Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, in 1968, 75 percent of Americans disapproved of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today is his birthday.

The FBI called him the most dangerous Negro in America. They wiretapped his home and his office. They sent him a letter, suggesting that he should take his own life. King kept walking.

One year before Memphis, at Riverside Church, he said what cost him resources and allies. He said: ``The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government.'' He said: ``A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.''

Then he built the Poor People's Campaign. Black, White, and Brown came together, demanding that Congress address poverty in the richest Nation on this Earth.

This is the King that we must remember, not the safe icon but the dangerous peacemaker. He wrote: ``I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history.''

As we honor his legacy, let us refuse what he refused. Let us walk where he walked: Toward justice, toward the oughtness that forever confronts us.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Hayes for bringing us here tonight.

Mr. Speaker, America, this country, has long promised that every child has a right to learn. That promise exists because parents, not just this Chamber, parents, refused to give up on their children's future.

Mr. Speaker, one of those parents was my mother, Vicki Simon. I was born with congenital blindness, and my mother in the early seventies was on the phone consistently, day after day to ensure that I entered a school that would be there for me, that would ensure that I had assistance and support, and that I would read large print with power.

I am thankful for teachers and educators, like the gentlewoman, who brought children like me in front of the board. I was so happy to cosponsor the See the Board Act. It should be in this Chamber, and we should be voting to ensure that while the Republicans take away healthcare from families and disabled children, those deaf and those blind, that they get education and screening at their schools of choice.

We are also here because advocates refused to be silent because Congress recognized that an equal education is the foundation of any democratic society.

Before these protections, young people with disabilities around the country were not only silenced, they were institutionalized. Families were told to stay quiet while bright and brilliant minds were dismissed, and today that door is closing again, eerily quickly because of the Trump administration's reckless and cruel agenda.

Mr. Speaker, if you would ask any parent of a disabled child in this country regardless how they vote, red or blue, if you ask them if they knew that the Department of Education--yes, we want to trim it down-- but the very department, the Office of Civil Rights, was all but being severed, and you let them know what the Office of Civil Rights did: The Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education ensures that every rape on a college campus in this country is investigated. If the city decides not to investigate, then the Office of Civil Rights comes in.

The Office of Civil Rights investigates for the mother and the child who uses the wheelchair when the school says they don't need a ramp.

The Office of Civil Rights literally provides constant oversight over every school district in this country so that a child in Alabama has the same rights to an education as their disabled peer in California.

Let's make it clear: We are not talking about any progressive agenda here. We are talking about letting it be known in this country that the Trump administration is literally taking away investigators who will oversee the educational progress of disabled children.

Tens of thousands of families are waiting for justice and their cases to be investigated. These are not statistics; these are real families that we serve.

Did Congress ever intend this?

Did the administration ever intend to block away rights and responsibilities of folks who are supposed to oversee the rightful education of disabled children?

The American people will not accept this.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about betrayal. Nearly 14,000 veterans who served this Nation will sleep unsheltered tonight, not in beds. They will sleep on concrete, in cars, and under bridges.

There are 37 million American children who depend on Medicaid for their healthcare, and this Congress just signed $1 trillion in cuts to that lifeline. Also, 12 million Americans will lose their health insurance, the largest rollback of healthcare in American history.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon just failed its eighth consecutive audit. There are over $4 trillion in assets that they cannot account for. They are the only Federal agency who has failed to ever pass an audit, not once. We have got money for war, but we can't feed the poor. We refuse to fully fund cancer research. We refuse to house low-income elders in their final years, and we refuse to shelter the very soldiers we sent to die in wars that we keep funding.

This is a confession of our values.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 359 and NAY on Roll Call No. 360.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind us what this Nation used to do to its children.

Before 1975, this country locked up 200,000 disabled children in institutions. We shut the schoolhouse door on children who were deaf, blind, or different in any way that we deemed inconvenient.

Then, parents, advocates, and attorneys fought, and they won. We passed laws on this floor that said every child in this Nation belongs, and we created the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education to enforce those promises in real time and to investigate complaints.

Earlier this year, employees in this office were fired. They were dismissed. Now, over 25,000 families are waiting for justice on their complaints.

The Trump administration just requested that some of these attorneys temporarily come back to work this week to clean up the mess that the administration caused, but students and their families have already paid the price.

The dismantling of the Department of Education is not reform. This is the resurrection of abandonment. Children deserve protection, not pathology.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of a long-time leader of the Oakland faith community, Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith, Sr., who passed away on September 19, 2025, at the age of 94.

Dr. Smith was born on May 19, 1931, in Kansas City, Missouri. He began preaching in 1948, his first year after graduating high school. Dr. Smith went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Western Baptist College, a Bachelor of Divinity

and Master of Theology in Church and Community from the Missouri School of Religion, a Master's in American Church History from the American Baptist Seminary of the West, and a Doctor of Ministry from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dr. Smith became the senior pastor at Allen Temple Baptist Church in 1971. In that position, he expanded the church's membership from 500 to 4,500. He placed a particular emphasis on ministering to underserved communities, especially those in East Oakland. His ministry always had a firm foundation in advocacy and social justice. Dr. Smith used his voice and his pulpit to uplift the poor, the downtrodden, and the left behind, bringing the concerns of his congregation to the attention of local leaders and fighting for positive change.

But Dr. Smith was not only a giant in the City of Oakland. His powerful oratory and spiritual leadership was recognized across the country and around the world. Dr. Smith was elected president of the Progressive Baptist State Convention of California in 1979, and in 1986 he became president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention. In 1989, he delivered powerful testimony before the United Nations, denouncing the evils of Apartheid South Africa. He was twice recognized by Ebony magazine as one of the ``Most Influential Black Americans'' and was named one of its ``15 Greatest Black Preachers.'' He lectured at Cambridge, Oxford, and Baylor University and was professor emeritus of preaching and church ministries at the Berkeley School of Theology. Throughout his distinguished career, he wrote 16 books.

Dr. Smith was a friend and guide to all those he met, no matter their position. He took time to listen and speak to all those who sought his guidance, always abiding by one of his personal mottos: ``I wish I could make it plain.'' He made no efforts to attract renown and yet became one of the most influential and well-known Black pastors and activists of his generation.

Dr. Smith is survived by his beloved wife, Reverend Bernestine Farley, his five children, Amy, James, Jr., Ronald Craig, Shri, and Anthony, as well as his fourteen grandchildren and sixteen great- grandchildren.

Dr. Smith was a trail blazer and personal inspiration. I am deeply grateful for his decades of service to my community. His loss is felt profoundly by the many people whose lives he touched.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Coach John Beam and to give condolences to the Beam family.

Beam left an imprint on Oakland, California, that will never fade. For more than 40 years he built champions at Frick, at Skyline, and at Laney College, where he led the Eagles to titles and became one of the most respected coaches in junior college football in this Nation.

But the greatest victories were not measured on scoreboards. His victories were measured in the thousands and thousands of young people who walked into their futures because he insisted that they could.

He took young men with dreams they barely knew to name and pushed them to become scholars, to become leaders, to become fathers, to become champions.

Coach Beam never chased the spotlight. In fact, he chased the transformation of young people who needed one adult who would never walk away. His death is a deep wound, a profound wound for the city of Oakland, and we honor him by carrying forward his unwavering commitment to the futures that he spent decades building and molding with his own hands.

Coach Beam, we love you. You were a giant in our city, and your name will move through generations and generations and generations. Two claps. Ready, ready.

Mr. Speaker, during Roll Call Vote Number 220 on H.R. 747, I mistakenly recorded my vote as NAY when I should have voted YEA.

Mr. Chair, for the folks who are watching, for the transgender

community, you are loved and respected for your resilience and for your breadth. Keep pushing.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to this amendment that would prohibit the Department of Defense from collecting data on gender identity.

Data is not just numbers. Data is a story and reflection of those lived realities of real people, and this amendment is to stop data collection. It is clear that it is an attempt to erase the existence of transgender servicemembers at the Department of Defense.

Without data collection, the Department of Defense cannot adequately address the challenges that lesbian, bisexual, and transgender servicemembers may face.

Transgender employees will have a difficult time filing equal employment opportunity complaints without accurate data. Employees will also have inconsistent records and incorrect gender markers in Department of Defense systems, making it harder to access health services.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the House and oppose the defunding of Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide.

The Republicans' cruel budget bill, which all Democrats opposed, included a provision to block Federal Planned Parenthood clinics from receiving Medicaid funds. This was a devastating choice that Republicans have made which will undoubtedly impact families across the Nation.

Planned Parenthood does not just provide birth control. Clinics provide basic healthcare exams, cancer screenings, and vaccinations. Women across this country today will walk into Planned Parenthood clinics across counties and States to receive both diagnostic and care for cervical cancer, hypertension, and basic medical care.

Earlier this year, the largest Planned Parenthood health center in the country opened in my district, named after my predecessor and champion of reproductive health and access, Congresswoman and now Mayor Barbara Lee. The Barbara Lee Oakland Health Center has over 19 exam rooms and is transit accessible, but the Republican budget bill will put Planned Parenthood centers like ours across the country at risk.

Mr. Speaker, 200 of the 600 Planned Parenthood clinics across the country may close and women will die. Planned Parenthood closures will disproportionately impact Black and Brown mothers, who already have a maternal mortality rate more than three times their White counterparts.

These cuts will disproportionately impact poor folks' access to reproductive care, since 40 percent of all births in this country are covered by the very Medicaid services that are now being gutted. These are matters, as I said before, of life and death for us in our district and for women across the country.

I was a young mother living in public housing in San Francisco when I had my first daughter at 19, but I was able to get by. I was able to go to school and raise a wonderful daughter and put her through college and law school because I had access to care and institutions that cared about my life.

If we want people to be healthy in this country and to participate in their communities and work, we need to open up choices, and we need to provide more opportunities instead of less. That is why I offered an amendment to the Republican budget reconciliation bill that would have protected the vital services of Planned Parenthood.

Republicans killed that amendment, but this will not stop our collective work, my work, to ensure that people in my district and around the country in rural and urban communities have the access that they so deserve. Their lives are depending on it.

Just this week, the district courts put a temporary pause on parts of the Republican bill that would defund Planned Parenthood. We will continue to fight back. Planned Parenthood is vital. It is vital to communities' health, and I will not stand by while it is defunded and while our health is devalued.

I was that young mother. We and our families, our children, deserve better.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 672 would require the United States Postal Service to designate unique ZIP Codes for a number of communities across the country. This bill aims to address certain issues related to economic development and public safety regulations and mail delivery.

For example, Eastvale is a town in southern California that is home to 69,000 residents. It currently shares two ZIP Codes with neighboring jurisdictions.

Without a unique ZIP Code, Eastvale residents have reported mail delivery issues for delivery of legal notices, code enforcement activities, public outreach, and election mail.

Eastvale residents have also reported higher insurance rates because of errors related to another jurisdiction, disrupting their ability to obtain affordable wildfire insurance.

I appreciate the diligence of Congressman Diaz-Balart, the chair, and the committee staff, and the other Members in ensuring that each town being marked up in today's amendment version of this bill satisfies all the committee's requirements for consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3095 would require the United States Postal Service to designate unique ZIP Codes for a number of communities across the country.

This bill aims to address specific community concerns about disrupted mail delivery and undeliverable mail. While I commend Representative Boebert for her tireless work on this issue, I am unable to support this legislation at this time.

After numerous conversations between the chair and former ranking member, the late Mr. Connolly, the committee agreed on a bipartisan basis that ZIP Code designation bills would only be considered if they met the following criteria: One, the designated locality must submit a letter from local leadership stating the reasons for the ZIP Code change; two, the community must also attest that they had petitioned the Postal Service for the unique ZIP Code designation and was unsuccessful; and, lastly, number three, that the legislation must be cosponsored by all of the impacted Members.

Unfortunately, the bill has not satisfied the committee's requirement for consideration. In fact, only one-quarter of the 68 designated communities meet the Committee's requirements, and we have heard from at least one affected Member who is, unfortunately, opposed.

Therefore, until the majority follows the procedures set forth by this ZIP Code designation bill, the ranking member will oppose the bill today in its current form.

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

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Sykes) for such time as she may consume.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, the ranking member opposes this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in defense of every child in this Nation who deserves to enter into a classroom and be treated with dignity, care, and respect.

In writing these remarks, I thought of my kindergarten teacher, Ms. Jasko at Claire Lilienthal Elementary School in San Francisco.

On my first day of kindergarten--I remember it very, very clearly--my last name starts with an s, so I sat at the back of the classroom and kept my head down. I was not verbacious then.

Within about 5 minutes of the class starting--and there was a lot of chatter of little children--Ms. Jasko noticed that my head was bowed. She brought me up to the classroom board, and she saw clearly that I was a child with an acute visual impairment. She kissed me on my forehead and asked me to sit by her desk where I sat for the rest of the year. She understood me. I did not have to fight for the right to learn in that class. I sat next to the board.

This week, the Supreme Court handed the President of the United States the power to gut the Department of Education without congressional approval. Nearly 1,400 Federal staff at the Department of Education may be fired, including those tasked with protecting the civil rights and the human dignity of students.

The Court's decision sets a dangerous precedent as it tells the executive branch that it can effectively dismantle the very agencies that Congress has created without any oversight.

Let us remember why the Department of Education exists in the first place. The Department of Education was not a bureaucratic creation. It wasn't an organization developed just to create more staff salaries.

The Department of Education was a victory secured through the long and

hard march of civil rights in this country. It was built to ensure that children in every part of this country could have a real chance. It was not to standardize curriculum but to standardize the worth of children. It was to guarantee that, no matter your background, your race, your ability, your identity, where you lived, or who you prayed to, the Federal Government would have the backs of every student in this country.

If this decision stands, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights will be shattered and gutted, which means that, within this office, which was created and implemented to investigate when students in this country were not treated respectfully or with dignity, that schools would potentially not be required to provide accommodations for students with disabilities.

Mr. Speaker, for every mother fighting for their child with autism, for every parent fighting for their child with a visual or intellectual disability, and for every child who rolls in with their wheelchair every single day, mighty with pride and glory that they, too, can learn and be integrated, there may not be any Federal protections to make sure that they are respected.

Rapes and sexual assaults on college campuses may no longer be investigated. When the cities don't investigate those sexual assaults, the Federal Government--particularly the Office for Civil Rights under the Department of Education--took on that role.

Shame on us.

National standards for protecting LGBTQ students, because they are students and are children, will go away. Native students, Black students, Latino students, students navigating poverty, and students who have disabilities may no longer have the Federal support that they so deserve. This is a betrayal. It is cruel, and it is a deep attack on our children.

How will the United States of America compete academically, economically, or morally if the Federal Government walks away from its most sacred responsibility to guarantee basic fairness in education?

We cannot meet the demands of the future by returning to a past-- returning to a past--where only the privileged are protected. The work of the Department of Education was never about charity. It has always been about justice.

As bell hooks taught us in ``Teaching to Transgress,'' teaching is about liberation. Education is about more than information. It is a practice of freedom.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the late Congressman John Robert Lewis on the fifth anniversary of his passing.

Congressman Lewis said, in a beautiful quote: ``Children holding hands, walking with the wind. That is America to me . . . the endless struggle to respond with decency, dignity, and a sense of brotherhood.''

We are so thankful for the long-living, forever legacy of Congressman Lewis. Before he took the oath here in this room, many of us studied his legacy as a young activist and organizer. It shows depth with peace and clarity.

He held hands with others and walked across the bridge in Selma to meet what we know then was a violent mob, who they themselves swore to decency. They beat those young people that day, young people who rose up and decided that they, too, belonged to a democracy that they were born into but never saw. Their mothers never saw it. Their fathers never saw it.

These young people took the mantle of peace and shone a mirror, a mirror of hatred, of segregation, of degradation, and they walked away harmed but with more clarity. Mr. Lewis was one of the leaders that day.

Those who studied the theology of freedom that is so deeply embedded in all of our faith traditions know that the actions of Mr. Lewis on that bridge, on the streets, and on this floor will forever live.

Before I end, I want to go back to that quote: ``Children holding hands, walking with the wind.'' Those children, America's children, need us now more than ever.

Children will go back to school in 6 weeks, and because of what has been done on this Hill recently, they will not have school lunches. We will diminish the Department of Education. The Office of Civil Rights within the Department of Education, which is responsible for making sure that those children, disabled children, children who had been pushed to the side, had national standards so that they, too, could be centered in the classroom with dignity and support.

We are tearing those winds apart. As children go hungry, as they are pushed to the side in their classrooms, as we continue to pay teachers less than what they are worth, I ask folks to do what we have learned from our dear mentor, John Lewis: Shine the light with peace and dignity upon those who put forth evil, who strike down the widow, who take food from the poor, who take the word of our God out of context, and who feed the wealthy while starving the homeless.

We will forever walk in Mr. Lewis' path for justice, for liberty, and for the sake of our children who need and deserve the winds at their back.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the amendment at the desk that protects against any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.