Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 2, the child deportation act.

This bill is not a serious attempt to fix our broken immigration system and to address the humanitarian crisis at

our southern border. Rather, H.R. 2 is an anti-immigrant MAGA wish list.

It would put kids in cages and allow them to be held in Border Patrol facilities for up to 30 days, 10 times longer than current law.

It would place unaccompanied children at risk of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and violence.

It would bar nongovernmental organizations, like the American Red Cross and Catholic Charities, from working with our government to shelter immigrants, creating dangerous and inhumane conditions for our border communities.

It would decimate our asylum system by creating new and arbitrary restrictions for asylum seekers, all while gutting programs such as humanitarian parole that have been proven to reduce the number of arrivals at our border.

It would exacerbate the crisis by tearing down our humanitarian assistance programs while reassigning border agents away from stopping the transport of illegal drugs like fentanyl.

H.R. 2 will cause irreparable harm to children and families, undermine our international leadership, and hurt our economy.

Yesterday, House Democrats presented a serious framework for how to fix and modernize our immigration system. The U.S. Citizenship Act, or USCA, recognizes that a robust, humane, and efficient immigration system makes America stronger.

It would actually alleviate the humanitarian crisis at the southern border by helping the President address the root causes of migration and providing resources to humanely and efficiently process children and families who seek asylum here.

It would also reunite families, fix our visa backlog, protect immigrant workers from unscrupulous employers, and ensure no future President can ban entire groups based on religion.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this surprise billing our workers act.

This bill would harass workers with surprise bills for unemployment benefits that were overpaid due to State errors. These workers, many of whom worked long hours for low wages, rightfully used these benefits on basic needs, such as utilities, rent, and groceries, with no way of knowing that there was a mistake.

State agencies were simply not equipped to expeditiously get out pandemic unemployment benefits, resulting in a number of overpayments to workers who filled out their applications honestly in States led by Governors of both parties.

There is no denying that there were wrongdoers who exploited the emergency programs set up by Congress to assist American workers. However, this is not an excuse to go after honest Americans who did nothing wrong.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, on May 9, 2023, I was unable to cast my vote on H.R. 1715--Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 204.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution. Democrats successfully passed America's single largest investment in clean and renewable energy last year in the Inflation Reduction Act, which will quickly decarbonize our economy and shift manufacturing back here to the U.S. That includes production of solar panels that will be critical to the clean energy transition.

Last year, the Commerce Department made a thorough and data-driven determination that some companies in four Southeast Asian countries are circumventing U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar panels. Our trade policy requires balance, and the President's emergency order created a short- term bridge to secure the solar materials needed to protect jobs and meet our energy transition goods over the next year.

While the emergency order is not perfect, it is necessary to give solar projects in the pipeline enough time to come into full compliance with our trade laws.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this irresponsible bill that would hurt millions of seniors, workers, families, and veterans.

If this bill becomes law, the Social Security Administration will close field offices that seniors and people with disabilities rely on for services; nearly 500,000 low-income families could be evicted from voucher-supported housing; 200,000 young children will lose spots in Head Start; and cruel barriers to TANF will mean grandparents who rely on the program to keep their grandchildren out of foster care will lose crucial resources.

Meanwhile, Republicans want to cut law enforcement funding and give wealthy tax cheats a license to avoid paying the taxes they owe.

What do we get in exchange for over a decade of crippled government? We get less than 1 year of reprieve from default and economic catastrophe.

Republicans should do what they did three times under President Trump and pass a clean bill free of brutal cuts.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Lao New Year, which will be celebrated between April 14, 2023, and April 16, 2023. Lao New Year is considered the national holiday of the country of Laos. Nationwide, Lao Americans organize festivals to bring their communities together in celebration of Lao New Year through the month of April and even early May.

Lao New Year has been celebrated for thousands of years and is historically rooted in, and unique to, Lao legends and traditions. During each of the three days that Lao New Year is observed, Lao people participate in various practices and ceremonies. The first two days of Lao New Year are dedicated to home and family. Day one tasks involve cleaning and organizing one's home. On day two, families will gather for a traditional ``baci'' ceremony, during which people wish one another peace, prosperity, and happiness while tying white threads around each other's wrists. Food and other goods are prepared on day three to take to the local temple as offerings to the monks.

The final day of Lao New Year is typically celebrated at the temple, where activities include classical dance performances, beauty pageants reflecting the legend of an ancient king and his seven daughters, food vending, as well as Lao goods and merchandise. The atmosphere at the temple celebrations is that of an overall uplifting of Lao Americans connecting to their culture and heritage.

Lao New Year unites Lao people through a rich history of traditions and celebrations that evoke shared feelings of release, renewal, and resolutions for the coming year. I ask my colleagues to join me in commemorating this global celebration.

Mr. Speaker, on March 22, 2023, I was unable to cast my vote on H. Res. 1159--To amend the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 to require periodic reviews and updated reports relating to the Department of State's Taiwan Guidelines.

Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 145.

Mr. Speaker, on January 21, 2023, a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, claimed the lives of 11 people in my district. I remained in my community to respond to this crisis and participate in a vigil for the lives lost during this tragedy. I was unable to be in Washington for votes on January 24, 2023.

Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 32, and YEA on Roll Call No. 33.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 400, the Investing in Main Street Act, which would make commonsense changes to the small business investing laws to maximize the amount that banks may invest in SBA-certified small business investment companies or SBICs.

Even though banking rules allow financial institutions to invest up to 15 percent of their capital and surplus in SBICs, small business investing rules cap these same investments far lower, at just 5 percent.

The Investing in Main Street Act simply fixes this outdated inconsistency to allow banks to invest the full 15 percent in SBICs. Raising this cap will dramatically increase the amount of investment capital available to our country's small businesses for whom even small investments can mean so much.

Already, SBICs have helped companies like Costco, Apple, and Intel get off the ground back when they were just starting out; and SBICs fill a gap in the investment ecosystem and level the playing field for the smallest businesses which often face the highest barriers to securing investments from traditional private investors.

The nearly 300 certified SBICs in operation today have invested or committed $38 billion in small businesses nationwide; and last year alone, SBICs provided $7.9 billion in funding to over 1,200 small businesses and startups.

By raising the investment cap from 5 percent to 15 percent, we could potentially triple those numbers in the years to come. The growth will be especially important as America's entrepreneurship rates continue to soar as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

I thank Representative Garbarino for his partnership on this legislation, and Chairman Williams and Ranking Member Velazquez for their strong support. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill.

This last Saturday night, a shooter came into my hometown of Monterey Park, California, to a dance studio and killed 11 innocent people.

Today, I rise to honor the memories of the 11 lives we lost: Diana Tom, Mymy Nhan, Lilian Li, Xiujuan Yu, Hong Jian, Muoi Ung, Valentino Alvero, Yu-Lun Kao, Chia Yau, Wen-Tau Yu, Ming Ma.

I also wish for the speedy recovery for the nine who are injured, many of whom are still in the hospital.

Lunar New Year is a time of celebration for the thriving Asian- American community in my hometown. Saturday's senseless murders pierced the peace and joy of our celebrations and tore a hole through our hearts.

This Lunar New Year was supposed to be a celebration of the Year of the Rabbit, characterized by hopefulness and peace.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to keep hope alive and work together to make our country a peaceful one free from this kind of horrific violence.

Thank you for helping me honor the memories of those lost by observing a moment of silence.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the bill before us today.

While I strongly condemn violence and vandalism in any form, the bill before us neglects to address the real crisis facing Americans today, which is the loss of reproductive rights for millions of Americans in the blink of an eye since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade last summer.

Madam Speaker, 8 in 10 Americans support the legal right to abortion, something that has been seen over and over again in poll after poll, in election after election. This resolution is an attempt to muddy the waters and distract the public from the fact that those on the other side of the aisle support a national abortion ban, regardless of which State you live in.

In fact, it was abortion providers who faced significant increases in stalking, invasions, and assault and battery as a result of the Dobbs decision.

I cannot support this resolution, which conveniently leaves out the majority of the victims of this type of political violence. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Madam Speaker, H.R. 26 would rob families of the ability to make difficult and complicated medical decisions in some of the most heartbreaking circumstances imaginable. It is a mean-spirited solution in search of a problem.

If the majority is interested in caring for newborns, I invite them to support Democrats' efforts to provide paid family leave to every new parent. Republicans are welcome to join our efforts to expand the child tax credit to families struggling with paying the bills. And we would be thrilled to have bipartisan support in this Chamber to make childcare affordable everywhere.

Alternatively, House Republicans have brought up a bill designed to intimidate doctors and perpetuate disinformation about how abortion care actually works.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill and instead vote ``yes'' on the motion to recommit which would bring up my bill, the Women's Health Protection Act, legislation that would create a Federal right to abortion care free from medically unnecessary restrictions in all 50 States.

Mr. Speaker, as chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, or CAPAC, I rise to address the creation of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.

CAPAC strongly supports strengthening our economy and national security, and we have always recognized that there are legitimate concerns with the actions of the Government of the People's Republic of China. This committee could address these issues productively.

However, I rise to remind all Members that this committee should not be used as an open invitation to traffic in blatant xenophobic, anti- China rhetoric that we know results in physical violence against Asian Americans.

We certainly saw this with Trump's labeling of COVID as the ``China virus'' resulting in 11,500 hate crimes against AAPIs in this country.

This committee cannot be used to promote policies that result in the racial profiling of Asian Americans but should directly focus on specific concerns related to the Government of the People's Republic of China.

We know the danger for Asian-American communities if the committee devolves into xenophobic rhetoric and scapegoating.

Back in the 1980s, when the economic competition between the U.S. and Japan reached a boiling point, Vincent Chin was out at a bar in Detroit celebrating his upcoming wedding when two laid-off autoworkers shouted: It is because of you that we lost our jobs. These men harassed Vincent, chased him, and bashed him in his head with a baseball bat, beating him until he died. Neither of them served a day in jail and only paid a $3,000 fine. Instead of attending his wedding, Vincent's family attended his funeral.

This is part of our country's history, and what this shows is what we say and how we say it matters. We know how dangerous the consequences can be if we don't get this right.

Mr. Speaker, Americans across the country sent a resounding message at the ballot box. They support the right to access abortion and for people to have the basic freedom to make decisions about their own bodies with medical professionals and without the interference of extremist politicians. In every State where abortion was on the ballot, the American people called for freedom and bodily autonomy.

Now, House Democrats' first action of the 118th Congress is to answer that call. If we defeat the previous question today, the House will take up my bill, the Women's Health Protection Act, which will guarantee abortion rights for everyone in every State.

In the wake of the extremist Supreme Court's devastating decision last summer in Dobbs, Congress must stand up for the rights of every person to be able to make decisions about their own bodies and their own futures.

House Democrats trust people, not politicians, to make decisions about their health and lives.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in defeating the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this bill. It is telling that the very first bill that the new Republican majority brought to the floor aims to protect wealthy tax cheats from following the law.

For a decade, Republicans succeeded in stripping the IRS of the resources it needs to serve the American people, and the result has been frustrating and harmful to workers and families, but it is certainly fantastic for wealthy tax cheats who unfairly kept up to $1 trillion from the IRS every year.

Congressional Democrats reversed this trend when we passed the Inflation Reduction Act. Now, the IRS will finally have the resources it needs to properly audit wealthy taxpayers and corporations with complex returns and ensure that average Americans don't have to wait hours on the phone to fix problems.

Americans deserve an IRS that fulfills its most basic duty to ensure all taxpayers and corporations follow the law and pay their fair share in taxes.

Vote ``no'' on this bill.