Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to the detrimental impacts that President Trump's recent flurry of executive orders targeting our workforce are already having.

Despite being in office for less than 3 days, President Trump has already caused major disruptions to the Federal workforce in my district.

The first casualty is the healthcare provided to our veterans. The Richmond VA Medical Center in my district was forced to rescind employment offers to essential hospital staff. Other VA hospitals across the country have done the same, including rescinding employment offers to nurses at a time when we face a nursing shortage.

The new VA medical center set to open in Fredericksburg, Virginia, now has to contend with hiring freezes and the inability to staff up, jeopardizing their opening in February.

Medical school students have been told they can't go to the VA for clinical rotations because of the hiring freeze, impacting the training of a critical workforce provider.

Our veterans deserve much more than this. They put their lives on the line for our Nation and should be able to access the healthcare services they need, but this hiring freeze is putting that in jeopardy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor North of the James magazine, a distinguished publication that has been a cornerstone of the Richmond, Virginia, community for over three decades. Established in November 1994 as Northside magazine by founders Charles McGuigan, Joany Flick, and Ellen Zagorin, the magazine has consistently delivered in-depth profiles, features, and reviews celebrating the vibrant culture and history of the areas north of the James River.

From its inception, North of the James has been committed to authentic storytelling, forgoing canned content in favor of narratives that resonate with its readers. This dedication to quality journalism has earned the magazine numerous accolades from the Virginia Press Association for excellence in writing, photography, and design.

The magazine's unwavering support for local businesses and nonprofit organizations has significantly contributed to the economic and social fabric of the Richmond metro area. By highlighting the endeavors of these longstanding establishments, North of the James has played an instrumental role in fostering a more equitable and prosperous community.

Throughout its history, the magazine has adapted to changing times, including a temporary shift to an online-only format during the COVID- 19 pandemic to ensure the safety of its readers and staff. Despite these unforeseen obstacles, North of the James has maintained a reputation as a trusted source of information for its loyal readers.

As North of the James celebrates its 30th anniversary, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the magazine's enduring legacy and invaluable contributions to the Richmond community. May it continue to inform, engage, and inspire for many years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share my thoughts on how we can improve and expedite the organ donation referral process.

I am proud to co-lead the bipartisan Organ Donation Referral Improvement Act with Representative Wittman. The critical legislation will help us understand how the broad adoption of automated electronic organ donor referrals in health systems could help more Americans receive the gift of life.

There are over 100,000 Americans in need of a lifesaving organ transplant. To reduce that number and save more lives, we must improve and modernize the organ transplant process. Modernizing the standard practice--manually notifying organ procurement of potential deceased donors--with an automatic electronic system could lift the reporting burden from busy hospital staff, reduce the risk of human error, and ensure every potential organ donor is referred. This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to study the potential for automated electronic donor referrals, reducing the barriers to successful organ transplantation and ultimately saving lives.

The Organ Donation Referral Improvement Act will support the lifesaving mission of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) located in the historic Jackson Ward in the Fourth District of Virginia. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to advance this legislation.

Mr. Speaker:

I was born in the congo

I walked to the fertile crescent and built the sphinx

I designed a pyramid so tough that a star that only glows

every one hundred years falls into the center giving

divine perfect light

I am bad

I sat on the throne drinking nectar with allah

I got hot and sent an ice age to europe to cool my thirst

My oldest daughter is Nefertiti the tears from my birth pains

created the nile

I am a beautiful woman

I gazed on the forest and burned out the sahara desert with a

packet of goat's meat and a change of clothes

I crossed it in two hours

I am a gazelle so swift so swift you can't catch me

For a birthday present when he was three I gave my son

hannibal an elephant

He gave me rome for mother's day

My strength flows ever on

My son noah built new/ark and I stood proudly at the helm as

we sailed on a soft summer day

I turned myself into myself and was jesus

men intone my loving name

All praises All praises

I am the one who would save

I sowed diamonds in my back yard

My bowels deliver uranium the filings from my fingernails are

semi-precious jewels

On a trip north

I caught a cold and blew

My nose giving oil to the arab world

I am so hip even my errors are correct

I sailed west to reach east and had to round off the earth as

I went

The hair from my head thinned and gold was laid across three

continents

I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal

I cannot be comprehended except by my permission

I mean . . . I . . . can fly like a bird in the sky . . .

Mr. Speaker, this poem, ``ego-tripping,'' sparked my interest as a child, growing up in the South from my favorite poet, Nikki Giovanni, who passed earlier this week.

Nikki was one of the leading voices of the 1960s Black arts movement, with one writer naming her the ``poet of the Black revolution.'' Her work focused on race, gender, politics, love, and joy. Through poetry, children and nonfiction books, and spoken word albums, she celebrated Black America and Black liberation. As a young girl, I could see myself reflected in her work.

She dedicated herself to uplifting and empowering other Black women writers, publishing an anthology of poetry written by Black women.

Nikki was a fierce voting rights advocate and fought to ensure everyone could make their voices heard at the ballot box.

She taught at several universities, culminating for 35 years at Virginia Tech, where she retired in 2022 as a distinguished professor of English. She received countless awards and accolades and was a groundbreaking literary giant.

When the Virginia Tech community mourned the lives of 32 people killed by a gunman in 2007, she honored them with a poem entitled, ``We are Virginia Tech,'' in which she said:

We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while.

We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave

enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know

that we must laugh again.

Nikki Giovanni has flown away home, and we will be sad for quite a while, but her words leave a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the millions of Americans across the Nation who depend on SNAP benefits.

In recent months, reports of SNAP benefit theft has skyrocketed at an alarming rate, leaving many families hungry. In the city of Richmond, Virginia, alone, there has been about a 2,000 percent increase in SNAP theft over the last month. Food banks are stepping up to meet the need, but they are seeing record numbers of families relying on their services as we enter the holiday season.

Too many vulnerable families rely on SNAP to put food on the table. SNAP families often face precarious financial situations. When their benefits are stolen, they face the impossible choice of feeding their families or paying essential bills.

As the children go hungry, they struggle to learn in school.

This is not just an issue in our cities, but rural communities across the country are also facing SNAP benefit theft.

Congress has empowered the States to use Federal funds to replace stolen benefits, which has helped ease this suffering, but that authority will expire on December 20 without additional action.

That is why I am calling on House appropriators to extend this crucial authority through any funding bill that we pass and urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 205, the SNAP Theft Protection Act of 2023, introduced by the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ruppersberger).

Hardworking families deserve to approach the holiday season with hope, not the looming fear of food insecurity. We must act swiftly to ensure that vulnerable communities are not left behind.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the incredible life and legacy of Shirley Chisholm, whose 100th birthday we celebrated over the weekend.

Unbought and unbossed, Shirley was the first Black woman to serve in this body, a body that was not built for her. She swore an oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution, a document that did not include her in we the people.

In the year of my birth, she became the first Black woman to run for President of the United States. Her bravery and determination broke barriers and paved the way for so many Black women in politics, including myself, saying: ``If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.''

As the first Black woman elected to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia, elected 55 years after her historic election, I stand on her shoulders.

Sometimes, sitting in my office, I look at her portrait that is also on my wall and reflect on the fact that, in many ways, I and the other 31 Black Members of Congress today are fighting many of the same fights that she fought. She had to fight them alone.

We fight to include women in the Constitution through the equal rights amendment still today. We fight to feed the hungry through the SNAP program still today. We fight to extend worker protections that most people take for granted, like minimum wage for domestic workers, still today. We fight those fights from a position of more power than she could have dreamed of because of her.

She left us a legacy to build on. Today, the entire Congressional Black Caucus, but especially the 32 women, are grateful to Shirley Chisholm for her incredible service and countless contributions to our Nation.

We will continue to build on the progress and momentum that Shirley created until we no longer have to bring a folding chair, but the table is big enough to include everyone touched by the policies we adopt in this body.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the Chickahominy Indian Tribe in Charles City, Virginia.

In 1607, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe was one of the few tribes to encounter settlers from the first permanent English settlement of Jamestown. The tribe helped the English survive and adapt to local conditions, trading food and teaching them how to grow and preserve crops. The Chickahominy Tribe originally lived in permanent villages along the Chickahominy River.

Eventually, the English displaced the Chickahominy people and set aside land for them in the Pamunkey Neck area of Virginia through the Treaty of 1646. Slowly, the Chickahominy people migrated to the Chickahominy Ridge, an area between Richmond and Williamsburg only a few miles from one of their original 1607 village sides, where they now reside.

In 1924, Virginia's Racial Integrity Act created some of the most severe segregation policies in the nation. This act effectively erased Indians from official records, reclassifying them from Indian to `Colored.' This erasure made it impossible for many years for Virginian Indian tribes to gain federal recognition, as they could not document ancestral continuity.

In 2018, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act granted federal recognition to six Indian tribes of Virginia, including the Chickahominy Tribe. This recognition provides the tribe with the legal, economic and cultural tools necessary to maintain their sovereignty and preserve their heritage.

The Chickahominy Tribe is woven into the culture of the Charles City community. As the intersection of centuries of history and culture, the Chickahominy people are pivotal to the identity of the area. Today, the Chickahominy Tribe remains a vibrant and active part of Charles City through their traditions, language and cultural heritage.

The legacy of the Chickahominy Tribe is a vital component of Virginia's past and present. In honor of Native American Heritage Month, I recognize the important history and contributions of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe.

Madam Speaker, the Commonwealth of Virginia is home to seven federally recognized Indian Tribes, including the Chickahominy Tribe in my district.

In addition, we have four State-recognized Tribes, one of which is the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, which received State recognition in 2010.

During the October recess, I had the opportunity to visit the Tribe's community house and interpretive center in Southampton County where I met with Chief Lynette Allston and Tribal Chair Denise Walters to discuss their rich history.

The Nottoway people first appear in the written record in 1650, when merchant and colonist, Edward Bland, encountered two Nottoway towns on the Nottoway River.

These Iroquoian-speaking people live in dispersed communities along the river in present day Dinwiddie, Isle of Wight, Nottoway, Sussex, and Southampton Counties.

Today, in honor of Native American History Month, I am filing a resolution to provide Federal recognition to the Nottoway Tribe of Virginia and look forward to finally seeing their sovereignty recognized.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National Rural Health Month to bring attention to the pressing need and to expand access to comprehensive healthcare services throughout rural America.

The rural communities in my own district of Virginia's Fourth face some of the worst public health outcomes of all counties in Virginia. Over the past 2 years, I have consistently engaged with these rural communities to hear firsthand about the challenges they face, including hosting a rural health summit with counties in the southern part of my district.

Throughout my conversations, I have heard similar challenges facing various rural communities, including the following: geographic constraints; long commutes and limited transportation; food deserts and a lack of access to healthy, nutritious, balanced foods; limited healthcare providers; insufficient access to culturally competent care; physician and healthcare provider shortages; and limited access to high-speed internet and devices for telehealth services.

Each of these contributes to the healthcare challenges in our rural communities and exacerbates existing disparities.

We must do more to support our rural communities, and I look forward to working with the Congressional Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus and Members on both sides to do just that.

Madam Speaker, November is Prematurity Awareness Month and November 17 is Prematurity Awareness Day. It is an opportunity for us to come together and commit to address the United States' horrific preterm birth rate.

This is an issue that is personal to me. My daughter, Samantha, was born by emergency C-section 9 weeks early when my placenta ruptured because I had placenta previa. I was one of the lucky ones. After 6 weeks in the NICU, she was able to come home. When she stood with me when I took the oath of office, no one would ever know that she started less than 5 pounds. Not everyone is as lucky.

The March of Dimes just issued its annual report card for preterm birth rates; and the United States earned a D-plus once again, remaining the worst grade in the report's history. Chronic conditions, inadequate prenatal care, and racial disparities fueled these historic preterm birth rates.

The preterm birth rate remains at 10.4 percent with significant disparities among racial and ethnic groups. We have more work to do. Please stay tuned because next week I will be proposing a bipartisan measure to help bring this birth rate down.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the lifetime of service of one of my constituents, Lieutenant Colonel Curt Powell, who was the 2024 Veteran of the Year for Virginia's Fourth Congressional District.

Lieutenant Colonel Powell held a variety of staff and command-level positions during his 23-year career in the U.S. Marines. He served two combat deployments in Somalia and Lebanon, including the ill-fated amphibious unit peacekeeping mission that was attacked in October 1983.

Lieutenant Colonel Powell also served as a White House advance officer under President Clinton, where he planned Presidential helicopter missions worldwide and served as the sole representative upon Marine One, responsible for coordinating with the Secret Service and White House Communication Agency.

Today, Lieutenant Colonel Powell continues his incredible record of service as the founder of a mentorship program at the Chesterfield County veteran treatment docket, an important organization that provides resources and support for veterans suffering from mental health issues or substance abuse disorders.

Lieutenant Colonel Curt Powell has spent his life helping those around him, and I thank him for his profound contributions to our country, to our Commonwealth, and to his community.

I am honored to name him the 2024 Fourth Congressional District Veteran of the Year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the accomplishments of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) on the organization's 40th anniversary.

For 40 years, EESI has played an important role on Capitol Hill by providing members of Congress and our staff with nonpartisan, science- based educational resources about climate, clean energy, and environmental topics.

Congressional staff use EESI resources to stay informed, which contribute to our offices' ability to serve our constituents. Earlier this year, I was pleased to be a guest on EESI's podcast, The Climate Conversation, where we discussed environmental justice, the public health impacts of the climate crisis, and the need to build resilience into our communities and infrastructure.

EESI's origins date back to the 1970s when then-Rep. Richard L. ``Dick'' Ottinger (D-NY) and a bipartisan group of members of Congress saw a knowledge gap on environmental and energy topics and established a study conference to provide members with the information they necessary to make sound decisions. In 1984, EESI began its work as an independent nonprofit organization. Now, after 40 years, EESI still enjoys a reputation for providing Congress with the information necessary to do our jobs. What must have felt important then feels all the more urgent today.

Congratulations to EESI for serving as a trusted source of timely, relevant, nonpartisan, and science-based educational resources about climate topics. With gratitude for EESI's service to the policymaking community to date, I wish the organization the best for another 40 years of advancing solutions, fostering bipartisanship, supporting rural communities, and cultivating young leaders.

Mr. Speaker, once again, we find ourselves in the position where rather than passing bipartisan appropriation bills, House Republicans have, once again, loaded must-pass legislation with their MAGA wish list.

This time it is the SAVE Act, which seeks to address noncitizen voting, which is already illegal and punishable by up to 5 years in prison, despite no evidence of a widespread problem.

What the SAVE Act really is is the latest Republican effort to restrict access to the ballot box with burdensome proof-of-citizenship requirements. However, under this bill, Americans would not be able to use their driver's license, any State-provided ID, or military or travel ID. The only acceptable form of proof of citizenship will cost money, such as a passport.

That is a poll tax.

I took my oath of office in this body on the Bible in which my father kept the poll tax receipt that he had to pay as a reminder of how my family had to fight for the sacred right to vote.

I will not stand for a new poll tax to be put in Federal law, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on today's CR.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 275th anniversary of the founding of my hometown, Chesterfield County.

On May 8, 1607, Christopher Newport and a party of Englishmen exploring what became known as the James and Appomattox Rivers encountered a village inhabited by the Appamatuck Tribe. Shortly thereafter, the English explorers settled approximately 30 miles downstream on Jehat they named Jamestown Island. Three years later, Sir Thomas Dale led a group of colonists from Jamestown to found the Citie of Henricus on the James River as the second permanent English settlement in the New World.

Chesterfield County continued to set milestones in American history. In 1614, Bermuda Hundred in Chesterfield became the first incorporated town in America. By 1619, the area witnessed the establishment of the first iron furnace in the New World at Falling Creek. In 1622, the county was also home to the first American hospital, Mount Malady, near Dutch Gap.

In 1634, colonists brought the first Africans to Bermuda Hundred in Chesterfield County. In 1882, the Virginia General Assembly chartered the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, the nation's first fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for African Americans. Today, the institution is now the esteemed HBCU, Virginia State University.

In 1709, Chesterfield made another significant contribution by producing the first commercially mined coal in America. The county's infrastructure also saw pioneering developments, such as Virginia's first paved road, the Midlothian Turnpike, in 1807, and the state's first railroad, the Midlothian to Manchester Railroad, in 1831.

Chesterfield County celebrated its 250th year in 1999 and has since continued to grow and flourish. In response to the evolving needs of its residents, the county established several new departments after its 250th anniversary, including the Community Engagement and Resources Department, Adult Drug Court, Juvenile Drug Court, Constituent Services, Community Enhancement, and Sports Tourism.

In 2013, the residents of Chesterfield County demonstrated their commitment to the community through the approval of a bond referendum, which resulted in significant school facility improvements and the replacement of the county's emergency communications system. The 2022 bond referendum followed, financing projects for schools, public safety, libraries, and parks and recreation.

Since its 250th anniversary, Chesterfield County has completed numerous transportation and pedestrian projects, greatly enhancing the lives of its residents and those in neighboring localities.

These projects include the widening of Route 10, the construction of the Interstate 295/Meadowville Interchange, and the expansion of Route 288 into a four-lane highway from Powhite Parkway to the Powhatan County Line. Other improvements include the widening of Chippenham Parkway from Hull Street to Route 1, securing $31 million for Chesterfield's 8.5 miles of the Fall Line Trail, and obtaining $80 million for regional projects as part of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority.

I'm honored to represent Chesterfield County in Congress and commend it on 275 years of growth and development. I am proud of its rich history and look forward to its bright future as it approaches its tricentennial.

Mr. Chair, I rise today as one of only 6 percent of the Members of Congress who are mothers of young children under 18 and one of the only 3 percent of mothers of color of young children under the age of 18. I rise out of a concern for the future my children will inherent, a future with extreme weather, continuously rising sea levels, and the detrimental impacts that climate change will have on the habitation of this planet.

For that reason, I rise today to oppose the significant funding cuts and harmful provisions that House Republicans seek in this bill.

At a time when we must double down on our efforts to address climate change, this bill slashes funding for the Department of Energy's efficiency and renewable energy programs by $1.5 billion, hampering our ability to decarbonize the energy, transportation, industrial, and agricultural sectors, undermining programs that not only improve and modernize our electricity infrastructure but lower costs, because energy efficiency programs are the easiest, quickest way not only to reduce our carbon footprint but to lower energy costs.

Agriculture, which is Virginia's largest private industry, would be harmed by the cuts in this bill. This bill jeopardizes low-income communities by proposing extreme funding cuts to the Weatherization Assistance Program, a program that lowers energy costs for low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, also improving their health and safety.

The cuts here that include the Weatherization Assistance Program will be detrimental not only to the health of our planet and the health of our constituents, but they will be detrimental to their energy costs as they continue to go up. This bill will increase those costs.

For that reason, I ask that we vote ``no.''