Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, we can't build back better without replacing every inch of lead service line in our country.

In too many of our communities from Flint to Benton Harbor to the cities of Wayne and Hamtramck and across the State of Michigan and our Nation, the water is poisoned with lead.

We have an opportunity now to change it, with a bold and clear investment to replace every single lead-contaminated service line in our Nation.

Experts have already estimated that we need $60 billion to replace every service lead pipeline in America. But we know the Senate proposal--which was negotiated without a shred of input from frontline communities or their representatives--only devotes $15 billion. That is just simply not enough.

People are drinking water with lead now, and we know which communities lose out when there isn't enough money to go around. They are communities that look like mine. It is environmental justice neighborhoods.

We must--we must--do more, and we already have secured another $30 billion in Build Back Better to get us closer to our goal. Again, a clear way to bring us all together is making sure that we all have access to clean water.

There are 2.65 million service lines in Michigan, and over 12 percent of those lines are contaminated with lead. To replace these lead pipes in Michigan alone, it would cost $1.65 billion.

Again, I ask everyone, how can we build back better when children are being poisoned?

Benton Harbor in Michigan needs $11.4 million to provide clean water to its residents. We just discovered new lead-contaminated issues in the cities of Wayne and Hamtramck in Michigan. That is why it is critical that the Federal Government, our government, steps up with bold and aggressive investment.

In 2018 a report from the Natural Resources Defense Council revealed that between 2015 and 2018 about 5.5 million Americans in communities around the Nation got their water from a system that exceeded the EPA's lead action level of 15 parts per billion. That is just the stuff we know about. We know that there is more.

The threat of lead-contaminated water is a longstanding one that has overwhelmingly impacted communities like mine, low-income communities, communities of color, for decades. And yet we have not done anything meaningful for a very long time to really, truly remove lead service lines.

We continue waking up to stories about children being poisoned with lead and cities handing out bottled water because we have failed to invest in our water infrastructure. Folks are being forced to drink, bathe, cook, and wash dishes with water that is literally contaminated with lead because politicians have put their well-being on the back burner.

On top of it all, the leaky, outdated infrastructure also means many of those same people can't even afford to pay for water that is being poisoned. Literally, they are paying money for water that is contaminated with lead. Some people in Washington like to pretend to worry about how we are going to pay for lead pipe replacement, but what we really can't afford is another moment of inaction.

Clean, affordable drinking water is a human right. There are Flints and Benton Harbors and cities of Wayne and Hamtramck in every part of this country, communities right now where children are drinking water that can alter the course of their lives forever.

So please join me in replacing lead service lines across the country. It is a moral imperative. We need to immediately pass the full $45 billion in the Senate proposal as well as the Build Back Better proposal. Again, there is no building back without it.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to please join me in recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of Wayne Metro Community Action Agency, a service organization based in Wayne County, Michigan, in my district.

Today, they celebrate 50 years of assisting southeastern Michigan's most vulnerable populations, a truly remarkable milestone.

Wayne Metro's staff and organizational leadership's holistic approach to serving our communities translates to exceptional service that has put many families on the path to a better quality of life.

Whether it is connecting a resident to emergency housing, helping with utility payments, or financial coaching, Wayne Metro has been a trusted agency for so many of my residents.

Their longevity is a testament to the trust in their reputation as a responsive and caring community partner in service. It has always been one of the main reasons I work very closely with them.

Madam Speaker, I congratulate Wayne Metro Community Action Agency on 50 years of service and best wishes on many more to come.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding contributions of Ms. Clara Doutly, a resident of Michigan's 13th Congressional District and one of our country's ``Rosie the Riveters,'' as she celebrates her one hundredth birthday.

Ms. Doutly was raised in Detroit, as the youngest of six siblings and attended Cass Technical High School. At nineteen years old, she began working at Briggs Manufacturing, where she helped produced parts and riveting components for B-24 and B-29 bombers for World War II. Ms. Doutly was one of among 300,000 other women who worked as riveters, assembling warplanes across Michigan during the 1940s. Clara Doutly, Detroit's own ``Rosie the Riveter,'' contributed to our country to victory and became an icon of women's empowerment and strength.

We owe our gratitude to Clara Doutly and the countless other Michigan women who stepped up to serve as the critical workforce and labor our country needed. Even now, Ms. Doutly continues to show up for her community and others through her many years of service work at the St. Patrick's Senior Center in the 13th Congressional District. Ms. Clara Doutly is a true example of Detroit's strength, resiliency, and power of its people. We recognize Ms. Doutly and all of our ``Rosie the Riveters'' across our state and country for breaking down barriers to women in the workforce and for their contributions to our history.

Please join me in wishing Detroit's Rosie the Riveter, Ms. Clara Hunter Doutly, a happy one hundredth birthday as we recognize her contributions to our country and to our community in the 13th Congressional District.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize an African American-owned small business, the Alexis Company, based in Detroit in Michigan's 13th Congressional District, as they celebrate their thirty- fifth anniversary.

The Alexis Company is the culmination of the hard work of its founder Regina Dubose. Born and raised in Detroit, Ms. Dubose dreamed of one day running her own business when she was a child. She credits her financial and business acumen to the mentorship she received in one of her earliest jobs working at a local accounting firm. Ms. Dubose was drawn to a career in psychology and counseling after earning her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Wayne State University, but she found herself drawn to entrepreneurship when she began working as a vendor at concerts and events in the mid-1980s.

By 1986, Ms. Dubose was able to open the Alexis Company. Over the years, she has grown the business with expanded product lines and by engaging with local events and organizations. The early initial successes solidified the Alexis Company's reputation as a reliable partner in community events. Ms. Dubose was able to leverage this work into a distributorship for the company, which increased their access to promotional products and broadened their competitive edge in new markets at the local, state, national, and international levels.

Under Ms. Dubose's leadership, the Alexis Company has adapted to the changing demands of the business. Most recently, she has shifted her focus to sharing her knowledge by writing and publishing a book about her experiences. Ms. Dubose and the Alexis Company reflect the grit and adaptability needed to succeed as an entrepreneur. Small businesses are the backbone of local economies, and it is especially meaningful when minority-owned businesses succeed and thrive.

Please join me in recognizing Regina Dubose and the Alexis Company as they celebrate thirty-five years in business as we wish them well in the years to come.

Mr. Speaker, as someone who grew up in a community on the front line of the racist so-called war on drugs, I am proud to stand here today in support of the EQUAL Act to eliminate racial disparities in crack and powder cocaine possession.

The war on drugs was designed as a racist project to target Black and Brown Americans--my neighbors--and the obvious racial disparities in enforcement show us that it still is at its core a racist effort targeting communities of color through over-policing, criminalization, and mass incarceration.

Simply put, addiction is a health condition not a crime. Giving incarcerated people an opportunity to be resentenced will transform lives immediately. We need to be doing more to make reparations to those impacted by the so-called war on drugs. While this bill is a great step on the road to comprehensive drug and criminal justice reform, we must go further. Our goal must be to end this country's militarized ``jail first, ask questions later'' approach to addiction and stop trying to solve social problems with policing.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to supporting the future legislation aimed at comprehensive decriminalization of possession for personal use of these substances and strongly encourage my colleagues to support this commonsense bill.

Lastly, it is a personal honor to support and uplift Kandia Milton who approached me about this bill and who is with Dreams Corps JUSTICE in Detroit.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for Kandia's work. It allows me to also fight for all of us today.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Jonathon Clark, an outstanding resident and community advocate in Michigan's 13th Congressional District.

Jonathon Clark was known for his unwavering commitment to helping others in need and ministering to the spiritual needs of those who knew him. In 2019, Mr. Clark accepted his call to preach and did so many times from the pulpit at City Covenant Church in Detroit, where he quickly became a fixture in church leadership. From this place of faith, Mr. Clark demonstrated by example what a man should be. Whether tending to his beautiful family with whom he was gifted upon his marriage to Dawn Wilson-Clark, cooking gourmet meals at home or for a hundred at church, or giving his talents to a number of community works, he was a man who was always aware of the great responsibility we each hold to be good towards one another and of his role in the bigger role in God's plan.

Jonathon was beloved by community members of all ages. He was a caring mentor to young people and he never shied away from offering a helping hand. Jonathon always followed through on any task he set his mind to. Young people loved him because of his direct honesty and unmasked concern for them. He served in many roles in various community-based organizations, including Chair of the Board for 482forward, board member of The Brightmoor Alliance, Brightmoor Soup, and he was the coordinator for summer camp at City Covenant, where he founded Talking is Teaching, an early children's literacy program, and he served as assistant director of the work experience program at Loyola High School. Jonathon's work in the community has touched the lives of many. In his advocacy on behalf of his neighbors in the Brightmoor community of Detroit, he was fearless in standing up for his community.

Please join me in recognizing Jonathon Clark's outstanding contributions to the communities of Detroit and Michigan's 13th Congressional District, as we honor his memory.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Jonathon Clark, an outstanding resident and community advocate of Michigan's 13th Congressional District.

Jonathon Clark was known for his unwavering commitment to helping others in need and ministering to the spiritual needs of his neighbors.

Whether tending to his beautiful family he shared with his wife, Dawn Wilson-Clark; leading worship at City Covenant Church in Detroit; or lending his talents to several community works, he was an unbelievably beautiful human being.

In his work, he served as a mentor to so many of our young people, and he never shied away from offering them help and guiding them in the right direction.

He also founded an early children's literacy program, called Talking is Teaching, as a coordinator for City Covenant's summer camp.

In honor of his memory, please join me in recognizing his outstanding contributions to Michigan's 13th Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this supplemental.

I will not support an effort to enable and support war crimes, human rights abuses, and violence.

We cannot continue talking only about Israeli's need for safety at a time when Palestinians are living under a violent apartheid system and are dying from what Human Rights Watch has said are war crimes.

We should also be talking about the Palestinian need for security from Israeli attacks. We must be consistent in our commitment to human life, period. Everyone deserves to be safe there.

The bill claims to be ``a replenishment'' for weapons apartheid Israel used in a crisis it manufactured when it attacked worshippers at one of the most holiest Islamic locations, al-Aqsa Mosque, committing, again, numerous war crimes.

Yet, $1 billion in American taxpayer dollars that my colleagues want to give represents, to me, an absurd and unjustifiable 140 times increase to U.S. funding for the Iron Dome.

I firmly believe our country must oppose selling weapons to anyone anywhere without human rights law compliance.

The Israeli Government is an apartheid regime--not my words, the words of Human Rights Watch and Israel's own human rights organization B'Tselem.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues: Please stand with me in supporting human rights for all.

I include in the Record this Human Rights Watch article.

[From BBC News, Aug. 23, 2021]

Israeli Strikes on Gaza High-Rises May Be War Crimes--Human Rights

Watch

No-one was hurt in the attacks, but a report by the

campaign group says dozens of families were left homeless.

The Israeli military said Palestinian militant groups were

using the towers for military purposes and turning civilians

inside into human shields.

But HRW said it had not provided evidence to support those

allegations.

At least 256 people were killed in Gaza, according to the

United Nations, and 13 people were killed in Israel during 11

days of fierce fighting.

It began after weeks of spiralling Israeli-Palestinian

tension in East Jerusalem which culminated in clashes at a

holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews. Hamas--the

militant Islamist group which rules Gaza--began firing

rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the site,

triggering retaliatory air strikes.

Between 11 and 15 May, Israeli strikes destroyed the

Hanadi, Jawhara, Shorouk, and Jala towers in Gaza City.

In each case, the Israeli military warned tenants of

impending attacks, allowing for their evacuation, according

to HRW's report.

Israeli authorities said the buildings housed offices of

Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups, including the

headquarters of certain units and military intelligence. One

tower included offices for ``the most valuable Hamas

technological equipment'' for use against Israel, it says.

HRW's investigation was based on interviews with 18

Palestinians who witnessed the strikes or were affected by

them, along with analysis of videos and photographs.

It found no evidence that members of militant groups

involved in military operations had a current or long-term

presence in any of the towers at the time they were attacked.

Even if there were such a presence, the report says, the

attacks appeared to cause foreseeably disproportionate harm

to civilian property.

The strike on the 12-storey Jala Tower, which housed the

offices of the Associated Press (AP) news agency and the Al

Jazeera broadcasting network, provoked widespread outrage.

In June, Israel's ambassador to the US told AP executives

that the building was being used by Hamas to develop an

electronic jamming system against the Israeli military's Iron

Dome missile defence system.

But the AP's executive editor said it had never had any

indication that Hamas militants might be in the tower.

``The apparently unlawful Israeli strikes on four high-rise

towers in Gaza City caused serious, lasting harm for

countless Palestinians who lived, worked, shopped, or

benefitted from businesses based there,'' said Richard Weir,

HRW's crisis and conflict researcher. ``The Israeli military

should publicly produce the evidence that it says it relied

on to carry out these attacks.''

In response to HRW's report, the Israeli military told the

BBC: ``Hamas and the other terror organisations deliberately

and unlawfully embed their military assets in densely

populated civilian areas, in order to make it more difficult

for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to attack their military

assets.''

``The assets Hamas tried to hide inside these multi-storey

buildings . . . were often of particularly high military

value, and successfully striking them was of strategic

importance to the IDF,'' it added.

The military stressed that it provided ``significant

advance warnings and took efforts to ensure civilians had

evacuated'' in all four cases.

HRW has published two other reports on the conflict that

accused both sides of carrying out attacks that apparently

amount to war crimes.

The first said an investigation into three Israeli strikes

that killed 62 civilians found no evidence of military

targets nearby, while the second said the firing of 4,000

unguided rockets and mortars towards Israeli cities and towns

by Palestinian militants constituted indiscriminate attacks

on civilians. Both the Israeli military and Hamas denied the

accusations.

Mr. Speaker, for many of our residents, the images of the United States Customs and Border Patrol officers on horseback whipping Black Haitian immigrants at the border were triggering. It was traumatic. It was a reminder of our country's ugly history and its decades of mistreatment of Black folks.

What we all witnessed in Del Rio, Texas, was disgusting, not just because of the rogue, out-of-control CBP but also because the actions were a blatant betrayal of our human rights values.

Those brave Haitian refugees have a legal right to seek asylum in our country, like all who are fleeing violence and repression.

America is supposed to be a safe haven. Instead, Black asylum seekers at the border are being met with violence and deportation back to a crisis-stricken country.

All Black Haitians deserve to be treated with human dignity, and we must do better. Our failure to act

against Federal agencies, at least oversight of Black immigrants coming in, is going to enable these shameful acts to continue. We must act together to stop it.

Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of amendment No. 11 which would provide critical needed consumer protection to our servicemembers who hold medical debt.

No one chooses to get sick, yet medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in our country, and the pandemic has only made paid our medical debt crisis worse, especially for our veterans.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, servicemembers and veterans are nearly twice as likely to submit debt collection complaints as the general public. And medical debt concerns comprise nearly 13 percent of servicemember debt collection complaints.

So this amendment is important because medical bills and reimbursements are often vague and confusing. Servicemembers often assert that the calculation of the underlying debt is inaccurate and unfair. Other times, bills go missing during deployment or are delivered to the wrong recipient.

So this amendment would strengthen servicemembers' consumer protections regarding medical debt by preventing the collection of medical debt for 2 years from the date of medical billing, and prohibiting credit agencies from reporting all medical debt collections for a year.

My amendment also requires medical debt collectors to provide servicemembers with their consumer rights upon contact.

Together, these protections would provide servicemembers much-needed clarity to figure out what they actually owe and what the impact will have on their credit.

So, Madam Speaker, debt collection particularly affects our young servicemembers and veterans who have little credit history upon enlisting.

Among servicemembers with 3 or fewer years of service, the CFPB has found 5 percent had medical debts in collection just prior to separation from service, and that number doubles to more than 10 percent within a year of their separation from service. As a result, those same individuals with 3 years or less of service, on average, exit the armed services with subprime credit scores.

So with that I really finally ask my colleagues to please help us ban medical debt also for medically necessary procedures from ever even appearing on servicemembers' credit reports.

This amendment would not prevent States from implementing stronger protections for our servicemembers. It would not preempt existing consumer protections for our servicemembers already on the books.

Again, I remind my colleagues that, again, this is really critical for our servicemembers.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

How much time is remaining, Madam Speaker?

Madam Speaker, I remind my colleagues that all of these protections have already passed the House this Congress but have yet to receive action in the Senate.

I want to remind my colleagues also the way the amendment is drafted right now currently, a medically necessary procedure is defined as, one, healthcare services or supplies needed to diagnose or treat an illness, injury, condition, disease, or symptom that meet accepted standards of medicine; two, healthcare to prevent illness and detect illnesses at an early stage when treatment is likely to work best, again, for services like Pap tests, flu shots, and screening mammograms

I want to remind my colleagues, this is a huge barrier. The credit reports are huge barriers for housing and employment for our veterans. We continue to support increased housing for our veterans, increased mental health services for our veterans and all these other issues but, much of that is due to the fact that we have credit reports with medically necessary debt, medical procedures on there, and really no pathway to protect our consumers, our veterans, in this case.

I really remind my colleagues again: we cannot continue to support housing and employment services for our veterans, and the credit report, the credit score, all of that, is holding them hostage unable to continue to create a good life in our country especially after sacrificing so much for our Nation.

So I really ask my colleagues this is the right thing to do. Again, this is basically folks who are getting sick that need healthcare, and we are not saying that they won't be able to collect, the healthcare agencies, they are able to collect. This is just to prevent it from becoming a barrier for many of our veterans who seek employment which does look at--many employers still now currently look at credit reports, and they also look at credit reports for housing. Again, we can't continue to try to fund these kinds of supports when this is a huge barrier for our veterans.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to acknowledge the outstanding public service of Detroit City Council Member Raquel Castaneda-Lopez for her work on behalf of the communities she serves in Detroit and Michigan's 13th Congressional District.

Council Member Castaneda-Lopez has proudly served the people of Detroit's Sixth Council District since 2014. She has been driven in her work to pursue social justice and a better quality of life for all residents. Her roots in social work are evident in her caring and holistic approach to assisting residents, and it is reflected in the policies she has pursued. During her tenure, Council Member Castaneda- Lopez has prioritized making Detroit a more inclusive and welcoming place for all its residents to call home. ``Team Rocky'' is what the community lovingly call her staff that work to ensure access to services.

I have known Council Member Castaneda-Lopez for many years, and it has been an honor to see her achieve so much on behalf of the people of Detroit. It has been a joy to see her love for the City of Detroit and its people shine through in her work.

Please join me as we recognize Detroit City Council Member Raquel Castaneda-Lopez's many contributions to the families of Detroit and the 13th Congressional District.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Burning Bush International Ministries, a house of worship located in Inkster, Michigan, as they host their Regathering event and to give welcome to Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard.

Earlier this year, the Church of God in Christ General Assembly, the legislative body of the denomination, voted Bishop J. Drew Sheard of Detroit, Michigan as the leader of the worldwide organization, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the country. This accomplishment is the culmination of many years of Bishop Sheard's religious vocation in serving the spiritual needs of others.

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Bishop Sheard was called to the ministry at a young age. Over the years he has served in various roles both locally and nationally. His innate leadership called him to fulfill his vision to create more meaningful connections and growth in the church, including the implementation of several youth-based programs and scholarship program. Bishop Sheard currently serves as a member of the Presidium of the Church of God in Christ, Jurisdictional Bishop of the Michigan-North Central Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, and as the Senior Pastor of Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit, Michigan.

Please join me in welcoming Bishop J. Drew Sheard in celebration of this momentous gathering at Burning Bush International Ministries

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate Ms. Mary Futch, a long-time resident of Detroit in Michigan's 13th Congressional District as she celebrates her 100th birthday.

Ms. Futch was born and raised in Kosciusko, Mississippi, but she is proud to call Detroit her home. In fact, she has lived at the same address on Maxwell Street for more than sixty years. Married to the late Ollie Futch, Ms. Futch was a devoted wife and mother of ten children. Ms. Futch, or Momma Futch, is well-known in her neighborhood and church community at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

Please join me in wishing Momma Futch the happiest of birthdays, surrounded by love and warm wishes of her family and friends.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Mr. Thomas ``Tom'' Dombroski, a long-time resident of Detroit, who contributed actively to several community-based organizations and was especially known for his service as a member of the board of the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition and as a proud member of the Teamsters.

Tom was a tough, big-hearted person whose sense of humor and warmth belied his tenacity in the fight to protect his community in southwest Detroit. Tom was a champion of the underdog and advocated for justice on behalf of those who needed it most. Before he retired, Tom's work with the Teamsters Union prepared him for his second act in life as a community advocate for equitable development of the Gordie Howe Bridge international border crossing in Detroit. He was outspoken in the fight for clean air and good quality of life for residents who will live in the shadow of the large-scale transportation infrastructure.

I have always known Tom to be generous with his time and energy. His spirit will be sorely missed by the community he served. Please join me as we recognize Thomas Dombroski's many contributions to the families of southwest Detroit and beyond as we give honor to his memory.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Mr. Thomas Dombroski, who we lovingly call Tom.

Tom was a longtime resident of southwest Detroit, who contributed actively to several community-based organizations and was especially known for his service as a board member of the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition. He was also a very proud member of the Teamsters.

Tom was tough, a big-hearted person whose sense of humor and warmth belied his tenacity in the fight to protect his community, which was contagious. Tom was a champion of the underdog and advocated for justice on behalf of those who needed it most.

Before he retired, Tom's work with the Teamsters Union prepared him for his second act in life as a community advocate for equitable development of the Gordie Howe International Bridge crossing.

He was outspoken in the fight for clean air and good quality of life for residents who live in the shadow of the large scale transportation infrastructure. I have always known Tom to be generous with his time and energy.

His spirit will be sorely missed by the community he served. Please join me as we recognize Thomas Dombroski's many contributions to the families of southwest Detroit and beyond as we give honor to his memory.