Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today, I want to recognize Mother Regina Rose Edwards on her 90th birthday. We honor her life of dedication to service, mentorship, and spiritual leadership in Michigan's 12th Congressional District.

Mother Edwards served her community in the Michigan Southwest First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ through three successive administrations as Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for the Michigan Southwest First. In her role, she has exemplified strength, leadership and a spirit of generosity. Through her position, she has transformed lives across generations, building bridges between tradition and progress to serve a legacy grounded in love, justice, and faith.

The 12th Congressional District honors Mother Edwards for her commitment to faith and service in celebration of her 90th birthday. I thank her for her lifetime of wisdom, guidance and her remarkable influence on our community and district.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present during votes on Monday, July 21, 2025. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call 213, and YEA on Roll Call No. 214.

Mr. Speaker, disastrous floods, horrific floods are devastating the lives of our residents in southeast Michigan and across the Nation.

The dangers don't stop when the flooding ends. Too many of our families are denied FEMA assistance because current rules and policies don't cover repairs and reconstruction for most basements where floods are the most destructive.

Without Federal assistance, Mr. Speaker, they are forced to live in extremely unsafe conditions, being exposed to serious health risks like mold and mildew and moisture damage.

One of my residents, a 90-year-old woman, had no hot water, a broken furnace, and toxic mold in her basement.

There are people recovering from disasters, and many of them are on a fixed income. They are seniors who cannot afford the thousands of dollars in repairs to their basement.

That is why I am proud to introduce the Fix Our Flooded Basements Act to make sure that Federal disaster assistance finally covers those costs.

We must make this change so that our residents, our constituents, live in a safe home after a flood. They need to be able to rebuild their lives from these disastrous floods.

That is right, Mr. Speaker. There is a lack of urgency, and we need to move with urgency because a nuclear war cannot be won and would have catastrophic human consequences.

One warhead--one--has the power to wipe out an entire city. A full- scale nuclear war would devastate life as we know it.

Mr. Speaker, 80 years ago, the horrific U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused unimaginable death and immense human suffering, and survivors to this day face long-term health issues and radiation poisoning.

So 80 years after these atrocities, we must, as a Chamber, recommit our efforts to finally achieving the complete and total abolition of nuclear weapons worldwide. We must ensure these war crimes are never repeated anywhere.

Nuclear weapons are tools of death and destruction. They cannot be used without disastrous consequences that violate international law and our shared humanity.

The White House and Congress need to immediately work to negotiate new constraints to cap and reduce nuclear arsenals, especially with Russia and China. We must do everything in our power to prevent an unrestrained nuclear arms race.

It is absolutely terrifying that in the United States the President has the power to unilaterally decide to launch a nuclear weapon.

Think about that for one moment, Mr. Speaker. The use of just a fraction of the nuclear weapons we possess, most of which are ready to launch within minutes of an order from any President, including the current one, would lead to mass destruction of unprecedented global scale.

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle should back commonsense efforts to prioritize nuclear disarmament and adopt measures to reduce the risk of nuclear war.

We must continue to work toward international agreements, Mr. Speaker, with all nine countries that possess nuclear weapons through comprehensive nuclear test ban treaties, as well as the treaty on prohibiting a nuclear weapon.

Again, we must come together. I cannot say this enough: The devastation and the consequences of any nuclear launch could be, again, life-changing around the world. We must continue to strive for a world free from the threat of nuclear war.

I cannot thank enough my colleague, Mr. McGovern, as he commits to banning nuclear weapons and, again, tries to save us from any kind of life-changing devastation to our world.

Madam Speaker, Republicans rammed through Trumps' big budget betrayal with the largest cut to healthcare in American history. It will cut Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act by over $1.1 trillion.

In Michigan, in my State alone, over 450,000 people are now at risk of losing their healthcare coverage, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities in our district.

These cuts will also impact EMS and ambulance services across our Nation. This budget will shrink the funds available to these departments and make it impossible for them to keep operating.

The impact will also be felt in rural areas where hospitals and community health centers will close because they rely heavily on Medicaid reimbursements.

We all know we have sick care in our country, and Medicaid is the only Band-aid right now to keep it all together. This bill is a death sentence, and over 50,000 people will die as a result of it.

Madam Speaker, you will see. Republicans gave away trillions of dollars to the richest people on the planet and are letting our children and seniors die from the lack of healthcare coverage.

They should be ashamed.

Mr. Speaker, the 12th Congressional District recognizes and honors Richard

LeBlanc for his extraordinary 33-year career in public service and on his recent retirement as the City of Westland's City Clerk.

Mr. LeBlanc's steadfast dedication to community and service to our residents has spanned five elected offices, from his start on the Wayne-Westland Board of Education to the Michigan House of Representatives, and most recently, as Westland City Clerk. At every step, LeBlanc was known as a hard worker and accessible leader, focused on making our government work for everyday families. He modernized the Clerk's Office, expanded access to civic participation, and mentored countless public servants along the way, shaping the lives and careers of young leaders. He is proud of his strong roots and service to the Western Wayne community. I have seen his commitment firsthand.

His retirement marks our district's appreciation for his service to our families. His recent heartfelt tribute from city officials and the presentation of a key to the city, is a symbol of how deeply he shaped Westland's civic life and communities. While Richard LeBlanc's formal legislative work has ended, his legacy of service and integrity will continue to inspire our community for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, the Israeli Government has deliberately blocked food, medicine, and fuel from entering Gaza. The entire population of Gaza is experiencing famine, and half a million Palestinians are facing catastrophic levels of starvation.

At least 66 Palestinian children have already been starved to death. Maybe if my colleagues would close their eyes, or pretend that they are not Palestinians, they would care, that they would care that Palestinians have been forced to eat grass and animal feed--they are human beings--while thousands of trucks carrying food sit blocked at the border.

The Israeli Government is using starvation as a weapon of war. Now, the Israeli forces are deliberately shooting and killing starving Palestinians lined up for food, and the responses by the Israeli Government do not add up. Mr. Speaker, 875 have been murdered in 6 weeks alone.

The so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the Israeli Government and the Trump administration, is a deadly sham. The United Nations calls it a death trap.

The Israeli soldiers have even admitted it themselves. They were ordered to deliberately shoot unarmed Palestinians, many of them children, calling it a killing field.

This is not a game, Mr. Speaker. These are human beings.

If colleagues need to close their eyes again and pretend they are not Palestinians to care, then maybe they should. We would stop this madness and stop supporting the genocide in Gaza.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present during votes on Monday, July 14, 2025. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 191; NAY on Roll Call No. 192; and PRESENT on Roll Call No. 193.

Mr. Speaker, families in our community are already struggling with rising grocery prices. It is shameful that companies like Kroger are price-gouging our residents with surveillance pricing.

As you can see here, companies are already collecting a tremendous amount of data and private information about our residents to create custom profiles about them. Now, with electronic labels and facial recognition technology, this information is being used in real time to charge us more at the grocery store.

Imagine if you were at the grocery store right now, and they charged you a higher price for an item because it used technology to determine that you were willing to pay more than the next person. Maybe it is hard to believe, but it is true. You look at this, and you can see that they are being very clear about the fact that they want to instantly change the price if it is hot outside, if it is something that you, again, have been looking at online.

Now they are even adding the use of facial technology in grocery stores that not only raises serious concerns of privacy but also racial bias. We know that facial recognition technology discriminates against our Black and Brown neighbors. This is not just about discriminatory technology, Mr. Speaker. It is about corporate greed, and the CEOs are getting rich while working people struggle.

It is essential that we work together in this body to protect our communities and ban these practices. I ask my colleagues to please support my legislation to ban surveillance pricing, digital pricing in grocery stores. Come and see me. You need to stand with your residents, not these corporations.

Look at Walmart. Look at this: ``If it's hot outside, we can raise the prices of water and ice cream.'' That is what we are talking about. We need to protect our residents. Please, again, support my legislation.

Keeping Firearms Safe

Mr. Speaker, firearms are now the leading cause of death for children and teens in our country. I have talked to pediatricians. They are telling me every day that gun violence is just increasing. Every day, over 125 Americans are killed from gun violence and more than 200 people are shot and wounded.

These aren't just statistics, Mr. Speaker. These are human beings with lives and futures. They are our babies, our friends, our neighbors, our loved ones. Many of these deaths involve accidental discharge of a firearm, often by a child, including several tragic incidents in southeast Michigan.

Just last month, Mr. Speaker, in Oakland County, a 9-year-old was seriously injured after he was accidentally shot. First responders found the boy bleeding from the head and transported him to the local hospital.

This Gun Violence Awareness Month, let's do something to save lives. I am introducing the Safe Storage Saves Lives Act with Representatives DeLauro, Frost, and Kelly to reduce firearm deaths among our children.

This legislation mandates every firearm seller to include a gun lock or gun safety device every single time a gun is sold in the United States. Far too often, irresponsible gun owners fail to properly secure their weapons with tragic consequences, leading to accidental deaths, preventable suicides, school shootings, and other mass violence.

When used correctly, a gun lock makes it impossible for a gun to be fired. Look at this. This is $4. This legislation is a commonsense solution that every Member of this body should support, every single one. Keeping firearms out of the hands of our children should not be a partisan issue, Mr. Speaker.

We must honor those who have already been killed with a lack of action in this Chamber. Our communities deserve better. Our children deserve better.

Honoring Matthew Fisher

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor one of our dear neighbors in the 12th Congressional District. We worked over 3 years to present Matthew Fisher, a remarkable resident of my district, with the Purple Heart for his dedication and service to our country.

Matthew Fisher was born in Livonia and is a proud graduate of Stevenson High School. In 2004, Matthew answered the call to serve others by becoming a firefighter in one of our counties. In 2007, he made the decision to serve our Nation by joining the U.S. Army. He was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq from December 2007 to 2009. Unfortunately, he was there when a horrific bomb changed his life forever. It took us 3 years as a country to recognize his sacrifice.

Since his return, Mr. Fisher has continued to give back to our community. He currently serves as a mentor at the veterans court system in Redford Township, helping fellow veterans navigate their own paths and helping them heal.

He is a devoted husband to Kathryn and a proud father to stepson, Bankston, and also Sophia.

Please, Mr. Speaker, let's honor Matthew Fisher for his extraordinary service, again, as we honor him with the Purple Heart.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize Caribbean American Heritage Month, celebrating the culture, contributions, and history of Caribbean Americans in Michigan's 12th Congressional District and across the country.

Caribbean American Heritage Month, first recognized in 2005, was established after years of global efforts to uplift our Caribbean- American neighbors. Their vibrant culture and contributions to our country and throughout the 12th Congressional District has uplifted many of our communities.

The Caribbean communities in northwest Detroit, as well as in the city of Inkster and throughout western Wayne and Oakland County, have created powerful legacies through food, beauty businesses, fresh markets, and nonprofits working to care for our families and new immigrants.

Caribbean Community Services in my district, a nonprofit organization, has done an outstanding job in uplifting Caribbean history. Through their engaging events, Mr. Speaker, they have celebrated the rich cultural heritage of the Caribbean and its significant impact on our communities. Please join me in ensuring that our Caribbean-American neighbors throughout our country are recognized as we celebrate this month.

Mr. Speaker, no more wars. The majority of Americans do

not support our country getting into another endless war.

President Trump violated the United States Constitution by sending the United States troops to bomb Iran without congressional authorization.

Taking our country to war requires a vote in Congress. Every single one of us represents close to 800,000 people, and they deserve a vote.

The American people do not want another war. They do not want us spending endless amounts of money to invest in death and destruction. They want us to fund Medicaid, housing, and Head Start. They want access to clean water and so many critical programs that our communities desperately need.

We have seen our government manufacture consent for the invasion of Iraq that killed and displaced millions of people, our loved ones, and created total devastation and instability in the region.

We have seen our government lie about weapons of mass destruction before. We are not going to fall for it again. Instead of listening to the American people who are saying no more wars, Trump is listening to genocidal maniac war criminal Netanyahu who lied about Iraq and now is lying about Iran.

Mr. Speaker, it is outrageous and shameful that the President sent in the military to brutalize protesters in Los Angeles. The right to dissent in our country is an American value. This is just evidence, evidence that our country is falling into fascism. It is an abuse of power and a dangerous escalation that will only destabilize our communities and hurt protesters.

I stand with those defending our immigrant neighbors and our fundamental rights. Nothing justifies spending $134 million of our tax dollars to send in troops to attack fellow Americans.

Mr. Speaker, immigrant communities have been telling us for years, warning us about ICE being rogue, violating their rights. It is outrageous. People are now seeing it for themselves and understanding why we say abolish ICE, which was created in 2003.

I agree with them. I agree that we must abolish ICE and protect our communities and neighbors. It has caused so much needless harm since its creation in 2003.

This month, Mr. Speaker, a high school senior in my district, Maykol Bogoya-Duarte, a high school student 3.5 credits shy of graduating from Western International High School, was on a field trip with his classmates. Local police profiled him--yes, they did--Oh, he can't speak English, let's call immigration. He spoke English just fine.

That set into motion him being separated from his mother, his school community, and ripping away his chance to be able to graduate with his classmates.

ICE cruelty is evident because they sent him to Louisiana. He had paperwork on file. He was trying to do the right thing. He was just a kid. The cruelty is disgusting, and the Trump administration is desperately trying to label kids like Maykol as a criminal.

We must reject this rhetoric and policies that pit our immigrant communities against each other, tear families apart, and put our neighbors in harm's way. Mr. Speaker, it is important to understand the cruelty and how we need to make sure that, again, we protect our community.

Celebrating Juneteenth

Mr. Speaker, Juneteenth marks the official end of slavery in the United States of America, and this day remains deeply meaningful to many of our families in the Michigan 12th Congressional District. The most beautiful, Blackest city is in the 12th District, the city of Detroit.

It is a celebration of freedom, Black resilience, and the ongoing fight for justice for all. In our community, we remember and honor generations of Black Americans who fought for liberation.

As we speak, right now, Republican extremists across our country are attempting to erase Black history right before our eyes. We stand with residents in Detroit and throughout the country who refuse to let Black history be erased. We are committed to uplifting their stories and carrying on the movement for true equity and dignity for all.

Detroit's legacy, its culture, leadership, and resistance are a living testament to Black brilliance and perseverance.

However, we also recognize that freedom was never fully granted. The abolition of slavery contained a clause in the 13th Amendment that still allows slavery to exist as a ``punishment for crime.'' That loophole to this day has fueled mass incarceration, economic exploitation, and generational harm, especially for Black Americans.

That is why I support the abolition amendment, which would strike this shameful exception from our Constitution and end the legalized practice of slavery in the United States.

Detroiters understand that reparations are not just about the past. This is important. They are about addressing the present-day impacts of institutionalized racism, Mr. Speaker. They are about acknowledging the labor, land, and lives stolen, and beginning to repair what has been broken. That is what it is about. We must give our Black neighbors the reparations that they were promised.

This Juneteenth, I ask everyone in this Chamber to join me in honoring our Black neighbors by fighting for what is long overdue: reparations, Black maternal health equity, investments in HBCUs, and real protections for voting rights.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present during votes on Thursday, June 5, 2025 or Friday, June 6, 2025. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 152; NAY on Roll Call No. 153; YEA on Roll Call No. 154; NAY on Roll Call No. 155; and NAY on Roll Call No. 156.

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Trump administration just cut a 60-year program called Job Corps that provided young people with stable housing and career training.

This is why I joined several of my Michigan colleagues in a letter to the Trump administration, demanding that they reverse this reckless decision to abruptly shut down Job Corps centers across the Nation.

This action is yet another example of the cruel actions taken to dismantle programs for our families. Many of them depend on this. They are lifelines for our families.

Mr. Speaker, in Michigan alone, Job Corps has three centers with more than 700 students in Flint and Grand Rapids, including 200 young people in the city of Detroit.

Everyone deserves the ability to shape their own future with access to career training and hands-on experience. The sense of stability and direction Job Corps provides for our youth is invaluable.

Now, the sudden closing of these centers has left students devastated. I wish my colleagues would see the images of the young people dragging their black trash bags through the parking lot with nowhere to go.

It is heartbreaking for these students, who have worked so hard to join the workforce, to have the rug pulled out right from underneath them with only hours of notice. It is disgraceful that our government would turn its back on them like this.

There is one young person in my district in the city of Detroit whose mother has cancer. She is trying to seek treatment and trying to live. Her son depends on Job Corps for housing and for future career opportunities.

Yet again, here we are, cutting these vital programs that many people across the country support, no matter political affiliation.

I want them to know that they deserve better and that not all of us in this Chamber will turn our backs on them. We are going to fight together to restore the funding. I will continue to call out these inhumane and lawless actions.

It is very important for the American people to know this Congress and this Chamber authorized the funding for Job Corps. The President of the United States does not have the authority to snap his fingers and cut the funding.

The American people must continue to speak up about the impact of having Job Corps cut. Again, we are going to work together to try to restore it.

Head Start

Mr. Speaker, last week was the 60th birthday of Head Start, which is a lifeline and a life-changing experience for many of our families and has anchors all across the country and communities. It has helped our young children for decades.

I do want to bring a story from my district. Alex, a public school speech therapist in Dearborn Heights, said that several of her students are directly impacted by threats to Head Start funding. Students attending Head Start are entitled to receive necessary special education services.

As a parent of a 2-year-old daughter, she also knows that there are opportunities for her to start her education in the welcoming community that Head Start provides.

This year alone, nearly 750,000 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers will receive Head Start services, supporting early childhood learning, development, and health. These centers rely on us to make sure we keep that Federal funding to provide the care for our children.

Again, I know earlier this year we were all thrown into a panic when the Trump administration recklessly decided to cut off the Federal funding. I led 23 of my colleagues with the Congressional Mamas Caucus in a letter to President Trump. We demanded he take immediate action to restore the Head Start funding, many of them, again, months and weeks without receiving funding.

Our fight isn't over, though. Head Start is essential to countless communities in every State and every corner of our Nation. The threat to Head Start is real. Colleagues must work together to try to protect it.

As the chair of Congressional Mamas Caucus, I will continue to lead efforts in Congress to defend these critical programs for generations to come.

Discriminatory Auto Insurance Rates

Mr. Speaker, I don't know about you, but I have no idea that someone's income, occupation, education, ZIP Code, marital status, credit score, or homeownership status have anything to do with somebody's auto insurance rates or whether or not they are a good driver. It has absolutely nothing to do with it. Yet, we are allowing in this country for the auto insurance industry to use nondriving factors to discriminate and to allow predatory practices to determine auto insurance rates.

In my district alone, I have seen many families with auto insurance, which is required by law, see their rates go up almost 40 percent, keeping

them in the cycle of poverty and keeping them in survival mode when they should be able to drive.

Auto insurance rates should be based on how good a person's driving record is, period. It is outrageous that many continue to allow these discriminatory practices to be applied.

Please support the PAID Act. It is good legislation to continue to protect our residents and make sure they get insurance that they can afford.

Mr. Speaker, I am here this morning to talk about what is happening here in Congress in regard to the budget proposal. I can't believe that many of my Republican colleagues, many of whom have larger numbers of folks on Medicaid, are proposing the largest cut to food assistance in the history of our country and the largest cut to Medicaid in the history of our country.

Many are actually denying that they are even cutting them. That is a slap in the face of so many people who depend on it.

Don't take it from me, Mr. Speaker, but take it from the Congressional Budget Office and many others who continue to say that nearly 14 million Americans will lose their healthcare, and thousands of people will be impacted by the proposal, the so-called reconciliation, that is going through this Chamber. We know that children and families will go hungry with this proposal.

Our residents can't simply stop being hungry or stop being sick, Mr. Speaker. For me, being on the front lines of a community that continues to get left behind with policies here in this Chamber, I know they feel very much that this budget is a betrayal to our families. If it wasn't bad enough, this all is being done to give trillions of dollars--not billions or millions, but trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the billionaire class and the largest corporations--corporations that do not need these tax breaks.

Don't worry, Mr. Speaker, there is a budget that got increased, which is the Pentagon and the defense budget. The war machine of the Pentagon budget can't pass an audit; seven audits in a row.

I read somewhere that in the most recent audit failure, the Pentagon could not account for one-half of its assets. One-half is hundreds of billions of dollars that are unaccounted for.

Many of my colleagues continue to talk about the deficit. I know this is a misnomer, but the Congressional Budget Office says that the deficit is being increased by $3.8 trillion.

Why isn't there this outcry regarding that number?

It only seems to be an outcry when we are trying to, again, feed children who are hungry or to help make sure that people, again, through no fault of their own getting sick, get covered by Medicaid.

The budget would cut crucial programs for the poor and working families. That is a fact. It is not being made up. It is right there. It is going to take food away from hungry children. It will let people die from the lack of healthcare coverage. They are even cutting, again, trillions of dollars so that we can continue to fund a budget that can't pass an audit.

One of the amendments that I am offering this morning, Mr. Speaker, is one of the ones that says: If the Pentagon can't pass an audit, then we shouldn't be able to fund them.

I really believe no money for Pentagon waste. The amendment would prevent any funds, again, being allocated to this.

Mr. Speaker, when you talk about waste and when you talk about fraud, you look at the Pentagon budget.

However, instead, what did we do? We went to the most vulnerable. We went to the hungry, and we went to the sick. Why?

It is because many of my colleagues in this Chamber own stock in war manufacturing, Mr. Speaker. That is a direct conflict of interest. So every time they increase the budget for defense, many of them are benefiting personally from that increase.

There are no increases to helping the poor or helping the hungry, many of whom are in both Republican and Democratic districts.

Again, many of my colleagues have a lot more people on Medicaid than my district does. Yet, here we are gaslighting and misleading the public and saying: We are not cutting it. We are not doing this or that.

How is that possible in the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency that many of my colleagues on the other side have quoted themselves, many of the people who are the so-called ``I am concerned about the deficit'' are increasing the deficit by $3.8 trillion. Put that aside, the cruelty of it. I have an amendment in there that talks about the fact that we need to focus on reducing the rate of infant mortality.

Why can't we work on that? Infant mortality is a national crisis right now. We can do that by ensuring that Medicaid covers all prenatal and postnatal care.

Why can't we support that? Why can't we make sure prenatal and postnatal care are covered?

I know over 40 percent of births in our country are covered by Medicaid, Mr. Speaker. Again, I am trying to propose these amendments to highlight the fact that these are very critical programs no matter where an individual lives in our country.

We can also be ending child poverty and ensure that every child has the resources they need to reach their full potential. We should be talking about these critical issues, of funding these programs. It is our tax dollars going back to our neighbors who need it most.

Instead of voting to make life easier, they are supporting polluters, corporations, and billionaires who do not need it.

Please, I say to all my colleagues, they won't ask Speaker Johnson or the President why they voted this way.

They are going to ask you when you go back to your district. Please do the right thing.