Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today I would like to honor Allyson Felix, who lives in my district, for her illustrious track and field career. Ms. Felix finished her 20-year international career by winning bronze and gold medals on U.S. relay teams at the July 15-24 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Ms. Felix holds the distinction of winning more medals than any United States track and field Olympian in history, male or female. She has competed and won in five straight Olympic games, medaling in Athens, Beijing, London, Rio, and Tokyo.

Ms. Felix joined the track team at LA Baptist High School in North Hills, California, mentored by Coach Jonathan Patton. During that time Ms. Felix ran the 200 meter in the Mexico City World Junior Championship, finishing with a time of 22.11 seconds, the fastest recorded time for a high school girl in history.

She won her first silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens while enrolled at the University of Southern California. She went on to graduate with a degree in elementary education.

Her ``firsts'' continued when, at the 2005 Helsinki World Championship, she became the youngest person to win in the 200 meters race. Two years later she defended that title at the 2007 Osaka World Championships and became just the second female athlete to win three gold medals at a single IAAF World Championship in Athletics.

She has also used her platform to speak out on disparities in pay for athletes during and after pregnancy, and disparities in care for Black people giving birth. Her 2019 New York Times op-ed on pregnancy pay discrimination prompted public outcry and a Congressional inquiry. That year, Ms. Felix also testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on Black maternal mortality after suffering life-threatening pre-eclampsia while carrying her daughter.

Ms. Felix has won a total of eleven Olympic medals: one bronze, three silver, and seven gold, including her most recent gold and bronze medals at the Tokyo Olympics. The Nation, our state of California and our city of Los Angeles can feel justifiably proud of her accomplishments both on and off the field.

Madam Speaker, today I celebrate the life and legacy of civil rights activist and Tuskegee Airman G. Mansfield Collins.

Collins was a key figure in the civil rights movement on the west coast. Under his leadership as executive director, the Western Christian Leadership Conference (WCLC) raised more than $6 million in the struggle for civil rights, mostly through fundraisers at the homes of stars like Burt Lancaster, Charlton Heston, and Sammy Davis, Jr., and through events that attracted the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Dick Van Dyke and Mahalia Jackson.

In 1963, Collins played a key role in organizing and coordinating the ``Los Angeles Freedom Rally,'' which drew nearly 40,000 people including many celebrities to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1965, Collins personally chartered four airliners to the Selma-to-Montgomery marches. On one occasion, Dr. King asked him to organize a singing tour for his wife, Coretta Scott King. In August of 1965 during the Watts uprising, an LA Times account credited him with saving the life of a white man targeted by a group of rioters.

Born 102 years ago to Reverend H. Mansfield Collins, a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and Amelia Davis Collins, a former schoolteacher, Gamaliel Mansfield Collins moved to Los Angeles, California at age 15 when his father was appointed to lead at what is now known as First AME Church. Collins attended high school with Tom Bradley, who would become Los Angeles' first Black mayor.

During World War II, Collins was drafted, and assigned to the 2044th Quartermaster Unit. With recommendations from a Congressman and an army general, Collins tested for the segregated Air Force Flight School and became one of the renowned Tuskegee Airmen. Collins' lifelong fight against racism began when, in 1945, he and members of the 447th Bombardment Group attempted to integrate an all-white officers club. This action led to the arrest of 162 black officers.

Honorably discharged, Collins returned to L.A. and his father's church, serving as assistant pastor and musical director, and singing with famed actor and composer Jester Hairston. This led to bit parts in the films Mighty Joe Young, Imitation of Life and Porgy and Bess. By 1961 he had worked with Rev. Maurice Dawkins, Rev. Larry Odom, Bishop H. Hartford Brookins, Rev. John Doggett, Rev. E.V. Hill, and Rev. James Hargett to establish the WCLC.

Some years later, Collins became an AME minister and served out his years with pastorates in Tacoma, Washington; Perris, California; St. Louis, Missouri; and Oakland, California. In 1995, he served as a founding board member and advisor to his daughter, Lisa Collins, in the establishment of L.A. Focus Newspaper, which has become a significant outlet serving the African-American community. I am proud to honor his memory and to share the story of his century of contributions.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7240, the READ Act Reauthorization Act of 2022. This bipartisan bill, I authored with Africa Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Smith, is a straightforward reauthorization of the Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act of 2017, which was signed into law in the 115th Congress.

Madam Speaker, l rise to take note of the history and accomplishments of the Black Stuntmen and Women's Association (BSA). For 55 years, their pioneering efforts paved the way for all minority stuntmen and women to contribute their talents to the American entertainment industry. They have helped assure that television, movies, and other media, which have a global reach, truly reflect our nation.

Founded in 1967 by Eddie Smith with co-founder Alex Brown and the group's first president Ernie Robinson, members would meet after their regular jobs in a park in Compton, California, to train and perfect their stunts for Hollywood. At the time, Caucasian stunt doubles in dark makeup nearly always stood in for Black actors during filming. By organizing together and working with Black actors who wanted more realistic stunt doubles, they effectively pressured producers and directors to change their practices and open the doors to their work.

These were hard-fought battles. BSA filed 32 lawsuits to shed light on systematic discrimination in the film industry. With the help of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and attorney Margaret Ryan Kreeger, BSA won all 32 cases, including a 1976 judgment that ordered major studios to abide by federal mandates against discriminatory hiring, a major victory in an industry that saw itself outside such legal mandates. BSA's efforts ended the common practice of ``paint down'' to match a double to the actor's skin tone, while they also broadened and changed the landscape of the film industry.

Forcing more equitable studio hiring practices not only cracked open the door for Black stunt doubles, but also increased Black and minority participation in many other roles behind the camera, including cinematographers, set and lighting designers, costume and make-up designers, even directors and producers.

BSA's groundbreaking work deserves recognition, especially now that many early members have retired or passed away. While much work remains to assure real equality of opportunity, I commend the BSA for their continuing fight for a Hollywood that reflects all of America.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6552) to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6552, as amended.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6552, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022.

I thank the ranking member of our Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights, Representative Chris Smith, who I have worked closely with for many years to develop this bill. This joint effort has served as a daily reminder that collaboration in Congress is both imperative and far from finished when it comes to combating and eliminating human trafficking.

This legislation is the overdue reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Act of 2000, which expired last September. To continue this essential fight to end global human trafficking, this measure must be passed by the House today so that more than 20 years of work is not undone.

This bill is especially important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when virtual K-12 education made it harder for teachers to identify and report human trafficking, prosecutions of traffickers were delayed as courts closed, and the demand for social services for survivors increased as many of them lost their jobs and homes.

Critically, this reauthorization strengthens provisions in the original bill that protect and support trafficking victims while reauthorizing $1 billion to fund programs across the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services that are dedicated to addressing human trafficking and aiding victims.

This funding includes $35 million in housing assistant grants for the victims of human trafficking, which offer temporary housing that provides trafficking survivors with meaningful alternatives to living with their abusers. It also funds education programs on trafficking warning signs for educators and law enforcement personnel who may otherwise unknowingly encounter trafficking victims. It further requires greater accountability measures to protect people who are trafficked while appropriately punishing traffickers.

In the U.S., the populations most vulnerable to human trafficking include migrant laborers, minorities, people with disabilities, those in the LGBTQ community, and especially runaway and homeless youth and those in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. In regard to sex trafficking, which is where the child welfare system comes in, the average age of the victim is 12 years old.

As a former healthcare professional and chair of the subcommittee, I have been a champion of child welfare issues throughout my time in Congress. I have seen too many instances of human rights violations against children and other vulnerable populations falling victim to the abuses of human trafficking, both in the U.S. and around the world. We must take this issue seriously and continue taking a whole-of- government approach to addressing it.

Sometimes, however, we focus on the international and forget that this is a problem right here in many cities around our Nation. The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act adds several new provisions to the original legislation that will substantially improve our efforts against trafficking here at home while only slightly modifying existing provisions that have been successful throughout its passage.

One important example is the modifications made to existing HHS grants that would train elementary and secondary school teachers, children, guardians, and trainers in the recognition and response to child trafficking. Child trafficking in the U.S. is not labor trafficking, but it is sex trafficking. This section now focuses authorities to ensure that grantees will use proven best practices, trains personnel with equitable approaches, and identifies service gaps, among other things.

It also calls on State child welfare agencies to prioritize the implementation of protocols to report information on missing and abducted children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and law enforcement.

Additionally, the bill requires States to submit annual reports on child sex

trafficking victims to Health and Human Services, which is one of the many steps that we can take to trace, track, and find those missing and, hopefully, create a system that prevents further disappearance of our youth. It is our job to protect those in this country who cannot protect themselves, especially children in the child welfare system. When we remove them from their parents and from their homes, then we the government become the parents, and we cannot be guilty of neglect.

H.R. 6552 strengthens anti-trafficking efforts abroad. Human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry worldwide, with more than 25 million people, women and girls being the largest identified demographic. These numbers are alarming, and I am humbled to be part of a measure that will focus on expanding prevention efforts at USAID by taking steps to further integrate counter-trafficking in persons activities into already existing international development programs.

This bill moves not only to support those who have already fallen victim but also to prevent further trafficking and bring perpetrators to justice. We must swiftly pass this bipartisan measure to protect those who are the most vulnerable among us. It is our duty to stop this heinous crime whenever and wherever it is discovered, whether it be here in the United States or abroad.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, June 14, 2022.

Hon. Gregory Meeks,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Meeks: This letter is to advise you that the

Committee on the Judiciary has now had an opportunity to

review the provisions in H.R. 6552, the ``Frederick Douglass

Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization

Act of 2022,'' that fall within our Rule X jurisdiction. I

appreciate your consulting with us on those provisions. The

Judiciary Committee has no objection to your including them

in the bill for consideration on the House floor, and to

expedite that consideration is willing to forgo action on

H.R. 6552, with the understanding that we do not thereby

waive any future jurisdictional claim over those provisions

or their subject matters.

In the event a House-Senate conference on this or similar

legislation is convened, the Judiciary Committee reserves the

right to request an appropriate number of conferees to

address any concerns with these or similar provisions that

may arise in conference.

Please place this letter into the Congressional Record

during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Thank

you for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked

regarding this matter and others between our committees.

Sincerely,

Jerrold Nadler,

Chairman.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 6552, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Protection and Reauthorization Act, as amended, should be supported by every Member participating in today's vote. This overdue reauthorization strengthens laws that not only support those who have already fallen victim but also prevents the future risk of trafficking both at home here in the U.S. and abroad.

We must supply housing for victims so that they can have a safe place to go when they leave their abusers. We also must ensure that child welfare and foster children are prioritized, particularly young women, girls, and those in the LGBTQ community are protected and aided with resources. Without housing these children often have no choice but to return to their pimps, their traffickers.

Our departments must have the funding they need so they can offer the best training and personnel to respond to this crisis. It is our duty as public servants to protect the vulnerable and stop this heinous crime when and where it is discovered. Human trafficking is a heinous violation of human rights, and we must do everything in our power to combat it, and that includes passing this bill.

Again, I thank the staff who have worked very hard on this. I especially thank the ranking member, as we have worked together for 12 years. As my time in Congress draws to a close, I am very happy that this is one of the last pieces of legislation that we can move forward on together.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, earlier this afternoon, as a co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I was hosting more than 35 young people from all over the country at the National Shadow Day luncheon and I was absent from the first series of votes of the day in the House and missed Roll Call votes 279 and 280. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' on both Roll Call No. 279, the motion to move the previous question on H. Res. 1191; and Roll Call No. 280, H. Res. 1191, the Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 7666--Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022, H.R. 5585--Advanced Research Projects Agency--Health Act, and H.R. 4176--LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act.

Madam Speaker, today, I rise to talk about the nearly half a million young people in our Nation's child welfare system.

Last month was National Foster Care Month, a time for our country to come together to acknowledge the half million people in our system, the hundreds of thousands who work within the system day in and day out, and the millions of adults who have exited the system and are no longer in care.

No one knows the child welfare system like the foster youth who have grown up in the system. Today, the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth and the National Foster Youth Institute have brought more than 35 young people from all over the country to shadow their Members of Congress. I would like to take a second to thank the Members of Congress who are spending this morning learning from a constituent and delegate of the program about their personal experiences and ideas to make impactful change in the child welfare system.

Each year, our participants have a real hand in making change. From the Chafee Grant extensions to the passage of the Families First Prevention Services Act to securing COVID relief for foster youth, this group's voices have changed our child welfare system forever.

As a matter of fact, when COVID first struck and none of us in the country knew what to do, the young people who were members of the National Foster Youth Institute contacted Members of Congress and said: While you are passing legislation to address the pandemic, don't forget us because we have very specific needs. And Members of Congress responded.

When we put together the emergency packages, we took their input. We took specifically what they requested, such as the Chafee Grant extensions and other extensions of programs, and put it into law and made sure that they had resources.

The reality is this: When the government removes children from their parents, the government becomes that child's parent. Too often, the government forgets this commitment, and life goes on for those not in the child welfare system; but for those in it, they come to feel trapped and forgotten.

These young people here today have traveled thousands of miles to share their stories of their challenges with abuse, trafficking, overmedication, and homelessness. In addition, they are sharing their successes with mentorship, adoption, family reunification, community activism, and independent living. They are resilient and have the ability to navigate challenges in their life and succeed, even in spite of their hardships. Their goal is to leave Congress with a better understanding of the reality faced today by our Nation's youth in care.

I will share some words from Xandra Ruby Vaughn, who is shadowing me this morning. She told me just yesterday that her time in care helped shape the person she is today. While in care, she saw that resources for foster youth, especially when it came to education, were hard to find and hard to access. She manages a Facebook page of resources for foster youth of all ages, assisting them with finding and assessing

housing support, educational funds, and mental health services.

While in college, she experienced firsthand the impact of age requirements for former foster youth to receive assistance, a problem she would like lawmakers to pay attention to, to better help the former foster youth in our district.

There are several other young people that are here with me today. Jennifer Martinez is a former foster youth from Los Angeles who is now a foster youth advocate.

Amber Rosado-Esteves entered the child welfare system when she was 14 and aged out when she was 18, and now she is very successful in college.

Anthony Vizcarrondo spent 10 years in foster care, from the ages of 6 to 16, in California's Central Valley. His placements included foster homes and juvenile hall. Anthony is a strong foster youth advocate who is focused on expanding educational opportunities and child welfare reform.

Between her placements in foster care and being behind by 19 credits, Lucinda ``Lucy'' Langley thought she had no chance of graduating high school. But after years of hard work, that is exactly what she did.

Sapphire Murphy Powell also joined us all the way from New Zealand.

We need to understand, as a country, and as a Congress, that when we address the child welfare system, this is a way of preventing these children from becoming homeless. In the city of Los Angeles alone, we have 50,000 people who sleep on the street every night. We have tents all over our city, and in those tents, there are thousands of young people who aged out of the foster care system when they were 18 or 21. Essentially, what we have done as a society is cut them off of resources, and they wind up on the streets, they wind up incarcerated, or they wind up trafficked. This is a failure of the system, the system that we are responsible for.

Our country is the richest country in the history of the world, and there is no excuse for us not to take care of the half million young people in the foster care system. This is why we need to transform the system.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to acknowledge the legacy of Earl ``Skip'' Cooper II as he retires from the Black Business Association of Los Angeles.

For the last 50 years, Skip Cooper has fought tirelessly to break down barriers and uplift not only African American businesses, but all minority businesses. He has developed programs to assure that businesspeople, artists, and entrepreneurs had access to the financing, contracting, mentoring, and support that it takes to succeed, and he has served as an advisor to both the Latin and Asian business associations in Los Angeles prior to their formation. As a result, he has played a pivotal role in the success of countless businesses across the Los Angeles region.

Young Skip had a newspaper delivery route by age I0, and he never forgot the power of relationships and mentoring. Skip would go on to serve as a medic in the Vietnam War, and he returned home from service to study at Oakland's Merritt College, where he became one of the first in the country to earn an AA degree in African American Studies. He would later earn bachelor's and MBA degrees as well.

Early in his career, Skip interned at a Los Angeles area minority business resource center where he saw the need to promote and support minority-owned businesses. At the end of Skip's internship, he joined the staff of what became the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. where, as program manager, Skip oversaw a state initiative that helped minority owned businesses secure purchasing contracts with public and private sector organizations. That led him to join the BBA where, in 1976, he embarked on its first trade mission to Washington, D.C.

Over decades of advocacy, Skip has had a significant role in the passage and implementation of legislation and regulations at the federal, state and local levels. He worked closely with legislators, especially the late California Asm. Gwen Moore and the late U.S. Rep. Parren Mitchell, to pass laws to address the historic disadvantage of minority businesses that had been shut out of public and private programs and funding opportunities.

The BBA will continue its annual salutes to Black history, Black women and Black music, its twice-annual veterans' procurement conference, and its e-commerce venture: a Black business shopping guide, all of which will further Skip's legacy, and his lifelong commitment to economic empowerment for people of color.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to celebrate the life and legacy of jazz and blues artist Barbara Morrison, founder of the California Jazz and Blues Museum in Leimert Park.

At age 10, Barbara recorded her first radio performance, and moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s at the age of 21. During her historic career she released numerous albums and performed alongside legendary musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Etta James, Tony Bennett, Nancy Wilson, and Dr. John. A three-time GRAMMY nominee, Barbara's wide vocal range and her soulful interpretations of jazz and blues classics resonated deeply with audiences across the globe.

Over her six-decade career, Barbara dedicated her life to her music and her community. In 2009, she founded the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center in Leimert Park, a hub of African American arts and culture in my district. There she provided music lovers with the opportunity to hear live jazz, blues, and soul music from musicians around the world. Two years later, she created the California Jazz & Blues Museum in the same location.

Barbara also nurtured new talent and fostered a love of music in young people, including with nocost music and voice lessons for children. The Center and the Museum offer gathering places where lovers can come together, collaborate and learn.

Committed to teaching, Barbara's work extended to academia. She served as an adjunct associate professor of global jazz studies at the Herb Alpert School of Music at the University of California, Los Angeles. As a UCLA professor and as a music teacher in Leimert Park, Barbara's joy for music brought generations together. Barbara led with compassion and grace, and used music to heal and uplift her community. In celebration of April as International Jazz Month, the Center plans to honor Barbara Morrison's music, spirit, and significant contributions to the City's artistic history and its future. I'm proud to know that her legacy will live on.

Madam Speaker, Lunar New Year is a time of celebration for so many people in Los Angeles and millions around the world.

As we welcome the Year of the Tiger--a symbol of bravery--we honor the history and heritage of the Asian Pacific Islander communities across America and stand in support and active defense in the face of challenges,

like the rise of anti-Asian violence and hate.

Over the past 2 years, I have been greatly alarmed and concerned by what I have seen and heard from businessowners, restaurant owners, teachers, parents, and young people in my district and across the country.

To honor the celebration of the Lunar New Year, I have cosponsored legislation led by my colleague Grace Meng to make Lunar New Year a Federal holiday in the U.S.

I want to wish everyone warm wishes of health, success, and happiness in the years ahead. Though many were not able to gather in person with their families to celebrate this week, we continue to forge ahead in our recovery from the pandemic.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes a local hire provision that I offered to allow local transportation projects like the Los Angeles Metro to prioritize the hiring of local Angelenos for projects that are taking place in their own backyard.

My district has recently had two major construction projects. On the Westside, it is the Purple Line, which is going to connect UCLA to downtown L.A. In South L.A., it is the Crenshaw Line, which is going to bring a vital means of public transportation to neighborhoods historically neglected when it comes to economic investment.

It really didn't make sense that people living in the neighborhoods where the projects were going through could not be prioritized for the jobs. That is why this provision is so important.

With the local hire provision signed into law, people in Los Angeles neighborhoods can be prioritized for jobs in L.A. We are bringing thousands of well-paying jobs to Los Angeles and putting tax dollars back into the communities that paid for the projects in the first place.

Madam Speaker, I am marking the passing of education pioneer and advocate Saundra W. Davis, a leader who spent decades working to assure that all children in Culver City, and in Los Angeles more broadly, have access to a high-quality education. I had the privilege of meeting her as I began service in the California Assembly and I have long admired her dedication to public service.

The first African American ever elected to public office in Culver City, she won a seat on the Culver City School Board in 2000 and served two terms, rising to serve as its president. Mrs. Davis' accomplishment marked a significant milestone in Culver City's journey to become one of the most progressive municipalities in the region. She remained active in Culver City throughout her life.

She made progress on closing the achievement gap for students of color, and went on to found Community Centers Inc., (CCI) a 40-year-old non-profit in South Los Angeles to provide services in computer literacy, adult education, and immigration advocacy.

Wife to Bilson Davis and mother to eight children, Dr. Davis had an early passion for education and never stopped learning herself. After graduating Crenshaw High School, she earned numerous degrees and certifications throughout her life and eventually received an honorary doctorate. She held a California Teaching Credential and served as director of Holy Temple Christian Elementary School, and later worked as a parent educator for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Mrs. Davis won several awards for her community and advocacy work including: an NAACP Emerging Leader award; the Delta Sigma Theta Woman of Honor award; the City of Los Angeles 8th District Woman of the Year. She leaves behind a significant legacy of community improvement and she will be missed.

Madam Speaker, as he retires I rise to commemorate the career of a pioneer and advocate in drug treatment, Michael N. Watanabe. Mike and I became friends during the time that the crack cocaine epidemic devastated neighborhoods across Los Angeles, but his dedication to serving those struggling with addiction goes back much further.

Even as a high schooler in the 1960s, Mike had seen friends and neighbors of all races suffer and even die from drug overdoses. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1969, where he served as a Huey helicopter Crew Chief in Vietnam. His experiences there gave him further insight into the role that substances like drugs and alcohol play in people's lives. He emerged from his transition back to civilian life with a determination to help people. That led him to pursue a degree in social work at UCLA, earning a scholarship through the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

In 1975 he joined the staff of the Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP). With offices in the heart of the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles, AADAP had been founded to assist Asians, Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities. Mike quickly saw opportunities to extend services, and to treat the whole person. He has dedicated 46 years of his life to AADAP, 39 of those years as the head of the organization.

During his tenure, AADAP grew from a small grassroots organization with 20 staff to a large, comprehensive service agency with over 120 professional staff serving a significant portion of Los Angeles County through ten service sites. AADAP boasts an impressive track record, serving all races and cultures, and offering residential and outpatient treatment, family support, job training, and a wide spectrum of programs providing prevention, intervention, and diversion services for substance use disorders.

In his nearly half-century of service, Mike has also leant his expertise to numerous national, state and local organizations and commissions. He has given workshops, seminars, testimony, and consultations to anyone who could benefit from his experience and vision for change. He has received innumerable awards and recognitions for his work as an educator, clinician and leader, including an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (LHD) degree from his undergraduate alma mater, California State University Northridge.

Countless lives have changed for the better due to Mike's work. Now, as he hands over the reins of this vital organization, I wish him and his family the very best, and I look forward to the next chapter of his life.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Meeks, Ranking Member McCaul, and Ranking Member Smith for bringing this important legislation encouraging reunions of divided Korean-American families to the House floor today.

H. Res. 294 is a bipartisan resolution that calls on the United States and North Korea to begin the process of reuniting Korean- American divided family members with their immediate relatives by identifying the families in the U.S. and North Korea who are willing and able to participate, finding matches for members of such families through organizations such as the Red Cross, and working with the Government of South Korea to include American citizens in inter-Korean video reunions.

Both Representative Kim and I have heard or know the awful stories of constituents who were divided from family members for nearly 70 years. A couple of years ago I had a constituent in my office who was quite elderly, and he was very concerned that he actually was not going to live to see his siblings that he has not been able to see for many decades.

This resolution also urges the restoration of contact between the divided families physically, literarily, or virtually, and calls on the U.S. and North Korea to pursue reunions as a humanitarian priority of immediate concern.

When the Korean War Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953, it was meant to be a temporary measure. There has been relative peace between North and South Korea, but tensions remain volatile, and the border separating them is heavily militarized. More than 10 million families, including those who are now U.S. citizens, have been divided, and we must do everything we can to prevent this from continuing.

Representative Kim and I agree that Korean Americans should not have to wait another day, let alone another 70 years to meet their family members who live in North Korea. The bipartisan support shows that this resolution wants to support the administration and find a sustainable solution to this important issue.

I want to thank Representative Kim and many of my other colleagues on both sides of the aisle for cosponsoring H. Res. 294.

Mr. Speaker, once again I thank the chairman and the ranking member for bringing H.R. 1079, the Desert Locust Control Act to the House floor today. As chair of the subcommittee, I am glad to colead this important bill with Ranking Member Smith.

Ranking Member Smith has been the lead on this issue for several years. The current Desert Locust Control issue, which predominantly plagues East Africa, is the worst it has been in 70 years, and is causing serious famine and instability in the region.

During a recent House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, USAID Administrator Samantha Power confirmed the need to address the millions of people facing food scarcity. This is compounded with the global resurgence of a new COVID-19 variant; although, in Africa, most people do not yet have access to the vaccine. So this is not just an issue of a pest; this is an issue that affects health systems, child education, local economies, and political stability.

H.R. 1079 is a great first step to alleviate the locust problem in East Africa by aiming to set up an interagency working group to develop a strategy on combating the locust by meeting periodically and annually, and reporting progress to Congress. This bill would also allow the interagency working group to review the effectiveness of regional and multilateral efforts to control the desert locust outbreak and the coordination among relevant U.S. Government agencies, regional governments, and international organizations, including the World Food Program and the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Smith for his leadership on this bill, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support