation for what would become an extensive educational career, teaching at various schools, domestically and internationally, eventually returning to his hometown to teach at Edison High School, where he would become witness to an emerging Hmong-American community torn from their homes by a horrific regional conflict across Southeast Asia. Having already been the Director of Camp Ajawah and Troop 33 Scoutmaster for two decades, David decided to use his wealth of experience to foster a new scouting chapter, Troop 100, the first Hmong Scout troop in the Nation.

David also recognized the importance of preserving the history of his growing Hmong troopers and their families, prompting him to collect stories of the troopers' gruesome survival experiences escaping Pathet Lao occupied Hmong villages, serving as military operatives against Pathet Lao forces, living between refugee camps in Laos and Thailand, and so much more. These stories would later be compiled into a singular book--Dark Sky, Dark Lands: Stories of The Hmong Boy Scouts of Troop 100. He would continue documenting their progress in the book Trustworthy Loyal Brave, and the stories of local Hmong elders in a third book, A Free People: Tracing Our Hmong Roots. David even went as far as traveling to Thai refugee camps near Mekong River, a route used by Hmong villagers from Laos to escape oppositional forces, where many of his scouts lived during the Laotian Civil War.

David Moore's impact is listless and continues to resonate through the lives of thousands of Minnesotans even after his passing, his former scouters growing into respective leaders of their own communities in a plethora of different fields, surely influenced by the values instilled in their scouting days with David. Please join me in recognizing the life of David L. Moore.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the East Phillips neighborhood in my district as they celebrate their successful efforts to decide the fate of their community.

East Phillips has long faced environmental injustice. The modern history of this struggle started in 1994 when high levels of arsenic were discovered in soil and groundwater due to decades of pesticide production. It was designated a Superfund site in 2007, and over 50,000 tons of contaminated soil were removed over the course of four years. We will never know how many lives were cut short before this poison was cleaned up.

The fight didn't stop there. For years, residents had sounded the alarm about two factories in their neighborhood: an asphalt manufacturer and a metal foundry. Residents shared stories for years about their experiences--how they couldn't open their windows in the summer because of the smell of tar or metal. How metal dust would cover the surfaces of their homes and yards. How the kids at the daycare down the street couldn't spend time outside because of this pollution.

The tide finally turned when community members, environmental justice advocates, and non-profits joined forces to say that enough is enough. They organized to demand that state regulators set an end-date for one of these factories. They reported violations to the Environmental Protection Agency for the second, leading to an unannounced inspection that found multiple violations of the Clean Air Act. The inspection validated what neighbors had been saying for years, and that foundry closed shortly thereafter.

And now, East Philips has finally cleared a path to community ownership of the Roof Depot site, in collaboration with non-profit organizations, state legislators, and allies on the Minneapolis City Council. The East Philips Neighborhood Institute had a vision for a community-led alternative to a proposed public works facility that would mean increased heavy truck traffic and continued industrial activity. With broad support from the people who call this neighborhood home, the Roof Depot will be redeveloped into an urban farm, affordable housing, and space for small businesses and community organizations.

This is a victory not only for the people of East Philips, but for the ideas of community and self-determination. East Philips shows us all what can happen when we work together for the common good. Please join me in thanking everyone who played a role in getting us to this moment and celebrating what the future holds for this neighborhood.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Minnesota Senate President Pro Tempore Ann Rest for over 40 years of service in the Minnesota Legislature.

Senator Rest led with cogovernance, often holding listening sessions at Frankie's Chicago Style Pizza in New Hope where she heard directly from community members and let their voices lead her policymaking.

She made history as the first and only legislator to chair the Taxes Committee in both the State house and the senate where she shaped the largest tax cut package in State history.

That landmark legislation invested more than $1.5 billion in a child tax credit fund and included over $105 million to expand affordable housing in our State.

I have been incredibly grateful for her steadfast leadership and unwavering commitment to bettering the lives of all Minnesotans, and I wish her the very best in her retirement.

She has made an incredible mark on my life and the lives of so many young Minnesota legislators, and I am so grateful for her.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this reconciliation bill.

Last year, Republicans handed ICE and CBP an $85 billion slush fund.

Today, they want $70 billion more with no reforms and no accountability for the crimes they have committed. This is at a time when Americans are barely making ends meet.

Let me tell you what the money could mean for working families. It could provide free childcare for over 1 million children for 2 years. We could expand and extend the ACA premium tax credit for at least a year. We could cancel the Medicare debt of a third of Americans.

Instead, congressional Republicans want to hand more money to the same rogue agents that have kidnapped and killed Americans across the country.

We know who is really paying for this. When Federal agents flooded Minneapolis, our cities suffered $200 million in economic damages, at least. Workers stayed home. Small businesses shuttered, and tens of thousands of residents were suddenly thrown into food and housing insecurity.

This is why I will be introducing a bill to redirect ICE's slush fund to the very communities that the agencies have terrorized and harmed. This is who this money should be going to, everyday Americans who are just trying to survive in Trump's disastrous economy.

Mr. Speaker, I won't support another dollar for ICE, and I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution because it is unconscionable for Congress to allow this conflict to go on.

The United States is complicit in the horrific devastation plaguing Lebanon. Thousands of people have been killed; more than a million people have been displaced; and homes and villages have been completely destroyed.

Israeli officials have openly stated they seek to implement the Gaza model, but in Lebanon. The Gaza model is one of ethnic cleansing, war crimes, mass displacement, and illegal occupation.

How can we in Congress stand by as our Nation is made complicit in such atrocities? U.S. support for conflicts in Gaza and now in Lebanon is about causing irreparable harm to our reputation and our role internationally. We are creating a world in which the United States stands not for peace or security but for destruction, death, and blatant disregard of international law.

This cannot continue. Congress must put an end to this unauthorized use of force. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' and refuse to enable another forever war.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the students and staff of Minneapolis' Roosevelt High School.

Earlier this year, Roosevelt became a target of the federal government's Operation Metro Surge, in which federal ICE agents descended upon the metro area and terrorized the people that call Minnesota their home. The students and staff of Roosevelt High School demonstrated remarkable bravery in the face of this violence, coming together as a community to stand their ground. I am exceptionally proud to represent the district that this community calls home.

Despite the freezing temperatures, students and staff showed up en masse to host a walkout from their school, displaying the incredible courage and warmth that comes from community. Together, Roosevelt High School stood up for their friends, their families, and their community in the face of oppression. They served as an inspiration to onlookers fighting fascism across the Nation, and as a beacon of hope for countless Minnesotans.

The student journalists of The Roosevelt Standard, the high school's newspaper, produced profound work during this time. They covered not only the violence of the occupation and the terror that their community experienced, but also the important day-to-day news in order to show that their lives would continue after the surge. The authors and editors remained conscientious in ensuring that the information they published was accurate, while still including the personal aspects of these stories. These students' work serves as a reminder that the youth are our future, and that the future is in good hands.

The tenacity of the students and staff of Roosevelt High School serves as a testament to the power that comes from community and solidarity. Their resilience, compassion, and devotion will not be forgotten. Please join me in honoring the students and staff of Roosevelt High School for their incredible bravery.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Charlene Vazquez on the occasion of her retirement. It brings great pleasure to me today to celebrate the remarkable achievements of Ms. Vazquez, a respected educator and community leader, whose work at Pillsbury House + Theater for the past 34 years has touched the lives of many young people and families in Minnesota. She has inspired generations of young children to become lifelong learners and engaged citizens. Children she taught have sought her out to teach their own children.

At Pillsbury House, Ms. Vazquez's contributions have gone far beyond teaching. She has been a mentor, an advocate, and a guiding force for many generations of students who have faced life's struggles with bravery and determination. She has achieved an impressive 100 percent ready for kindergarten designation for every child in her care.

Every single day, Ms. Vazquez showed up with the intention, the patience, and the love needed to make a difference in places that were too often ignored and under-supported. She recognizes the value of an educational experience that is culturally relevant while making sure that young people--especially people of color and immigrants--could see themselves reflected in their learning environments.

It is impossible to calculate the value of Ms. Vazquez's impact on our community based solely on the number of years she spent working tirelessly, but it can be counted in students whose lives she inspired and families she uplifted. Her dedication has made our community stronger.

Today, we honor Charlene Vazquez as she retires from her many years of service to the community, and we celebrate her commitment to education, to equity, and to creating a better future for generations to come. This is the true measure of an educator and a leader whose effort to build brighter tomorrows will not be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Minnesota State Representative Sandra Feist for her incredible work serving Minnesotans in the Minnesota Legislature.

Representative Feist brought over a decade of experience as an immigration lawyer, working to enact laws to support our immigrant communities.

She passed 57 bills into law, including establishing Minnesota's Office of New Americans, which helps integrate immigrants and refugees into our State's workforce.

Representative Feist is the sort of public servant who always asks herself what is the best way to help the people. In the wake of Trump's relentless assault on immigrants across the country, she has decided to pursue immigration law full time.

Mr. Speaker, I am incredibly grateful for Representative Feist's leadership and wish her the very best as she continues to fight for Minnesotans.