Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, seniors in America deserve to retire with dignity. They have earned Social Security and Medicare benefits through a lifetime of work. The seniors of today without pensions or generational wealth depend upon their benefits. Yet, they are living in fear that Republicans in this body will take away their healthcare and their means to pay for housing or food.

The bills we are considering this week have nothing to do with combating those fears. What they actually do is harm the health and financial stability of Americans. They dirty our air, they worsen student debt, and they increase the prison population.

My Republican colleagues cannot be serious. These priorities and bad policies do nothing to meet the moment.

Madam Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to come to their senses, and I urge them to stop playing games with our economy. Instead, give the American people some certainty. Give our seniors some certainty. Assure our seniors that you will not cut Social Security and Medicare. It is one thing to say it on the news, and it is another thing to do it in this Chamber.

Before Medicare, nearly half of older Americans had no health insurance. Today, Medicare is often the only source of healthcare for nearly all seniors. More than 66 million people rely on Social Security to meet their basic needs in a country where most Americans, over 60 percent, can't afford an unexpected $400 bill tomorrow; that is seniors, people with disabilities, children, and more than 8 million veterans.

Republican proposals to sunset Social Security and Medicare would cause panic and disruption for our seniors at a time when peace and security are critical and well-deserved.

Let's spend our time this week finally considering Democrats' legislation that guarantees seniors the retirement that they were promised and that strengthens our healthcare. Our elders give us so much: culture, wisdom, and tradition.

Madam Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues in this body to give back to them and guarantee them what they have earned. Let's do even more. Let's expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing benefits.

Let's work together to get rid of surprise bills. Let's end unaffordable prescription drug prices.

Madam Speaker, I urge Republicans in this Chamber to abandon the bad bills that they are bringing to the floor and refocus on real solutions that working families and our seniors deserve.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about what this resolution is really about. No, it is not just about supporting local law enforcement. It is also about trying to attack and vilify

the Black Lives Matter movement and the activism that has helped shape our Nation and helped our Nation more clearly see the injustices carried out in our communities.

In 2020, I myself was on the forefront of this movement. Alongside the world, I watched online, outraged over the killing and lynching of George Floyd, a man who did not deserve to die at the hands of a police choke hold while he called out for his mother.

Alongside the world, I was outraged over the loss of Breonna Taylor, a young woman who did not deserve to be shot dead in her own home.

Like millions across this country, I marched for change, marched to fight for our voices to be heard, marched to fight for a world where that injustice does not exist, and marched in a nonviolent way alongside my community in central Florida.

I saw the pain and the hurt of so many who had spent their lives living in a nation where they feared their well-being every time they stepped outside of their home due to negative interactions with law enforcement. Not every interaction, but many interactions.

We fought for public safety that centers the community so we can truly tackle crime and conditions that breed it.

I believed then what I believe now: The color of your skin and how much money you have in the bank should not determine the treatment you get in the eyes of the law.

The color of your skin and how much money you have in the bank should not be the determining factor of whether you live or die.

No one deserves to die because they are Black. No one deserves to die because they are poor.

Yet, today, we are voting on a resolution that does nothing but to divide us as a country.

It has nothing to do with really supporting police. It has everything to do with vilifying a movement of people and everything to do with trying to rewrite history to make what was a global, mainly nonviolent protest seem evil.

You can pass all the sham resolutions you want, but you cannot take away our stories. I remember being tear-gassed, maced, arrested, and jailed on the streets of my own hometown. Today, I get to represent those same streets in the United States Congress.

You cannot whitewash this history. These stories live on in Black Lives Matter.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because Republicans in this Chamber want to scream and shout about our broken immigration system while putting forth the most unserious, cruel bill that is effectively dead on arrival in the Senate and fixes absolutely nothing.

This bill is a rerun of Donald Trump's biggest failures at inhumane border policies. This is the child deportation act because that is exactly what this does.

It doesn't address any single issue at the border. It doesn't create pathways to citizenship for those legally attempting to receive asylum, which is a right in this country. It focuses on expediting child deportation and detaining unaccompanied minors, and even spending millions of your taxpayer dollars on a pointless border wall.

Floridians back in my home State know that this is nothing less than hateful, unserious legislation, because we are watching Governor Ron DeSantis do the same thing: spending millions to detain and fly migrants for a political show while criminalizing vulnerable people and families.

The American people sent us here to work, and instead, GOP leadership offers them pointless bill after pointless bill that only proves how hateful rightwing policy has become.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and advocacy of someone so many in the Orlando community considered a friend and loved one, Alaina Slife, who lost her life 2 weeks ago, which has left a hole in Central Florida.

Alaina was a daughter, a sister, a partner, and a friend to so many.

I actually had the honor of meeting her through the clouds of tear gas during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, where she was an accomplice and an ally and a fighter in the fight for justice for every single person.

She seemed to wake up every day with a mission in her heart to help people, and she devoted her life to empowering others and fighting for a better State and a better world for all central Floridians and everybody.

Today, I honor and remember her life's work and offer my deep condolences to her family and loved ones. She was a warrior in our community and will be greatly missed, but she lives forever through the joy, and the shared fight and struggle of our people. I thank her so much for her work.

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I have to point out that the gentleman and many of the people who just led that moment of silence for the horrible shooting that just happened can't find it within themselves to give a moment of action to make sure that these shootings don't happen in the first place.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in belated celebration of RECORD Store Day and the incredible record stores that call central Florida home.

Last month, I got to visit many of these stores, hearing from the small business owners and employees about their love for music and what we can do to support small businesses and the arts.

The next time you are in central Florida, please take the time to visit Bossa `N Roll Records, Bynx, Foundation College Park, Park Ave CDs, Re-Runz Records, Remix Records, Retro Records, Rock & Roll Heaven, Smartpunk's RECORD Shop, Uncle Tony's Donut Shoppe, which has records, and any store that I may have missed.

Mr. Speaker, I thank all the record stores for being a vital part of our economy and our arts community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a proud adoptee, a son with two loving parents who provided me with all the love and support a child could ever ask for.

Yet, I heard in this Chamber a few days ago someone saying my parents aren't real parents.

Let me be clear: I am their child. They are my parents. For bigoted, closed-minded reasons, certain folks have decided that people who adopt their children are lesser than.

Make no mistake, whether you adopted your child, had biological children, or found your chosen family in some other way, you are a parent.

Because I haven't seen any of my Republican colleagues in this Chamber condemn these disgusting comments, I hope that they don't also agree with it because I won't allow anyone in this Chamber to disrespect my family or yours.

Directly to the people who have opened up their hearts and homes to children ready for their embrace, don't let anyone ever diminish who you are. You are real parents, a parent and nothing less.

Mr. Chairman, this morning I called a 12-year-old in my district who is worried about their future as a nonbinary kid in this country. They should be playing and learning, and not writing to their Congress Member, desperate to not lose their right to exist.

These are the priorities of the Republican majority--not addressing gun violence, rising rent, or medical bills, but violating the privacy of children. I am glad I get previews. I get special previews of what this Republican majority is going to try to do in this body because they are simply taking bills that are being passed in Florida and across the South, horrible bills, and trying to get them passed up here.

This isn't about a problem that needs a solution, but about politicians looking for a target. We want freedom and liberty for all of our people, and they want the government to be in children's pants. Disgusting.

History will not look kindly on this. Trans people will continue to fight for equity. We will be right by their side, and we will win.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the American people know that their right to abortion care is under attack.

As I speak right now, across the street, the Supreme Court of the United States is getting ready to rule on whether or not to keep a ban on restrictions on an abortion pill that has been around for decades and has safely helped millions when they needed it the most.

In my home State of Florida, our wanna-be-President of a Governor signed a 6-week abortion ban into law that effectively means that people who have been raped, who are the victims of incest, and who are experiencing life-threatening pregnancies are going to be denied the care that they need and will be forced to give birth.

It is barbaric and disgusting. That isn't liberty. That isn't freedom. Being able to make a decision about your future and your body, that is freedom. Having control over your own reproductive care, that is freedom. Having a choice, that is freedom. That is what we need to fight for: freedom and liberty for all of our people, not ripping away one of their most sacred human rights.

Mr. Speaker, I am here today because I am ecstatic that we have a President who has chosen to lead with love and compassion when it comes to other humans in this country.

I thank President Biden for having the heart and courage to do what his predecessor never did: show respect and dignity to Dreamers and DACA recipients, who came to the United States through no choice of their own and are full-fledged Americans in every single way but one-- on paper.

The Biden administration's move to expand healthcare coverage to DACA recipients is bold and historic and follows Democrats' commitment to helping immigrant communities that have spent their lives living in the shadows of this country.

There are over half a million Dreamers in the United States who were extended a literal lifeline through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, and over 20,000 DACA recipients who call my home State of Florida their home.

Though DACA has been a wonderful beacon of hope for so many, through his action, President Biden has acknowledged that more can be done to help this vulnerable community.

For years now, DACA recipients have been living with a weight on their shoulders. Constantly worried about losing their job means the end of being able to afford care, forcing them to stay in working environments that perhaps mistreat them, backed into a corner where they have to decide between getting to see a doctor or having to push through the pain and the illness.

Let me be clear. No one should have to make that decision between access to medical care or putting food on the table or having a roof over their head. Healthcare in this country is and should be a human right for all people by virtue of being alive.

That is a scenario that is all too familiar for DACA recipients. I have read stories of young people from my hometown in central Florida who have gotten healthcare for the first time in their lives only then to lose that care because of a layoff or job cuts.

I am hard-pressed to find a working person or working family that can afford to pay $500 or more a month for health insurance. I have always said that if you love somebody, you want them to have healthcare and a good-paying job that treats them fairly. If you love somebody, you want them to succeed and thrive. If you love somebody, you want them to be healthy and to be able to see a doctor or medical professional if, God forbid, they become sick.

Dreamers are people. DACA recipients are people. Immigrants are people. They deserve to be able to get their care through Medicaid and the ACA just like anybody else in this country.

We still have so much work left to do to ensure that we actually create a humane, compassionate immigration system that offers a real pathway to citizenship for the hundreds of thousands of Dreamers and DACA recipients who call Florida and this country home, but this action is a beacon of hope.

To the Dreamers across the country who are listening right now: Hear me when we say we won't stop fighting, not just for you but with you. Home is here. Healthcare is a human right.

I thank all the organizers, young people, advocacy groups, and allies across the country who have spent years fighting for this very moment. Let's get to work and continue to provide for all people.

Mr. Speaker, I am here today because I, like the rest of our Nation, am outraged about what we have seen happen in Tennessee.

Six innocent people died as a result of senseless gun violence in Nashville, a school shooting where we lost children that will never be forgotten.

Instead of banning together to honor these victims, to honor those families, to honor with action, real action that would save lives, Republicans in the Tennessee Legislature took the racist step of expelling two Black lawmakers who stood with the families, students, teachers, and their constituents in demanding change.

The only thing that Representatives Jones and Pearson are guilty of is doing the right thing, of standing with their constituents who sent them to the State legislature to fight for their lives. That is why they have already been unanimously reappointed to their positions by the people in their local governments.

I pray and act and fight for a day when we are more outraged that children were murdered in a pool of their own blood at school than we are that Black folks have the audacity to take up space in the halls of power.

Guess what? Representatives Jones and Pearson will continue to take up that space. Black lawmakers such as myself and my colleagues in this room will continue to take up that space. The people--children--for whom the leading cause of death in this country is guns will continue to take up that space.

As long as there is injustice, we will not be silent. We will continue to fight for a world where no one has to have the fear of gun violence.

I commend Representatives Jones and Pearson. They are American heroes because they fight for a day when we can be safe.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor some of the most powerful and outstanding women in my hometown of central Florida during Women's History Month.

These awe-inspiring women broke glass ceilings, pioneered change, fought for equal rights, and championed a better tomorrow for the people of Florida:

Congresswoman Corrine Brown, part of the first group of Black lawmakers from the State of Florida to serve in the United States House of Representatives since 1876.

Linda Chapin, the first elected mayor of Orange County.

Stina D'Uva, who serves in our community through the West Orange Chamber of Commerce.

Veteran Tangia Hill-Smikle, who gave back to central Florida in too many ways to count.

Suneera Madhani, a pioneer in financial technology.

Linda Landman Gonzalez and Kay Rawlins, leaders with our local beloved sports teams, the Orlando Magic and Orlando City Soccer Club.

Lastly, human rights advocates like Nikole Parker and Martha Are, and journalists like Beth Kassab are on the front lines of fighting for the free press.

Today, I honor them and thank them for all they have done for central Florida.

Madam Speaker, I also have to say, moments of silence are incredibly important to remember those who have been taken from us, but faith without work is dead. If we don't work to end gun violence, our children will suffer the same fate.

Madam Chair, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 1, the pollution over people act.

This is a bill filled with dangerous, unpopular, and unnecessary policy that will worsen our climate crisis--our existential climate crisis.

I am part of a generation who has grown up with the very real fear that, in our lifetimes, we will all experience an unlivable planet, that we will lack breathable air and drinkable water, that our houses will be destroyed again and again in natural disasters, that we will develop asthma and struggle to breathe, and that we will have a shortage of food.

Sitting here, I have heard a lot from my colleagues repeating that we need to lower energy costs. My question is: Where are the actions on ensuring that price gouging isn't happening at the pump?

This is exactly why energy costs are higher at the pump. I agree, but what about the real costs, the cost of life? What we know is that the cost of not doing anything is far greater than the cost of taking action right now.

You might not be the ones paying for it, but future generations will be, and I think a body like ours should be thinking about the future and the present.

Many people around the globe are already experiencing these threats. Among them are farmers, farmworkers, coastal communities, and community members who cannot afford air-conditioning costs.

I would like to believe that, out of compassion for my generation and our vulnerable communities, Republican Members of this body would come to the table and act in a bipartisan way to protect us from this fate.

It is possible to create a green transition so we can preserve jobs and the planet and create a whole new economy, a green economy, with good-paying union jobs for all of our people. We can invest in clean energy and train those working in the oil and gas industries so they can have new, good-paying jobs in fulfilling careers.

We can do these things, but right now, my Republican colleagues aren't. H.R. 1 is not about what is right for their constituents, working people, or what is right for the Earth. It is about what is right for oil and gas executives getting rich off polluting our planet.

This bill would bring back the defunct Keystone XL pipeline, reversing President Biden's wise executive action that ended it. It rubberstamps new construction of new pipelines.

Not only is this bill not informed about what is best for the future, but it looks like they haven't learned from what has happened in the past. This bill requires two new Gulf of Mexico oil lease sites. This is very damaging to my home State of Florida.

It has been a tradition for both Democrats and Republicans from Florida to support no offshore drilling in the State of Florida. I am looking forward to seeing all of my Republican colleagues who are part of the Florida delegation voting ``no'' on this bill to keep intact their word. I know one of my colleagues said that this body is about integrity and keeping our word. I look forward to seeing those ``no'' votes.

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon explosion pumped 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, polluting more than 1,000 miles of Florida beaches with toxic oil. These literal waves of pollution closed beaches and deprived Floridians and visitors of 10 million beach days on our world-class beaches. The economic impact on our tourist industry was profound. The impact on our seafood industry was catastrophic. No one wanted a meal coming from a poisonous sea.

In this bill, Republicans are burying their heads in the oil-covered sand and requiring more oil lease sales in the area. I fear for the health of my community.

Florida is in the middle of a climate change crossfire. We have rising seas that are creating higher and more destructive storms. We just had Hurricane Ian last year, the deadliest hurricane in 100 years. Entire communities were completely decimated and wiped out. In Orlando, it caused flooding like we have never seen before, leaving constituents homeless.

H.R. 1 comes weeks after the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. This report makes it clear: Continued greenhouse gas emissions will lead to destabilizing global warming, and our own only hope is rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gasses.

I heard a colleague blame Democrats for emissions. That is also not true, but I am glad to hear he was impassioned about blaming Democrats for increased emissions, which would lead me to believe that he agrees that we have to bring down emissions, which the report also said we have to do in a very quick way so we can have a livable planet.

Madam Chair, I will vote ``no'' on H.R. 1, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. We can and we must do better than this, not just for us but for future generations.

I invite my Republican colleagues to abandon this harmful bill and come to the table to work in a bipartisan way on smart energy policy because the decisions you make today will impact future generations and condemn my entire generation to a lifetime of suffering and put us on a path toward an unlivable future. I hope we will make the right decision.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because I am furious, angry that three kids died today in Nashville, Tennessee; angry that hundreds of parents had to cry their eyes out today not knowing if their child would come home from school; and angry that we have to live day after day when we turn on the news to see rampant gun violence claiming life after life.

All of this is because of politicians in this Chamber that have been bought and paid for by the NRA, that put profits over people, over human lives, cowards who wasted our time last week passing a parental bill of rights, not giving a damn about the rights of children to be able to go to their classroom without the fear of being gunned down due to senseless gun violence.

It is likely that, at this moment, the next mass shooter is planning their shooting. What will this Chamber do about it?

I filed my first bill last week to simply create a Federal office of gun violence prevention. Three kids are dead today, and every day that we wait, 100 more people die.

I pray to God that there are some Republicans in this Chamber who can help support my legislation to save lives.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 5. I rise in opposition as someone who has actually been a student in our public school system within the last decade. I rise as someone who is the son of a public school educator, special education teacher of 37 years-- love you, Mom. I also rise as someone who sat on my local school board for 2 years as a student representative.

This bill is modeled after one that I know very well--Florida's Parental Rights in Education law. Most of us know it as ``Don't Say Gay.'' ``Don't Say Gay'' infringes on parents' rights, including LGBTQ+ and supportive parents.

Bills like this make schools more hostile, and make no mistake, it results in hate, bigotry, and, yes, sometimes death of our students in schools.

Republican lawmakers won't even allow my amendment to be considered that protects the First Amendment rights of parents. We want to talk about parental rights. What about their First Amendment right to fight for their children, LGBTQ+ children, who are fighting for gender- affirming and life-saving care?

One of my colleagues brought this up, but this bill focuses on parents' rights, but what about the rights of our students? What about the rights of our young people? Why are my Republican colleagues not advocating for our students? Is it because they know that the majority of young people despise legislation like this and do not support legislation like this that is bigoted?

Is it because this generation is the most progressive generation this country has ever seen because they want a world where everybody can succeed, where we see the world through the eyes of the most vulnerable?

See, the party is branded on freedom and liberty, but what about the freedom and liberties of young people and students who actually sit in the classroom?

I mean, if Republican lawmakers cared so much about what is happening in our schools, they would focus on feeding kids so we can ensure that everyone can learn on a full stomach.

If Republican lawmakers cared so much about what is happening in our schools, they would make sure that students have updated technology, teachers have the resources they need so students can actually learn.

If Republican lawmakers cared so much about what is happening in schools, what about the kids who are gunned down in their classrooms? The leading cause of death for young people in this country is gun violence.

None of that is in this bill. This bill is just a vehicle for hate and political nonsense, pushing a chosen wedge issue. It is not about policy; it is about politics. It is not about freedom and liberty. It is about the fear of a problem that doesn't exist.

Madam Speaker, I rise today as Black History Month has come to a close in order to honor some of the most impactful Black leaders Central Florida has ever seen.

They blaze trails in my home State, making history by being the first Black Floridians to graduate from local schools, to serve on local city councils, run for city commissioner posts, and pass constitutional amendments.

Camille Evans, Sonya Hill, Dr. LaVon Bracy, Dr. Reverend Randolph Bracy, Commissioner Mable Butler, Dr. Alzo Reddick, Byron Brooks, Dr. Bridget Williams, Chester Glover, Denise Diaz, Representative Kamia Brown, and Barbara Chandler.

Each one of them has dedicated their lives to service in one way, shape, or form. Because of that, our State, community, and Nation are a better place.

Today and always, we celebrate their achievements and continue to honor Black excellence.