Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Build Back Better Act, a once-in-a-generation investment to lower the everyday costs that burden working families and adequately address the climate crisis. This bold, progressive bill at the core of President Biden's Build Back Better agenda will have a positive impact on every single American family.

The legislation delivers the largest investment in childcare and early education in history. Build Back Better is estimated to provide access to childcare for nearly one million young children in New York. I am proud that the bill also provides universal, high-quality, free preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old in America. Today, only 25 percent of young children in New York have access to publicly funded preschool, and the costs for those that can't enter publicly funded programs are often crippling. I am thrilled that nearly 300,000 young children in New York will now be able to attend preschool. The bill also will provide over two million students in New York with resources to purchase school meals.

The Build Back Better Act will also improve the lives of working families by expanding rental assistance and affordable housing, establishing paid family and medical leave, extending the Child Tax Credit, extending the American Rescue Plan's Earned Income Tax Credit, and finally addressing the unfair SALT Deduction caps.

I am also pleased that this historic legislation will lower prescription drug costs for millions of Americans by finally negotiating lower drug prices for seniors, stopping outrageous price hikes in prescription drugs, setting a new $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription costs for seniors, and capping the cost of life-saving insulin at $35 per month. The bill will further lower health care costs for Americans by passing the largest expansion of the Affordable Care Act in a decade to make coverage more affordable, expanding Medicaid coverage and eligibility, and expanding access to affordable home care for older adults and those with disabilities.

Finally, I am incredibly proud that the Build Back Better Act contains the single largest investment to combat the climate crisis in human history. This historic bill includes a $500 billion investment in clean energy and climate to cut greenhouse pollution by well over one gigaton in 2030, reduce home energy costs, create hundreds of thousands of high-quality jobs, and advance environmental justice for those communities on the frontline of the climate crisis. The bill will also provide a vital boost to New York's climate resilience and preparedness efforts to safeguard the city from future Superstorm Sandy level storms.

Best of all, the historic investments included in the Build Back Better Act are not only fully paid for, the Treasury Department estimates that the bill will reduce the deficit by over $100 billion over a decade.

This historic legislation will ensure that our workers and families are no longer held back by high costs or lack of access. For too long, we have failed to invest properly in everyday people. Instead, we have allowed big corporations and the wealthy to access all the resources this Nation has to offer without paying their fair share. This stops here. By passing President Biden's agenda into law, we have set our Nation on a course to meet its climate goals, create millions of good- paying jobs, relieve working families struggling to afford the growing costs of raising children, and grow our economy. I urge my colleagues to vote yea on this transformative legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the work and dedication of my longest-serving congressional staff person--Janice Siegel.

Janice worked with me and a small group of people on the brief but intense campaign to fill the vacancy left by Ted Weiss in 1992. She came with me to Washington, D.C., to set up my office and staff for my first term and stayed with my office for 29 years. As my Director of Operations, Janice provided sound advice on complicated budget, ethics, and personnel matters. Her careful, methodical approach to financial matters has served the office well and has saved us tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Janice also managed my D.C. schedule for more than twenty years, made countless train/plane/and hotel reservations for me, and tracked every penny of our Members' Representational Allowance. Perhaps most importantly she made sure we never overspent our MRA, and, therefore, I was never asked to pay for any office expenses from my own pocket. I thank her for that.

Janice also coordinated numerous office moves over her career in the House and worked on everything from the color of the carpet, walls and drapes, to the purchasing of equipment, and movement of phones and computers throughout the House complex. She was well known throughout the House by the many hundreds of people she worked with on all these matters over the years.

Janice not only served my office well, but she was a real asset to the House of Representatives as a whole and helped with numerous House- wide initiatives to make the House operate more efficiently and effectively.

Janice founded the Professional Administrative Managers (PAM) organization, and as its leader she organized a number of large meetings which brought staff together with House Administrative officials to discuss the implementation of new policies and procedures related to House operations. In addition, she worked with the Office of the Inspector General to create a ``Financial Administrators Curriculum'' which is now offered by the Congressional Staff Academy. Her organization included offices from both sides of the aisle and its influence was felt by the leaders of House Administration who frequently sought input and advice from the group. She was in regular contact with the various Chief Administrative Officers (CAO) of the House, the C.F.O., and the Directors of Payroll during her time on the Hill. These relationships gave her access to information and resources that were very helpful to our office.

On another note, Janice has always cared about me personally, about my reputation, and especially about my personal safety. Over the years, Janice made sure the Capitol Police were aware of the threats against me and took additional steps to enhance my safety. She has had my interests in mind as she made spending and ethics decisions and was driven by a strong sense or right and wrong that kept me out of trouble for her entire tenure. As she was fond of saying, her job was to keep me OUT of the news. Meaning, she never wanted there to be a news story that we were not running the office ethically or in a financially sound manner.

Finally. Janice is a compassionate, caring person who has a touch for and a real understanding of the importance of nice gestures. She takes the initiative to make suggestions for reaching out to people, especially when they are sick or someone close to them has recently passed away. She is thoughtful and considerate of others when it matters most. I appreciate all she has done over the years to connect with people facing trying times.

I would be remiss if I did not mention Janice's family and her husband, Frank Mumford. Janice is a wonderful daughter, sister, and wife and mentioned her family often while at work. She cared for her father when he became ill and moved into her home, and helped her sister get the help she needed to get treatment for cancer. She and Frank supported each other through tough times and were always there for one another. She is lucky to have Frank by her side.

Janice herself is a breast cancer survivor and she worked in our office all through her own treatment. She faced the diagnosis bravely and unafraid. She has always been a strong supporter of breast cancer research and funding and was always looking for ways for us to get involved and be supportive of the cause. We know that the loss of her mother to the disease when she was just a child affected her deeply. We imagine her mother would be proud to see her daughter working in Congress, supporting efforts to increase funding for breast cancer research, working for a Member from New York City, and doing so with such distinction and for such a long period of time.

I know I am proud of the work she has done for us and want to sincerely thank her for everything she has done for me.

We will miss Janice. We wish her all the best in her retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise, along with my colleague, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chair of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, to thank Ben Hernandez-Stern for his service to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Ben came to the Committee as part of a career focused on serving his country, which has included service in the National Guard, Air Force, Federal courts, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Justice. Ben received his B.A. from Brown University, J.D. from Stanford Law School, and M.A. from the U.S. Naval War College.

Ben joined our Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security as Counsel in 2019 and played a critical role in advancing the Subcommittee's priorities during the 116th Congress and the beginning of the 117th Congress. In the wake of an increase in hate crimes and gun violence, Ben played a leading role in the Subcommittee's work to address these crises. His portfolio included a wide range of issues, such as reforming our bail system, addressing fines and fees that disproportionately impact the poor and people of color, improving access to justice, and addressing domestic terrorism.

Ben is a team player, who was always willing to help out however needed. During the impeachments of President Donald Trump, Ben aided our oversight team--in addition to continuing to work on his broad policy portfolio--in our solemn duty to hold President Trump accountable for his impeachable offenses.

Ben's service to the country, however, wasn't limited just to his work on the Committee during the past few years; he also continued to serve as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, deploying numerous times to serve his country in this additional capacity.

Ben's work on the Committee, to make our laws more just, has left a lasting impact on our country. In addition, Ben played a key role in developing the next generation of public servants. During his time on the committee, Ben mentored dozens of interns, both on and off his Subcommittee, providing them with assignments, valuable feedback, and guidance. Many of these interns went on to obtain full-time positions in the government thanks to Ben's mentorship.

While Ben's career at the House Judiciary Committee has come to a close, his career as a public servant has not. Ben was nominated and is now serving as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The California judiciary is fortunate to have such a strong advocate for justice on its bench.

We thank Ben for his service to the Committee and wish him the best of luck with this new chapter.

Madam Speaker, I rise, along with my colleague, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chair of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, to thank Monalisa Dugue for her nearly five years of service to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Monalisa came to the Committee after spending more than a decade with the Public Defender's office in Chicago and several years working for non-profits and as a consultant. Before starting her career, Monalisa received her B.A. from DePaul University and her J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law.

Monalisa joined the Committee in 2017, as Deputy Chief Counsel of our Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Since then, she has played an indispensable role in working to reform our criminal justice system.

As Deputy Chief Counsel, Monalisa worked on a broad range of issues, including criminal justice reform, juvenile justice reform, and Tribal justice--including addressing the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women. Monalisa has been instrumental in the House's work to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, to enact the First Step Act, and to fund evidence-informed strategies to reduce community violence and fund community violence intervention programs that address the cycles of violence in communities.

Monalisa's work in the committee has had a lasting impact on the American people. She has played a key role in passing numerous bills into law, some of which include the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act, the Not Invisible Act, Savanna's Act, the Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act, the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act, and the Strengthening the Opposition to Female Genital Mutilation (STOP FGM) Act.

Throughout all of her work, Monalisa brought her commitment to justice and equity and her tireless work ethic. Our committee, Congress, and the American people greatly benefited from her wisdom, experience, and contributions. Our country is a better place because of the mark Monalisa has left on it.

While we will miss Monalisa greatly, we are glad she is not going far, as she will be continuing her public service career as Chief of Staff to Senator Whitehouse.

We thank Monalisa for her service to the Committee and wish her the best of luck with this new chapter.

Madam Speaker, I rise along with my colleague, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chair of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, to thank Christine Leonard for her service to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Christine came to the Committee as part of a career focused on judiciary and criminal justice issues. Before joining the Committee as Counsel, Christine had a long history of working closely with the Committee in various roles, including as Counsel to Rep. Delahunt, Senior Counsel to Sen. Ted Kennedy, Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the Office of National Drug Control Policy, as the Director of the Vera Institute of Justice's DC Office, Executive Director of the Coalition for Public Safety, and as Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Christine received her B.A. and J.D. from Boston College.

Christine joined our Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security as Counsel in 2020 and has played an integral role in our prison and drug enforcement reform work. Among other things, she also played a critical role in helping to advance my bill, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act--which would reverse failed federal policies criminalizing marijuana and would take steps to address the heavy toll this policy has taken across the country, particularly among communities of color--through the Committee.

The Committee and the country at large have benefited greatly from Christine's dedication to reforming our criminal justice system and ensuring our laws are equitably applied. We will greatly miss her strong work ethic and passion for justice, as she takes the next step in her career.

We thank Christine for her service to the Committee and wish her the best of luck with this new chapter.

Madam Speaker, I rise, along with myy colleague, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chair of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, to

thank Tieffa ``Ti'' Harper for her service to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Ti came to the Committee as a detailee from the Federal Public Defender's Office earlier this year, and she has contributed greatly to the work of the committee. Ti has worked on a broad range of issues, including, among other areas, reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, oversight of the Bureau of Prisons, sentencing reform-- including addressing the crack cocaine sentencing disparity through the EQUAL Act--and juvenile justice.

The Committee has significantly benefited from Ti's insight as a public defender, her sophisticated legal analysis skills, and her knowledge of the criminal justice system. Ti was able to quickly jump into the work of the Committee when her detail began, expertly analyzing complex legislation, drafting policy options to address some of the most pressing criminal justice issues of our time, and preparing for hearings and markups.

The Committee and the American people have been fortunate to have Ti as a strong advocate for a more just legal system during her time working in Congress. While we will miss Ti greatly, we congratulate her on her new position with the Southern Poverty Law Center.

We thank Ti for her service to the Committee and wish her the best of luck with this new chapter.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the rule and the Build Back Better Act. There are so many important provisions of this legislation, but I want to highlight just a few of the Judiciary Committee's contributions, which invest in our communities, our economy, and our people.

We invest in communities by supporting community violence intervention programs, and we invest in our economy by providing resources to the antitrust enforcement agencies for their work to protect competition.

We also invest in people by improving our immigration system to provide protections and stability to those who have made significant contributions to our economy.

This legislation provides an opportunity for immigrants who have lived here since January 1, 2011, to receive temporary protection from removal, as well as work permits, if they are not inadmissible on criminal, national security, or other grounds.

While this is not the permanent protection so many of us wanted, the peace of mind that comes along with protection from deportation is life changing for these people and their families. This legislation will provide security and stability to millions of people, including an estimated 1.6 million Dreamers, 1 million farmworkers, and 2.6 million other essential workers who kept us safe during the pandemic.

The bill would also restore the availability of over 400,000 unused immigrant visas lost due to COVID-19 or bureaucratic delay and would enhance green card processing.

This historic and transformative legislation makes the investments we need to continue growing our economy and strengthening our communities for many years to come. I urge all of my colleagues to support the rule and the Build Back Better Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of my good friend Mimi Levin Lieber, a beloved public servant and leader in early childhood education.

Mimi devoted her life to her mission of making literacy a right of all children, a passion that led her to launch Literacy Inc. (LINC), an organization in my district dedicated to providing children with a strong foundation of literacy early in life. Through her organization, Mimi was able to touch the lives of so many New Yorkers by taking an innovative community-based approach to learning that addressed the systemic inequalities in our education system.

Mimi believed that through reading, everything becomes possible. This conviction served her well while attending the University of Chicago for her Bachelor's and Master of Arts Degrees and, later, training in London to become a pioneer in qualitative research. After completing a fellowship at Harvard's Graduate School for Education, she met her husband for life, Charles Lieber. Charles was a well-traveled, multi- lingual native of the Netherlands who fled the Nazi occupation of Belgium in 1940. Forty years later, he would go on to acquire the Hebrew Publishing Company, the oldest American publisher of Judaica.

After moving to New York in 1960, she and Charles raised four children on the Upper West Side. Mimi cherished being a mother and believed raising children was one of the most important, yet undervalued, roles in life. Mimi grew up in a cohesive Jewish community in Detroit, but she quickly became a true New Yorker who looked out for everyone in her community. She served on the synagogue board, Hebrew school board, the Jewish Board of Guardians, and Community Planning Board 7. While doing all this, Mimi, a trained sociologist, also founded Lieber Attitude Research which became one of the first firms to employ focus groups to help companies understand client thinking.

This public service and her sociology background led me to nominate her to the New York State Board of Regents, where she served New York students for 15 years. While on the board, she successfully lobbied politicians around the state to make critical investments necessary to tum young children in the five boroughs into learners for life. During her service, she became a breast cancer survivor and spoke openly about her illness when many would not. Mimi never viewed public service as a sacrifice; she believed in the power of community and viewed the ability to serve others as a privilege. One of her sons, Janno Lieber, continued her tradition of public service and currently serves as Acting Chair and CEO of New York's MTA. In her later years, she spent much of her time at her family's countryside retreat in Spencertown, New York and continued to serve on the board of LINC.

Her legacy reminds us that we must support and invest in our children's education from the earliest years, when it matters the most, and that universal literacy is critical to sustaining a healthy democracy. Mimi will truly be missed, and she has left her imprint on the thousands of readers she inspired through her advocacy. Mimi is survived by her children, grandchildren, and members of her LINC family. May her memory be a blessing.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1693) to eliminate the disparity in sentencing for cocaine offenses, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1693.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1693, the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021, or the EQUAL Act, would eliminate the unjust sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses.

This long overdue bipartisan legislation would allow defendants who were previously convicted or sentenced for a Federal offense involving crack cocaine to petition for a sentence reduction.

In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which created mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses and introduced the 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. This meant that a person who distributed 5 grams of crack cocaine received the same 5-year mandatory minimum sentence as a person who distributed 500 grams of the powder cocaine.

A person who distributed 50 grams of crack cocaine received the same 10-year mandatory minimum sentence as a person who distributed 5,000 grams of powder cocaine. It soon became evident that this sentencing disparity also created a significant racial disparity.

Mr. Speaker, 4 years after Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, the average Federal sentence for Black defendants was 49 percent higher than the average sentence for White defendants. In the ensuing decades, the Sentencing Commission and many members of the law enforcement community strongly and repeatedly criticized the 100:1 ratio and urged Congress to address the disparity.

As early as 1995, the Sentencing Commission began urging Congress to rectify this unfairness. Besides the troubling racial disparities in sentencing, the Commission also expressed concern over the significant differences in punishment between street-level dealers of crack cocaine and the powder cocaine suppliers who sold the cocaine in the first instance.

Unfortunately, Congress failed to act on the Commission's proposed amendment to the sentencing guidelines to equalize the penalties for crack and powder cocaine.

From 1997 to 2007, the Commission continued to warn Congress about the unjustified ratio, noting that ``there is no legislative history that explains Congress' rationale for selecting the 100:1 drug quantity ratio for powder cocaine and crack offenses.'' It provided evidence for its findings that the penalties exaggerated the relative harmfulness of crack cocaine, swept too broadly, most often applied to lower-level offenders, and mostly impacted communities of color.

Congress, however, took no action, prompting the Commission to pass an amendment to the sentencing guidelines in 2007 as a partial and modest remedy to the ``urgent and compelling'' problems associated with the ratio. In doing so, the Commission ``unanimously and strongly urged'' Congress to take actions on its recommendations and to provide a comprehensive solution.

In 2010, Congress finally acted by passing the Fair Sentencing Act, which did not eliminate the disparity, but which significantly reduced the ratio from 100:1 to 18:1. But the Fair Sentencing Act applied only to pending and future cases, leaving thousands of incarcerated people without a path to petition for relief. The First Step Act of 2018 made the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive, providing a pathway to relief for some, but not all, individuals affected by the sentencing disparity.

It is now past time to finish the job. The crack cocaine and powder cocaine disparity has greatly contributed to the rise of mass incarceration, devastated communities of color, and severely undermined public confidence in our criminal justice system.

The EQUAL Act would finally equalize the treatment of powder cocaine and crack cocaine--two forms of the same drug--by eliminating the sentencing disparity. It would also provide a path to retroactive relief from a disparity that is not rooted in science, does not promote public safety, and fosters racial disparities.

I commend Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Bobby Scott, Kelly Armstrong, and Don Bacon for introducing this important bipartisan legislation, and I urge all Members to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Texas an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Michigan an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, the EQUAL Act of 2021 represents an important step in our efforts to reform the criminal justice system. I thank Representatives Jeffries, Scott, Armstrong, and Bacon for their leadership in introducing this important legislation and for assembling a broad and bipartisan coalition of stakeholders in support of the bill, including the Department of Justice and advocacy groups that span the entire ideological spectrum.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan bill today, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and 60 other civil rights organizations in support of the Women's Health Protection Act.

The Leadership Conference

on Civil and Human Rights,

Washington, DC, September 23, 2021.

Support the Women's Health Protection Act of 2021

Dear Representative: The Leadership Conference on Civil and

Human Rights, and the 60 undersigned organizations dedicated

to protecting and advancing the civil rights, health, and

economic security of all persons in the United States write

in support of the Women's Health Protection Act of 2021 (H.R.

3755). We urge all members to vote yes on the bill when it

reaches the floor.

By protecting abortion access from medically unnecessary

restrictions that obstruct the right of all persons to obtain

safe, legal abortion services, the Women's Health Protection

Act (WHPA) seeks to remedy and prevent the onslaught of

state-level abortion bans and restrictions that cause

significant and sometimes insurmountable challenges to

receiving abortion care. These challenges disproportionately

impact the ability of low-income women and women of color to

access health care, robs individuals of bodily autonomy, and

threatens the economic security of families and individuals,

many of whom are already struggling to get by.

This issue is one of grave urgency. Just this month, five

Supreme Court justices denied an emergency request to block

Texas S.B. 8, a radical six-week abortion ban. Immediate

Congressional action is imperative for the future of abortion

rights in the United States. We are deeply concerned about

the threat of copycat bills appearing in states across the

country.

Indeed, abortion rights and access have been steadily under

attack. Despite large public support for access to abortion,

state lawmakers enacted more than 90 restrictions on abortion

this year, including 11 bans--two of which are near-total

abortion bans. States have also continued to enact or

introduce legislation that restricts access to medication

abortion, imposes medically unnecessary restrictions on

abortion clinics, or singles out abortion providers for

burdensome

restrictions not applied to other healthcare providers.

Today, nearly 90 percent of American counties have no

abortion provider, forcing people to incur onerous costs to

travel long distances for care, or pushing care entirely out

of reach.

These laws are not only a threat to the constitutional

right to abortion recognized in Roe v. Wade, but they are a

threat to the economic security, health, and dignity of low-

income people, women of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and

others who--because of a history of structural inequality and

discrimination--already have difficulty accessing

reproductive healthcare services. Restrictions that force

patients to undergo unnecessary tests or procedures, force

providers to communicate confusing and medically inaccurate

information, or force individuals to make multiple clinic

visits drive up individual costs, which can delay abortion

access and aggravate economic and health disparities felt by

women of color, low-income people, immigrants, LGBTQ people,

and other marginalized or multi-marginalized groups.

Restrictive abortion laws that contribute to clinic

closures and abortion deserts also increase the cost of

obtaining abortion, and Black women are impacted by clinic

closures to a greater degree than other groups. Systemic

inequality brought on by past and present policies that

target and oppress Black people--including the legacy of

slavery, mass incarceration, segregation, voter suppression,

and exploitative financial practices, such as redlining--have

led to concentrated and intergenerational poverty within the

Black community. As a result, Black women have diminished

access to networks and resources to overcome financial

obstacles to accessing care. In the context of clinic

closures or abortion deserts, this can mean a de facto ban on

abortion. Black women are half as likely to be able to travel

25 to 50 miles for abortion care than White women, who tend

to have more financial resources, information, and social

networks that allow them to travel.

Restricting access to abortion also threatens to undermine

the ability of poorer people and people of color to achieve

economic security. People of color and women are

disproportionately represented in low-wage jobs, and women of

color continue to endure discriminatory wage gaps. Black

women, for example, are typically paid just 63 cents for

every dollar paid to a White man. American Indian and Native

Alaskan women are paid only 60 cents, Latina women are paid

only 55 cents, and some Asian American and Pacific Islander

women are paid as low as 50 cents for every dollar paid to a

White man. Restrictions on accessing abortion, in addition to

public funding bans, mean that low-income people and many

women of color have to choose between paying their rent,

purchasing food, or paying for other basic necessities, and

receiving abortion care.

Studies also show that women who are denied abortion care

face more economic hardship and risks to their health and

safety than women who sought and received abortions. Women

denied abortion care are more likely to experience poor

health outcomes, including maternal death, as compared to

women who received abortions, a trend that is particularly

concerning for Black women who are up to four times more

likely to experience pregnancy-related death than White

women. Women who are denied an abortion and forced to bear a

child are also four times more likely to fall into poverty.

Conversely, abortion access has been shown to increase

women's participation in the workforce, particularly for

Black women, and has led to gains in educational attainment.

Every person deserves to have the ability to make the

healthcare decisions that are right for them, and every

person must be able to make their own decisions about having

children, free from government interference and

discrimination. Laws that restrict access to abortion cause

the most harm to those who, because of structural racism and

existing inequities, already have limited access to

resources, are already struggling to achieve economic

security, and who already face sometimes life-threatening

health disparities. At the most basic level, restrictive

abortion laws are aimed at controlling who can exercise their

constitutional rights and who can claim agency over their

bodies. As such, these laws are an affront to human dignity

that perpetuate systems of oppression that prevent the full

enjoyment of civil and human rights. The Women's Health

Protection Act is an important step in ending these harmful

laws and promoting the health, economic security, and well-

being of those whom we have forced through law and policy to

live at the margins.

Thank you for your consideration of our views.

Sincerely,

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; ADL

(Anti-Defamation League); American Association of University

Women (AAUW); American Atheists; American Federation of

Teachers; American Humanist Association; Americans for

Democratic Action (ADA); Americans United for Separation of

Church and State; Asian American Legal Defense and Education

Fund (AALDEF); Autistic Self Advocacy Network; Black Women's

Health Imperative; Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP);

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; Clearinghouse on

Women's Issues; Demand Justice; Equal Rights Advocates;

Equality California; Feminist Majority Foundation; Fix Our

Senate; Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Girls Inc.; Global Project Against Hate and Extremism;

Hispanic Federation; Human Rights Campaign; Impact Fund;

Indivisible; Jacobs Institute of Women's Health; Jewish

Council for Public Affairs; Justice for Migrant Women; Lake

Research Partners; Lambda Legal; LatinoJustice PRLDEF;

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Matthew

Shepard Foundation; NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,

Inc. (LDF); NARAL Pro-Choice America; National Action

Network; National Association of Social Workers; NASW

Virginia/Metro DC Chapters; National Center for Transgender

Equality.

National Council of Jewish Women; National Health Law

Program; National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund; National

Organization for Women; National Partnership for Women &

Families; National Urban League; National Women's Law Center;

People For the American Way; Planned Parenthood Federation of

America; Population Connection Action Fund; Public Citizen;

Restaurant Opportunities Centers United; Rise Up America;

SEIU; The Workers Circle; Union for Reform Judaism; Voices

for Progress; Voto Latino; Women Lawyers On Guard Action

Network, Inc., YWCA Berkeley/Oakland; YWCA USA.

Madam Speaker, in 1970 I watched the New York State Assembly pass one of the first State laws legalizing abortion. If you had told me then that 51 years later, I would be standing on the House floor still fighting for women to have the right to make their own decisions about their own lives, their own health, and their own families, I would have called you crazy.

We must pass this bill today to end this decades-long war on abortion and women's underlying freedom to control their own lives. I urge all my colleagues to stand up for freedom, stand up for abortion, stand up for bodily integrity and vote ``yes'' on this bill.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 601, I call up the bill (H.R. 4) to amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to revise the criteria for determining which States and political subdivisions are subject to section 4 of the Act, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 4.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021, would revitalize and strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to confront the onslaught of discriminatory voting laws and practices that have emerged in recent years across the country.

In 2013, the Supreme Court, in Shelby County v. Holder, gutted the Voting Rights Act's most important enforcement mechanism, the Section 5 preclearance regime, which required jurisdictions with a history of discrimination against racial and ethnic minority voters to seek approval of any changes to their voting laws before they could go into effect.

Almost immediately after the decision, many of these jurisdictions unleashed a raft of voter suppression measures, knowing that these laws now could only be challenged after the fact and only through a costly and time-consuming process that made such challenges unlikely and when people's votes had already been improperly invalidated.

When the Court struck down the coverage formula that determined which jurisdictions were subject to preclearance, it explicitly invited Congress to devise a new formula to meet the current need to remedy voting discrimination.

H.R. 4 answers that call.

This legislation would create a new geographic coverage formula that is fine-tuned to capture only those places with longstanding and persistent discrimination. At the same time, it targets only recent discrimination and does not leave jurisdictions frozen in time.

The bill also requires preclearance of certain practices that are historically associated with voting discrimination; it responds to the recent Supreme Court decision in Brnovich v. DNC, which severely limited enforcement of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act; and it provides other important tools to strengthen enforcement of the VRA.

H.R. 4 rests on a substantial record that documents the myriad ways that

the right to vote, the most fundamental right in a democracy, remains under threat for too many Americans.

I want to thank Terri Sewell for introducing this bill, Steve Cohen for the 13 hearings he held on voting rights in the Constitution Subcommittee, as well as our colleagues on the Subcommittee on Elections and the Committee on House Administration for their work.

I urge all Members to join me in honoring the legacy of our beloved colleague, the late John Lewis, who shed his blood to secure passage of the Voting Rights Act, by supporting this vital legislation.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell), the chief sponsor of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Demings).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Correa).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker of the House.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Garcia).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader of the House.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Jones).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Bourdeaux).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Quigley).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).

Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Williams).

Madam Speaker, we have one final Speaker who will close for us, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the distinguished majority whip.

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

Madam Speaker, pursuant to section 2 of H. Res. 601, I submit the following materials into the Congressional Record as Explanatory Materials for H.R. 4. Taken together, these materials help explain the reasons why H.R. 4 is necessary as well as the reasons for the particular provisions in the bill. The materials are as follows:

1. A section-by-section analysis of H.R. 4, as perfected by

the Manager's Amendment;

2. A memorandum explaining the inclusion of key provisions

in the bill in light of the records developed in hearings

before the House Judiciary Committee and the Committee on

House Administration;

3. Testimony of Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference

for Civil and Human Rights, explaining ongoing voting

discrimination in certain states;

4. Testimony of Peyton McCrary of George Washington

University Law School, explaining the data that supports the

coverage formula in H.R. 4;

5. Testimony of Sophia Lin Lakin, Deputy Director of the

Voting Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union,

explaining the need for a revised preliminary injunction

standard, a Purcell fix, and a burden-shifting test for

section 2 vote denial claims;

6. Testimony of Wendy Weiser, Vice President, Democracy,

the Brennan Center for Justice, explaining the

constitutionality of H.R. 4's geographic coverage formula;

7. Testimony of Jon Greenbaum, Chief Counsel of the

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, explaining the

need for the incorporation of a retrogression standard in

section 2 and the need for a prescriptive approach to

assessing vote denial claims under section 2;

8. Testimony of Bernard Fraga of Emory University regarding

evidence in support of the practice-based coverage formula

and its demographic thresholds;

9. Letter from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human

Rights and other civil rights groups in support of H.R. 4 and

outlining the need for the bill;

10. Statement of Administration Policy in support of H.R. 4

from the Executive Office of the President;

11. Brennan Center--Racial Voter Suppression in 2020

Executive Summary, outlining the contemporary nature of

voting discrimination;

12. Brennan Center--Representation for Some Executive

Summary;

13. Brennan Center--Racial Turnout Gap Grew in

Jurisdictions Previously Covered by the Voting Rights Act,

outlining the reasons why focusing on increases in minority

turnout, alone, masks a continuing racial disparity in voter

turnout;

14. Brennan Center--Large Racial Turnout Gap Persisted in

2020 Election; and

15. A report prepared by the Subcommittee on Elections of

the Committee on House Administration, outlining ongoing

voter suppression efforts in various states.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4502, the Seven Bill Appropriation Minibus for Fiscal Year 2022.

This critical bill is a massive down payment on the promises we have made to the American people. After years of disinvestment in our infrastructure, reductions in health care spending, and limits on climate research, after 18 months of a devastating pandemic from which nearly all of our communities continue to struggle, this bill represents a chance to create good jobs, secure our safety net programs, and address the impacts of climate change.

The bill makes a massive investment in working families. It provides a $20 billion increase for high-poverty schools and a $3 billion increase in funding for special education programs. The bill dramatically expands funding for early childhood education and childcare. It continues our commitment to expanding access to higher education by increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $400, dramatically increasing funding to expand higher education opportunities, including TRIO programs and GEAR UP, and increasing funding for Teacher Quality Partnerships and other higher education programs. The bill also provides $106 billion for SNAP and includes provisions to ensure that SNAP will not run out of money and families will continue receiving benefits throughout the year.

I am proud to see the dramatic increases in funding for key health care priorities and to address long-standing health disparities and inequities. First and foremost, this bill finally,

after 45 years, repeals the racist, anti-woman Hyde Amendment to ensure that women are able to access abortion regardless of their income or where they live. The bill also provides a massive boost in funding for Title X Family Planning Services and for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, to ensure that these science-based, cost-effective programs continue to provide critical health and wellness services. In addition, the bill continues to increase our investments in life-saving research and public health infrastructure, including $49 billion for the National Institutes of Health, $10.6 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, $1 billion in new flexible funding to improve the public health infrastructure, $1.8 billion for Health Centers, which includes a nearly l000 percent increase in funding to $50 million for school-based health centers.

The bill makes a significant investment in our crumbling infrastructure while creating new jobs and ensuring that we finally address the climate crisis. In particular, it provides $105.7 billion to invest in transit passenger rail, airports and highways and provides $250 million to ensure those investments also reduce our admissions, benefit communities too often left behind, and increase the climate resiliency of our infrastructure. The bill also doubles investments in passenger and freight rail and promotes safety through investments in transit state of good repair and expanded transportation safety and inspection workforce. Finally, after the House passed an amendment I offered, the bill will provide $6 million in grants for security and maintenance at 9/11 Memorials and Museums. Taken all together, these investments will create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs and help our economy continue to recover and grow.

Access to housing remains a major concern in New York, and this bill will take some steps so that more New Yorkers are safely and affordably housed. The bill expands housing choice vouchers, or Section 8, to help 125,000 more individuals and families find affordable housing in their community and ensures that all 4.8 million families currently receiving housing assistance can stay in their homes. The bill also matches my request for $600 million for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/ AIDS (HOPWA), a $170 million increase, so that New York City and other major cities do not face a massive funding cut this year. I am, however, very disappointed the bill provides just $3.4 billion for public housing capital needs, which is not even enough to cover the massive repair backlog at NYCHA alone. As I have said many times before, the ongoing underfunding of public housing capital needs is not sustainable for NYCHA or other large public housing agencies. I am committed to working with my colleagues in the New York Delegation and across Congress to address this concern as quickly as possible.

In addition to all of these critical investments, the minibus funds eight critical community projects in my district, totaling over $9.2 million in direct funding to NY-10. These projects include a new Parenting Center at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, elevator repairs at Harborview Terrace Housing Development, expansion of mental health and substance abuse program at the LGBT Center, and funding for the Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center. I am proud to be able to deliver this funding and bring new jobs, better health outcomes, and improved financial stability back to my district.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 535, I call up the bill (H.R. 3985) to amend the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 to expedite the special immigrant visa process for certain Afghan allies, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 3985.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3985, the Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs Act of 2021, or the ALLIES Act, makes essential changes to the Afghan special immigrant visa program to ensure that the lives of those who served faithfully alongside American troops in Afghanistan are protected.

The special immigrant visa program allows those individuals who worked for or on behalf of the U.S. Government in Afghanistan, or for the NATO International Security Assistance Force in support of the American mission, to seek lawful permanent residence in the United States.

To be eligible, applicants must establish qualifying employment in Afghanistan for 2 years, receive approval from the Chief of Mission, and undergo rigorous background checks and national security vetting, a process that, on average, takes 3 years.

Our 20-year mission in Afghanistan will formally come to an end in just a few short weeks. Each day that we continue to draw down our military presence in Afghanistan, threats to the lives of Afghans who supported our cause are increasing exponentially.

The Biden administration has committed to relocating certain applicants

to a third country. Some who have passed the national security vetting process will be transferred to the United States to complete visa processing.

These evacuations, which are scheduled to begin at the end of this month, are a critical component of our withdrawal strategy. But evacuations alone are not enough. Congress must do our part to protect those whose lives are at risk because of their support and service to our Nation.

First and foremost, we must ensure that enough visas are available for eligible applicants. H.R. 3985 increases the number of visas that may be issued to qualifying Afghans by 8,000, which would ensure that all qualified applicants who are currently undergoing processing can immediately receive a visa if they are approved.

Second, we must streamline visa processing to the greatest extent possible, without compromising national security or program integrity.

H.R. 3985 does this by reducing duplicative paperwork requirements and modifying the requirement that applicants prove the existence of an ongoing serious threat to their lives; to reflect the fact that Afghans who worked in support of the U.S. mission now face an obvious threat as a direct result of their work.

Third, the bill strengthens protections for certain groups of Afghan nationals, including surviving spouses, and children of deceased principal applicants, individuals employed by NATO in support of the U.S. mission, and individuals whose work was funded by a U.S. Government cooperative agreement or grant.

Collectively, these changes will ensure that no one whose lives are at risk because of their support to the American mission are abandoned or forced to wait for Congress to act to authorize more visas.

Mr. Speaker, I am a proud cosponsor of this important bill. I thank Representative Crow for championing the cause of our Afghan allies and working across the aisle to build consensus and support for this legislation. We must keep our promises to these brave men and women. Their lives depend on it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 3985, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crow), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Garcia).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moulton).

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

Mr. Speaker, I am heartened to see Members on both sides of the aisle speak in support of this important bill. It is vital that we pass this legislation and it is vital that we do so quickly. As we speak, nearly 20,000 of our Afghan allies are facing increasing threats from the Taliban and insurgent groups. The administration will begin evacuating some individuals at the end of this month.

As Members of Congress, we must also do our part to honor the sacrifices made by these brave men and women and pass the Allies Act. It is much too bad that we cannot do more, but this is the least that we can do. I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Consumer Protection and Recovery Act.

This legislation is essential to promoting the Federal Trade Commission's mission to enforce antitrust law and to protect consumers. For decades, the commission has secured monetary relief for victims of unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive conduct, such as pharmaceutical companies blocking access to lower-cost drugs.

In a recent example, the FTC returned nearly $60 million to patients suffering from opioid addiction. But a few months ago, the Supreme Court severely weakened one of the FTC's most vital tools for protecting consumers and deterring bad conduct by ruling that the FTC could not seek monetary relief under one of the key statutes that it enforces. This legislation would reverse the Court's decision and would restore one of the Commission's critical tools for fighting monopolists and protecting consumers.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the bill's sponsor, Mr. Cardenas, and I thank Chairman Pallone and Chairwoman Schakowsky for their leadership to address this urgent problem, and I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.