Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted: ``nay'' on Roll Call No. 210; ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 211; ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 212; ``nay'' on Roll Call No. 213; ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 214; ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 215; ``nay'' on Roll Call No. 216; and ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 217.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Mr. Chairman, today, I stand for the American people and the voters of South Carolina's Sixth Congressional District who spoke loud and clear last November, demanding that Congress defend and uphold the right to have access to affordable care.

This is an effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and we stand ready to defend every aspect of this legislation.

We will not stop our efforts to hold this administration and my Republican colleagues accountable as they continue misrepresenting and undermining the Affordable Care Act.

The work of this body, a coequal branch of our government, to conduct legitimate and lawful oversight in order to protect Americans' access to healthcare will not be deterred.

Today, this House will vote on a package of seven bills that will halt the administration's sabotage of the Affordable Care Act, improve the act's implementation, and lower the cost of prescription drugs.

This legislative package, titled the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act, prevents the substitution of junk policies that take advantage of unsuspecting citizens, and it protects against discrimination for preexisting conditions.

Mr. Chairman, this legislation takes meaningful steps to control prescription drug costs by expanding access to generic drugs so patients don't have to choose between

lifesaving medications and other necessities, like rent or food.

Mr. Chairman, Democrats are addressing crucial healthcare needs. We stand to protect the healthcare of American citizens.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Judge James Dingle. Judge Dingle's life exemplified Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s admonition that ``everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.'' Judge Dingle was great because he spent most of his life serving the people of South Carolina.

Born November 14, 1929 in Alcolu, South Carolina, Judge Dingle often described himself as a ``down home country boy who went off and made good and came back home to work in my community.''

Before returning to his hometown, Dingle attended Midlands Technical College in Columbia, South Carolina and continued his education at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg. He spent 30 years as a high school teacher at C.E. Murray High School in Greeleyville, South Carolina. During his tenure at the high school, Dingle strived to positively impact the lives of as many students as he could by working in various capacities--an industrial arts teacher, head football coach, athletic director, and an administrative assistant.

Dingle was appointed as a magistrate judge in Clarendon County in 1983. He was one of the first black magistrates in the state of South Carolina. Dingle loved his job and the people of Clarendon County, where he served for 12 years. Following his retirement as a magistrate judge, he became a city judge in Manning.

As a community leader, Dingle was a constant voice of encouragement for the youth in his community realizing that many of them were not surrounded by the best environments. He motivated them to receive an education and to be productive citizens. Dingle became widely known as always putting ``service before self.''

Judge Dingle passed away on April 29, 2019. He will be greatly missed by family, friends, and the many people he has influenced during his lifetime.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of this servant leader and teacher and recognizing the positive impact Judge James Dingle made in Clarendon County, South Carolina and surrounding areas.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor 36 individuals of African descent whose remains were unearthed at Gailliard Center in Charleston, South Carolina in 2013. These souls, whose stories are unknown, were buried in unmarked graves and their resting site was later buried under construction as the city grew. While they may have been forgotten in their time, they are not forgotten today. I commend the Gullah Society and the City of Charleston for honoring these individuals by holding a naming ceremony and ancestral reburial celebration to honor these souls and recognize their contributions to Charleston's history.

What we do know is that these 36 individuals--men, women and children--were either born in Africa or were of African descent. Thanks to the efforts of the Gullah Society, analysis has been done that dates the original burial of these souls to between 1750 and 1800. Yet the site was never recognized as a burial ground. These souls were almost certainly enslaved people and endured prejudices and abuses throughout their life.

Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in his great work Democracy in America; ``The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.'' The reburial celebration is one step towards acknowledging this important part of history and repairing this fault.

We have an obligation to preserve the rich history of this country. Celebrations like this provide an opportunity to rejoice in the continued preservation of not just historic events but of the people who made this country what it is today.

Madam Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in celebrating this historic occasion that recognizes the contributions of these 36 souls and all of the similarly situated that they represent. Without the vigilance of the Gullah Society and the City of Charleston this recognition would not be possible; and I add my enduring gratitude for the tremendous work they have done to make this day possible.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the legacy of Mt. Rona Missionary Baptist Church in Effingham, South Carolina. This historic church has served its faithful congregation and the community for 150 years. During its remarkable history, Mt. Rona has seen tremendous change and growth and provided extraordinary service to those in need.

The founders of Mt. Rona began meeting in the small community of Friendfield under a bush arbor in 1869. The congregants continued this tradition until in 1905 when they were given the former Mt. Hebron Church as its congregation moved to a new sanctuary. Reverend J.R. Brooks led the transition to Mt. Rona's new home, and the congregation flourished.

Over the years physical improvements were made to the church. Reverend Frank Ham oversaw the installation of a steeple and bell tower with a chime. He also added new pews and electricity. Reverend James Hall, Jr., created the first pastor's study and an inside baptismal pool. Reverend J.L. Lewis and Reverend James Anderson led the bricking of the church, and installed carpet and an intercom system.

When Reverend Tart became the church's leader, he changed the worship service from twice monthly to every Sunday. The church purchased additional land, built the T.C. Tart Fellowship Hall, added stained glass windows, paved the parking lot, and added new restrooms. His vision was to build a new church, and in July 2010 construction began. Reverend Tart passed away before he saw the church completed, and Pastor Parrish Brown saw the project through to completion and became the first to serve as the leader of the new Mt. Rona. It was dedicated on April 10, 2011.

Throughout the physical and leadership changes Mt. Rona Missionary Baptist Church has held true to its mission to be an outreach ministry that provides support and relief to the disheartened, disadvantaged, and disenfranchised.

I ask that my colleagues join me in celebrating the tremendous role Mt. Rona Missionary Baptist Church plays in the community and in the lives of its parishioners. The church's dedication to help the least of these is a reflection of the Biblical teaching that ``faith without works is dead.'' I congratulate the Mount Rona Missionary Baptist Church on this landmark 150th anniversary and know that the church will continue to be a beacon in Florence for many years to come.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Trinity Baptist Church in Florence, South Carolina as it celebrates its 150th anniversary and to congratulate Reverend Dr. Calvin E. Robinson, Jr. and his congregation on this significant milestone in the life of the church and congregation. This historic congregation was founded during the Reconstruction Era and throughout its history has been a beacon in times of joy and sorrow for the Florence community.

Trinity Baptist Church had its humble beginnings in a home on Front Street. Thereafter a group of faithful Christians came together and purchased the lot adjoining the present edifice and the first framed building was constructed. The structure allowed the church to continue to grow and flourish under the leadership of Reverend Wesley J. Parnell.

After a period of significant growth, the church moved to its current location where membership nearly doubled in the first few years. On one occasion two hundred members were baptized on the same day.

Under the pastorate of Reverend Charles T. Taylor the church organized the Missionary Society and an outstanding field effort to establish Morris College in 1908, which is owned by the Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina--an organization that Trinity Baptist helped to found and organize. I am particularly pleased with this effort because both my parents obtained degrees from Morris.

Under the leadership of a previous pastor, Reverend William P. Diggs, the church experienced unprecedented growth, greatly increasing its giving to missions, benevolences and education. In 1968, the church was expanded to include an education building and the sanctuary was extensively renovated. This new renovation and expansion helped the church to grow its education mission. It also provided the church with a choir room and a fellowship hall. The church has grown other missions including the Junior Missionary Society, Gospel Choir, Sunday School, and the Young Women's Auxiliary.

Madam Speaker, I invite you and my colleagues to join me in commending Trinity Baptist Church for one hundred fifty years of faithful service. Its members continue to be beacons of hope in Florence, providing compassion and care for, not only its members, but also the least among us. I congratulate Trinity Baptist Church for its rich history and look forward to continue witnessing the good works of the church as it continues to grow and serve.

Mr. Speaker, it is with mixed emotions that I stand in the well here this evening with my colleagues from South Carolina. We are here because our State and our Nation has lost a giant of a man, one whom I call a one-of-a-kind statesman, Ernest ``Fritz'' Hollings.

A native of Charleston, South Carolina, he graduated from The Citadel in 1947, and the very next year, 1948, he was elected to the South Carolina Legislature. There, he served until being elected Lieutenant Governor in 1954.

I am pointing out some years here because I want to make a statement about the man Fritz Hollings.

He was elected Governor in 1958.

Now, in 1947, some interesting things were taking place in South Carolina at the time Ernest Hollings graduated college; and, in 1948, when he was elected to the legislature, a very significant court decision was handed down.

The court case was Elmore v. Rice, the 1948 court case that opened up the South Carolina Democratic primary to people other than Whites. This was the atmosphere within which Fritz Hollings was first elected.

And, of course, in 1954, when he was elected Lieutenant Governor, I need not tell anybody what Court decision came down that year. That was the year that the Supreme Court ruled that school desegregation had to take place. That was the atmosphere.

So, 4 years later, Fritz Hollings gets elected Governor. I was a student on the campus of South Carolina State when he was elected, and in 1960 is when I first met Fritz Hollings.

He was Governor, and I was organizing sit-ins in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and he had invited us to the State house. He gave me a great lesson that day in politics, so much so, that what we talked about in his office on that day I still have not told anybody.

Well, fast-forward. Fritz Hollings, Governor of a State with tremendous challenges. So what did he do? Did he just meander through time, as so many did in those days? No.

Fritz knew what the challenges were, and he put forth trailblazing legislation to create the South Carolina Technical Education System. That was a big deal in those days. In fact, it became a national model.

But he didn't stop there. He blazed another trail, creating the South Carolina Educational Television Corporation. That was really a big deal, and it was viewed as trailblazing innovation, like no other State had made up until that time.

But that was not his last test. In 1962, just before he was to finish his term as Governor, the courts ruled that Clemson University had to accept another Charlestonian, Harvey Gantt, as a student. Of course, there was much resistance.

Fritz spoke to the legislature and said to them on that day: We have run out of courts, and we are going to be a nation of laws. And he called upon all South Carolinians to set aside the acrimony and accept the fact that it was a new day in South Carolina and the Nation.

And, of course, Harvey Gantt peacefully integrated Clemson University. All of that was because Fritz demonstrated the kind of leadership that we would expect any public servant to give.

Fritz and I became fast friends after I came here in 1992. Of course, we interacted quite a bit down in Charleston. Of course, he got elected to the United States Senate in 1966. We interacted quite a bit.

Fritz had a tremendous wit, and I remember when I first came up here, 1993, there was a reception held because I had become, with his help, the first African American to represent my State in the Congress in 95 years. So there were somewhat interesting kinds of interactions taking place.

We go to this reception, Fritz Hollings along with then-Senator Strom Thurmond, and I was being presented to the group. One of them made a joke out of the fact that I had met my wife in jail when Fritz was Governor.

I guess I brought it upon myself because I reminded him of our first meeting and the fact that we were not exactly on the same page in those days.

So, when I yielded the mike to him, he told the group about my meeting my wife in jail when she brought a hamburger and shared a hamburger with me, and he said to the crowd: ``And he has been eating out of her hand ever since.'' It brought a great chuckle in the crowd, and I was reminded never to get smart in front of Fritz Hollings again.

Well, we have lost Fritz. But just before he really began to fail in health, Fritz called me and said he wanted me to do something for him. He said he wanted me to put in a piece of legislation to remove his name from the Judicial Center in Charleston.

I asked him: Why do you want me to do that?

He said, because Judge J. Waties Waring was the judge who made that decision in 1948 to open up the Democratic primary to people of color, he thought that J. Waties Waring, because of that decision and others-- equalizing teacher pay between Black and White teachers, writing a dissenting opinion in Briggs v. Elliott that became the foundation for the 1954 United States Supreme Court decision--he said to me: J. Waties Waring is the one who is deserving of having his name on that courthouse. That is the courthouse where the Briggs case was decided.

And I said to him: Now, maybe this would pass in the House, but what would happen over in the Senate?

And he told me that he had already talked to Senator Graham, and he wanted this done. I told him I would get back to him because it is not something that I wanted to do.

Well, I called Senator Graham. He told me that Senator Hollings had called him. But I still would not do it. I called Senator Hollings back and I asked him, in a second conversation, was I going to be able to depend upon him to hold when the bill was introduced because I anticipated some reactions that would be unfavorable, and in his Gullah-throated way, he assured me that he would stand firm.

I then called the Congressional Research Service and I asked them: Has anything like this been done before? Has anyone in the history of this great country ever asked that his or her name be removed from a Federal building in order to accommodate someone else?

They came back to me several weeks later and said, no, that had never been done before.

We put forth the legislation. It passed the House and the Senate, and I joined with Senator Hollings and others at the ceremony removing his name from the Judicial Center in Charleston, South Carolina. Today, the name of J. Waties Waring is on that building.

Fritz Hollings, a one-of-a-kind statesman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Horry County, South Carolina (Mr. Rice).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Cunningham).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to close this tribute tonight by acknowledging that this is the 50th year since Fritz Hollings' hunger tour.

A lot of people may remember, in 1969, Ernest Hollings embarked upon a tour--or several tours of South Carolina. The first one was on Charleston's East Side, and it was my great honor to lead him, along with Sister Mary Anthony, on that tour so that he could see some of the anxiety, some of the wanting that was present in his hometown.

He went from there to other places throughout the State, most especially, Beaufort, Jasper County. Many people may remember, he, after a tour with a Dr. Gatch in Beaufort County, Fritz wrote a book called ``The Case Against Hunger.'' That book was eye-opening to a lot of people.

In fact, he made the case for significant expansion of community health centers throughout the South, and he made the case for what we now call the WIC program: Women, Infants, and Children. It was that book and that tour; and 2 years later, I took a tour with his classmate from The Citadel, John Carl West, who was my mentor in government.

When West became Governor, he then took a tour. He wanted to retrace some of Fritz's steps and redouble the efforts to eradicate poverty.

Poverty is still with us. Ill health is still with us. Hunger among children is still with us.

I am going to be moving, at several points this year, to memorialize Fritz by calling upon my colleagues to redouble our efforts for children, for women, for infants, for the poor.

I would hope that as we think about Fritz, we will think about that passage of scripture found in Matthew 25 where we are told that it is incumbent upon us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and do right for those who are less fortunate.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, back in 1966, at a healthcare conference, the late Martin Luther King, Jr., said: ``Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.''

I often think of the debate back in 2009 and 2010 when we were trying to pass the Affordable Care Act. I remember one day I was conducting a call-in program on the local radio station. A gentleman called in and said to me: I want you to keep your hands off of my health insurance. I like what I have got, and I don't want you and President Obama messing with it.

I assured the gentleman that we were going to do nothing to interrupt his relationship with his insurance company or his policy.

But then a little while later, a lady called in, and she said, Congressman, I don't have a question, but I would like to say something to the gentleman who just called in. I want to say to him that I had insurance for 30 years, and I thought I liked it, until I tried to use it. When I went for my second treatment for breast cancer, I got a notice, she said, from the insurance company that I had used up my lifetime of benefits.

And then she said, I would like to say to that gentleman, Maybe he likes what he has because he has never tried to use it.

And that is what you have reference to here when you talk about junk policies. What we did with the Affordable Care Act was to make healthcare accessible and affordable for all American citizens.

We created the possibilities of States expanding Medicaid so that low-income people could have access to healthcare.

And if you want to know a little bit about what can be done if we were to, in some way, get rid of the Affordable Care Act, just look at the States that have refused to expand Medicaid; the number of low- income people today who still do not have access to healthcare.

Think about those middle-income families who had a family member get sick and find out that they are in bankruptcy because they are trying to pay the bills.

The Affordable Care Act is an attempt, like everything else ought to be here.

If we are talking about education, it ought to be accessible and affordable.

If you are talking about housing, it should be accessible and affordable.

Healthcare; accessible and affordable.

And we all know that until we passed the Affordable Care Act, healthcare was not accessible and affordable for all Americans.

We hear the slogan that takes place throughout this country. We don't need to Make America Great Again. America is great. It has always been great. That is not our challenge.

Our challenge, it seems to me, is to make the greatness of America accessible and affordable to all Americans; apply it fairly and equitably.

That, to me, is what this country is all about.

So I want to thank you, my friend from California, Mr. Garamendi, I want to thank you for all the work that you are doing on H.R. 1884, because I think before we go home this week, we are going to pass a resolution, a resolution to condemn this administration for attempting to legally take away healthcare from so many citizens.

And I want to close with this: You talk about preexisting conditions. I think that people tend to think about preexisting conditions in a way that deals with people that they know or can relate to. I want all of our listeners, and those looking on, to just think of what you are doing.

If you say to a child born with diabetes, a child who didn't ask to come here, and even if that child could ask to come, they certainly wouldn't ask to come sick. Diabetes; born with it.

And then the insurance company says that it is a preexisting condition and you cannot come on to your family's insurance policies.

If we cannot see the wrongness in that, I am not too sure anything anybody says about anything can be ever wrong in your eyesight.

So I want to thank you so much for the work that you are doing here. I want to thank the American people for keeping our focus on making healthcare accessible and affordable for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution condemning anti- Semitism, Islamophobia, and bigotry against minorities.

This resolution expresses our rejection of all attempts to weaponize words and sow discord and division.

Make no mistake, our Caucus is unified, but unity does not mean unanimity. We are the most diverse Caucus in the history of Congress. We are a true reflection of who and what America is.

Each of us brings our own familiar backgrounds and personal experiences to this august body. Those experiences help shape our values and our perspectives as we do the work of the American people.

We learn from one another, and we do so following President Lincoln's declaration: ``With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.''

This resolution condemns hateful expressions of intolerance, honors the heritages and experiences of all who serve in this body, and commits all of us to the continued search of a more perfect Union.

Madam Chair, I thank my friend for yielding me the time.

Madam Chair, let me begin my remarks, first of all, by welcoming to our Capitol today Miss Jennifer Pinckney and her two daughters. They are the wife and children of Reverend Clementa Pinckney, who, along with eight of his Bible study parishioners, lost his life to a demented white supremacist who said that he was interested in starting a race war.

He entered their church, participated in the Bible study, into which they welcomed him. And, as they closed their study that evening and prayed for what they had experienced and for their next meeting, this gentleman, while their eyes were closed, opened his and slaughtered them.

I find it interesting that my colleague has talked about the inconvenience of waiting longer than 3 days to purchase a weapon, without mentioning those poor souls of Emanuel AME Church.

He has talked about people who might be inconvenienced; he has talked about something he read in the newspapers; but he has not mentioned them. Well, I am here today to say that the Members of this august body need to think a little bit about the value of those lives.

Are they more valuable than the inconvenience a gun purchaser may have by having to wait 10 rather than 3 days to make a purchase?

What would make one so anxious to purchase a gun in the first place? If you have got to have a gun right now, chances are you have no useful purpose, no redeeming value, in the purchase of that gun.

Maybe we ought to participate here, as Members of this body, in helping this purchaser with a cooling-off period, which is all we are asking to do here.

Charleston, South Carolina, is nicknamed the ``Holy City.'' Churches and steeples dominate the skyline of this historic city, which, until recently, had an ordinance that no building could be constructed higher than 55 feet, wanting nothing to obstruct its steeples.

Faith is fundamental to the Charleston community. However, that faith was rocked in June 2015 when this lone gunman rushed into this Bible study, after having studied the most historic African American churches in the State of South Carolina and developing a list of five churches, one of which was Emanuel AME.

He, by his own admission, selected this church because of its importance to the African American community, being the first organized place of worship in the South for African Americans.

He selected this. This was a hate crime of the first order, and we are saying we should not inconvenience him. And we did not inconvenience him. We allowed him to get that gun after 3 days, when it was around the fifth day that they found the glitch in the system and found him to be ineligible to own a gun.

We just had a gunman go into his workplace in Aurora, Illinois. He was ineligible to have a gun, but he was allowed to purchase the gun. When they found out that he was ineligible to have a gun, they then sent him a letter and said: Please bring us the gun back. You are not eligible to have a gun.

Give me a break. No, he didn't return the gun, because he had no redeeming value in having a gun. And he murdered his coworkers. And you are telling me we should not inconvenience him.

Well, my colleague, the chair of the committee, has laid out for you the procedure in this bill, a procedure that makes it a maximum, irrespective of what my colleague may say, it is a maximum of 20 working days, business days, that one would have in order to purchase a gun.

I would hope, as we move forward here today, we would think about those poor souls of Emanuel AME Church, and we think about those 4,000 people, 4,200 people, who purchased guns in 2016 using this loophole, and the 4,800 people who purchased guns in 2017 using this loophole. Think about their families. Think about their children. And think about what we are about to do here today.

Let me just take this minute to go back to what I had prepared to say here today.

In troubling times, many of us find solace in the Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom--wisdom--to know the difference.

The Charleston loophole is something all Members of Congress should have the courage to change and, by doing so, grant the American people the serenity they deserve in their schools, in their entertainment venues, in their neighborhood streets, and, God forbid, in their places of worship.

Madam Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 1112, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019.

Charleston, South Carolina, is nicknamed the Holy City. Church spires dominate the skyline of this historic city, which, until recently, had an ordinance that no building could be constructed higher than 55 feet. In this city, faith is foundational. It is a source of strength and community that dates back centuries.

However, that faith was rocked in June 2015 when a lone gunman punctuated his participation in a Bible study at Emanuel AME

Church with gunshots fired upon the parishioners who had welcomed him, killing nine and wounding three others. The shooter targeted this place of worship because of its historic significance to the African-American community. This egregious hate crime shattered the sanctity of the Holy City, and in response Congress observed a moment of silence and all Americans offered thoughts and prayers.

While a moment of silence and our thoughts and prayers are appreciated in times of tragedy, they do nothing to solve the underlying problem. The real tragedy in Charleston is it could have been prevented. The gunman acquired the weapon used in the massacre because of a fault in the law that is now known as the Charleston Loophole. The gun purchase was subject to a background check; however, when a glitch in the system caused the background review to take more than the three-day limit allowed by law, the gunman was able to purchase the weapon, although it was later found that he was ineligible to purchase a gun. The system failed to stop this gun sale to an ineligible purchaser and 4,864 others in 2017.

It has been 25 years since the Brady Bill became law, and there has been no significant legislation enacted since to stem gun violence. Yet in 2017, 100 people were killed each day in this country with a firearm--which touches every district represented in this august body.

A vote in support of the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019 extends the time allowed for law enforcement to conduct background checks. Under this bill, if the background check isn't concluded within 10 business days, the purchaser can request an expedited background check, which notifies law enforcement of the urgency of the review and starts an additional 10 business day period for the background check to be completed. While more than 96 percent of background checks are completed within three days--and 90 percent of Americans support background checks--this expedited review allows for law enforcement to complete the small percentage that may take longer than three days. If at the end of the expedited review the background check is inconclusive, then the purchase may proceed.

Restricting the Charleston Loophole doesn't prohibit law abiding citizens from purchasing a gun, but it does provide more time, if needed, for law enforcement to ensure weapons are not sold to those with criminal convictions or mental illness. This is an important first step our country should take to protect our citizens and their first amendment rights.

In troubling times many of us find solace in the Serenity prayer-- God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.'' The Charleston Loophole is something all Members of Congress should have the courage to change and grant the American people the serenity they deserve in their schools, entertainment venues, neighborhood streets and--God forbid--their places of worship.

Madam Speaker, how much time is remaining?

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman so much for yielding the time.

Madam Speaker, let me just take this 1 minute to welcome to this Capitol Ms. Jennifer, Ms. Malana, and Ms. Eliana Pinckney, the widow and two surviving daughters of Reverend Clementa Pinckney.

They hid under his desk in the basement of Emanuel AME Church while a demented gentleman who wanted to start a race war, was welcomed into their Bible study--at the end of that hour, Reverend Clementa asked all of the worshippers to bow their heads and close their eyes as he prayed for what had occurred that evening. While their heads were bowed and their eyes closed, Dylann Roof opened his, after having been welcomed into their midst, and he slaughtered Reverend Pinckney and his eight worshippers.

Why? Because he was allowed to get this gun when he was not eligible to get one. They found out on the fifth day that he was ineligible but, by that point, it was too late. As a result, those poor souls lost their lives.

Let's give the FBI, let's give the authorities, enough time to do their jobs. We will save lives and we will be better off for it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dedicated public servant and long-time Congressional aide, Patrick J. Devlin, Sr. Patrick is retiring after 31 years of Congressional service this month, and I offer him a heartfelt thanks for his contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Patrick was born in Fairfax, Virginia and is the youngest of six children of the late-LTC John J. Devlin (U.S. Army) and Nancy L. Devlin of Fairfax. He credits his father, a hero of World War II and the Korean War, as his inspiration to pursue a career in public service. A talented athlete and fierce competitor, Patrick earned a football scholarship to Carroll College in Helena, Montana and graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from Virginia Tech.

He began his career as an intern and landed his first job on Capitol Hill straight out of college, working as a staff assistant on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee under the leadership of Chairman Les Aspin. He went on to spend three years working on defense policy as a legislative assistant to Texas Representative Jim Chapman, and then served as legislative director for Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro, a leader in the fight to protect Medicare, Medicaid and school lunches. Patrick spent the next 11 years as Legislative Director for my good friend North Carolina Representative Bob Etheridge, working to strengthen public schools in America.

In 2008, Patrick moved to the Senate side where he served two years as Communications Director for U.S Senator Jon Tester from Montana, the only dirt farmer in the United States Senate. Bob Etheridge brought him back to the House to serve as his Chief of Staff in 2010. Following Bob's departure from Congress, Patrick joined my staff in 2011 as Communications Director for the Assistant Democratic Leader office.

Patrick has played various leadership roles working on Democratic Congressional staffs under a diverse group of members. As a member of my senior staff, he has been intimately involved in my work on the so- called Supercommittee to determine budget priorities, the conceptualization of the Background Check Completion Act to combat the proliferation of gun violence, and the promotion of the 10-20-30 formula to target federal resources into communities of need. He is a superior writer, strategist and institutionalist. His professionalism, expertise and loyalty have been the hallmarks of his service on Capitol Hill.

He is married to Helen Devlin, and they have two teen-aged sons, Patrick, Jr. and Michael. Patrick Sr. has served as a guest lecturer at the Georgetown University Government Affairs Institute and as a Senate Press Secretaries Association board member. He currently serves on the board of the Fort Hunt Youth Athletic Association, where he has been a youth sports coach for many years.

Madam Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in expressing our sincere thanks for the service Patrick Devlin has rendered to the United States Congress. May his retirement be productive and fulfilling.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an extraordinary woman who possessed an adventurous spirit and a big heart. Mrs. Mozelle Myers passed away on Thursday, January 31, 2019, but her legacy remains with us through the many lives she touched during her 82 years among us.

Mozelle, the daughter of the late Reverend Willie Williams and Inez Williams Brown, was born on March 16, 1936. She was an honor graduate of Burke High School and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Claflin University in 1958. She married her college sweetheart and classmate, AME Presiding Elder Samuel L. Myers.

Mrs. Myers had a passion for learning and service that led to a lifelong pursuit of knowledge. She continued her education at the University of Notre Dame, South Carolina State University, the University of South Carolina, and the College of Charleston. Mrs. Myers shared her deep appreciation for knowledge with future generations, devoting 30 years to teaching at Bonds Wilson and North Charleston High Schools. Her desire to learn extended beyond the classroom and inspired her to study the Bible and ancient history.

As a First Lady of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Mrs. Myers supported her husband's mission in ministry while remaining a leader in the church and her community. As a leader in the Women's Missionary Society for over 50 years she supported scholarship and community building efforts.

Her favorite words of inspiration were, ``Lord, when it's my time to leave, let me come home to you with a clean heart and a peaceful soul. I have fought a good fight; now let me rest in your loving arms.''

In addition to her husband of 61 years, she is survived by her loving daughters, Ms. Angela Myers and Ms. Sarita Myers; a special grandson, Brandon Jackson-Williams; siblings, Rev. Dr. Alfred Williams, Mrs. Luethel McNeil, Mrs. Mildred Williams, Mrs. Leila Daniels, Mrs. Rebecca Small, Mrs. Bessie Simmons, Mrs. Gloria Edwards, Mrs. Susie Williams Manning, Mr. Leon Williams, and nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. She was predeceased by her devoted brother, Isaac Williams, who also served as an aide to me for many years.

Madam Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in offering our heartfelt condolences to Mozelle Myers' family and friends. Her extraordinary faith and dedication to serving others are the hallmarks of a life well lived.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask my Republican colleagues, who continue to vote against reopening the government, how they respond to their constituents who are suffering during this inhumane shutdown.

For example, my office was contacted by the wife of a Federal corrections officer from South Carolina's Third District. Her husband works at the Federal prison in Edgefield, and she just had bariatric surgery and is unable to work. She is unable to afford the vitamins her doctor prescribed because they are not covered by insurance. Without these vitamins, she may develop deficiencies that could cause death.

To further add to their financial difficulties, her husband, as a correctional officer, was required to sign a document that he would not get another job. They sacrificed a lot to build the good credit score they have that this shutdown is impacting, and their family's finances will be affected well into the future.

Again, I ask my colleagues across the aisle: How do you respond to your constituents who are suffering?

They need leadership from the President, Leader McConnell, and House Republicans to end the shutdown now. Enough is enough.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Madam Speaker, I want to say to my colleague, Mr. Collins, that I wish to associate myself with the sentiments that he expressed here today. However, I also rise today to speak of how the tale of two Kings has brought us to this moment in history.

If he had been allowed to live, today would have been the 90th birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Today, this august body stands ready to vote to disapprove of Representative Steve King's recent comments and condemn the evil concepts of white nationalism and white supremacy.

White supremacy and white nationalism are evils, they are insidious, and are clear and present dangers to our great Republic. Reported hate crimes rose 17 percent last year, which was the third consecutive year that we have seen an increase in this insidiousness. This is appalling and unacceptable.

When elected representatives give cover and comfort to those who spread racial divisiveness, we embolden those on the fringes of our society, and we have seen some of the results: the massacre of nine parishioners in historic Charleston's Emanuel AME Church at the hands of a young man who believed he would be, in his words, ``rescued by white nationalists after they took over the government;'' the murder of 11 Jewish worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh by a gunman who believed the Jews were, in his words, ``waging a propaganda war against Western civilization.''

The other term used by Mr. King in his comments to the New York Times; and we saw in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the white nationalists' Unite the Right rally, where they chanted the Nazi phrase, ``blood and soil.''

Some have questioned the timing of this resolution. Why now? they ask.

My guidance, Madam Speaker, comes from Dr. King, who wrote in his letter from the Birmingham jail: ``Time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel,'' continued Dr. King, ``that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will.''

Then he closed his thought with these words: ``We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.''

Now is the time to do right. We have reached a tipping point. Racial divisiveness is a fault line that is ripping our Nation apart. This body must speak out against this evil. The time has come to condemn those of ill will and say that no part in our great Nation can be had by them.

Madam Speaker, when the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville came to this country, he observed its greatness and set out to find the genius that made it so. He wrote in his book ``Democracy in America'' that: ``The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other Nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.''

White supremacy and white nationalism are faults that cannot be repaired but must be removed.

White supremacy and white nationalism should be condemned by this body, and I call upon my colleagues to join me in doing so.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to address what I call the tale of two Kings, one a Member of this body who wondered out loud to The New York Times why the terms ``white nationalism'' and ``white supremacy'' are offensive.

I would say to my colleague that the terms are offensive because the concepts are evil. And we have been counseled by Edmund Burke that all that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

I have just introduced a resolution to express this august body's disapproval of Mr. King's comments and condemnation of white nationalism and white supremacy in all forms.

Today, I denounce the words of Representative Steve King, and I do so invoking the words of another King, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who, if he had been allowed to live, would be celebrating his 90th birthday tomorrow.

Dr. King counseled that: ``We are going to be made to repent, not just for the hateful words and deeds of bad people, but for the appalling silence of good people.''

Madam Speaker, I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in breaking the deafening silence and letting our resounding condemnation be heard.