Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, history has its eyes on us. Right now we are facing the most critical threat to the rules-based order since World War II.

The entire free world is at risk as the autocratic Vladimir Putin and his brutal, barbaric army are marching through our democratic ally, Ukraine, heading toward our NATO allies.

Our allies are perplexed and worried: What are we waiting for? Why aren't we stepping up and helping Ukraine?

Furthermore, China is watching to see whether the U.S. will stand up against vicious autocrats and stay the course to defend the free world.

We Democrats have stood in strong support of sending additional aid to Ukraine, but Speaker Johnson has refused to bring any Ukraine support bills to the House floor for a vote at a time when Ukraine is literally running out of ammunition to fight Russia.

I ask my friends on the other side of the aisle, and I ask you, Mr. Speaker: What are you waiting for?

The world has its eyes on you.

Mr. Speaker, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, we knew extreme MAGA Republicans wouldn't stop with attacking abortion rights. We knew they would come for birth control.

I introduced the Right to Contraception Act to codify the right to use all forms of FDA-approved birth control.

We also knew they would come for IVF. Last week, the Alabama Supreme Court decided frozen embryos are children, forcing clinics in Alabama to stop IVF treatments.

Republicans are now scrambling to claim they support contraception and IVF. Actions speak louder than words.

Mr. Speaker, 195 House Republicans voted against my bill to protect the right to contraception, and over 120 Republicans cosponsored the Life at Conception Act, a bill that uses the same reasoning as the Alabama court, that includes no protection for IVF or birth control, and would decimate IVF and abortion access nationwide.

Earlier today, Senate Republicans blocked a bill to protect the right to access IVF. They don't care about protecting reproductive rights, they care about controlling women's bodies.

Mr. Speaker, this Black History Month, I am highlighting the long and rich history of Bennett College, an all-woman HBCU in my hometown, Greensboro, North Carolina.

For over 150 years, Bennett College has been a beacon of social justice in the South.

In the 1930s, the Bennett Belles protested racism in the film industry with protests at our local Carolina Theatre. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Bennett Belles played a key role in the civil rights movement.

In 1958, when Martin Luther King, Jr., visited Greensboro and struggled to find a place to speak, Bennett College president, Willa B. Player, gave him a stage. She said: ``Bennett College is a liberal arts college where `freedom rings,' so King can speak here.''

Two years after Dr. King spoke on campus, the Bennett Belles staged a sit-in at the segregated Woolworth's lunch counter with The Greensboro Four. Their actions sparked a nationwide sit-in movement that forever changed the course of history.

Today, Bennett College students and alumni continue to be changemakers. I am proud to recognize the immense contributions of the Bennett Belles this Black History Month.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 966 condemning rape and sexual violence committed by Hamas in its war against Israel, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I was proud to join my dear friend and colleague, Representative Lois Frankel of Florida--one of the strongest champions for the rights of women and girls around the world--in introducing this important, bipartisan resolution.

I am also grateful to our colleagues, Representatives Mario Diaz- Balart and Jen Kiggans for their leadership and commitment to raising awareness of the sexual and gender-based violence committed against Israeli women.

Mr. Speaker, on October 7, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, going house to house, murdering civilians, executing parents in front of their children, and massacring hundreds of young people at a music festival. In addition to the 1,200 people Hamas killed that day, it took an estimated 250 innocent civilians into Gaza, including women and children.

Since that day, we have only begun to understand the full scale of the horrific sexual violence that Hamas used as a weapon of war against Israeli women in its attack.

Just this morning, I heard firsthand testimony of witnesses and saw photographs of Israeli women of all ages who were raped, mutilated, brutalized, burned, and killed in horrific and unimaginable ways. Every day, more and more evidence is surfacing of the widespread and deliberate sexual violence that is almost unspeakable in its brutality.

This weaponized sexual violence should shock the conscience of the entire world. Despite all the evidence, however, some have minimized or outright denied the fact that Hamas used rape as a weapon of war on October 7.

The collective silence about this heinous sexual violence from groups around the world who purport to stand up for women's rights has been devastating--groups including UN Women, which took months to issue a statement clearly condemning these despicable acts as evil.

We are here today because we cannot and will not allow these horrific crimes to be denied. We must confront the terrible reality of what Hamas did in these attacks and the trauma inflicted on so many women and men.

That is why this resolution unequivocally condemns these atrocities, calls on all international bodies to denounce them, and reaffirms that the U.S. House of Representatives stands with these victims just like we stand with all women who are survivors of rape and sexual violence.

We remain deeply concerned for the women who are still among the hostages being held by Hamas. There is deep concern that these women are continuing to be sexually abused and may be pregnant. This House and this Congress must continue to do everything we can to get every single one of the remaining hostages released and home to their families.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel), my friend, the chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, the co-chair of the Bipartisan Women, Peace, and Security Caucus, and the author of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer).

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

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to my colleagues who have spoken out and condemned the brutal sexual violence committed against Israeli women and girls on October 7.

With the passage of this important bipartisan resolution, we send a clear message that rape is wrong, the rape of Israeli women is wrong, the rape of all those brutalized during war is wrong. It must be called out, and it must be condemned. The United States stands firmly against gender-based violence and sexual abuse of women by Hamas.

Once again, I thank Representative Lois Frankel for her extraordinary leadership on this issue, and I urge all my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2766, the Uyghur Policy Act of 2023, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I thank my good friends, Representatives Young Kim and Ami Bera, the chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Indo- Pacific, for introducing this important bill, of which I am a proud cosponsor.

Over the last several years, we have heard horrific accounts of the genocide taking place in Xinjiang against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

Beijing has tried to hide its atrocities and prevent all of us from discovering what is really happening in Xinjiang.

Despite Beijing's efforts, we cannot ignore what is happening in Xinjiang. A 2022 report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights concluded that the extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of the Uyghur and predominantly Muslim groups . . . may constitute international crimes, in particular, crimes against humanity,'' and that ``serious human rights violations have been committed'' in Xinjiang.

Last Congress, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing to take heartbreaking testimony about the crimes being committed against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang.

The committee passed a bipartisan resolution led by Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks condemning the PRC's genocide in Xinjiang, as well as passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which President Biden signed into law.

However, as long as Beijing's genocide continues, Congress must continue to act. H.R. 2766 calls for the creation of a special coordinator for Uyghur issues to protect the distinct identities of Uyghurs and other minority groups in Xinjiang.

It also provides the State Department and our diplomats with tools to enhance our diplomatic efforts and programs in support of those suffering under the PRC's repression.

Madam Speaker, as Members of Congress, we have a responsibility to speak out against clear violations of fundamental human rights around the world.

This measure is a clear statement that the United States Congress stands in support of Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority communities in Xinjiang that are suffering under Beijing's authoritarian and inhumane rule.

H.R. 2766 will ensure that the United States plays a leadership role in holding the PRC accountable and in providing political and diplomatic support for Uyghurs around the world.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2766, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4039, No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act, as amended.

In both this Congress and the last Congress, the House Foreign Affairs Committee has shed light on the People's Republic of China's grave human rights abuses, including holding a hearing on the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang and advanced efforts to hold the PRC accountable for its use of forced labor.

In April 2021, the committee marked up the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, probably the most significant human rights legislation dealing with China in decades. The bill, which passed the committee and the House, both as a standalone measure and as part of our China- focused competition legislation, was eventually signed into law by President Biden.

That bill's purpose was to ensure that goods made with forced labor would not end up on American store shelves and, in turn, in American homes.

Today, we want to make sure that the standards we use at home also apply to American activities abroad. That is why H.R. 4039 calls on the State Department and USAID to verify that they are not funding any programs or projects that unwittingly use goods or materials made using forced labor.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Moran for introducing this bill, as

well as Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for their leadership in passing it out of committee in a bipartisan manner.

When it comes to genocide and forced labor, Congress must be clear. There is no place in this world for such brutality.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 4039 builds on the important work Congress has already done to rid our domestic supply chains of forced labor goods by ensuring that our global programs aren't supporting such goods either. By asking our State Department and USAID program partners and contractors to ensure they aren't using forced labor goods, we will help make global supply chains freer.

This is a preventative measure meant to guarantee that U.S. international projects and programs are beyond reproach and fully consistent with our values. In so doing, H.R. 4039 will ensure that we practice our principles when it comes to human rights.

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

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

I rise in strong support of H.R. 533, Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. McGovern and Mr. McCaul for introducing this bill and working with Ranking Member Meeks to pass it out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and bring it to the House floor today.

Representative McGovern is a champion of human rights. With this bill, he is asking all of us to stand up for the people of Tibet.

I also thank Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi for her tireless work in holding the People's Republic of China responsible for its human rights violations and her long-time advocacy for the Tibetan people.

In recent years, Beijing has tightened its repressive grip over the Tibetan areas in China and attempted to dilute the distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity of the Tibetan people. Since 2010, Beijing has also refused to meet its international obligations to engage the Dalai Lama and his representatives to resolve the Tibet issue through dialogue. At the same time, Beijing has unleashed a disinformation campaign to mislead the world about Tibet and its history.

For this reason, we must pass H.R. 533, which calls the PRC out for its repression and unwillingness to engage the Tibetan people. H.R. 533 highlights the need to preserve Tibetan identity, language, and culture. It calls on the State Department to counter PRC disinformation efforts to undermine the aspirations of Tibetan people.

H.R. 533 also calls on Beijing to live up to its commitments to engage in a genuine dialogue with Tibetan representatives to reach a negotiated resolution on the question of Tibet.

By passing this timely bill, the people's House would be standing up for the universal rights and aspirations of the Tibetan people.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).

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

The people of Tibet have persevered through decades of repression. The PRC subjugates the Tibetan people, even though all they are asking for is the opportunity to live freely and safely. They simply want to be given the autonomy they have been promised. They want to teach their children their language, their customs, and their traditions. They want to preserve their culture, their religious identity, and their dignity as a distinct people.

I urge the House to pass H.R. 533 so that we may honor the Tibetan people and make clear that Beijing's repression and unwillingness to engage in dialogue cannot stand.

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

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of H.R. 3016, the IGO Anti-Boycott Act.

I strongly support legislative efforts to combat international boycotts that target U.S. companies engaged in business activities in countries friendly to the United States, including Israel. That is why I support H.R. 3016, bipartisan legislation introduced by my friend, Representative Mike Lawler, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and by my great friend, Representative Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.

This legislation reinforces existing anti-boycott laws and U.S. policies to combat those international boycotts. I will continue to support ways to protect U.S. businesses from being pressured into complying with unsanctioned foreign boycotts against Israel.

It is already U.S. policy, per the Anti-Boycott Act of 2018, which H.R. 3016 would amend, to oppose restrictive trade practices and boycotts imposed by any foreign countries or entities against Americans and countries friendly to the United States, and which discourages or prohibits U.S. companies from taking actions to support unsanctioned foreign boycotts.

There are, of course, limitations to what we can do. The United States cannot unilaterally stop other countries from adopting policies that we do not agree with, nor could other countries prevent the United States from adopting policies they do not agree with.

However, through bodies like the U.N., as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, the United States is able to use its voice and veto to combat policies, including biased and harmful boycott, divestment, and sanctions, or BDS, campaigns against our partners and allies like Israel.

Furthermore, policies adopted by international bodies do not bind U.S. citizens. Americans are only bound by American law. An act of Congress is required for international law to become our law. No intergovernmental organization will ever supersede U.S. law or sovereignty.

From the Arab League boycott to the global BDS campaign against Israel, Congress has repeatedly stood united in a bipartisan way against this hateful campaign to isolate, single out, and economically punish the State of Israel. No American citizen or company should be coerced into participating in an unsanctioned boycott against Israel or any other partner or ally of the United States. That is why I support this bill to update the 2018 Anti-Boycott Act.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer), who is the co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from New Jersey.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.

Madam Speaker, I support this bill and the underlying provision of law it seeks to amend which works to protect U.S. businesses from being targeted by foreign boycotts, particularly against nations friendly to the United States like Israel.

Madam Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting H.R. 3016, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in support of H.R. 3202, the Assad Regime Anti- Normalization Act of 2023.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to support this bipartisan legislation introduced by my dear friend, the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina.

First, it is with deep sadness that I note that it has been over 13 years since the Syrian people first rose up for their basic rights and have subsequently endured brutal assaults by Assad's Russian- and Iranian-backed military year after year. The Assad regime has unceasingly engaged in a campaign of violence against the Syrian people, committing what has amounted to countless war crimes and the most egregious violations of international humanitarian law.

As we consider this bill today, it is critical we acknowledge that the war has resulted in the deaths of over 600,000 Syrians and more than 8 million displaced. The regime continues to regularly target hospitals, schools, and neighborhoods. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians face bleak prospects for the future.

It is in this context we consider this bill, which responds to moves by some governments to look past these atrocities and re-admit the Assad regime into international institutions. The Biden administration has opposed efforts to reengage with the Assad regime and continues to highlight ongoing crimes against the Syrian people.

I stand with the administration and those who believe Assad must be held accountable. I am glad that members of both parties have stood together to publicly condemn the welcoming of the Assad regime back into the Arab League.

As we condemn such actions and stand with the Syrian people, I also support the Biden administration's efforts to provide the Syrian people with vital, lifesaving humanitarian assistance to assist in the recovery from multiple earthquakes last year and Assad's continued military assaults.

Therefore, I support this measure, which I hope will discourage other states from overlooking Assad's crimes, and which makes it U.S. policy not to recognize an Assad-led Syrian Government.

This bill also expands targeted sanctions against the Assad regime while preserving important humanitarian exemptions and provisions.

The bill includes a bipartisan amendment, which passed unopposed in the committee, that refines the sanctions provisions so as not to impinge on legitimate humanitarian aid efforts to the Syrian people.

Finally, this bill mandates greater scrutiny of the Assad regime's diversion of international aid for its own benefit and at the expense of the Syrian people.

I thank my friend, Representative Wilson, as well as Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for their work on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.

We cannot overlook the Assad regime's atrocities against the Syrian people. Allowing the regime back into international organizations would do just that.

I support the administration's work to hold the Assad regime accountable and believe this bill reinforces the administration's efforts by making it U.S. policy not to recognize an Assad-led Syrian Government, discourages other nations from doing so, and expands targeted sanctions on the regime.

Madam Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting H.R. 3202, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5856. I was proud to help introduce this bipartisan bill alongside my good friend and one of the colleagues with whom I have worked closest with in Congress, Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey, as well as my dear friend Representative Susan Wild, to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

Congress has reauthorized this important bill several times, in 2003, 2006, 2008, 2013, and most recently in 2019. This legislation serves as a reminder that Congress has long played and will continue to play a critical role in advancing U.S. interests and global efforts to combat and eliminate human trafficking.

I thank Representative Smith for having authored the first modern U.S. anti-trafficking bill and its subsequent reauthorizations and for his tireless work fighting to do the right thing to protect those who have been dehumanized by forced labor and sexual exploitation. We are deeply grateful for his leadership and are also proud to partner with him not only in elevating this issue but also in saving lives and protecting vulnerable people around the world, which is what this legislation has done.

Today, we build on the successes and the lessons learned over the last decades. This bill is a 5-year reauthorization of important counter-trafficking programs, and it also modernizes vital prevention, protection, and prosecution tools to eradicate this billion-dollar criminal enterprise and save countless lives from this egregious violation of human rights.

This bill saves lives, and it is a bipartisan cause. It is not about politics. This is about doing the right thing. It is about our common humanity. It is about protecting those who have been subjected to unspeakable crimes.

The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act builds on the decades of efforts to combat human trafficking, modernizing prevention, protection, and prosecution tools. This 5-year reauthorization of counter-trafficking programs will be critical for U.S. efforts around the globe to eliminate the human trafficking industry.

I, again, thank my good friend, Representative Chris Smith, for his lifetime of work on this issue. It has made a real difference. This reauthorization will continue to make a difference for years to come by building on the lessons learned since he introduced the

first modern anti-trafficking bill in 2000.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 5856, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Dr. Henry Smith of Cone Health upon his retirement.

For nearly 30 years, Dr. Smith has been saving lives in our community as an interventional cardiologist. His passion for cardiology and his desire to improve quality of care has shaped his legacy of being a committed, patient-focused physician. Those who have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Smith will tell you he treats his patients as if they were his own family.

As the director of the Moses Cone Hospital cath lab, and with his role in Cone Health's early use of 3D/AI-driven imaging, Dr. Smith has been an innovator for 30 years. Dr. Smith has also served as chairman of Cone Health's board of trustees and is a member of the board where he was a steadfast advocate for expanding access to healthcare.

Outside the hospital, Dr. Smith is known for his involvement in his church and as a founding member of the Black Investments in Greensboro--or BIG--Equity Fund, at the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.

Dr. Smith is an exceptional cardiologist, fierce leader, and a remarkable advocate for a more equitable healthcare system and community.

I congratulate Dr. Henry Smith on 30 years of excellence and his well-deserved retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, Representative Escobar, for yielding time to me and also for her tireless work on this incredibly important issue.

Mr. Speaker, the last time Congress passed comprehensive immigration reform was in 1986. That was nearly 40 years ago--before laptop computers, before cell phones, and before the internet became available to all.

In so many ways, our economy and our need for workers has changed and grown. In fact, we have a workforce shortage at all skill levels, from farm and factory workers to nurses and physicians to high-tech and other STEM workers.

Even though we educate the best and the brightest of foreign students, we send them home to compete with us because there simply aren't enough visas to accommodate them. Our immigration system hasn't changed to accommodate our needs. It is hampering our economic growth.

While other countries, like Canada, are encouraging immigration, we are allowing our partisan disputes to get in the way of creating a system that is in our own best interest.

Even worse, we have failed to update our system to tackle the rapid growth of migrants fleeing persecution and hazardous conditions in their own countries and seeking to enter our country by claiming asylum at our southern border.

As one of my hometown immigration attorneys recently wrote in our hometown newspaper, many of these people would come in other ways, seeking legal visas if we had visa categories that accommodated them.

Despite record levels of people seeking refuge in our country, we have failed to pass legislation that would address this crisis. Our processes are inhumane, slow, and simply don't work. Dreamers and asylum seekers deserve better. Border towns deserve better. Americans deserve better.

That is why I joined a bipartisan group of women in the House to work on serious immigration reform. Alongside my friends, Representatives Veronica Escobar and Maria Salazar, I was proud to help introduce the Dignity Act.

This bill would finally address the country's workforce needs, strengthen the economy, provide pathways to citizenship for Dreamers and asylum seekers, and secure the border.

The Dignity Act finds common ground between Democratic and Republican immigration priorities. It is not perfect. There are things that I love in the bill, and there are things I don't love. But if we don't find compromise and common ground, we will never solve this challenge.

The Dignity Act strikes the right balance. It offers tough but creative solutions to our Nation's most pressing immigration challenges.

Over the past few months, we have seen House Republicans spend an enormous amount of time on the House floor, in hearings, and, frankly, on TV talking about the border crisis and demanding action. We have heard the administration call on Congress to pass legislation to address the border crisis as well as other immigration challenges. For weeks, a bipartisan group of Senators had been working on legislation, on an immigration deal, but the extreme House Republicans recently described that deal as dead on arrival even before the text of the bill was released.

They didn't reject the deal because it was bad policy. They didn't know what the policy was. They rejected it because former President Trump told them to.

He doesn't want a solution. He wants a border crisis that he can run on. Extreme Republicans are falling in line

with him. They don't want a solution. They want a problem that will rile up their voters. This is shameful.

Our country deserves better. Our country deserves real solutions. That is why I am here with my fellow Democratic co-leads of the Dignity Act to say: Stop the whining and get to work.

We all know the border issue needs to be addressed. We all know we have a workforce shortage. We all know we need an upgraded immigration system that works for all of us. We have a solution crafted right here in the House by Democrats and Republicans working together on a bipartisan basis.

Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in supporting the Dignity Act. Let's work together to solve this problem and build a stronger future for all.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and all she has done in this time of such tragedy for the Jewish people.

Mr. Speaker, on October 7, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel by land, air, and sea. They slaughtered over 1,200 innocent civilians, brutalized and raped women and girls, and took more than 240 hostages, including infants, children, the elderly, and even Holocaust survivors.

After long negotiations, many of those hostages were released with devastating trauma, weight loss, and emotional and physical injuries. That is why I am so worried about the remaining hostages.

It has been over 100 days of mourning, of pain, and uncertainty. For more than 100 days these people have been trapped in despicable underground tunnels with no fresh air, no sunlight, little water, little food, no comforts, and certainly no medical care.

Knowing all this is simply unbearable for the hostage families. I have been meeting with the families of the hostages for months, and their stories have been heartbreaking. Their stories have haunted all of us.

Today, I want to share the story of Carmel Gat and her family. Carmel Gat is a 39-year-old occupational therapist who lived in Tel Aviv. She was visiting her parents at Kibbutz Be'eri when Hamas attacked. First, they killed her mother, Kinneret. Then they grabbed Carmel and carted her away. Next, her brother, Alon; her sister-in-law, Yarden; and their 3-year-old daughter, Geffen, were all grabbed by Hamas and thrown into a vehicle.

Just before the vehicle crossed into Gaza, Alon and Yarden, with Geffen in her arms, jumped out of the vehicle and decided to run to safety. Yarden realized that her husband could run faster than she. She said to her husband: You take Geffen, because you can escape.

She sacrificed herself, and Yarden was taken hostage. Thankfully, during the first round of hostage releases, Yarden was released. I watched her reunion with her family with real joy.

Yet, the joy was tempered because Carmel was not released. She was not released because she is not a mother. She has now been held captive for nearly 4 months. Before her capture, Carmel was planning on starting her master's degree studies in October. She is a lover of music and of traveling. She is someone who meets new people wherever she goes.

Carmel is a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and a friend to so many. My heart breaks for her family and her loved ones who do not know where she is, whether she is safe or whether she has been beaten or violated. As a beautiful young woman she is certainly at risk, and I am deeply concerned for Carmel's safety.

I am deeply concerned for all the women who are being held hostage by Hamas because we have seen more and more reports of what Hamas did to women and girls on October 7. They brutalized women. They raped them, they beat them, and they mutilated them. We have heard from those who were released that we need to get those women released as soon as possible because Hamas uses sexual violence as a weapon of war.

We must bring Carmel and every hostage home. I will keep using my voice in Congress to call for their safe return and to demand that the International Red Cross be allowed to visit the hostages in Gaza, administer aid to all of them, and report on their condition. We must hold Hamas accountable for their war crimes.

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to honor the late Sergeant Philip Dale Nix of the Greensboro Police Department.

On December 30, Sergeant Nix, while off duty, was at a gas station, where he saw three young people stealing several cases of beer. When he approached the robbers' car, the 18-year-old thief shot Sergeant Nix five times, killing him for over less than $100 worth of beer.

Dale Nix's loss is a tragedy that has been a terrible blow to Greensboro and the Triad. Our entire community is grieving, from his fellow officers and emergency responders, to those he helped at the Guilford County Family Justice Center, to people across the city who, like me, are shocked and saddened over the loss of this fine man.

Sergeant Nix joined the Greensboro Police Department in 2001, where he served our community with distinction for 22 years. As mentioned at our recent community vigil by so many of his colleagues, Sergeant Nix was a standout leader. He went above and beyond in all his roles on the force and was dedicated to justice and helping others.

In his 22 years on the force, Sergeant Nix served as a Criminal Investigation Division detective, a patrol corporal, patrol sergeant, team leader for the peer support team for 12 years, assistant team leader of the GPD Honor Guard, and his latest assignment was as detective sergeant of the Family Victims Unit, where he worked closely with the Family Justice Center, helping victims of crimes, particularly women and children, who were the victims of domestic violence.

As Catherine Johnson, who runs the Family Justice Center, said at the vigil, Dale Nix had an extraordinary ability to connect with people, especially people in pain. He was able to work so well with the victims of crimes because he listened to them. He gained their trust. They knew he would fight for them because they knew he cared.

The impact Sergeant Nix made on families in Greensboro is incalculable. The stories have poured in from people he impacted, stories that have been both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Here was a man who was devoted to others, a man who made a real difference, whose ability to help those in need was cut far too short.

In addition to his valiant service to our community, Dale Nix was a beloved husband and father, a true family man. At this difficult time, my heart breaks for his wife, son, parents, and his entire family. I share my condolences with the Greensboro Police Department, the fire department, the 911 emergency center, those at the Family Justice Center, and all who served with him.

Sergeant Nix was a man of integrity, family, and service. He protected the innocent, advocated for victims, and made a difference in countless lives. It is truly tragic that, while Sergeant Nix dedicated his career to preventing crimes and helping victims, he lost his life to violent criminals.

As a Member of Congress and a member of the Greensboro community, I am outraged by the act of senseless violence that stole Sergeant Nix's life. I will continue to use my role in Congress and in my community to work towards solutions that will stop this painful cycle of violence that has claimed far too many innocent lives.

I know that Sergeant Nix's legacy will live on. He will long be remembered as a father, a husband, a man of integrity and service, an advocate, a true hero, and a pillar of justice in Greensboro, North Carolina.

May his memory be a blessing to all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise as a proud cosponsor of the Social Security 2100 Act, a bill that will enhance Social Security benefits for the first time in 50 years and ensure this program's solvency for years to come.

In my district, more than 157,000 retirees and families rely on Social Security as their primary source of income. Social Security doesn't just help retirees. Almost 10,000 children and more than 20,000 disabled workers in my district depend on Social Security to meet their basic expenses.

Social Security was there when my mother-in-law, a stay-at-home mom, was suddenly widowed at 28 years old and left with four young children to raise on her own. Social Security was there to help her get through the tragic loss of her husband and to figure out how to support her young family.

I stand in support of Social Security. I will stand up to any politician who wants to take away or reduce those earned benefits.