Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I missed votes due to a previously scheduled family commitment. My grandson, Thomas, graduated from Xavier High School. The ceremony is at St.

Patrick's Cathedral in New York. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 169, YEA on Roll Call No. 170, and NAY on Roll Call No. 171.

personal explanation

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his exceptional leadership. I recognize all the Members of the Rules Committee for their stamina and Mr. McGovern for his values.

Mr. Speaker, the Reverend Martin Luther King said: ``Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death.'' He went on to talk about access to healthcare as a right.

This bill's inequality and inhumanity is exactly what Republicans have in store for the American people.

I was in the Rules Committee for 5 hours. I know some of you were there longer, and it was stiff competition as to what was the worst provision they came up with.

Let's just talk about work requirements for a moment. Republicans said with great pride: Oh, if they have a 7-year-old child, they have to go to work. A 7-year-old child is a little child.

I will just recall for you a conversation I had with some moms. One of them said: If I have a work requirement to have Medicaid, this is what it means to me. If my child is sick, I can't go to work because I can't afford childcare. If I miss work, I will miss pay, and I can't afford to miss the pay. If I miss going to work, I can be fired. What I have to do is put my child on a schoolbus even though my child is sick, and I have to go to work to have Medicaid.

Then, of course, as has been mentioned about the silencers, that is just beyond comprehension in terms of safety for our children.

Mr. Speaker, because of Republicans' tax bill scam, millions of American families, seniors, and veterans--

--vulnerable children, people with disabilities, and all the rest will lose their healthcare. Rural hospitals will be closed. Millions of jobs will be destroyed across America, and all of this to give another massive tax cut to the richest people in America. It is a Republican Robin Hood in reverse, one of the largest transfers of wealth from working families to the rich in our country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule and on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join our Democratic leader and Democratic Women's Caucus colleagues in highlighting stories of women and children who would be harmed by the House Republican agenda.

Republicans are slashing $300 billion--that is b, billion dollars-- from SNAP, in addition to cutting $700 billion from Medicaid. That is $1 trillion in cruel cuts from our Nation's children in order to give tax cuts to billionaires.

SNAP is our Nation's most effective antihunger initiative. The devastating Republican cuts threaten children and families in California and across America who are scared and crying out for help.

One single mom, Melissa, from California who lives in a district represented by one of our Republican colleagues shared that if not for SNAP, her family of three children every month would be running out of money for food. She would have zero dollars for food. She attends school full time and says that without SNAP they would be forced to rely on food giveaways or starve.

Republicans shamelessly call this reform, but let's be clear: It is a sinful betrayal of the Gospel of Matthew: ``When I was hungry, you fed me.''

Mr. Speaker, Democrats will never stop fighting to ensure no child is left behind. Hands off our Medicaid, and hands off our SNAP.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to receive time from the distinguished Congresswoman from Washington State (Ms. Schrier). She is a pediatrician. We have all learned a lot about how public policy has a direct impact on the health and well-being of the American people.

When I hear them talk about cutting over $700 billion in Medicaid and that it is just waste, fraud, and abuse, this beautiful child is not waste, fraud, and abuse. I will talk about a little child in my remarks who is not waste, fraud, and abuse.

This Special Order comes together to shine a bright light on the Republican plan to fund tax breaks for billionaires by making huge cuts to Medicaid.

That is what it looks like. The fact is they will still with their tax bill add nearly $4 trillion to the national debt to cover their tax break for the wealthiest people in our country.

This is fiscal engineering to reduce the role of government in the lives of the American people where it is most needed. This is Robin Hood in reverse, taking resources from where it is most needed, from people who need it most, and giving it to those who need it less, the billionaires in America.

This is shameful. It is a fraud, and it is a shame.

When President Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, he traveled to Independence, Missouri, to be in the presence of former President Truman who had worked on this when he was President, but it came to fruition under President Johnson. President Johnson went there, and he signed the bill in the presence of Harry Truman. He reminded the American people of a shared tradition:

``Never to be indifferent toward despair. . . . never to turn away from helplessness. . . . never to ignore or spurn those who suffer untended in a land that is bursting with abundance.''

Indeed, Medicaid saves lives and is a pillar of health, security, and justice for tens of millions of Americans.

People often think of Medicaid as healthcare for poor children, and that would be justification enough, healthcare for poor children. However, it also is a middle-income benefit for nursing home residents and people needing it for long-term care services. They get that largely through Medicaid. It is also a benefit for people with disabilities.

The Republicans' devastating budget plan would push about 14 million Medicaid recipients off lifesaving healthcare and leave countless vulnerable families exposed to catastrophic medical bills. This is terrible. This is about health and financial health that is being devastated.

Working families and children from low-income households would face ruinous consequences as would rural hospitals--as the distinguished Congresswoman has mentioned--families seeking opioid addiction treatment for their loved ones, and middle-class Americans with long- term care needs.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert a statement from the California Medical Association into the Record.

This is what they have said about this.

California Medical Association issued the following statement regarding House Republicans' proposed cuts in Medicaid:

``The latest Federal proposal to gut Medicaid is reckless. Physicians and hospitals will be pushed to the brink, forced to close their doors and unable to continue care for their patients.''

Mr. Speaker, that is because when this funding leaves those rural hospitals, then not only do the Medicaid patients lose, but all the patients in that rural area lose.

``These would be the largest Medicaid cuts in history and will leave veterans, seniors, the disabled, children and working families without healthcare coverage''--this is as the distinguished physician colleague has said--``making emergency rooms the only point of care for millions of people. Communities will be devastated; lives will be lost.

``Congress must reject these cuts and instead focus on strengthening the safety net that protects us all. Otherwise, at least 13.7 million people will lose healthcare coverage.''

Republican attacks on healthcare impact real people, including little children. My guest at the President's State of the Union Address to Congress was Elena Hung, mother of Xiomara, a courageous Little Lobbyist, who is 11 years old.

Xiomara has complex medical needs, including chronic lung disease, chronic kidney disease, and global development delays. She has a tracheostomy, is ventilator and oxygen dependent, and uses a feeding tube.

Access to quality, affordable healthcare ensured that Xiomara received the care she needed during an extended hospitalization and can now live at home with her family.

Medicaid has helped Xiomara receive the therapies she needs to catch up with her developmental milestones, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, feeding therapy, and speech therapy.

However, these very lifelines, including Medicaid and more, are what Republicans are working to destroy to fund tax cuts for billionaires.

Democrats are standing strong against the administration's many attacks against families' healthcare. This is just one of them.

With this Special Order hour, we are calling out Republicans to either vote to protect their constituents' healthcare, or to vote to take it away. That is the choice.

In stark contrast to the President and Republicans in Congress, Democrats will always fight to lower healthcare costs. We are unified and ready to use every tool to stop this GOP scheme. We will always work to strengthen pillars of health and financial security in America. That includes the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. We will always fight for Medicaid.

I just want to go back to that one thing. They are still adding nearly $4 trillion to the national budget to give tax breaks to their wealthy billionaire friends. When the Republicans passed that bill and the President signed it into law, 83 percent of the benefits went to the top 1 percent, adding $2 trillion to the national debt. They are doubling down on that, adding almost $4 trillion to the national debt and saying: We have got to give all this money to billionaires and call children waste, fraud, and abuse in our Medicaid system.

It is really sinful, it is really sad, and it is something that I hope the Republicans will reject.

I hope their constituents will call them, because these Medicaid people are in Republican districts. One of our colleagues in California has, out of all of our constituents, he has nearly 500,000 people on Medicaid. Yes, he voted with Republicans on this.

Mr. Speaker, you can be sure he will be hearing from his constituents because people know.

I will close by saying that Lincoln said:

``Public sentiment is everything. With it, you can accomplish almost anything. Without it, practically nothing.''

However, for public sentiment to prevail, people have to know, and we are making sure that our constituents know and they are being informed as to our knowledge of what Republicans are doing. It is Republican reverse Robin Hood.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to share the story of this beautiful little girl.

Will the gentlewoman yield?

Just briefly, I want to make this further point. Ms. Schrier has been so eloquent, and all of us associate ourselves with her remarks and the professional knowledge that she brings, the intellectual resource she is on all of this.

I just want to add one thing. At the same time as the Republican reverse Robin Hood plan is going, taking it from those who need it most, giving it to those who have the most, they are also taking nearly $300 billion from SNAP.

SNAP is for food. Food is medicine. You are going to make people even more sick if those children don't have food.

There was one time when Medicaid first began that one of the people who was starting community health centers around the country insisted-- insisted--with the Federal Government that food be counted as medicine because it is about health. Children who do not have access to food are the ones who suffer the most.

I see that our colleagues have arrived.

Let me just add one thing. People ask me: What is your why? Why did you ever decide to leave home and come to Congress? I have five children. The idea that one in five children in America lives in poverty and goes to sleep hungry at night in the greatest country that ever existed in the history of the world, I just couldn't handle that. That is what took me from kitchen to Congress and housewife to House Speaker, to feed the children.

When Matthew says: ``When I was hungry, you fed me,'' in the Gospel of Matthew, what do we do with that? Just tear it up. This is immoral. It is sinful for us to be taking food out of the mouths of babies to give tax cuts to rich people.

Yet, do you know what? It isn't about that. Republicans are giving those tax cuts anyway. The majority is fiscally engineering the shrinking of the compact that we have with the American people and that developed countries have with their constituents.

We are behind the rest of them in many of these regards when we have to take food out of the mouths of babies to say that we are going to give a tax cut to the wealthiest, but we just really are taking food out of the mouths of babies because we don't want to feed them. That is what this is about, $1 trillion: $700 billion or more for Medicaid and $300 billion for SNAP. It is reverse Robin Hood a la Republicans.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her extraordinary leadership in making the case.

Mr. Speaker, yes, we are talking about something being expensive. Don't say clean air for our children to breathe is too expensive for us after all the things that the President has done to make things more expensive in our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to all of the Republican resolutions on the floor today, one of which takes away the right of California or any State to protect residents from dangerous pollution.

The illegal attack on the vital clean air protection set by California would choke our communities with smog. We are used to that. Over time, Californians have seen and felt the impact of smog on our lives. The gentleman even referenced it in his comments, and we will relentlessly defend our State's right to protect the air our children breathe with robust fuel economy and pollution standards when Federal standards fall short.

With these resolutions, Republicans are exposing their cynical, special-interest agenda that endangers public health in every community in our country by dismantling our protections for clean air, clean air for our children to breathe.

They put the American peoples' health, economic security, and futures under direct dire threat as Republicans and their donor-driven cronies funnel billions into the pockets of guess who? Big polluters. Today, they want us to favor big polluters over clean air for our children to breathe.

Democrats will never stop fighting to defend lifesaving protections for America's clean air. For the children, Mr. Speaker, I urge a strong ``no'' on this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Frances Garber Pepper, a fearless and focused giant in the fight for democracy, women's rights, and a better world, who passed away on March 28.

Francie meant so much to so many, whether it was through her vigorous advocacy for women or her unwavering love, energy, and compassion as a wife, mother, grandmother, friend, neighbor, and activist.

People ask me all the time what women have been an inspiration to me. Personally, first and foremost, is my mother; officially, our former colleague, Lindy Boggs, Ambassador Boggs; and, politically, Francie Pepper.

As a trailblazer of her own path, Francie was truly the epitome of women helping women, and I am so pleased that her legacy will carry on through a namesake fund that will help survivors and families of domestic violence.

May it be a comfort to all of Francie's family: Her beloved husband, John; children, John, David, Doug, and Susan; her entire family, and all her loved ones, so many people are mourning this loss and praying for them at this sad time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a tribute written by Francie's son, David Pepper.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his extraordinary leadership.

Mr. Speaker, today Republicans will vote to pass a continuing resolution that hollows out our Nation's commitment to the health, education, and economic security of America's working families. Instead of working constructively in a bipartisan way to meet the needs of the American people, Republicans are trying to starve the domestic budget with a partisan bill--I am going to focus on veterans here--that cuts nearly $23 billion in veterans' benefits in addition to slashing even more money from healthcare and affordable housing.

Indeed, the Republican CR is a betrayal of America's veterans with devastating cuts to initiatives that care for our veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances.

Our Nation's sacred promise is just as the military says: On the battlefield we leave no soldier behind, and when they come home we leave no veteran behind. With this bill, Republicans have broken that promise.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this betrayal of our veterans, and I urge my Republican colleagues to join Democrats at the negotiating table to get serious about the peoples' business. Vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his exuberant presentation of opposition to this budget. I thank him for all the amendments he proposed to improve upon it. Sadly, the Republicans didn't accept just one.

Here we go again. The last time the Republicans had a majority in the House and Senate and President Trump in the White House, they passed a terrible bill that was a tax cut for the rich that gave 83 percent of the benefits to the wealthiest people, the top 1 percent in our country, and added $2 trillion to the national debt.

This year, they are doubling down on that, $4 trillion to the national debt, and they call that fiscal sanity. They are doing it by steering taxpayer dollars from Medicaid to give additional tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations.

People think of Medicaid sometimes as a poor children's program, and that would be sufficient justification for it all, but it is a middle- income benefit. Seniors who need long-term healthcare need Medicaid.

Members should listen to their constituents and hear what they have to say about what it means to their fiscal well-being. Listen to constituents. The numbers are staggering.

By voting for this cruel bill, they are betraying hardworking Americans by raising costs for all those already struggling to make ends meet. The President said he was going to reduce the cost of living. He didn't. He said he would reduce inflation. He didn't.

Mr. Speaker, indeed a vote for this budget is a vote against Medicaid, ripping away healthcare from children, people with disabilities, and seniors. It is a vote against SNAP, as the distinguished chairman indicated, taking food out of the mouths of babies.

They do that with glee while President Trump and congressional Republicans are choosing to protect billionaires, by the way, who benefit from Medicaid with people cleaning their homes.

Mr. Speaker, we are led and unified by Hakeem Jeffries. We are united in our commitment to work for working families. That is why I urge a ``no'' vote on this extreme measure, and I thank the distinguished chairman for his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rose to congratulate Daniel Lurie, the 46th Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco. Daniel Lurie is an innovative, empathic leader elected with a call to service, change and accountability.

Although he is San Francisco's first mayor since 1911 to win office without previously serving in government, Daniel Lurie is well known for his innovative approach to solving entrenched issues and delivering results for San Francisco. As the founder of Tipping Point Community, Mayor Lurie launched the Bay Area's largest anti-poverty organization, directing over $500 million toward solutions for housing, job creation, and essential services. Under Mayor Lurie's leadership, Tipping Point spearheaded construction of a first-of-its-kind affordable housing building at 833 Bryant Street, a project that came in on time and under budget with good-paying union labor. Mayor Lurie also led the bid to bring Super Bowl 50 to the Bay Area in 2016, making it the most philanthropic Super Bowl in NFL history, and founded The Civic Joy Fund in 2023, bringing more art, music, and enthusiasm to our city streets.

Throughout his career, Mayor Lurie has set new standards for impact and partnership, including innovative public-private collaborations that uplift communities. Mayor Lurie's priorities include ensuring safety and vibrancy in all neighborhoods, as well as economic growth. He is entering City Hall effective from the start having just negotiated a hotel strike settlement with higher wages for our union workers and stability for our vibrant hospitality industry.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Mayor Lurie lives in the City with his wife, Becca Prowda, and their two young children.

I congratulate Daniel Lurie, his mother Mimi Haas, his father Rabbi Brian Lurie, and their entire family, and look forward to working with Mayor Lurie toward a thriving San Francisco for all.

Mr. Speaker, I missed votes due to recovery from a hip replacement surgery after sustaining an injury during a bipartisan Congressional delegation trip to Luxembourg to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 516.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Kaptur for calling to the attention of our colleagues the distinguished service of David Hobson.

When she said he worked across the aisle, that is exactly what he did, with respect for the dignity and the views of all of us in this body.

I had the privilege of traveling with him to theaters of war, with him and Jack Murtha, his pal. I have had the joy of enjoying the candy that he would bring from Ohio, saying it was the best chocolate candy ever.

I also had deep gratitude to him for what he did to help us with the Presidio in San Francisco, for our appropriations funding, again reaching across the aisle.

This was a very special person, a person full of joy but very serious about the legislation and very committed to bipartisanship in the body. It was an honor to serve with him. I join in extending condolences to his family.

Mr. Speaker, I thank his family for sharing him with us. David Hobson was a blessing to our country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished whip for yielding and for her beautiful statement about a great person who has honored us with his work and his patriotism in this body.

It is my privilege to join my colleagues on the floor of the House as we celebrate a true public servant and a trusted aide to so many of us, Keith Stern.

Keith first came to Congress in 1997 to work for Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard. He comes from Los Angeles, so we are very proud of him as a Californian--even though he is a Dodger fan, but that is a different story.

Over the next three decades, he went on to hold many top jobs in the House, always working for the people. For Jim McGovern, he was at the center of policy development on the powerful Rules Committee. As floor director of operations for me as Speaker of the House, he provided expertise for Democrats' major legislative achievements. For Whip Clark, he has provided counsel on major issues facing the House. He has been tactically, strategically, philosophically, and in every way a major asset.

Working for more than 7 years in my office, he was simply invaluable. Throughout his tenure, Keith has offered indispensable expertise in House procedure. Coming from the Rules Committee, his vast institutional knowledge made Keith a trusted strategic resource in legislating.

In every role, his service has been marked by insight, integrity, dependability, and unending devotion to this House of Representatives, even in the most trying of times.

My staff in the Office of the Speaker were the finest group of public servants in the House. I always brag about them, the greatest staff ever assembled in the history of the House of Representatives. Keith was a shining example of that brilliance, dedication, and patriotism.

Congratulations, Keith, on a job well done. Thank you for your leadership, which has made a difference in the lives of so many people. Best wishes to you, and gratitude for sharing you with us to Cara; your two beautiful children, Sandy and Colleen; your parents, your mom, your stepmom, and your dad, who are here with us in the gallery, as you embark on this new chapter.

Thank you, Keith Stern, for your patriotism and your service, and best wishes to you as you go forward.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in favor of the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act.

Sixty-five years ago, in the Tibetan Uprising of 1959, thousands of courageous Tibetans risked their lives for their freedoms as they took a stand against Chinese occupation. When the People's Liberation Army security forces tightened their hold on Lhasa in response to the uprising, a young Dalai Lama was forced to flee his country--and he has lived in exile ever since.

The leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama serves as a symbol of the bravery and resilience of the Tibetan people--and his story challenges the conscience of all freedom-loving people. It was my privilege to lead Congressional delegations to visit the His Holiness in Dharamsala in 2008, and 2017. On those trips, we saw firsthand the aspirations of the Tibetan people--especially in the eyes of the children who had only known relentless intimidation by the Chinese Communist Party.

In the decades since the uprising, Beijing has only accelerated its aggression against Tibetans. The world has witnessed unconscionable and intolerable actions of the Chinese Communist Party against the Tibetan people: mandatory political education, restrictions on religious freedom, a mass surveillance regime, and further closing off Tibet from the world. Yet despite their oppression, the children of Tibet still yearn for a future where they can speak their language, practice their faith and celebrate their culture without fear.

The United States of America has a clarion moral duty to stand up for Tibet and speak out against Beijing's abuses. In the Congress, there has long been strong, bipartisan, bicameral support for the Tibetan people. We were proud to enact the Tibet Policy Act in 2019: promoting Tibetans' religious, linguistic and cultural identity, and including the right to select their own religious leaders in accordance with their own belief system.

It has been my privilege to help shape this bill--including through our annual Tibet Strategy Meetings when I was Speaker and in further sessions convened in my office in recent months. Alongside Ranking Member McGovern and fearless Tibetan advocates, we workshopped the bill language to strengthen American efforts for a diplomatic solution to Tibet's status, from establishing a statutory definition of Tibet, to further empowering the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues to combat disinformation.

It was with great pride that I voted for this bill's passage in the House in February--and I am proud to support this bill's passage again today. I urge a strong `aye' vote today to reaffirm Congress's bipartisan and unbreakable support for human rights in Tibet and thank Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for their leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life, leadership and service of

Reverend Cecil Williams: a spiritual giant who devoted his life to empowering those marginalized, forgotten and in need.

Reverend Williams embodied the Gospel of Matthew: `for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me.' Through his many good works, he transformed countless lives--in the Bay Area and beyond.

Reverend Williams stood on the forefront of the American struggle for civil rights and social justice: whether fighting against racism, protesting the Vietnam War, confronting the crack cocaine epidemic or bringing compassion to those with HIV/AIDS, to name just a few of his many good works. In a moment when the LGBTQ+ community faced intense discrimination and stigma, Reverend Williams began presiding over the weddings of same-sex couples in San Francisco--nearly five decades before marriage equality became the law of the land.

Alongside his beloved wife Janice Mirikitani, who was his partner not only in marriage but in service, Reverend Cecil Williams helped launch and lead the GLIDE Memorial Church for six decades. Strengthened by their belief in unconditional love and the power of redemption, GLIDE has built a community of compassion and inclusion in the heart of one San Francisco's toughest neighborhoods. Today, more than 11,000 San Franciscans of all races, ethnic backgrounds, cultures, social classes, ages, faiths and sexual orientations are a part of GLIDE's vibrant, diverse congregation.

Living out Reverend Williams and Janice's faith-based social justice mission, GLIDE is also one of the largest providers of social services in the city. GLIDE serves three nutritious meals a day, 365 days a year, to thousands of San Franciscans in need--while offering comprehensive support services, including affordable, accessible, quality health care, mental health services, and HIV/AIDS and substance abuse treatment. GLIDE also helps women overcome domestic violence and oppression by providing housing, child care and supportive services.

Reverend Williams was not only respected but revered in our City as a clarion voice for love, respect and justice. At the same time, he embodied the spirit of our City's patron saint, Saint Francis of Assisi, who taught us to `Preach the gospel. Sometimes use words.' Indeed, he preached the gospel with his inspiring deeds each and every day.

May it be a comfort to Reverend Williams' children Kim and Albert, his stepdaughter Tianne, his grandchildren and all his loved ones that so many San Franciscans mourn their loss and pray for them during this sad time--and that his saintly teachings will live on in the hearts of all those who were blessed to know him.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick very much for bringing us together to honor this great person.

Anyone who ever watches the House of Representatives knew that Mr. Payne was first row, first seat. Any President or head of state who came into this body had to pass by him and pay their respects as he paid his respects in return, and practically every day, he did a Special Order on a priority. Whether it was in command of a discussion or what happens in the distinguished visitor's chair, Donald Payne was to be reckoned with.

It is with immense sadness that I rise today to honor our dear colleague. Mr. Speaker, as you can see from the flowers and the black crepe, we are all mourning him deeply.

Donald Payne came from a tradition of leadership, patriotism, effectiveness, and excellence. Public service was in his DNA. Many of us served with his father, Donald Payne, Sr., who was globally recognized as a great leader. Long before Donald Payne, Jr., was here, his father sang his praises. One day, he would replace him.

During his nearly 12 years here in the House, he strengthened our legislative efforts, especially in infrastructure at the helm of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He led a fight to secure clean drinking water for every child.

Indeed, even in what would be his final remarks on the floor, when we heard him just a matter of weeks ago, he made the case for lowering housing costs and expanding supply, demonstrating his total commitment to working families in the Garden State of New Jersey and beyond.

In our Caucus in the Congress, Congressman Payne was beloved. He was truly beloved. Indeed, all of us who served with him have been blessed by his personal kindness, his sense of humor, and his devotion to finding common ground.

Again, he was respectful of this institution by treating it with great dignity.

The dapperness of his apparel was always a source of joy to us and brightened our day.

Again, I hope it is a comfort to his wife, Beatrice; their triplets, Donald III, Jack, and Yvonne; and the entire Payne family that so many people mourn their loss and are praying for him at this sad time with a special thank-you to them for sharing Donald Payne with us in the Congress.

It is an honor to call him a colleague, and the American people benefited from his leadership and service.