Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, we all know that water is life. Safe, accessible, affordable drinking water is a human right.

In 2021, I was proud to work with Representative Debbie Dingell and the Committee on Energy and Commerce in helping establish the low- income household water assistance program, a $1.2 billion financial assistance program to help pay off bills and debts to keep people's water connected, especially during the pandemic.

The program, of course, saved countless lives, but the money has run out. Millions of Americans all across our Nation are still struggling to keep up with their bills, and many are having their water shut off as we speak.

We already have a permanent program right now for gas and electric utilities for our families called LIHEAP, but we have nothing for water utilities. The cost of water has gone up more than 40 percent nationwide in the last decade, and increased 285 percent in Detroit since 1980.

With this bill, called the Half-Century Update for Water Access and Affordability Act, we are establishing a bill that would dedicate funding every year to keep people's water flowing. The program, Mr. Speaker, would include direct financial assistance, bill payments, and debt relief. What I also love is that it is going to help with water efficiency upgrades, like plumbing repairs that are much-needed in very old homes all across our Nation.

We are going to set up a community advisory committee made up of residents, nonprofits, utilities, and other local stakeholders that will help advise the EPA on how to set up and implement these programs.

Mr. Speaker, the act will also go to help fund local nonprofits to help with technical assistance to help many of our families. We are also going to collect the data that is necessary to improve this program every year to make the biggest impact.

This bill would also ban the practice of water shutoffs as punishment for not being able to afford your bills. It is inhumane to have our families in the richest country in the world not have access to water.

We always seem to have the money, Mr. Speaker, to send more bombs and weapons, but not support working families who can't live without water.

Celebrating United Community Housing Coalition's 50 Years of Service

Mr. Speaker, I celebrate United Community Housing Coalition's 50 years of service to our communities.

It is an amazing organization that, in the past five decades, worked on lifesaving housing assistance for many thousands of our neighbors throughout Detroit and southeastern Michigan. The United Community Housing Coalition has been a critical organization, helping families retain their homes, helping folks become homeowners, and helping to protect neighborhoods from abandonment and blight.

UCHC serves as a beacon of hope for many of our residents in building a sense of community and empowerment. Their efforts in one of the most difficult times during the recession helped many Detroiters understand their legal rights, avoid foreclosure, fight eviction, organize, and secure housing.

I am proud of these 50 years of extraordinary service to our families. Please join me, Mr. Speaker, in recognizing UCHC's impact as we continue to strive toward a future where everyone has a safe and secure place to call home.

Blinken's 30-Day Humanitarian Deadline

Mr. Speaker, let's talk about ``Biden's 30-day humanitarian deadline.''

The Biden administration has continued to ignore reports from its own experts, international human rights organizations, and the United Nations that the Israeli Government is blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza in violation of U.S. and international law.

ProPublica published a detailed account of how the U.S. State Department submitted report after report to Congress that contradicted the findings of the Department's own experts and those of other agencies.

The Israeli Government is using starvation as a weapon of war. Look at this picture. It is evidence that blocking U.S. humanitarian aid is clearly happening, and it is a blatant violation of section 620(i) of the Foreign Assistance Act.

In a letter to the Israeli Government on October 13, Secretary Blinken acknowledged that the Israeli Government is violating U.S. law by blocking aid and gave them 30 days to comply. The letter demanded that 350 trucks be allowed into Gaza per day. Guess what? According to Israel's own data and own government, only 57 trucks were allowed into Gaza per day in October. If that is even true, this is the lowest amount of aid into Gaza in a year.

On November 1, top United Nations officials said the entire Palestinian population in northern Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine, and violence.

This week, Mr. Speaker, Secretary Blinken exposed his lie by announcing that there will be no change to any policy, despite admitting that the Israeli Government has still failed to comply with all of their demands.

Secretary Blinken has continued to lie to Congress and should resign. U.S. law is very clear: No nation blocking U.S. humanitarian assistance can receive U.S. weapons. The Biden-Harris administration cannot pick and choose when they comply with our own laws.

Children are forced to eat pet food and bug-infested flour. Look at this, and do not turn your back on again being complicit to this war crime.

Blinken says there is no need to change our own policy. Shameful.

Mr. Speaker, we know that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. There are roughly 13,000 nuclear weapons currently stored in bunkers, missile silos, warehouses, airfields, and Navy bases all around the world.

One warhead has the power to wipe out an entire city. A full-scale nuclear war could devastate life as we know it. The catastrophic risks posed by nuclear weapons are growing. We know that Putin continues to recklessly threaten the use of nuclear force in the war in Ukraine, and genocidal maniac Netanyahu continues to recklessly raise the nuclear threat level all across the Middle East.

The White House and Congress need to double down on efforts to work toward diplomacy and negotiate new constraints to cap and further reduce nuclear arsenals.

We must implement a new nuclear arms control framework to prevent an unrestrained nuclear arms race. It is absolutely terrifying, Mr. Speaker, for many of our residents in the United States that the President of the United States has the power to decide to launch a nuclear weapon right now. Think about that for just one moment.

The use of just a fraction of the nuclear weapons we possess, most of which are ready for launch within minutes of an order from any President, would lead to mass destruction on an unprecedented global scale.

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle should back commonsense efforts to adopt measures to reduce the risk of nuclear war. We must continue to work toward an international agreement, Mr. Speaker, with all countries that possess nuclear weapons through a very Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty that we already have.

Also, many of my residents continue to say: Stop. Stop the United States from being addicted to wars. We could be using so much of these resources to fund clean water, to fund housing, to fund childcare, and so much more that invests in the future and not the end of our world.

Mr. Speaker, access to utilities is often a matter of life and death. Without access to electricity or water, people may find themselves unable to keep their families healthy, their homes heated or cooled during extreme weather, or unable to sustain critical medical equipment in their home.

Utilities are not just a convenience, Mr. Speaker, but a fundamental human right that should be affordable and accessible to all. That is why Congresswoman Cori Bush, Congressman Jamaal Bowman, and I introduced a resolution recognizing the human rights to utilities, to affirm that access to water, sanitation, electricity, heating, cooling, public transit, and broadband are basic human rights. Utility access is especially critical for rural and low-income communities, like many in my congressional district, where many, again, are struggling to make ends meet and are on the front lines of the climate crisis.

The greedy corporations that own and operate utilities could choose to help families, but instead they are forcing them through the dehumanizing process of having their power cut off and their water shut down. Instead, companies like DTE in my community prioritize stockholder returns and CEO pay, trapping many of our neighbors in a cycle of poverty while they continue to make enormous profits.

Mr. Speaker, in the richest country on Earth, no family should be denied access to utilities, lack access to clean water, face energy burdens, and bear the brunt of corporate pollution. Access to these basic necessities is and should be a fundamental human right in our country.

Condemning Racism and Bigotry Toward Haitian People

Mr. Speaker, our Haitian neighbors from Detroit to Springfield, Ohio, are being targeted with hate, threatened with violence, and smeared with dehumanizing lies.

MAGA extremists, including the twice-impeached former President, are spreading disgusting lies about our Haitian neighbors. This is nothing more than xenophobia and anti-Black racism.

Our Haitian neighbors have been victimized by centuries of colonization, foreign exploitation, and repeated occupation and oppression by foreign powers, most notably by the United States. Haitian immigrant families in Springfield do not deserve to be targeted with a wave of bomb threats.

We must stop the dehumanization of our immigrant neighbors coming from both sides. We should welcome asylum seekers, not push legislation that funds separation of families and criminalization. We always, always must stand with our immigrant neighbors who are seeking a better life for their families.

I am so proud to have joined colleagues in the Haiti Caucus in introducing H. Res. 1473 condemning the racism and bigotry toward our Haitian neighbors.

Mr. Speaker, I say to our Haitian neighbors in Springfield and across our country: We love you. We see you. We stand with you, and we will always have your back.

Safe Storage Saves Lives

Mr. Speaker, my residents continue to share with me their fears of getting that dreaded phone call from their kids at school, that there is an active shooter, that there is a high-alert alarm now.

Just in the first month of the school year in my district, Southfield police arrested a 15-year-old boy for carrying a handgun in his high school. We are grateful for Michigan's OK2Say program that gave that student the ability to share that vital information that saved lives.

Gun violence is everywhere, Mr. Speaker. It is not just in our schools. After a Lions' game last week, gun violence took two innocent lives in the Eastern Market. We saw it, literally, at a children's splash pad in Michigan. Also, we even saw it at a block club, where many neighbors in the community were celebrating.

We must never get numb to the gun violence impacting our families, Mr. Speaker. The majority of our communities want more action on gun violence. That is why I am really proud to have worked with so many folks to introduce the Safe Storage Saves Lives Act, which would require firearm sellers to provide each buyer with a secure gun storage or safety device, a gun lock, for every gun they buy.

Mr. Speaker, in Michigan, the Children's Hospital of Michigan is now passing out gun boxes, literally storage for guns because they know this is now the leading cause of death for our children.

Of course, we have so much more work to do here in this Congress. It pains me that we continue to have inaction after continued over-and- over and high-profile shootings. It cannot become the norm. We must work together. Congress cannot ignore survivors' families forever.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize Pastors Larry and Linda Smith, of New St. Mark Baptist Church, who has announced their plans to retire later this year.

For the past forty-four years, they led New St. Mark Baptist Church with integrity and devotion to the congregation and the greater Detroit community. Their unwavering commitment and exemplary leadership have undoubtedly been a beacon of hope and inspiration for countless individuals.

Throughout these decades, your steadfast guidance has nurtured a thriving and vibrant congregation. From your work with Sunrise Sister's and your leadership in the Michigan District Association and the B.M.E. State Convention and Congress has not only shaped the spiritual lives of many but has also made a lasting impact on the broader community. Your dedication to spreading faith, love, and compassion is a testament to your profound commitment to your callings.

Please join me in thanking Pastors Larry and Linda Smith for their outstanding service to our residents in Southeast Michigan.

Madam Speaker, this Hispanic Heritage Month, I want to honor a powerful community mother in our district. She is an advocate. She has been a social worker for over 40 years. Our community mother, Mary Turner, serves with so much incredible commitment to community.

Mary's Catholic faith drove her to service. In southwest Detroit where there are 20 different ethnicities, you will find someone who has a story about Mary helping their family.

She brings so much heart and humanity to everything that she does, helping families navigate our broken, inhumane immigration system that too often works against them.

Her commitment to justice, equality, and compassion reminds us of the essential contributions that our Latino neighbors make every day in our Nation.

Mary doesn't just serve our community, she empowers us.

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and the more than 63 million Hispanic and Latino Americans in our country, let's honor people like Mary Turner and continue to fight for a future where every person, regardless of their background, has access to the opportunities they deserve.

I thank Mary Turner for her many years of service. She continues to inspire us all.

Hazardous Waste

Madam Speaker, this month I join Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and Wayne County Executive Warren Evans for a townhall to discuss the impending radioactive waste shipments that are coming to Michigan from New York.

This waste, and thousands of other truckloads our residents never hear about, comes to our communities right into our backyard because Michigan

has become the country's hazardous waste dumping ground.

Wayne County, the largest county in Michigan, is home to six of Michigan's eight hazardous waste dumps. Our laws must change, Madam Speaker. We must protect our residents.

I don't know if folks know, but it costs about $13 to dispose of a ton of waste in a landfill in Wisconsin, but it only costs 36 cents in Michigan.

We have made ourselves the most attractive place in our Nation to dump hazardous waste while surrounded by 84 percent of our country's surface freshwater. It doesn't make sense.

The truth is our environmental protection laws aren't strong enough to protect our people. They certainly do not go far enough, again, to protect working families and communities of color.

I introduced the Cumulative Impacts Act that would require the EPA and EGLE to consider cumulative impacts of pollution on our communities when it considers permanent facilities like this one and reject those permits when they would put our health at risk.

We need to pass this bill and more. Our residents are getting sick every single day while we do nothing.

Palestinian Babies

Madam Speaker, we are witnessing the Israel Government carry out a genocide in Gaza.

Recently, the Gaza ministry of health released a 649-page document with the name, age, and ID number of 34,344 Palestinians killed in Gaza who have been identified.

Most of them are women, children, and the elderly. These are just the identified individuals; many public health experts believe the death toll will climb. Every single day higher numbers will come out due to disease and starvation.

There are thousands more who are dismembered, unrecognizable, or buried beneath the rubble. However, behind these numbers are real people who have had their futures stolen. Their lives are forever changed.

The first 14 pages alone are the names of babies--I wish my colleagues would look at--who were under the age of 1 when they were killed. There are 14 pages of babies' names. That is 710 babies that the Israeli Government has murdered. This is not self-defense. This is genocide.

How can anyone justify this?

Madam Speaker, I include in the Congressional Record the link for the list of the children: https://d12t4t5x3vyizu.cloudfront.net/ tlaib.house.gov/uploads/2024/09/Palestinian-Ministry-of-Health- Casualty-List-31-Aug-24.pdf

We are living through one of, again, the most documented and horrific crimes against humanity in our history.

Again, these are children who did not live to see their first birthday. We cannot normalize this, Madam Speaker.

My colleagues continue to be silent. I wonder if it is because these babies are Palestinian. They are children. That is it. They are children. I can't believe I have to consistently remind my colleagues that Palestinians are also human beings.

Our tax dollars paid for this. U.S. weapons are being used to commit war crimes in violation of our own U.S. Leahy Laws and international laws, but many of my colleagues in the Biden-Harris administration continue to send bombs to kill children.

This is not working tirelessly for a cease-fire. If the Biden-Harris administration wants a cease-fire, then they should stop sending the bombs and the weapons. We must stop arming and funding genocide.

Mr. Speaker, the so-called ESG debate is a fabricated political issue funded by corporate interests that are trying to protect their short-term profits at the expense of our workers, our retirees, and our communities.

The stakes are real, and hardworking families' retirement security is on the line.

Just look at the impacts at the State level, Mr. Speaker. Indiana's budget office, for example, has estimated that forcing their State pension system to divest from firms or funds that use ESG factors could reduce returns by $6.7 billion.

Public funding is also at stake. Let's look at Texas. It passed anti- ESG legislation at the State level, disrupting the municipal bond market. Public borrowing costs have now increased by roughly $400 million in Texas.

Anti-ESG efforts shield companies from accountability, put families' retirement savings at risk, and cost the public money.

All this is for corporate profits. Pensioners and retirees deserve better.

Mr. Speaker, I want everyone to admit that this is all for corporate profits and that the American people deserve better.

These are retirees who worked incredibly hard, and we have to do everything we can to protect their investments. They deserve better. They deserve the transparency that these factors produce.

Anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian hate was in full display at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday, a hearing that was intended, Mr. Speaker, to highlight the deadly hatred that killed a 6-year-old boy, Wadea. He was stabbed 26 times in Chicago. That is what our Senators used that moment for, to promote the very hate that is against many of our communities.

Not to be outdone, my House colleagues are now pushing through legislation right here to spread anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and anti- Palestinian rhetoric. So I am not surprised to see this bill.

What does this bill do?

It seeks to erase Palestine from products produced by Palestinians on Palestinian farms. It requires products from large portions of Palestine, including on illegal settlements defined

under international law in the West Bank to be labeled, ``Made in Israel.''

So let's be clear. A vote for this bill would further support the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. A ``yes'' vote for this bill is erasing the existence of Palestinians.

That is right, Mr. Speaker. Palestinians also have a right to exist.

The provisions of this bill, Mr. Speaker, have hateful and discriminatory implications. We must stand against it and vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, no one should go bankrupt because they get sick.

I was proud to be able to join Director Chopra of the CFPB along with Congresswoman Debbie Dingell in hosting a roundtable on the impact of medical debt on our families.

We talked about the groundbreaking proposal by the Biden administration that would change the lives of millions of people where we would ban and prohibit medical debt from appearing on people's credit reports.

I know this step is long overdue, having introduced legislation like the Restoring Unfairly Impaired Credit and Protecting Consumers Act which would prohibit outright the reporting of medical debt on consumer reports.

Today, 15 million Americans have $49 billion in medical debt on their credit reports. In Wayne County, which is the largest county in Michigan, nearly one in six residents have medical debt.

Behind these numbers are real people. They are our families, whose lives are being impacted by this crushing burden all because they got sick.

We heard this firsthand from one of my residents, Livonia resident Erika Price, who was devastated by our broken healthcare system while watching her husband's body deteriorate.

For many, medical debt means sleepless nights worrying about making ends meet. Some families go bankrupt. Others lose their homes.

This is wrong, and, again, no one chooses to be sick.

The burden of medical debt can also haunt families by lowering their credit score, preventing them from getting a job, being able to rent a home, or even be able to get a car or a small business loan.

To address this crisis, I joined Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Ro Khanna in introducing the Medical Debt Cancellation Act to eliminate medical debt completely.

We know that we have sick care in our country, not healthcare. We know that this is also an economic and social justice issue and that many of our low-income families, our most vulnerable, some of my seniors even with insurance, are starting to see medical debt rise. We also know many of our Black and Latino neighbors are more likely to be impacted.

We know that without Medicare for All, millions of people will lack coverage while expenses continue to rise.

We all deserve so much better than a broken healthcare system that profits off of sickness and leaves more than 20 million people without health insurance.

No one should lose their home or have to declare bankruptcy because they got sick. Medical debt should never haunt someone financially. This body must take action to relieve this burden for many of our residents.

Michigan Needs Public Power

Mr. Speaker, I am sick and tired of DTE Energy's corporate greed, while many residents suffer the consequences and go days without power in Michigan.

Our families can't afford more power outages that spoil their groceries. And guess what? They only get $25, sometimes $35 in reimbursement. It ruins their medicine that is in the refrigerator. It leaves our neighbors without access to critical medical devices, all because DTE would rather pay out their executives--look it up--and their shareholders rather than ensure reliability.

They defer maintenance and would rather pay their shareholders instead of making sure the grid is strong and reliable.

Last month, with record-breaking heat waves, temperatures reached 95 degrees in southeast Michigan while over 200,000 residents went without power due to DTE Energy's failure to invest in their infrastructure upgrades while continuing to raise rates on our families.

The company made $1.4 billion in profits last year alone. Their CEO, Jerry Norcia, makes $10 million a year, but they are begging the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve more rate hikes--I think it is the third

or fourth already--and asking our residents to pick up the tab for their executives to travel on corporate jets. It is shameful.

The Michigan Public Service Commission should reject these outrageous rate increases. They are not reasonable. They are not fair. We need utilities that serve the people, not shareholders.

We need public power. DTE and other for-profit utilities should be turned into publicly owned and operated services. We see it over and over again by DTE's actions that we cannot allow these corporations to continue because they are always going to put profit before our people.

Falling Short

Mr. Speaker, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, is often hailed as landmark civil rights law or the most important civil rights laws in our country offering a promise of equal education for all of our children with disabilities.

We continue to fall short though in this promise.

The 50-year-old law is underfunded to this day. We passed it in 1975, and we promised to pay 40 percent of the cost of the Federal mandate on our school districts, and we are only reaching about 14 to sometimes 17 percent.

We are not doing enough.

Paraprofessionals alone in Detroit are working without a contract right now. Our Federal Government needs to cover 40 percent of the extra costs of special education.

Mr. Speaker, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or what we call IDEA, is a landmark civil rights law in our country, offering a promise of equal education for all of our students living with disabilities.

We continue as a country to fall short on this promise, a 50-year-old law that is now chronically underfunded. Teachers and parents in my district repeatedly tell me how we are not doing enough to meet the demands and requirements for IDEA.

The Federal Government promised to cover 40 percent of the extra costs of special education with the passage of IDEA in 1975. That pledge has never been met. Federal funding covers just under 15 percent, creating a shortfall of billions for many of our districts across the country.

My colleagues have been introducing a bill over and over again for almost 25 years to get it fully funded, and we haven't seen it yet.

We must follow on the promise of IDEA. That is why I cosponsored the IDEA Full Funding Act.

The problems today are real for our children. When we fail to fully fund these services, school districts are stuck and end up providing less than the law requires, cuts are made, and children are turned away.

Mr. Speaker, let's fund the IDEA.

Mr. Speaker, today, I want to recognize Bentley High School, Livonia's first public high school. While the building no longer exists in its physical form, its space holds many special memories for many of the 12th Congressional District residents and alumni.

Livonia Township experienced population growth in the 1940s, which drove home the need for its own public high school. Before then, its school-aged population was served by seven small school districts without a high school. With the people's approval, construction of the new high school began on November 8, 1946. The school was named for school board president George N. Bentley, and it hosted its first classes on September 15, 1947, in spite of ongoing construction. Ninety-five students comprised the school's first graduating class on June 15, 1950, just a few weeks after Livonia was incorporated as a city.

Over the ensuing years, Bentley High School was expanded multiple times to accommodate the changing needs of a growing student body. The school proudly boasted an extensive library, wood shop, auto shop, swimming pool, and music rooms. Due to declining population, Bentley High School was closed in 1984, though it lived on a community center until 1999.

Please join me and the 12th Congressional District in recognizing Bentley High School, as the community of Livonia and alumni celebrate the legacy and memories of this historic place.

Mr. Speaker, across our Nation, the cost of auto insurance has increased by an average of 26 percent in the last year alone. In my district, Mr. Speaker, Detroiters still pay the highest auto insurance rates in the Nation, leaving many of our families struggling to make ends meet. Even through and across the 12th Congressional District, in Oakland and Wayne Counties, we can see some rates going up as high as 40 percent.

While rent, utilities, gas, and other living expenses are deducted from a household's income to enable more families to qualify for Federal assistance that they need, it is outrageous, and I am taken aback and shocked, that auto insurance is currently not considered an expense.

How is it that 49 out of 50 States require drivers to have auto insurance, yet the cost is not factored into the cost-of-living formula for applying for Federal assistance in our country?

This is why I introduced the Auto Insurance Expense Relief Act. This bill corrects that injustice by including the cost of auto insurance to qualify for critical programs like food assistance, health coverage, and housing support. I ask that my colleagues join me in passing this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize the Village of Franklin in Michigan's 12th District as they celebrate their bicentennial anniversary.

Established in 1824, the Village of Franklin is a very special place in our community. The village grew out of increased travel through the region after the completion of the Erie Canal, and its first residents were practical tradespeople skilled in smithing, carpentry, and masonry. To this day, Franklin residents embrace and preserve its beautiful, rural landscape, fondly calling it the ``Town That Time Forgot.'' Because of its numerous original 19th-century properties, Franklin was designated as Michigan's first Historic District, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Please join me and the 12th Congressional District in celebrating the Village of Franklin's 200th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, how many times do we have to come to the floor to demand that our colleagues take action to end the gun violence crisis that is traumatizing our children and tearing families apart?

Since Republicans took power, the Speaker has called not one single vote, not one, to combat gun violence. It is shameful. It is shameful because since then, 934 mass shootings have occurred in our country.

Just this past weekend, Mr. Speaker, in the northeast side of our city, there was a mass shooting where 2 people were killed and 19 others severely injured. The victims were all between the ages of 17 and 27 years old.

I refuse to accept this as normal or the status quo. I refuse to accept that last month, there was a mass shooting at a Splash Pad with families in Rochester Hills, Michigan, where nine people were shot, including two children, that that is okay, that it is normal.

Behind these numbers are real people in our communities, families who are directly, forever being impacted and traumatized by these senseless shootings.

Firearms are now the leading cause of death for children and teens in our country. It is not just mass shootings. Mr. Speaker, 4.6 million children in our country live in homes with loaded and unlocked firearms.

There is a Children's Hospital in Detroit that passes out lockboxes.

Recently, a 6-year-old boy in Detroit shot himself in the hand at his grandmother's home after he found an unsecured firearm. He was playing with it and accidentally pulled the trigger. He is just one of nearly 360 children who unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else every single year.

This cable lock right here, which prevents a gun from being loaded and fired, is $10. I looked it up. That is why I introduced the Safe Storage Saves Lives Act to require gun locks like this one to be provided for every firearm sold in our country. This is a commonsense solution to save lives, to prevent these horrific accidental shootings, and even prevent suicides among our children.

It is time for Congress to act with urgency, Mr. Speaker, and pass legislation to save lives now.

Abortion Rights

Mr. Speaker, it has been 2 years since the corrupt, far- right Supreme Court gutted Roe v. Wade and stripped us of our reproductive freedom.

There are now 21 States with an abortion ban in effect. Currently, one in three women are living without access to abortion care.

I want you to think about this: Our bodies are now being regulated more than guns in our country. It is disgusting. They have not only targeted abortion but also undermined access to IVF, birth control, and family planning.

Thankfully, I know in our State, Michiganders have soundly rejected the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe and voted to enshrine abortion rights and abortion care into our State constitution.

MAGA extremists are not going to stop. They won't stop. They are pushing for a national abortion ban at the Federal level.

Abortion care is healthcare, and we must fight back and pass legislation that restores access.

People, Mr. Speaker, not politicians, should have the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies. We won't stop until we make reproductive freedom for all the law of the land and accessible to all our residents across our country.

livonia tornado

Mr. Speaker, last month, a tornado swept through my district with little to no warning. It tragically took the life of a 3- year-old child named Cooper Drake and left his mother in critical condition after a tree fell on their Livonia home during the storm.

It is absolutely devastating that a family should experience this heartbreak. Our community is heartbroken.

That is why my Michigan colleagues, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, and really led by Congresswoman Debbie

Dingell, sent a letter--we did it together--to the National Weather Service seeking answers, asking them to provide insight into why no tornado warning was issued for our residents.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot normalize these severe weather patterns and the devastating impacts they have on our families. It is clear that these extreme weather events, including tornadoes and flooding in southeast Michigan, are becoming more frequent due to climate change. We also need to understand the root cause of these extreme weather patterns.

That is why I am hoping we can all work together to hold corporate polluters accountable and protect our planet from the impact of the fossil fuel industry for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize Fire Captain Daniel Maironis for his twenty-two years of service with the Dearborn Fire Department in Michigan's 12th District Strong.

Fire Captain Maironis got his start in public service in 2002. After only one year of service,

he received the first of many Meritorious Company Commendations. In addition, he has been recognized numerous times for valor and lifesaving. Over the course of his public service career, Fire Captain Maironis has committed himself to continuous professional development, completing numerous certification programs in various rescue operations techniques and other technical programming.

Fire Captain Maironis has been an outstanding public servant to the communities served by the Dearborn Fire Department. Please join me in recognizing his twenty-two years of commitment to protecting our families' safety across Michigan's 12th District Strong as we wish him well in his retirement.

Madam Speaker, there is audio from January 29 of 6-year- old Palestinian girl, Hind, as she was calling the paramedics, begging them to come rescue her after the rest of her family in the car had already been killed by the Israeli military. She kept begging: ``Come get me. Please come get me. I am so scared. Please come.''

No one was able to reach the car for 12 days, when her decomposing body was found alongside the bodies of five of her family members.

The bodies of two Palestine Red Crescent Society workers, missing since the day of her call when they were dispatched to rescue her, were discovered in an ambulance just feet away.

Madam Speaker, I am here to talk about it because a new forensic analysis found that the Israeli military fired not one, not two, not a dozen, not 20, but 355 tank bullets at the car that Hind was in, and the tank was so close that the Israeli soldiers would have had a clear view of Hind in the car.

Six months later, the State Department and President Biden has yet to hold the Israeli Government accountable for these executions.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a link to the forensic report: https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/the-killing-of-hind- rajab.