Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I am saddened to report the passing of the Right Reverend Coral Garnett Henning, Sr., a giant of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, a devoted defender of the less- fortunate, a tireless advocate for the empowerment of African Americans, and an unfailing friend of Africa.

Elected as the 112th Bishop of the AME Church in 1992, he had already served (and grown) congregations in his native Tennessee, as well as Kansas, Missouri and California, including Ward AME Church in my district. While assigned to Los Angeles from 1972-80, he worked to further economic development, education, the arts and civil rights, and Mayor Tom Bradley appointed him to head the Los Angeles Housing Commission twice. Wherever he went, Bishop Henning devoted his considerable talent, energy and intellect to ecumenical outreach, mentoring, political engagement, and supporting education. He also developed a well-deserved reputation for building and strengthening institutions.

Assigned to Africa in 1992 to serve the 14th Episcopal District--West Africa, he fortified both the church and education all over the region. He built Bethel AME Church in Ghana; in Cote d'Ivoire, he established C. Garnett Henning, Jr. Memorial High School in honor of his late son; and he founded AME University in Monrovia, which today is the second- largest university in Liberia. Assigned to the 19th Episcopal District--South Africa in 1996, he continued to create and build, both programs and structures, including re-opening the nearly century-old Wilberforce Institute (now Wilberforce Community College) which had been closed by South Africa's apartheid government.

Though he would continue to support African projects, he returned to the United States in 2000 when he was assigned to the 8th Episcopal District, which includes Mississippi and Louisiana. There, too, he did what he did best, but was called to extraordinary service when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. He would go on to administer millions of dollars to restore damaged churches and sustain ministers and members of the district in the wake of that historic disaster. He was also appointed to the National Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, a committee that oversaw distribution of more than $70 million. He successfully supervised the restoration of 49 out of 51 churches damaged by Katrina: In 2008 he received his last assignment, to the 3rd Episcopal District, from which he retired in 2012, freeing him to continue advocacy matters close to his heart, which is what he was doing the last time he came to see me.

His considerable legacy will benefit generations to come. I mourn with his widow, Ernestine Lee Henning, a leader in her own right, and his family, friends and colleagues. I am grateful to have known him, and grateful for all he has left us.

Mr. Speaker, May marks National Foster Care Month, a time for our country to come together to acknowledge the half million people in our child welfare system.

No one knows the child welfare system like the foster youth who have grown up in the system, and no one can raise their voices like foster youth voices.

Today, the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth and the National Foster Youth Institute have brought together more than 100 young people from every corner of the country here, to Washington, D.C., to shadow their Members of Congress.

The young people here today have traveled thousands of miles to share their stories, their challenges with abuse, trafficking, overmedication, or homelessness, but in addition, to share their successes with education accomplishments, mentorship, adoption, family unification, and community activism.

With me here today, from Los Angeles, is Megan Simon. She is 24 years old, and she was placed in foster care when she was only 1 year old. She was raised by her grandparents, and she has two other siblings who were involved in the system. She is actively involved in the National Foster Youth Institute Leadership Corps, where she attends meetings every Thursday night. She is an advocate and someone who wants to use her pain and her experience to make changes in the child welfare system.

She is a student at Los Angeles Trade Tech College, and she says that she is a leader, she is a survivor, and she is a winner, not because she wins every battle, but because she never stops fighting.

Mr. Speaker, too often the government--us--forgets our children. I hope that today's Shadow Day continues our fight to reverse that course.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the FIRST STEP Act.

There are thousands of women who are incarcerated while pregnant. My language in the FIRST STEP Act addresses the treatment of pregnant inmates and the use of shackles.

The current system is based on a male model that fails to meet the physical and mental health needs of women. This is occurring at a time when women are the fastest growing population in our prisons and jails, increasing in number by over 700 percent since the 1980s.

The treatment of incarcerated women is particularly glaring during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum. Pregnant women must be provided appropriate prenatal care, which includes nutrition and housing.

We can also agree it defies common sense and logic to use shackles on a woman who is delivering a baby. More than 22 States have restricted the use on pregnant women, yet the practice continues. This is despite no reported incidents of women attempting to escape when shackles are not used during childbirth. If anyone knows of a woman who is able to jump up while delivering and overcome an armed guard, I would certainly like to meet her.

Women across the country have shared their horror stories about being pregnant or delivering while shackled. The experiences are as grim as you can imagine. One mother recounted being shackled after having an emergency C-section. She was handcuffed and a chain was linked across her belly.

She stated: ``With the weight on my stomach, it felt like they were ripping open my C-section.''

We must institute Federal standards and educate correction officers, medical personnel, and pregnant inmates regarding the standard of care for pregnant women. Women must be a part of the debate on prison and sentencing reform.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to introducing additional legislation to highlight this issue.

The FAA SoCal Metroplex project has dramatically changed flight paths into Los Angeles International Airport, effectively cramming traffic from a six-lane highway in the sky into a single lane.

Constituents in my district now have low-altitude flights over their heads, sometimes every 3 minutes. Parents have reported that aircraft noise wakes up their children, movie studios in my district report that the noise has made it very difficult to film outdoors on their lots, which poses a major economic threat.

Guided by my constituents, I proposed and supported over 30 amendments to the FAA reauthorization. I am glad to report that a terminal sequencing spacing amendment that was crafted specifically by constituents in my district passed yesterday. However, more needs to be done, and I will continue to urge this body to do more to fix this problem.

The constant barrage of noise has real measurable costs in disrupted sleep, lost property values, and business disruption for thousands of people in my district. We cannot allow airline efficiency to come at the sacrifice of the health and well-being of those on the ground.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Music Modernization Act. I also come from one of those districts that is a hub.

After meeting with songwriters and producers in my district and listening to their testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, it is clear we risk losing the next generation of songwriters if we do not address the rate standards for digital streaming.

Recently, I met with world-renown songwriter, Paul Williams, and I have had open discussions with hundreds of songwriters from around the country. Songwriters from my district have voiced that it is nearly impossible to earn a fair income via digital streaming. They are usually not the famous performers and cannot go on tour to earn a living.

Over 50 percent of their income is derived from licensing performance rights to their music. One of my constituents, Michelle Lewis, shared that she made just $3.78 for 1.3 million streams of her work on one streaming service. As the Grammy Award winning artist and songwriter Ne-Yo stated: ``Even if you write a hit song that's streamed millions of times, you're still not going to earn enough to pay the rent from streaming. And that's where the entire industry is moving,'' which

is why I support the Songwriters Equity Act, AMP, the CLASSICS Act, and

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 128, Supporting Respect for Human Rights and Encouraging Inclusive Governance in Ethiopia, and I want to thank our committee chair, Mr. Smith, for his many years of effort in this direction.

The resolution calls on the government of Ethiopia to take clear, decisive steps towards becoming more inclusive, more democratic, and more respectful of the basic human rights of its citizens.

Ethiopia is an important partner of the U.S. in many arenas, including regional security, especially through its contributions to international peacekeeping.

Over the past few years, Ethiopia has made significant strides in addressing poverty and expanding economic development. The country has also addressed significant challenges in global health and food security. These are extremely important gains.

We are here today, however, because the country continues to have a way to go, especially in the arenas of inclusive governance and respect for human rights.

Since November 2015, there have been ongoing protests in Ethiopia's largest region of Oromia. These protests expanded to the Amhara region in August 2016. In response, security forces have used live ammunition to disperse largely peaceful protests, killing hundreds and arresting tens of thousands.

Activists, journalists, and others have also faced repeated arrests.

The Ethiopian Government has responded by imposing a state of emergency that included curfews and restrictions on the assembly, expression, and movement of its citizens. Meanwhile, earlier this year, the government began releasing prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists, and protesters. The government also focused on an infamous detention center. Of course, this is a step in the right direction.

We are also encouraged by the recent transfer of power. The new prime minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, recently delivered a speech where he highlighted that the government plans to address unity and national reconciliation as well as good governance based on the rule of law. It also seeks to crack down on corruption.

Again, this is encouraging and it could be an important turning point for the country that could provide an opportunity to widen the political space, but what remains concerning, however, is that Ethiopia is still under a state of emergency, and just last month, the defense minister announced the arrest of a number of individuals who they say were linked to protests.

We encourage the Government of Ethiopia to keep the positive momentum going by lifting the state of emergency, ensuring freedom of expression and assembly, and opening up democratic space.

The current challenges facing Ethiopia are best addressed through inclusive discourse and political processes rather than through the imposition of restrictions.

Mr. Speaker, I therefore encourage Members to vote in favor of this resolution that supports respect for human rights and encourages inclusive governance in Ethiopia.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to salute His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo and the people of Ghana on the occasion of President Akufo- Addo's visit to the United States.

Ghana tops many lists of Africa's most peaceful and stable democracies, boasting an uninterrupted series of free and fair elections since 1992 that have seen power change hands between the two major parties three times. Freedom House ranks Ghana first on the continent for political and civil liberties. It was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of its people in extreme poverty, achieving this milestone well ahead of the 2015 target. The World Bank places Ghana first in its West African sub-region for ease of doing business.

Since his election, economic growth has surged from 3.6 percent to 7.9 percent. The World Bank projects an additional increase of 8.3 percent in 2018, making Ghana one of the world's fastest-growing economies. At the same time, Ghana's budget deficit as a proportion of GDP has been slashed from 9.3 percent to 5.6 percent even as the government has cut taxes. That would become an international cultural landmark. The school appeared in many movies and television shows until 1971, when portions sustained damage in the Sylmar earthquake, and then were ravaged by fire while awaiting assessment and repair.

Underpinned by a rich endowment of oil, gold and cocoa, Ghana's $43 billion economy

is becoming increasingly diversified. Expansion outside the commodity sector and renewed confidence in the government's ability to manage its finances are seen by analysts as key drivers of the country's current performance and growing attractiveness as a destination for the U.S. and other investors.

During President Akufo-Addo's American visit, he will receive an Exemplary Leadership award from: The Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa; AllAfrica Foundation; The Constituency for Africa; The Corporate Council on Africa; Invest Africa USA; The U.S. Chamber of Commerce/U.S.-Africa Business Center; Africare; and The Whitaker Group. I stand with them to honor his work as Ghana continues to be a beacon of hope, a model for democracy and a leader on the African continent.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3445, AGOA and MCA Modernization Act.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Millennium Challenge Corporation have proven track records of spurring economic development. Expanding these programs advances our position as international leaders, strengthens our domestic job market and economy, while protecting our national security interests.

Trade and development go hand in hand. U.S. investments around the world increases trade opportunities and opens new markets for U.S. goods and services. Africa's consumer spending is expected to reach $1 trillion.

We must act now in order to solidify this important trade relationship. If we fail to act, rest assured that other nations are ready, willing, and able to fill our void. We have the opportunity through AGOA and MCA to advance stability, security, and business growth on the continent and here at home.

This is in our best interest. That is why I joined my colleagues, Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and Representative Smith, to introduce H.R. 3445, the AGOA and MCA Modernization Act earlier this year.

Moving developing countries away from foreign aid and towards trade also helps U.S. manufacturers, farmers, and small businesses. We are building long-term trading partners for our goods and services. By using trade, we can also address the root causes of violent extremism and terrorism. This legislation strengthens the AGOA and the MCA--key laws in the effort to promote U.S.-Africa trade.

For example, AGOA and MCA gives MCC greater flexibility to promote trade, collaboration, and economic integration by allowing up to two simultaneous compacts with an eligible country. This is important because, as most of us know, African countries are still grappling with the legacy of colonialism.

For example, only a few hundred miles separate Lagos, Nigeria, from Accra, Ghana. In the United States, traveling this distance would take a few hours. For traders on the continent, the same trip can take up to a full day. They have to contend with inadequate roads, arduous border checks, or high tariffs.

MCC recently signed a compact with Cote d'Ivoire, an economic and cultural hub in west Africa and a longtime strategic and economic partner of the U.S. This compact will diversify the nation's economy by targeting two constraints to growth: access to a skilled workforce and the mobility of goods and people in the nation's capital, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire's commercial capital.

The Transport Project will focus on rehabilitating key roads in the capital to enable people and goods to move freely throughout the busy city and its strategic port. With 20 percent of the nation's population living in the capital, unlocking congestion will create opportunities to buy and sell products, expand businesses, improve access to key services, and open up greater trade. This compact is expected to benefit more than 11 million people. In a country where more than half of the population is under the age of 24, it will help to shape a strong, stable future for Cote d'Ivoire.

This compact is all about creating opportunities and stabilities for citizens and businesses in Cote d'Ivoire, west Africa, and in the U.S. By making coordinated investments across countries, MCC could help these nations work together to grow regional markets and facilitate trade. Passage of this bill in the House is an important step toward increasing regional integration across Africa, advancing stability and security and opening new markets for trade.

I believe strongly that it is in our economic and political interest to expand our economic relationships with the nations of Africa. I have said this before and I will continue to reiterate this point. I also believe that the African Growth and Opportunity Act is the key to development of stronger, mutually beneficial economic relations between this country and African nations.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to echo the praise heaped on my friend and mentor, Janice V. Tramel, over the past weekend at a surprise ceremony held by the University of Southern California (USC) honoring her 40 years of service to her patients, to nursing and to the profession of Physician Assistant (PA). She was instrumental in my own training as a Physician Assistant, first as a professor, then as a mentor, and eventually as a close friend.

A California native, Mrs. Tramel completed both a vocational nursing and registered nursing program prior to graduating from the USC Primary Care Physician Assistant Program in

1977 and joining the faculty two years later. Having learned under her, I later felt very proud to become her colleague on the PA faculty. As Director of Clinical Education from July 2013 through May 2017, she oversaw the clinical curriculum, clinical site development and student placements. She now holds PA-C Emeritus status.

Her passion as an educator has benefitted generations of students, not just locally but at the state and national levels.

She has served as a curriculum consultant, visiting lecturer, site visitor for the Accreditation Review Commission on Education of the Physician Assistant, and grant reviewer with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Bureau of Health Professions. She was a gubernatorial appointee to the State of California Physician Assistant Committee, now known as the PA Board, from 1982 to 1992, serving as Committee Chair from 1987. But she has always returned to work with and for the underserved communities of Los Angeles.

Her specialties include family medicine, adolescent medicine, women's health, occupational health, as well as quality assurance and utilization review. Her research interests include evaluation of student performance, faculty development, learning styles, educational methodology and technology and standardized testing. In May 2012, she was inducted into the Pi Alpha National Honor Society for Physician Assistants. Not content to serve others in her professional life, she has been an active volunteer with disadvantaged young adults, community health and geriatric wellness programs.

I salute Janice Tramel for her lifelong commitment to serving and uplifting others, and for four decades of working to provide outstanding health care and train succeeding generations of care providers.

Mr. Speaker, Los Angeles has lost a great leader, a champion for accessible, affordable housing and a true community visionary: David Surmier Cunningham, Jr. Dave Cunningham made major contributions to our city, including serving on the Los Angeles City Council with distinction, honor and dignity from 1973 to 1986, succeeding Tom Bradley when he became Mayor. Dave Cunningham and Tom Bradley would remain close allies throughout their lives.

Among the first African American elected leaders in the city, Mr. Cunningham represented a district that included Koreatown, the Latino neighborhood of Pico-Union, the heavily Jewish district of Fairfax, and the majority African American community of West Adams. I was proud to be a constituent, and later to represent many of the same diverse communities that he served.

Mr. Cunningham had a remarkable and widely varied career. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a cartographer until 1960, the same year he says he was bitten by the political bug, when he attended the historic Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles and saw John Kennedy win the nomination for president.

He earned a Bachelor's degree in economics and political science at the University of California, Riverside in 1962, and then was selected for a Coro Foundation Public Affairs internship with Assemblyman Charles Warren. The next year he moved to the private sector and spent three years in Lagos, Nigeria as West Africa regional manager for the Dukane Corporation.

On return to the U.S., he managed community relations for Hughes Aircraft for a year before forming a government consulting partnership in 1968 that would be his focus for the next five years, along with earning a Master's degree in Urban Studies from Occidental College. In 1973 he won the responsibility of representing Los Angeles' 10th City Council District.

As a City Councilmember, Mr. Cunningham took on pressing issues from opposing drilling in Santa Monica Bay to leading a campaign to divest the city's holdings in apartheid-era South Africa. He is perhaps best known for his fierce advocacy for improving the education of African American students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and for pioneering policies that significantly increased affordable housing in the city, including for seniors and citizens returning after incarceration.

He chaired the committee focused on housing and community development, and he called on federal housing officials to put thousands of boarded-up homes owned by the government back into use. He also used his committee role to encourage minority hiring at investment banks that sought work with the city. In the early 1980s, he was a key ally in Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky's crusade to shut down the Los Angeles Police Department's infamous Public Disorder Intelligence Division, which kept files on civil rights organizations and other activist and civic groups.

After his city council service, he continued his housing focus, both in the private sector as an investment banker, and through a leadership position with the Community Housing Equity Corporation. Mr. Cunningham cultivated strong relationships with constituents, in particular asking his Chief of Staff Maxine Waters and aide Geneva Cox to work with the women of the district to develop leadership skills and harness the considerable energy and creativity of those women to improve the lives of people living in the district. The 10th Council District Women's Steering Committee continues its service to this day.

In 1988 he formed the government relations consulting firm, Dave Cunningham and Associates, that would be his focus for the next three decades, serving clients from small entrepreneurs and giant corporations like Hertz. His devotion to service later in his life included his role as state president of the Black American Public Affairs Committee (BAPAC), continuing his advocacy for equity, civil rights, economic development and community empowerment.

A man for all seasons, Mr. Cunningham was an accomplished jazz musician who played bass in a band, and he even appeared in a Chris Rock movie.

My thoughts are with Mr. Cunningham's son, my friend Judge David S. Cunningham, III, and the rest of his loving family and friends. To those of us who were fortunate enough to cross Dave's path, he offered guidance, wisdom and insight. He will be sorely missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Trinity Baptist Church. Founded on November 11, 1917 as a Sunday school group of three adults and fifteen children, Trinity Baptist has grown into an abundant congregation, housed on a church campus that includes a lovely sanctuary, built in 1962 and designed by renowned African American architect Paul Williams.

Rev. Alvin Tunstill, Jr. is the ninth pastor to lead the congregation and only the fourth senior pastor in the last 80 years. Under his leadership, ten clergy members and a cadre of deacons, deaconesses and other lay leaders serve the congregation.

Clergy, staff and volunteers oversee a wealth of ministries, including those that focus on women; fitness, health, and wellness; a hot lunch program; homelessness outreach; summer youth employment; and education, including college scholarships. Church programs aim to build lasting bonds of service between members of the church, and they play an important role in making resources available to the mainly African- American congregation and to the surrounding Jefferson Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles.

Today, Trinity has partnerships with national organizations like the American Cancer Society, and it has sponsored sister organizations, including the Trinity Community Development Corporation, in order to tackle issues ranging from obesity to computer illiteracy and to pursue solutions like affordable housing to gang prevention.

Commitment to its faith has helped to guide the Trinity Baptist community in its mission of service for a century now. I applaud the strong bonds that knit this community together, and I wish the congregation, both leaders and flock, the very best as it embarks on the church's second century.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my dissatisfaction at the majority's failure to allow consideration of amendments I proposed to the appropriations bill that include funding for the FAA. The Rules Committee did not forward those items so my colleagues could consider and vote on them.

My amendments represent beginning steps toward addressing what has become an intolerable level of noise from planes in my district. The amendments will not see debate in this body, however, despite the fact that noise affects the health, well-being, and economic livelihood of people in every part of the country, whether they are Republicans or Democrats.

When Congress directed the FAA to update how we control our airways, we were promised that, by reworking the Nation's airspace and using satellite technology instead of radars, our Nation's flight system would become not only more efficient, but cleaner and quieter.

Next Generation systems were supposed to allow virtually automated air traffic control, eliminate circling overhead waiting for a landing slot, and facilitate smooth gliding flight descents without noisy engine power. Plus, planes would be able to stay higher longer, and FAA's published flight procedures would specify minimum altitudes over heavily populated areas, meant to ensure that effects on the ground were minimized.

That is not what we got. Eight of the country's busiest and most complex metropolitan areas, called metroplexes, have seen NextGen implementation so far. Phoenix, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C., are just a few of the metroplex victims who have decided to take legal action against the FAA. The D.C. Circuit Court recently ruled in the Phoenix case, noting that the FAA had not paid enough attention to the effects of its actions.

In every case, noise that used to be spread out across a wide area became concentrated over narrowed corridors, visiting misery on those living below. The best analogy I can offer is this: Imagine that all of the traffic using a 6-lane highway was narrowed to a single lane. The concentration of that much traffic would surely cause considerable problems.

Well, that is exactly what has happened in the southern California metroplex implementation. Areas that used to see planes flying overhead every 15 or 20 minutes now feel bombarded by flights as close together as every 3 minutes or less.

As you can imagine, sometimes those planes and narrowed highways might get too close together. Air traffic controllers have to keep minimum separation for the safety of all involved. But in order to adhere to that narrowed lane, controllers tell the pilots to deviate from the flight path by going downward. Sometimes they fly at half, or less, of what the minimum altitude is supposed to be. So planes that are supposed to fly at 6,000 feet may fly as low as 3,000 feet at a frequency of every 3 to 5 minutes. I hope that you can appreciate that that noise is intolerable.

Film production of all types, whether TV commercials, movies, or videos, is an economic driver in my district. The neighborhoods of the 37th Congressional District have been used to represent cities and towns across the continent.

Though you might not know it, I am sure you have seen both Culver City and the historic West Adams district, built over 100 years ago, in some of your favorite TV shows and movies. Unfortunately, the movie studios of Culver City and the homes of West Adams are directly under the new, narrowed flight path. Studios are complaining about having to move production from their back lots because of the noise.

I have elderly constituents who have lived in their neighborhoods for decades and who rely on income from location filming to help them remain in their homes. Film scouts have told them that the frequent loud plane traffic makes it impossible to film there anymore.

At this point, countless American and European health studies have demonstrated the harms that come from exposure to noise--and at much lower levels than that experienced by people on the ground. The arbitrary and outdated 65 decibel day/night level that the FAA uses to determine acceptable levels of exposure is calculated at an average of sound over a 24-hour period.

Parents with young children have told me that their kids' sleep patterns have been disrupted by unrelenting noise, enough to alter their academic performance.

A health clinic serving the affected areas has begun to investigate whether a spike in reported health problems, including poor control of chronic conditions like hypertension, can be related to the constant exposure to excessive noise.

The European Union standard for noise exposure at night is half of the U.S. level and is still cause for health concerns there.

In the absence of consideration of my amendments, I invite my colleagues to join me and nearly 40 other colleagues in the House Quiet Skies Caucus, which is working to make progress on this important issue.

My constituents and I know many of my colleagues' constituents are suffering under the burden of excessive airplane noise as a result of the implementation of the FAA's Next Generation project. We cannot and must not sacrifice the health of those on the ground in the name of airline efficiency.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the accomplishments of Lieutenant General Stayce D. Harris, Assistant Vice Chief of Staff in the United States Air Force.

Born in Los Angeles, California, to a military family, Stayce Harris grew up with a love for traveling. In 1977 she earned an Air Force Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship to study engineering at the University of Southern California (USC).

On graduation with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering in 1981, Harris received a commission in the United States Air Force. She served on active duty until 1991 when she joined the Air Force Reserve. Her military career spanning more than 35 years has included many ground-breaking firsts. For example, in January 2001, she became the first black woman to command a flying squadron in the Air Force. She has earned a number of decorations including the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Aerial Achievement Medal, to name only a few.

Harris has sent an example for future generations of women in aviation and STEM fields, including through her involvement with professional associations, like the Air Force Association, Reserve Officers Association, Air Force Sergeants Association, Tuskegee Airmen Inc., Women Military Aviators, and the American Legion. Not only is she a decorated member of the military, she went on to fly in the private airline industry, one of the few female commercial pilots, and one of the first women to be an airline captain.

On August 19, 2016 Harris was named Lieutenant General, thereby becoming the first African-American woman to hold a three star rank in the Air Force. Her leadership and accomplishments have led her alma mater, USC, to create the Stayce D. Harris Award. Every year, the award is given to an ROTC cadet who exhibits extraordinary perseverance in the face of adversity.

Today, Harris continues to serve our country with grace and dedication. I wish her many years of continued success and achievement.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the accomplishments and service of Los Angeles Police Department Detective Sha'Quana Hall- Pounders.

One of the few Black women to reach the rank of Chief Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Sha'Quana Hall-Pounders delivered security and threat assessment briefings to senior Pentagon officials. As a law-enforcement officer, then-Special Agent Hall-Pounders served to protect senior White House officials at important events in our nation's capital and abroad. On returning to Los Angeles after her military service, Ms. Hall-Pounders joined the Los Angeles Police Department, where she has served on the LAPD Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Residing in the Baldwin Vista neighborhood of my district, Ms. Hall- Pounders has sought out opportunities to make a difference in the lives of her fellow Angelenos. She has assisted senior citizens and first time voters with both registration and voter education. Along with her daughter, she regularly hosts tennis clinics for young men and women in the Crenshaw District. The pair also organize educational and recreational excursions for underserved and special-needs youth in Watts, aiming to help them see a world beyond the borders of their own neighborhoods.

I appreciate her service to our country and to the communities of the 37th Congressional District of California, and I wish her continued success in her career as an LAPD officer and a leader in our community.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the pastoral service of Reverend Melvin Von Wade, Sr. who will retire in September from his position as senior pastor of Mount Moriah Baptist Church of Los Angeles.

Born September 18, 1944 in Memphis, Tennessee, Melvin Von Wade earned a Bachelor's degree from Bishop College in Dallas, Texas, pursued graduate theological training at Perkins Theoretical Seminary in Dallas, Texas, and completed his seminary work at Faith Theological Seminary in Tacoma, Washington, where he received Master of Arts and Doctor of Ministry degrees.

Over the last 42 years, Rev. Wade has led his congregation in its efforts to serve vulnerable populations in Los Angeles. Under his stewardship, Mount Moriah developed a 40-unit senior citizens' apartment complex, the Mount Moriah Senor Villa.

Perhaps most significantly, he worked to foster cooperation between the four National Baptist Conventions. As former President of the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America (NMBCA), he organized an unprecedented meeting between the four National Baptist Conventions. Moreover, Reverend Wade has served as Second Vice President of the California Missionary Baptist State Convention; Board member Council of National Black Churches; and Board Member of the Baptist World Alliance.

In addition to his work within his faith community, Rev. Wade is known to have worked to advocate for civil rights. He is a lifetime member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. I congratulate Rev. Wade and the Mount Moriah Baptist Church community on their fruitful partnership of over four decades. I wish the best to both Rev. Wade and the congregation, as each embarks on a new chapter of service.