Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, Black History is American History.

The annual observance of Black History Month is more than a chronological account of our past, it is that of our present and our future.

It's about the joy, the culture, the resistance, the fight, and how far Black Americans have come in this country.

Celebrating our Black communities and Black history is so important, especially now, in times like this where values of diversity, equity and inclusion are under attack.

But despite that we move forward in the steps of our ancestors and in the steps of joy and resistance. That is why it is my honor to recognize the 2025 Black Luminaries of Florida's 10th Congressional District who have transformed lives and inspired generations, these luminaries are:

Dr. Laine Powell--Founder and Executive Director of Tech

Sassy Girlz.

Ms. Eloise Abraham--Executive Director of Guardian Care

Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Lashea C. Reaves--Executive Director of 8 cent in a Jar.

Inez Long (posthumously)--Long-time President and CEO of

the Black Business Investment Fund (BBIF) Florida, and co-

founder of the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs.

Dr. Jeffrey Redding--2019 winner of the prestigious Grammy

award, The Music Educator Award and a UCF Director of Choral

Activities.

Mr. Omari Jones--Boxing Bronze medalist from the 2024

Olympics.

Alvin Cowans--President/CEO at McCoy Federal Credit Union.

Gene Martin--Founder & Executive Director--Route 7.

Retired Elder/Reverend Henry L. Postell, II.--Owner of

Postell Mortuary.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor this year's Orlando Sentinel's Central Floridians of the Year, JJ Holmes and his mother, Alison Holmes. Together, they are a force, not just in central Florida but across the entire State and country.

JJ has a severe disability, but he hasn't allowed that to stop him from speaking out and advocating tirelessly for our disability community.

His mother, Alison, shows up every day to care for JJ and to stand up for families across the country just like theirs.

Their advocacy and their continued work started 10 years ago when JJ was just 12 years old and was removed from a Trump rally in 2016, after protesting the President's mockery of a reporter with a disability.

For over a decade, they have continued to speak out at the local, State, and Federal levels, advocating for expanding Medicaid, closing coverage gaps, quality healthcare, and affordable healthcare for everyone.

The way that they lead with love and courage should stand as a testament to their strength and the amazing work they do. Central Florida is stronger because of both of them.

I congratulate both JJ and Alison on this honor. I thank them for never giving up on the fight to build a more inclusive world for everybody, no matter who you are. I am so proud to be in this work with them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the extraordinary service and sacrifice of Army Major General John C. Raaen, Jr., who dedicated his life to serving our great Nation.

At 22 years old, he was captain of the Army's 5th Ranger Battalion during the Normandy invasion. General Raaen led his unit up the steep bluffs of Normandy Beach, helping liberate prisoners from Nazi concentration camps and marking the beginning of the Allied victory in World War II.

His bravery and that of his fellow soldiers on D-day remain a powerful symbol of courage, unity, and the ongoing fight for a more just and peaceful world.

For his heroism, he was awarded the Silver Star and went on to serve in Korea and Vietnam, rising to the rank of major general before retiring after 36 years of service. It is an honor to represent such a remarkable hero in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, in 2022, Congress passed a bill to honor the brave Army Rangers of World War II with the Congressional Gold Medal, but at 103 years old, General Raaen has yet to receive this award. I urge the Speaker and my colleagues to take swift action to ensure he receives the recognition he deserves.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is interesting that anytime my colleagues want to defend horrible moves by the Trump administration, whether they are trying to cut Medicare or cut Medicaid, they keep saying the people have spoken, without realizing that the people are speaking. That is why they continue to cancel their townhalls. They don't want to hear what the people are saying right now.

Costs are at an all-time high. I came down here to tell people that if you are struggling to afford food, can't pay rent, or the medical bills are stacking up, this bill will make your life worse. Why? To give tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations.

This bill sets up major cuts to Medicaid, which 60,000 children in my district rely on for healthcare. It steals from veterans, ripping away benefits. It steals from working people and families. It gives even more unchecked power to president Elon Musk and DOGE.

Recently, Musk said that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. Every vote in favor of this bill endorses those words.

If my colleagues on the other side vote for this, go to your constituents and be loud and proud. Tell them that the program that they have paid into and worked on their entire life so they can retire with dignity is a Ponzi scheme.

Republicans have been told by their leadership to stop doing townhalls. Why? The people are pissed off. They are scared. Many have been sold this BS lie that if we just give all the power to billionaires like Elon Musk, we will all be okay.

I have breaking news: The billionaires have always had immense power in this country, and it hasn't worked out for us.

I am opposing today's rule so we can stop the House from voting on the Republican Party spending bill that works to cut Medicaid and Medicare, Social Security, veterans benefits, and school lunches, all in favor of the ultrarich.

I know what it is like to not be able to pay for housing, to go into debt to just survive. We are not in this because people have lived beyond their means but because we have been denied the means to live.

Vote ``no'' on this rule.

Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing right now is nothing short of a great betrayal. Donald Trump, president Elon Musk, and every single Republican in this Chamber who voted to advance the Republican budget resolution last night have been looking their constituents in the face and lying.

They want to make cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP. These are programs that millions of Americans rely on to survive.

They want to tear apart the safety net that millions of seniors, veterans, disabled folks, working people, and over 38 million children rely on.

They are willing to leave you and your families to suffer. After they voted for the bill, they clapped about it.

Why? It is because, in a few months, they want to pass massive tax cuts for billionaires and mega-corporations, and they want your children and your grandparents to pay for it. This isn't just about politics. It is an attack on everybody who has to clock in and out every day for work.

Yesterday, House Republicans wanted to forcibly remove me from a committee for calling out this administration's grift, but they don't have a single damned thing to say when it comes to protecting healthcare for children and seniors.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise with a heavy heart to honor the loss of a giant, Florida State Senator Geraldine Thompson. She was a trailblazer, historian, and fierce advocate who worked every day to uplift Floridians, ensuring that nobody was left behind.

For nearly 20 years in the Florida Legislature, she broke barriers and created opportunities, especially for Black communities and those often overlooked.

Senator Thompson was unapologetic, courageous, and a force for good like no other. She paved the way for people like me to be in a job like this. She believed in the promise of this country and fought to make it a reality for everybody.

Senator Thompson's contributions to Florida and really to this country will never be forgotten, and her spirit will live on in the work she championed and in all of us who she inspired.

May she rest in power. Thank you so much, Senator Thompson.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life of a great man, who just so happened to be my high school Principal, Mr. Mytron Lisby.

As a kid, I was a bit of a troublemaker. One day I played a prank at school that landed me in Mr. Lisby's office. Honestly, I should've been expelled that day. But he told me: ``Maxwell, I'm not expelling you. I think you can be great and I see something in you.'' He believed in me. And he gave me a second chance, and honestly I think that the second chance is one of the reasons I'm here today.

He came to know Jesus Christ as his savior at a young age and served Him faithfully. He served as a teacher and administrator for 43 years. And so on behalf of the thousands of students--tens of thousands of students--across this Nation you've inspired, I thank Mr. Lisby.

I have to think that at the gates of Heaven, God greeted him with that administrator's school radio, Cause maybe even heaven, sometimes needs help keeping things on track, just like a great Principal does. May Mr. Lisby rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life of a great man who just so happened to be my high school principal, Mr. Mytron Lisby.

As a kid, I was a bit of a troublemaker. One day I played a prank at school that landed me in Mr. Lisby's office. Honestly, I should have been expelled that day, but he told me: Maxwell, I am not expelling you. I think you can be great, and I see something in you.

He believed in me, and he gave me a second chance. Honestly, I think that second chance is one of the reasons I am here today. He came to know Jesus Christ as his Savior at a young age and served him faithfully. He served as a teacher and an administrator for 43 years.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the tens of thousands of students across this Nation he has inspired, I thank Mr. Lisby. I have to think that at the gates of Heaven, God is going to greet him with that administrator school radio because maybe even Heaven sometimes needs help keeping things on track just like a great principal does.

May Mr. Lisby rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, I rise for every American whose life has been made better because of the work of Federal civil servants.

President Donald Trump and his power-crazed posse of billionaire bosses are firing our Federal workers. Our quality of life is degraded and diminished because of that.

They are moving to install their unqualified followers to do the dirty work of a hostile takeover of every facet of our lives, like Medicaid, the National Weather Service, and the Department of Education.

Their deferred resignation plan is a scam. Firefighters, nurses, TSA agents, park rangers, and foreign aid workers are refusing to go quietly in the face of an authoritarian. I commend them.

America is indeed at a fork in the road. Do we want a qualified, respected workforce serving us, or do we want an army of clueless yes- men working to serve the selfish?

I know what I want, what the American people want, and what the American people deserve. It is a government that works for them. I thank our Federal workforce and our civil servants.

Mr. Speaker, I oppose this bill for many reasons, but I really want to get to the heart of the problem for me. On day one, President Trump started his project to deport thousands of our neighbors, even legal immigrants, asylum seekers, and people who were born here in the United States. The Laken Riley Act is another piece of that tragic project.

Laken Riley's death is a tragedy. She should be alive today, and I am glad that that killer is facing accountability, as should anyone who harms an innocent person.

However, we have to be really clear about the bill in front of us. This bill does not make our communities safer. It gives this extreme President the authority to do something that actually most Americans don't agree with. Changing our laws so that any immigrant is detained if they are accused, not convicted, of a crime undermines due process.

This bill requires the government to detain people who pose no risk to our communities. It is a shameful bill that will result in the violent detention of innocent people and children.

Many are going to regret enabling Trump's brutal agenda, and the question is when.

When abusive boyfriends trap women in violent relationships by threatening to falsely accuse them of a crime, will you think back to this day?

When ICE raids kids' classrooms or goes into the Sunday school service to lock up some classmates, will you feel shame then?

When there are no more resources because we have been prioritizing looking at promising young DACA students and rounding them up for no reason, will you regret voting for this bill then?

Our country has failed to ensure that every American has the resources they need to live a good life. It is because of the greedy and richest 1 percent of corporations and spineless politicians that you don't have healthcare, that you need multiple jobs, that your check isn't big enough for those bills, and that you can't afford to rent or to buy.

It is not the fault of our fellow Americans who might be undocumented. The solution here is not violence. On its face, this is an evil bill meant to empower a violent man who is not interested in solving the problems of working people but interested in power. It seems that any bill that gives him power he and his party will ruthlessly pursue, but not I.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, last year, I was so proud to be one of the people to help lead an effort to create the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Since its establishment in 2023, this office has helped reduce gun violence by 20 percent and delivered the lowest violent crime rate in over 50 years.

The office wasn't about politics. It was about saving lives and even had bipartisan support from Members in this Chamber.

On day two of the Trump administration, something happened. That progress was recklessly dismantled by President Donald Trump. Just today, one day after the office was shut down, students were shot at a high school in Nashville, and one was killed.

While lives are stolen daily by gun violence, this administration is busy signing executive orders that have nothing to do with helping working families and keeping our communities safe.

After every mass shooting, the cries of grieving families begged us to do something over the last 4 years, and we did, by making this office. Here we are again, though, forced to abandon the efforts that have saved lives.

Leaders on both sides of the aisle need to come together to pass commonsense gun reform, and we can't stop fighting until we have another Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Mr. Speaker, never did I think that my first debate of this new Congress would be debating a Republican bill that empowers pedophiles and predators. Republicans say it is about protecting women, but that is a damned lie.

This bill puts all girls, all children, at risk in our school systems and across this entire country.

We have a bill like this in my State of Florida, and I will tell this quick

story of a high school student, who was student government president of her entire school. Now she is forced to take classes online after authorities published a 500-page report where they forced her classmates to share whether or not they have seen her naked in the locker room and seen her genitalia.

Strangers, adult men, could ask girls as young as 4 years old personal questions about their body. My question is, Republicans say it is about protecting girls, for people listening at home: Is it protecting girls to empower strangers to question your daughter about what is in their pants? No. It is disgusting.

Is it protecting girls to empower adult men to ask your daughter to inspect what is in her pants while you are not around? No. That is pedophilia. It is predatory behavior.

The hate on the other side of the aisle for trans Americans is so much so that they are willing to put all of our children, all of our daughters, at risk of a serious problem in this country.

Mr. Speaker, to protect our kids, we have to vote ``no'' on the Republican child predator empowerment act.

Mr. Speaker, throughout my life, I dealt with a lot of identity issues. I was adopted at birth. My mom came here from Cuba in the late 1960s. My dad was born in Kansas but is a musician deeply rooted in Black and Latino music. My biological mother is Lebanese and Puerto Rican, and my biological father is Haitian, so I have got a lot going on.

I never quite knew who I was in terms of my identity, and I dealt with this throughout my whole life. There were times in my life where I despised my Blackness. There were times in my life where I despised my Latino heritage.

I bring up my own story because there are so many times where I felt lost, but sometimes you have got to see someone who looks like you fly to know that you can, too. One of those people for so many Black Latinos and Afro-Latinos is Roberto Clemente. He wasn't just one of the best ever to play the sport, but he walked in this tradition that is deeply rooted in the Black tradition and the Latino tradition of deep solidarity--not solidarity as an empathy but solidarity as a verb.

``Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth.'' That is a call to action for all of us.

I am proud to support this bill. I am proud to support any time that we can uplift Black Latinos in this country who have done so much for this country and so much for this world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the recent victory of the 2024 National Women's Soccer League champions, the Orlando Pride.

This incredible team not only secured the NWSL championship but also claimed the NWSL Shield, the first time since 2019 a team has completed both accomplishments.

They are the first professional sports team from Orlando to win a major league trophy, making history for my hometown and my district.

This victory is more than just a trophy. It represents the talent, grit, and passion of this diverse team of amazing women who have brought our central Florida community together in celebration.

Thanks to the Orlando Pride's success, Orlando's reputation as a top sports destination grows even stronger.

I congratulate the team. They have always been the Pride of Orlando. They are now the champions of the Nation.

Mr. Speaker, we are nearing 4 years since we lost a jazz great. I rise today to honor the life of one of our jazz legends and icons, Ira Sullivan.

Ira was many things: a jazz great, an educator, a mentor, a father, a husband, and a friend of mine.

I remember first meeting him when I was in about the seventh or eighth grade, as a student of the University of Miami Young Musicians Camp Jazz Honor Program.

I remember walking in very young, and he asked me to play vibraphone to a jazz song, which was kind of weird for me. I was pretty young in my jazz education career, and I didn't know about jazz vibraphone. It almost felt as if he was asking me to play a timpani to a jazz song. It was very foreign.

The next day, I came in, and he gave me a pair of Gary Burton mallets, and he told me to give it a try. Believe it or not, I was still very confused. Either way, that decision and that gift he gave me changed my life forever.

From then on, I would start practicing jazz vibraphone and became quite obsessed with it. I stopped auditioning on the drum set at my school and started auditioning to be a jazz vibraphonist.

Years passed. Ira would always invite me to go back to perform with him in whatever the new class was at the University of Miami for the summer camp. I got to meet all the young people from across the country who Ira had inspired and whose lives he had changed.

Ira Sullivan achieved technical skills not achieved by many: a multi- instrumentalist in the truest sense of the word, fluidly being able to play trumpet, saxophone, flute, and other instruments.

Ira also had the ability to be a jazz great in the history books but also remain an accessible educator for artists of many different levels. Ira mentored greats such as Jaco Pastorius and Pat Metheny, but he also continued to teach high schoolers and college-aged students at the Young Musicians Camp at the University of Miami, where I met him.

Today, I honor the life of Ira Sullivan because he inspired so many young musicians.

I stopped practicing swing many, many years ago, but I have been telling myself that I ought to get back to it. I am committed to starting back up in his honor.

The last thing I will say, too, is a quick story. I remember going into high school jazz band, and I hadn't practiced very much that day. I got yelled at by the band director, rightfully so.

That night, I went home and felt very defeated. My dad came into my room with the house phone, and he said: Ira Sullivan is on the phone for you. I said: The Ira Sullivan? He said: Yeah, the Ira Sullivan.

I spoke with him for maybe 30 minutes, 45 minutes, told him about my day. I remember hanging up and going to practice all night. God bless my parents.

I went into jazz band that next day. Not only was I able to play the song proficiently, but I did it with so much passion, some of the most passion I had ever played with before. I think it is because, number one, I got up off of my butt and practiced, but also because Ira Sullivan called me.

Long live the memory of Ira Sullivan, jazz great, educator, friend, and mentor.

Acknowledging Suicide Prevention Month

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize September as Suicide Prevention Month, a time for us to come together, raise awareness, and offer hope to those facing thoughts of suicide and other mental health issues.

This issue hits particularly close to home for our veterans as we lose 17 veterans due to suicide every day. These are our friends, loved ones, neighbors, and people who served our country with courage, but are now struggling in silence. Whether it is safe firearm storage, better and increased access to mental healthcare, or the immediate support of the 988 Suicide Crisis Lifeline, we can all play a part in saving lives.

People in a mental health or suicide crisis deserve and need a compassionate and an effective response. The path toward saving lives starts with a conversation. Talking openly about suicide prevention and mental health can break the silence, and sometimes just one conversation can make all the difference.

We owe it to those who we have lost and those still struggling to listen and to act and to work together toward a future where no one has to fight alone.

In Honor of Omari Jones

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Omari Jones, an exceptional central Floridian in my district who has made history as a bronze medalist in boxing at the 2024 Olympics.

Omari was just one of eight boxers to bring home a medal, demonstrating his skill, courage, and determination.