Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, my constituents are struggling with high costs and inflation, and more and more families are living paycheck to paycheck, and still the supporters of this bill are trying to increase their fees? I can't and I won't get behind that. It is out of touch.

Not only is that hurting our families, but it is also unfairly penalizing our kids, who are trying to learn financial responsibility.

My son recently got a debit card. He is 14, and he uses it for small stuff and things like buying PlayStation skins, Fortnite skins, whatever kids buy. If he accidentally spends more than he has, $35, in my opinion, is too high of a penalty. The average American kid would have to work 5 hours at the Federal minimum wage to get that back. I think that is crazy.

Every American should have the opportunity to participate in our economy and not be on their knees when they do. I strongly oppose this resolution, and I support the rule to cap overdraft fees at $5.

Mr. Speaker, this administration is taking money out of people's pockets and robbing the middle class of their earnings, and I am fighting back.

I am fighting for the food bank in Redmond that can't offer meat in its meals because of funding cuts. I am fighting for the seniors across my district that are watching their life savings evaporate in the stock market. I am fighting for retirees taking required distributions from the their IRAs at a loss because Trump's tariff policies that are tanking the market.

I am fighting for the parents who can't afford clothes for their kids, for the families who can't afford groceries, and for the young people who can't afford to buy a car or a home.

This foolishness can't continue, Mr. Speaker. Costs are skyrocketing. The stock market is in free fall. We are headed toward a recession.

I call on Congress to pass my Protecting Families From Inflation Act and to vote to put an end to this ill-advised trade war. The American people can't wait.

Mr. Speaker, every day I hear from my constituents that they

are struggling to afford groceries, rent, healthcare, and other necessities. That is why lowering costs has always been priority one for me. However, it doesn't seem to be a priority for this administration and some of my colleagues, and they know who they are.

Despite President Trump's pledging to end inflation on day one, costs have continued to increase, and his tariffs policy is making things worse. It is crashing the stock market in the process. His policy is essentially adding a massive tax to everyday items for families.

I find it unconscionable and, frankly, unacceptable that anyone would make things more expensive right now, and I won't stand by, and I won't let it happen. That is why I am fighting back. I am fighting back with the Protecting Families From Inflation Act. It is my very first bill. It makes progress on my top priority, lowering costs for my constituents.

I am calling right now for the House to show they are serious about lowering costs and taking up and passing this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, what decorum did I break? I apologize.

My apologies. I am really proud of my daughter.

Mr. Speaker, I am a woman of faith. I know I am joined in this Chamber by fellow believers of all kinds. Today, I am reminded of Ezekiel 34:3, a story about the selfishness and greed of shepherds who used their sheep for their own gain, while neglecting their primary duty which was to care for the flock.

All of us were sent here to lead, to care for, and to protect our people. I ask my colleagues: How do they justify making an agreement with farmers and not paying them money? How do they justify snatching the benefits from veterans who put their lives on the line for our country? How do they justify the erasure of the underpaid and unpaid laborers who helped build this country? How do they take from our seniors on Social Security? They don't and they can't.

Believers know that, especially in times that require courage, God always has their back. Don't just sit back and watch. Dig deep for some courage and stand up for those who are in need the most.

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend marked the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday where a triumphant march in pursuit of equality and justice for all was met with brutality and violence.

As I rise today, I rise thinking about the late John Lewis who crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, arm-in-arm with 600, 700 activists and driven by a conviction to secure the right to vote. I rise thinking about how 60 years later, we are seeing attempts to pull our country back in time, to bring us back to an era of barriers at the ballot box and restrictions on registration.

Mr. Speaker, as I rise today, I rise as a proud supporter of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. It is a bill that honors the struggle and sacrifices of the civil rights activists who came before us, so that all Oregonians and all Americans will have our voices heard.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because Oregonians can't afford to buy a home.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the rent is too damned high.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the game is rigged.

Mr. Speaker, I hear from everyone I talk to, from my constituents to my kids, about how hard it is to find affordable housing.

Oregon ranks 45th in the Nation in housing affordability, and it is getting worse. Our population has grown faster than our housing supply, driving costs up for buyers and renters.

I refuse to leave Oregonian families hanging. That is why I am fighting on the Financial Services Committee to make a difference. I am fighting to make it easier to buy or rent a home, and I am fighting to build more houses and increase our supply.

Mr. Speaker, I will always fight to lower costs and make life just a little bit easier for Oregonians.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask: When are prices going down?

I was told that this would be priority number one for this administration and Speaker Mike Johnson, but I have yet to have a chance to vote on a single piece of legislation that actually lowers costs.

I am hearing from my constituents over and over and over and over and over again that their grocery bills are too high, that they can't afford to buy a home, and that their paycheck just doesn't go as far as it used to.

We need to be doing more to help families get by instead of focusing on petty partisan politics. I have said over and over again my focus is lower costs, more jobs, and a better quality of life for Oregonians and that I will work with anyone to get that done. I am pursuing all of that by co-leading bipartisan legislation to help rural small businesses, by advocating for funding for my district, and by actually listening to my constituents. It is time for others to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 44.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the first, but not the last, Black Member of Congress in Oregon's history to celebrate Black History Month in these hallowed Halls of Congress. Listening to Brother Figures' speech has me a bit choked up. We are the next generation.

It is not lost on me that I am just one generation removed from segregation. My mother graduated from Whittemore High School in Conway, South Carolina, in the class of 1970, a segregated class, and graduated valedictorian without a future. That wasn't that long ago.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a groundbreaker because of what that means not just for my children but for young people all across my State, for them to see that change is possible, and when something big has never been done before, it just might be because they haven't accomplished it yet.

As a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am reminded that I am not in this fight alone. They were always there with me, 3,000 miles away, never leaving me alone. We are a community of leaders, Mr. Speaker, united in our goal to shape a more equitable, prosperous, and just society.

Mr. Speaker, this Black History Month, we recommit ourselves to continuing to make progress together. We are here not just for our children but for our children's children.

Mr. Speaker, happy Black History Month.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 35.

Let's call this bill what it is: fear-mongering dressed up as officer safety.

This bill echoes one of the darkest chapters in our Nation's history, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Just like that shameful law, H.R. 35 forces local authorities and encourages the deputizing of randos to do the Federal Government's work, punishing them if they refuse.

Back then, it was hunting down people who dared to seek freedom. Today, it is forcing local police to become Federal enforcers, which is a violation of States' rights.

This bill is duplicative of existing law. It threatens members of our community who are here legally and lacks the surgical precision needed for solid immigration policy. We need to start focusing on real solutions for the border.

I support law enforcement. I support public safety, but I oppose the Federal Government overreach that erodes local control and threatens civil rights.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to continue seeking comprehensive immigration policy reform and to vote ``no'' on H.R. 35.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because Oregon's children don't have access to all the tools they need to succeed, and that is unacceptable.

Now, Elon Musk is threatening to eliminate the Department of Education. That would leave millions of students without resources they rely on; end financial aid programs, making higher education more expensive; and leave rural schools behind. As the mom of a kid with disabilities, I know they aren't getting all the funding that they need in their classrooms to thrive.

I would like anybody to tell me how this is helping our kids and how it is going to make us competitive in a global economy. How is this going to make life better for anyone? I know they can't.

If Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency are trying to make the government more efficient by giving tax breaks to the rich at the expense of our schools and our children, to that we say: No thanks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the richest man in the world is buying access to our government at the expense of the American people.

Elon Musk, who wasn't elected by anyone, is accessing the private information of millions of Americans and eliminating Federal agencies.

As a little girl in D.C., I was taught that the Nation's Capital being taken by storm was our country's worst nightmare. It is happening today, not by a foreign adversary but by the boy band billionaires looking to line their pockets.

This week, many of us stood up and fought back. Our country does not have time for this foolishness.

No one can seem to explain to me what the Trump administration has done to bring down prices at the grocery store, to make it easier to buy or rent a home, or to lower the price of a gallon of gas.

Mr. Speaker, we have to do whatever it takes to get this government working for the American people again.

Mr. Speaker, this extremist bill undermines women's access to healthcare. That is unacceptable, and it is, frankly, not what I was sent here to work on. I will be voting ``no.''

The evidence is clear. In States with less access to care, maternal mortality is higher, infant deaths are higher, and racial inequities are greater. These restrictions also make it harder for expectant mothers to receive the care they need in pregnancies with complications.

It is nonsense that my daughters have less rights than I did at their age. It is nonsense that we have had to decide with them where to live and where to go to school based on where they have rights. It is nonsense that my daughters are less safe because of government interference in their healthcare.

It is time that House Republicans put aside this foolishness and start focusing on real issues, like eliminating maternal mortality and increasing rural access to healthcare, like lowering costs and creating good jobs, like working across the aisle to deliver real results for real people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank the heroic firefighters from Oregon who are on the front lines fighting wildfires in California.

Firefighters from Clackamas, Linn, and Multnomah Counties have traveled hundreds of miles to help save lives and homes. The fires have been devastating. Unfortunately, we, too, have experienced this in Oregon.

As a mother that has had to evacuate her family, and as a businessowner that has had to close our doors due to dangerous smoke conditions, I am praying for all of the families impacted and for the safety of our first responders, but that is not enough.

We have to do more to prevent these fires from starting. Oregon's leaders in wildfire prevention tell me they need the resources to get an engine to every home that needs one, and they need to know that the water will flow when they need it.

To protect us, the government must protect them, especially when it comes to funding. I will work in Congress to ensure our responders have the resources they need and our families are supported in the aftermath of these devastating events.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to tell the people of Oregon that I am ready to deliver for them. As someone who has lived, operated businesses, and raised my four children in our community, I know that families are struggling and feel like their voice isn't heard.

I am here to say that I am listening and I am fighting for our families. My top priorities are making sure that our kids are learning, healthy, and thriving; supporting hardworking families who feel like their government has left them behind; and working to bring new and good jobs back to Oregon. I will work with anyone to do it.

It is important to me to have open communication with my constituents so that they can always contact me and get updates from me by going to my website at bynum.house.gov.

I thank my constituents for trusting me.