Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania for her leadership and for the time.

Today is, indeed, a historic day. It is a day that we will say to the LGBTQ community across the land that you matter, that you count, that the Equality Act will be the new law of this country. It is a basic heralding of human decency.

America stands at a crucial crossroads in this generation's fight for civil rights. We should not have to remind our Republican colleagues that no one should ever be discriminated against because of who they are, yet here we are.

Without the explicit Federal protection provided in the Equality Act, the LGBTQ community is at risk of being marginalized, or worse, in the workplace, housing, education, and even in the military.

This administration is seeking to make our LGBTQ families and friends not just second-class citizens, but to deny them the fundamental American rights etched into our Constitution.

Congress cannot erase hatred with legislation, but Congress has an obligation to lead, to stamp out discrimination wherever it exists.

We can and must all rise for the LGBTQ community.

Madam Speaker, this is from volume I, page 6.

``Summer 2016. Russian outreach to the Trump campaign continued into the summer of 2016, as candidate Trump was becoming the presumptive Republican nominee for President. On June 9, 2016, for example, a Russian lawyer met with senior Trump campaign officials Donald Trump, Jr., Jared Kushner, and campaign chairman Paul Manafort to deliver what the email proposing the meeting had described as `official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary.' ''

``The materials were offered to Trump Jr. as `part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump.' The written communications setting up the meeting showed that the campaign anticipated receiving information from Russia that could assist candidate Trump's electoral prospects, but the Russian lawyer's presentation did not provide such information.''

Testimony of Colin Stretch, the general counsel of Facebook. This is in volume I, page 15.

`` `We estimate that roughly 29 million people were served content in their news feeds directly from the IRA's,'' ' and that stands for the Internet Research Agency's, `` `80,000 posts over the 2 years.' ''

The IRA is the Russian organization in which some 30 persons have been indicted.

`` `Posts from these pages were also shared, liked, and followed by people on Facebook, and, as a result, three times more people may have been exposed to a story that originated from the Russian operation. Our best estimate is that approximately 126 million people may have been served content from a page associated with the IRA at some point during the 2-year period.'

``The Facebook representative also testified that Facebook had identified 170 Instagram accounts that posted approximately 120,000 pieces of content during that time. Facebook did not

offer an estimate of the audience reached via Instagram.''

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Joanne Hayes-White as she responds to her final call as Chief of the San Francisco Fire Department. Chief Hayes-White will be retiring after 29 years with the department. Hers is a long and storied career that spans the transformation of the department from an all-male bastion to a modern department in which merit is measured by your capacity to save lives and property through working as part of a team, and celebrating the differences that make this nation great.

Joanne Hayes-White was born in San Francisco. She graduated from the University of Santa Clara with a degree in business and immediately applied to the San Francisco Fire Department. She was hired in April of 1990. She climbed the career ladder almost as quickly as the ladder on a truck. In 1993 she was promoted to Lieutenant and in 1996 to Captain. Also in 1996, she was assigned as the Acting Battalion Chief with oversight of the department's dispatch and communications systems. The department selected Battalion Chief Hayes-White to oversee the installation of the Computer-Aided Dispatch system (CAD) and the Automated Information System (AIS). Along the way, Chief Hayes-White combined the communications functions of police, fire, and emergency response, improving response times and inter-agency communications.

Firefighters live and die based in part on their training. As Director of Training, Joanne Hayes-White developed the Battalion-Based In Service Training Program which almost tripled the number of formal training hours for all members of the department, with almost no fiscal impact. As Chief, she has implemented random on-duty alcohol and drug testing, reconfigured emergency medical services, and restored promotional exams, all steps that have increased accountability within the department.

The fire department is noticeable in the community through the training of civilians and even school children. Ninth graders in San Francisco learn CPR. The department is committed to reducing pedestrian deaths and works to right-size equipment to San Francisco's streets.

In April of 2010, the Chief was offered a fellowship to attend the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program. It was an investment in excellence, as evidence a few years later. In August 2018, Chief Hayes-White was named as the 2018 Career Fire Chief of the Year by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

San Francisco is a complex city to protect. The department's personnel are famous for valor and for protecting the forty-nine square miles of dense community that constitutes the city. The fire department goes beyond fighting fires and preventing death and injury due to medical emergencies. Under Chief Hayes-White's leadership, the department was a leader in environmental and sustainability initiatives, such as transitioning the fleet to renewable diesel, composting and recycling.

It has been a privilege to work with Joanne Hayes-White during my time in the State Legislature and in Congress and to call her a dear friend. She is an inspiration to girls and young women throughout San Francisco. She has attended multiple of my When I Grow Up events and spoke before 600 girls and family members at Grenentech. During her remarks, she noted that it was not easy to make her way in the 1990's- era department. The department only began hiring women in 1987. As of 2017, 30 years later, 15% of firefighters were women. Yet the department is also a close-knit community. Even as Chief, she knows every firefighter by name.

As a human being, Joanne Hayes-White excels. Her ready smile, respect for traditions that strengthen the department, and love of community are second to none. She is a native of San Francisco's winding streets, fog-shrouded hills and beautiful beaches. She has managed the department when its budget was cut and fought hard to get positions and capabilities restored as the economy recovered. We are all safer because Chief Hayes-White assumed the helm of the San Francisco Fire Department.

Now, it's time for Joanne to take time to smell the roses. She will see more of her sons Riley, age 25, Logan, age 21, and Sean, age 19. They grew up with the department with her, and now they get to reclaim some of the time she offered to the city by the bay.

For those of us who have lived in and grown up around San Francisco, there are two bells that immediately trigger an image of the city that we love: Cable car bells and the bell at the fire house as another rescue commences. San Franciscans are proud of both. For 29 years, they've had Chief Hayes-White to respond to the fire house bell. Slainte mhaith, Chief Hayes-White. We are all deeply grateful for a job so well done.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Sister Suzanne Toolan, a longtime force for education and social justice within my district. She is being honored by her friends with the Catherine McAuley Award for her dedication to the education of young women. I join in their joy and celebration of her decades in service.

I first met Sister Suzanne while a student at Mercy Burlingame. She taught chorale, a subject for which I was singularly unqualified. However, as my fellow students noted, Sister Suzanne was a patient and inspiring teacher. The Mercy choir is known throughout the San Francisco Peninsula for its inspiring repertoire and joyful music, particularly during Christmas and other holidays. Sister Suzanne was the heart and soul of a generation of choral singers, providing spiritual and contemporary pieces for the girls to perform.

Her role in chorale, and the impact that she had on students, was only one measure of her long career. Sister Suzanne is the composer of the hymn entitled, ``I Am the Bread of Life,'' a deeply moving piece that inspires Catholic and other Christian congregations around the globe. Sister put the words of Jesus to music in 1964 during her free period between two classes. The San Francisco Archdiocese was to hold an event and Sister wished to contribute.

As she later stated, she didn't initially like her work so when the bell rang for her to go back to class she ripped up the song and tossed it into the wastebasket. A student, who was nearby, came out of the infirmary and said, ``What was that? It was beautiful!'' So, Sister retrieved the song, scotch taped it together, and submitted it.

It may be irreverent to say so, but in January of 1964 the Beatles song ``I Want To Hold Your Hand'' hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 Chart. However, for many of us, that song couldn't hold a candle to Sister Suzanne's ``I Am the Bread of Life.'' The church has its relics, but in this instance the workpiece of the Beatles is the relic and that of Sister Suzanne is a perpetually inspiring song, translated into at least 20 languages, that reminds us of the everlasting. For her work, Sister Suzanne was called an ``Icon of the Second Vatican Council'' and received the Benedictus Award from the Liturgical Commission of the Diocese of San Jose, presented by Bishop Patrick McGrath, in 2016.

As noted by her supporters and friends, Sister Suzanne is also the author of a book entitled Canticles and Gathering Prayers, a composite of services and canticles written for groups gathered in prayer. Her work allowed Catholics to understand their faith in the vernacular, making faith more accessible.

Sister Suzanne is immensely well educated. She holds a master's degree in humanities and a second master's degree from San Francisco State University. She did compositional work at Michigan State University, liturgical study at the University of Notre Dame, and choral work with Robert Shaw at San Diego State University. She introduced Taize Prayer and worship to the West Coast in 1983. After her stellar career at Mercy Burlingame, Sister Suzanne founded Catherine's Center, a transitional house for women released from prison. It is a ministry of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Mateo County.

I recently viewed a photo of Sister Suzanne during her era as a Mercy Burlingame teacher. She was swinging her baton and had a smile from ear to ear. Music has the power to inspire us to great deeds. Sister Suzanne conveyed that power in overwhelming force to impressionable minds seeking the knowledge of math, science, literature, and leadership. These are core subjects at Mercy Burlingame, and core subjects of any young woman seeking to come into her own as a young adult. Sister Suzanne never let them down. I know because I was one of those young women who was captivated by Sister Suzanne's powerful spirituality and joyful musical grace.

As we reflect upon her life, I cannot offer her a musical analogy to illustrate her impact upon her students and the world. However, I can offer an historical allusion that I believe is apt. When Churchill spoke from the floor during times of grave crisis, Parliament was roused to act and the course of western civilization was sharply and famously revised. We know that the music of Sister Suzanne Toolan, both famous and less so, inspires millions. She has never held high office in civic life but instead chose to announce the glory of the highest office that any of us may attain. Who can doubt that her accomplishments will shape our civilization for hundreds of years to come.

Mr. Speaker, innocent children shouldn't pay the price for the President's cruel immigration agenda. Steamrolling the facts and the law, he has implemented policy after failed policy, playing catch and release with his own cabinet.

As the President ratchets up his threats to close the border and cut aid to Central America, thousands of migrants are fleeing their home countries to seek refuge in the United States.

I recently met with the editors of the book ``Solito, Solita''-- Alone, Alone--a collection of oral histories that tells the stories of young refugees in their own words. I rise today to read excerpts from one of them, Gabriel Mendez.

His story begins in a poor, dangerous neighborhood in the capital of Honduras. He says:

When I was just a boy of 7, my cousins raped me for a long

time--for a year. They raped me at the river, where they

collected water--and in my own home.

. . . Some of my fellow students who belonged to the maras

took weapons to school. I told the mareros that I didn't want

to bring weapons to school. I was afraid of them. They also

wanted me to bring drugs into school. I didn't want to do it,

so I left that school. . . . Now the maras were looking for

me--to kill me. They were asking my neighbors if they knew

me.

When Gabriel was 14, he convinced his mother, who was living in San Francisco, to pay a coyote $6,000 to bring him to the United States. Gabriel recounted the horrors he encountered along the way.

. . . they kept us locked in a house with eight other

people for a week. We kept moving. Many days passed without

eating or drinking water.

We were taken to the river, where there was a raft. We

crossed the river into the United States and moved to a safe

house. We spent 4 nights in the desert, including the night

of my 15th birthday.

. . . We came upon another group of people who'd been

traveling 2 days ahead of us. A young man, under 18, had

perished from exposure and lack of water and food. I got

stuck in some barbed wire in the desert. The coyote kicked

me, ripping my flesh to set me free.

. . . We got to Los Angeles on December 17, 2013. If we

didn't pay more money, they threatened to cut off our heads

and all kinds of horrible things. My mom said she'd give them

another $50, and they piled another 8 people in a van and

brought us to San Francisco.

In San Francisco, Gabriel feared for years he would be sent back to Honduras. With the support of his mother and an attorney, he was eventually granted asylum.

Now he is a student at the University of California at Berkeley, with dreams of becoming a lawyer himself.

In an essay, he wrote:

My experience of childhood sexual and domestic abuse has

shaped my dreams to become a lawyer, to defend victims and

fight for children's rights around the world. My immigration

lawyer was a role model for me because she listened to my

experiences. I want to continue studying to help children

feel protected by the law . . .

If we want to understand the why behind mass migration, we need to listen and learn from these stories.

As Members of Congress, it is our job to uplift these voices and use them to fix a broken immigration system. We must insist on due process for asylum seekers; we must insist on humane treatment of our families; and we must insist on aid to Central America to stem the drivers of migration.

Together, we can prevent more children from risking their lives.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud as she retires from her position as President of Skyline College and from the San Mateo County Community College District. She has made extraordinary contributions to education throughout her entire career.

Dr. Stanback Stroud holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Mills College in Oakland, a Bachelor's in Nursing Sciences from Howard University, a Master's in Human Relations from Golden Gate University and a Master's in Educational Leadership from Mills College. There can be little doubt that, as a role model, young women, especially women of color, may look to Dr. Stanback Stroud and see themselves following in her footsteps.

When President Obama needed an advisor on college costs and affordability, he recruited Dr. Stanback Stroud to serve on his advisory committee. She's been a visiting professor at Mills College and served as an adjunct professor in the San Francisco State University Educational Leadership Doctoral Program. She is the publisher of works on women of color in leadership, workforce and economic development, and antipoverty programs in community colleges. For all these accomplishments and more, Dr. Stanback Stroud is rightly recognized throughout the nation as an educational leader and a person who has worked effectively to increase the diversity of education and science.

Under Dr. Stanback Stroud's leadership, Skyline College made dozens of innovative changes. The Skyline Promise Program makes community college affordable to residents by offering fee waivers, support with transportation, food and books. Skyline's Equity Institute administers institutional assessments, publishes research and instructs its professionals in how to be inclusive and inquisitive. Skyline is one of 15 community colleges in California that offers a bachelor's degree program. Students may earn a Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Care. Its MIT inspired fabrication laboratory is part of a global network offering entrepreneurs the opportunity to test new devices without having to pay the enormous fees of a conventional fabrication laboratory. Under her leadership, Dr. Stanback Stroud launched a STEM Center which will be the hub for students who identify goals in technical careers such as biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, health and related fields.

San Mateo County's economy has changed enormously in the last 40 years. It shifted from a mixture of agriculture and tourism to high technology in software, pharmaceuticals and finance. International trade now dominates our local economy. Dr. Stanback Stroud recognizes the importance of international students in maintaining our county's economic advantage. Skyline College has a Global Learning Program and Services Division that is dedicated to expanding international awareness and study abroad opportunities for the college and community, complete with a passport processing office that serves thousands of community members annually. She has established a Dream Center that helps undocumented immigrant students by training these students in leadership skills and by advocating for access and equity within higher education.

America is stronger when everyone is pulling together. Through her devotion to opportunity and to diversity, to students as young as 16, to incorporating international students at Skyline, Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud built a solid foundation for the future prosperity of her students and our community. Skyline College is an exciting and adventurous community college because it reflects its leadership. I salute Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud as she retires. She will be remembered as a force of nature at Skyline College because she dared to dream big and she delivered.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Robert Jones the retiring Executive Director of EPA Can Do. This nonprofit community development corporation located in East Palo Alto has provided affordable housing, financial readiness training, property management, and homeownership evaluations for thousands of residents since it was first established in 1991. Robert Jones was a founding member of this organization and in 2000 began as its Executive Director.

Robert was born in Warren Arkansas to John and Odessa Jones. He has six sisters and three brothers. As a child in Arkansas, he grew up under a system of segregated schools and public facilities, racism and Jim Crow statutes that denied opportunity to African Americans. In 1962, he and his family relocated to California where they settled in Pasadena. He ultimately obtained his AA degree in Interior Design from Los Angeles City College and a Bachelor's in Psychology and Master's in Counselor Education from San Jose State University.

His kind heart and strong mind led him to counseling young people, and he eventually worked with emotionally disturbed children, and counseled them on career and vocational decision making. By the 1990's he was involved in the field of affordable housing and joined Eden Housing in Hayward to begin a career as a project manager for affordable housing projects. It was also during this time that he joined with other neighborhood leaders in East Palo Alto to found EPA Can Do, serving as its first Vice Chair and then, soon thereafter, rising to Chair.

Robert Jones worked closely with the City of East Palo Alto to secure home ownership for its residents. In 2002, EPA Can Do began to refinance predatory loans in partnership with Fannie Mae. This program was a forerunner to the programs established after the Great Recession in 2008. The Foreclosure Intervention and Counseling Program established after the meltdown counseled over 3,700 homeowners from East Palo Alto and surrounding communities.

EPA Can Do has developed several projects but remains in ownership of a 15-unit development, Clarke Avenue Apartments. The Light Tree Apartments exist as affordable units in part because Robert Jones and EPA Can Do facilitated their transfer to a financially stronger owner, Eden Housing. Over the course of a six-year period, Robert assembled parcels along University Avenue and then negotiated a partnership which resulted in the creation of 41 units at Serenity Senior Housing. This development was a twinkle in the eye of Robert Jones and few thought that he could turn it into reality, but he did. The reality of Robert's career in housing development is 350 units of permanently affordable housing across several jurisdictions.

Robert Jones presently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District and also participates in numerous volunteer positions in East Palo Alto, including as a CERT volunteer. Throughout his life in East Palo Alto, he participated in many committees to improve the quality of life of residents, including committees focused on anti-drug efforts, improving childcare, economic development, and the East Palo Alto Senior Center Board of Directors.

When the history of East Palo Alto in the modern era is reviewed, Robert Jones will be understood to be at the center of many positive changes in this remarkable community. East Palo Alto is filled with hard working, loving people who wish the best for their families, their neighbors and their city. Over decades, Robert Jones has worked to turn the wishes of these amazing residents into opportunity. As he retires from a financially sound EPA Can Do, we know that he will remain involved in building his city's civic spirit. We wish Robert Jones all the best in his retirement. He may no longer be at the center of all the initiatives that will shape East Palo Alto, but he will remain in the hearts of his neighbors for many years to come.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Jamie Adams who is receiving the Citizen of the Year and Community Care Award from the Associated Parents' Group of Hillsborough for her tireless work improving the lives of our children.

As the principal at West Hillsborough School from 2009 to 2015 and the principal at Crocker Middle School from 2015 to the present, Ms. Adams has served Hillsborough with a dedication to students, a sense of community and forward-thinking leadership. She has always been open to feedback and input while remaining grounded in her principles which focus on what is best for all students, not only each individual student. In her own words, she strives to ``uphold high academic standards, support innovative instruction, and build a sense of community among students, teachers, staff and parents on a daily basis.''

Ms. Adams had devoted her entire career to education and the betterment of others. Originally from Marysville, California, she earned her BA in Sociology at UC Berkeley and her MA and Ed. D from Mills College. After college, she worked at a rehabilitation hospital in San Francisco before starting her family. She married her husband Griffith Adams 44 years ago and they have two children, Nicholau and Elizabeth. Her family, she says, is her greatest love and accomplishment.

Ms. Adams has worked at a private school for three years and in the Piedmont Unified School District for 17 years. To this day, she volunteers for the Piedmont Minor Offender Program, a program supporting minors who made poor choices and who are engaging in positive restitution for growth and development.

In her ten years at HCSD, Ms. Adams has achieved a long list of innovations and accomplishments. In 2011 and 2012, West was awarded the distinguished Kent Award for peer coaching and for ``Operation Risk.'' Operation Risk encouraged teachers to innovate even at the risk of failure. The program was so successful that the school district asked her to expand it and made it one of five districtwide initiatives. She also brought a mindfulness program to all grades, introduced flexible classroom environments and desks to promote learning and innovation, and empowered students to establish the Principals Advisors Program.

Ms. Adams was the first principal at HCSD to create open forums to solicit both positive and negative feedback from parents. This openness to listening and trying new ideas rapidly improved the input from parents and the district subsequently adopted the model at all elementary schools.

Ms. Adams understands that the success of a child cannot be measured solely by test scores. She is an advocate of the whole child perspective which in some cases makes it acceptable for test scores to drop for the betterment of the whole child. She oversaw the building of the environmentally friendly kindergarten wing, formalized the student council election process, and created other opportunities for students interested in leadership roles. In 2014, West was named a California Distinguished School.

When she started her tenure at Crocker Middle School in 2015, she worked her magic there. She immediately brought calm and confidence to teachers and staff. She also implemented science into the daily schedule.

Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to honor Jamie Adams for her exemplary service to all children and families in Hillsborough. Her vision, wisdom and leadership have helped shape the educational system in the entire Hillsborough City School District.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Laurel Miranda who is receiving the Citizen of the Year and Community Care Award from the Associated Parents' Group of Hillsborough for her tireless work improving the lives of children of all abilities.

For twelve years, Laurel was instrumental in shaping the Hillsborough City Student District Special Education Program to include parent representation, field trips and a science overnight. It is an inclusive educational experience with opportunities on par with the General Education Program. In addition, she was active in all other aspects of school life, including the parent group boards at South and Crocker schools and Art in Action. She served as president of both the Hillsborough Schools Foundation and the Associated Parents' Group of Hillsborough.

Laurel's intelligence, thoughtfulness, generosity and practicality have earned her the admiration and respect of teachers, staff, parents and students alike. She knows how to get things done.

In her advocacy for children of all abilities, she co-founded Special Kids Parents Group of Hillsborough and was president for three years. The group worked collaboratively with the superintendent, the school board, the Hillsborough Schools Foundation, and APG to provide a welcoming, supportive school and community environment for families with children of all abilities. They helped launch three annual signature events: Special Kids Parents Group Kick-Off Coffee, High School Night for Parents of Special Learners, and 5th Grade Transition Coffee for Parents of Special Learners. They improved recreational opportunities with Hillsborough Recreation. And they represented HCSD to San Mateo County SELPA to share ideas and strategies across school districts. In short, Special Kids Parents Group could not have been a more effective advocate.

Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Laurel came to California and attended Miramonte High School in Orinda. While working as a camp counselor at John's Hopkins Center for Talented Youth in 1987, she met her husband Steve Miranda. In 1990, Laurel earned her BA in Quantitative Economics and English from Stanford University and in 1997, she earned her JD/MBA from UC Berkeley.

Laurel and Steve were married at Stanford Memorial Church in 1993. She had a successful career at Oracle, Wells Fargo, and Charles Schwab. In 2000, with the birth of Robert Miranda, Laurel fully devoted her time to family, advocacy for children and school activities. Isabel Miranda was born three years later and diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy at the age of eight months. There wasn't a group Laurel wasn't involved in or a board she didn't serve on. Advocacy and community engagement are part of her DNA. In her current role as a board member of CuriOdyssey, she is promoting exclusive hours and programming for kids with special needs and their families

Madam Speaker, I ask the members of the House of Representatives to rise with me to recognize the long-lasting contributions Laurel Miranda has made to the Hillsborough City School District. She is a remarkable community leader who is effecting change in everything she touches.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Caroline Serrato upon her retirement from the Hillsborough Police Department after 23 years of service to the residents of Hillsborough, California, and after 31 years in law enforcement. Caroline Serrato has enjoyed a long career in law enforcement dating back to May 20, 1988 when she was first sworn in as a peace officer and park ranger for the City of Escondido.

The City of Brisbane benefited from Caroline's leadership where she served starting in 1993. For a brief time, she was also a peace officer for the University of San Francisco where she attained the rank of Inspector and then Sergeant.

The Town of Hillsborough recruited Caroline in 1996 and she quickly proved to be an exemplary addition to its police force. She was the first school liaison officer and was promoted to Inspector in 1998 and to Corporal in 2001. Hillsborough's policing environment is specialized. In addition to the town's rolling hills and leafy streets, both deceptively serene yet creating a complex web to patrol, you can add the challenge of protecting visiting luminaries and leadership from around the globe. Caroline met the challenge by being professional and polite, firm but fair. She was quickly

identified as a leader by the department's managers and became a Sergeant in 2002.

In 2007 she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and assumed even greater management duties, and in 2011 she became a Captain. During her years of service, Caroline Serrato gained the trust of residents and town leadership by becoming the project manager for large scale projects that benefitted residents. Communicating as a police department in the modern era requires that key information systems and social media platforms either be created or updated regularly. With no fanfare but profound impact, she either led or assisted in these projects.

During her service, Caroline Serrato was responsible for investigating and obtaining the conviction of countless criminals. Residents could be confident that when Caroline Serrato was investigating their case, the job was being performed by a true professional. She also mentored others so that she could be a force multiplier for the police department, and she provided training to both the public and the staff to ensure that both were able to protect themselves. In short, this small police department was able to handle much larger responsibilities because Caroline's willingness to teach others how to become outstanding officers.

Caroline Serrato holds a Bachelor's Degree in Management from St. Mary's College where she graduated with honors, and she attended the Delinquency Control Institute at the University of Southern California. When cities throughout our county decided to exchange talented individuals from other communities, and to expend the funds needed to provide training, city management sent Caroline to the city manager's office to learn about city management from Daly City.

Madam Speaker, Caroline Serrato's commitment to Hillsborough could never be doubted, nor could her commitment to the highest standards of law enforcement. We celebrate her retirement after 31 years in law enforcement. Her career proves the point that if law enforcement is performed with an even hand and with justice close to the heart, then body-worn cameras throughout our nation will record that democracy is safe in America.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman of the Judiciary Committee for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, today, I stand here in proud support of the bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, which includes my bill, the Closing the Law Enforcement Consent Loophole Act.

I introduced this bill when I read a shocking article last year about a teenager in New York who was raped by two police officers while in their custody in the back of an unmarked police vehicle. When she reported the rape, a loophole in New York State law allowed the officers to claim she consented to having sex with them, despite the fact that she was handcuffed and under their control.

I was appalled to learn about this and was concerned that that was a legitimate defense, at that time, in New York, and it remains an acceptable defense in 30 other States and for Federal law enforcement officers.

My bill has now been included in VAWA and will no longer allow for Federal law enforcement officers to use that consent defense as well.

There are also financial incentives for the 30 States that need to close their loopholes by providing additional VAWA grant funds to States that pass similar legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to protect the safety of our women. Closing this loophole puts us one step closer to achieving that safety.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support this resolution with vigor.

Last month, the Subcommittee on Military Personnel within the Armed Services Committee held a hearing. It was the first time in the history of this Congress that five transgender members of the military were allowed to testify.

Four of them are trans female. One of them is trans male. All five of them have served our country with distinction. All five of them have served more than 12 years in the military. One of them is a West Point graduate. All of them have served either in Iraq, Afghanistan, multiple deployments, and in submarine service.

To the servicemember, all I saw was pride to be in the military, pride to serve their country, pride to put themselves on the line.

The testimony from the administration was like a twisted pretzel. They offered a weak and dithering defense of their cruel policy. Two things became clear at this hearing:

First, the administration policy is a ban. Make no mistake about it. Those who are in the military and serving as transgender can continue to do so. No one can come into the military who is transgender. If you are in the military and transgender and have not identified, you cannot identify. So it is a ban.

Captain Alivia Stehlik put it best:

Currently, soldiers are allowed to seek care no matter

what, trans related or not. If the policy changes, soldiers

will no longer be able to seek care, because if you say, I am

trans and get a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, regardless of

your job performance, you are ineligible and will be

terminated.

The policy is a solution in search of a problem. Worse, it discriminates against our servicemembers.

Second, the hearing demonstrated resoundingly that the last 2\1/2\ years of open service have been unequivocally successful.

Mr. Speaker, let me say, transgender servicemembers have been there for us. It is time for us to be there for them.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Hillsborough Police Chief Mark O'Connor upon the occasion of his retirement after a total of 33 years in law enforcement, 32 of those years with the Town of Hillsborough. Chief O'Connor is an uncommon law enforcement professional, and the residents of Hillsborough have been extraordinarily lucky to have his services for over three decades.

Hillsborough is a town of 11,500 persons nestled in the hills of the San Francisco Peninsula. Mark O'Connor joined the police department of this beautiful town in 1986 after serving for a year in the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. He began as a Police Officer and then served as Canine Officer, Motorcycle Officer, Field Training Officer, Police Corporal, Press Information Officer, Patrol Sergeant, Administrative Captain, Patrol Captain and, finally, as the Chief of Police. However, Mark is a highly talented person, and for a while the town also tapped him to be Public Works Director. Apparently, he enjoyed catching burglars more than fixing broken sewer mains, so that stint was relatively short-lived.

Chief O'Connor served on a committee of the San Mateo County Police Chiefs' and Sheriffs Association working on technology issues and was responsible for upgrading Hillsborough's department to take advantage of computers in patrol cars, officer body cameras, and Computer Aided Dispatch equipment, among many innovations. During Mark's time in charge, Hillsborough residents were protected by the latest technology available.

As an institutional source of ``lessons learned'' for the department, Mark excels. For example, he once pointed out that making it easier to navigate a community isn't necessarily good for public safety. Among its many features, Hillsborough is a hard place to navigate at night without a lot of experience. Many pizzas have gone cold in the hills of Hillsborough. Burglars would also occasionally get lost. They would then meander repeatedly through the town seeking frantically to escape. The police would notice, and the thieves would become future candidates to make public endorsements on behalf of the Google Maps app for smart phones--after they were released from jail and subject to any applicable terms of probation. This story illustrates Mark's wisdom from years of on-the-ground experience. He is a walking library of such lessons.

Mark O'Connor has many obvious skills. He is respected by his staff because he is authentic. He mentors others with ease. He is smart

and has what the military calls ``command presence.'' My office works regularly with him on security issues that impact my office and the broader community. He is a rock-solid source of advice, even outside his formal job duties.

For example, in 2010, a 30-inch high pressure natural gas transmission pipeline operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company exploded in San Bruno, north of Hillsborough, killing eight persons and injuring dozens more. Mark O'Connor is a master welder. Through the months after the explosion, he lent his judgments to my staff and to federal and state officials as they sought the cause of the rupture. He also noticed the vulnerability of Hillsborough and other cities to a similar disaster. In part because of his recommendations to me and to others, new pipes have been installed. Thousands have been removed from the path of possible harm, in part due to the insights lent by Chief Mark O'Connor.

It is Chief O'Connor's integrity, grit, and determination to be of service to all law-abiding residents that has been the secret to his success. It's hard to imagine a man with such an active mind sitting still. Maybe, he'll write a book about his years in law enforcement. Hillsborough is visited regularly by Presidents, Ambassadors and other global leaders. Mark's career-based police thriller might be entitled, ``I Saw The President--But He Never Saw Me.'' It's likely that many citizens and luminaries never saw Mark O'Connor, but we know that he had their backs all along their way through the community. This, in the end, is the highest mark of police service in any town--no flash, just skill and professionalism. That's Mark O'Connor, the retiring Chief of Police of Hillsborough, California.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Katharine S. Leroux for almost three decades of outstanding public service to the town of Hillsborough, California, the last three years as the first female city manager. Kathy is a remarkable community leader and a force to be reckoned with.

After leaving her career in the telecommunication industry, Kathy started her public service career as a water rationing coordinator in 1990, in the midst of a severe drought. She credits that job with deeply connecting her with Hillsborough residents. When her second child was born in 1991, she took some time off to focus on her family and then returned to the city in 1992 as an account clerk in the Finance Department. In 1995, she was promoted to City Clerk in which role she updated the city council agenda process and the municipal code. She also attained her Certified Municipal Clerk designation.

In 2003, Kathy was promoted to Assistant to the City Manager and then two years later to Assistant City Manager where her responsibilities increased tremendously. She oversaw the office she formerly held, City Clerk, and Human Resources. She led labor negotiations, developed annual operating budgets and served as the Acting Director for the Building and Planning Department and the Public Works Department when there were vacancies.

Working in and with all of these departments perfectly prepared Kathy to become City Manager and to effectively run the town's business. In May 2015, she became Interim City Manager and the following January City Manager. She maintained Hillsborough's fiscal stability and General Fund reserves, navigated State mandated water use reductions, developed a process for small wire development, revamped the website, developed the Climate Action Plan, expanded management teambuilding and employment recognition, and enhanced communication with residents--an impressive list of accomplishments that has benefitted the town and will continue to do so long after her retirement.

Kathy says she was afforded amazing growth opportunities by taking two life-changing educational programs. The first one was Continuing Education for Public Officials which she completed in Santa Barbara in the late 1990s. The second was the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at the Harvard University Kennedy School which she completed in 2007.

During her tenure, Kathy served on several boards including The Cities Group, San Mateo County Telecommunications Authority, and the Association of Bay Area Governments. She was also the Administrative Officer for the Central County Fire Department.

Born in San Francisco, Kathy grew up in South San Francisco and attended El Camino High School. She took classes at San Diego State University, Michigan State University, Skyline College and the College of San Mateo and then spent three years working in the private sector for PacTel InfoSystems in San Francisco.

Kathy and Bert, her husband of 32 years, are devoted parents of Louie and Victoria. In her well-deserved retirement, Kathy plans to remodel her San Bruno house, adopt a dog, take golf lessons and spend more time reading, cooking and traveling.

Madam Speaker, I ask the members of the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Katharine Leroux, an exemplary public servant and dear friend, who leaves behind big shoes to fill for the next City Manager of Hillsborough. Her contributions to the town over the last 28 years will be felt for years to come.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues to honor my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter.

It is inconceivable to me that it has been 1 year since the passing of this force of nature. I am consoled by knowing that her legacy lives on in this Chamber.

The brilliant former chair of the powerful Rules Committee was sharp- tongued, sharp-witted, and sharp-eyed.

Everyone who knew her was made better by her presence.

Anyone who came up against her in an argument knew they were facing a steel backbone, but her disarming sense of humor and southern drawl were irresistible.

She even taught me how to speak Southern. ``Bless your sweet heart'' doesn't mean bless your sweet heart.

Congresswoman Slaughter knew fake when she saw it and was not afraid to call it out. She knew truth when she saw it and stood strong in its defense.

It is in her honor that we must continue to fight for this democracy that she never gave up on, and I hope that we will consider naming the Rules Committee room in her honor.

There are many people I like in our Chamber; few, I truly love. I loved Louise Slaughter.