Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn the unholy alliance between soulless wealth and power that is stripping away Americans' freedom.

The reality is that, in 2024, 150 billionaires spent $1.9 billion on this election. Seventy-two percent of Americans--Republicans, Independents, and Democrats--are outraged with money in politics.

We did not fight the Revolution to be spectators in a game of billionaires putting ads on our television sets and mobile phones.

We have more dignity. We have more power as American citizens. Our Founders would be rolling over in their graves if they saw what has become of modern American democracy.

There was $2.7 billion of super-PAC spending--and let me tell you something, only 1 percent of Americans gave more than $200. Who has more than $200 to give to politicians? The money has become more important than votes.

Surely, we could agree in this body to ban super-PACs and overturn Citizens United. Short of that, surely we could agree with what Maine overwhelmingly did to restrict contributions to super-PACs. Why should it be that a politician can receive a contribution of only up to $3,300, but somehow super-PACs should be allowed to get millions of dollars?

We need to make sure, like in Maine, in every State that, at the very least, super-PACs are restricted so billionaires aren't buying our elections. I founded the No PAC Caucus in the United States Congress. We need to end PAC money, the lobbyist money that is corrupting the soul of our democracy.

We may not agree on every issue, but when you look at why politicians sold our jobs overseas, why Wall Street raided our manufacturers and hollowed out industry after industry to worship shareholder profits, then you have to look at the influence billionaires have had on our democracy.

Let's return power to our citizens. Let's ban super-PACs. Let's at least regulate billionaires from contributing to super-PACs. Let's ban Members from accepting PAC and lobbyist money. That will be worthy of our time in Congress.

Mr. Chair, I thank Ranking Member Smith for his leadership. I also thank Chair Rogers for the fair way he conducts the committee.

Mr. Chair, we should be debating how much money to spend on defense and whether we are getting our money's worth. It is no secret that I believe it should be a lower number, but I recognize that that is a valid debate that this committee should have.

What I don't understand is some of the amendments that have nothing to do with defense that are being introduced into this bill.

Amendment 55, for example, prohibits the Defense Department from paying for sick leave or travel for servicemembers receiving an abortion.

Amendment 51 prohibits the DOD from using masks to combat a pandemic.

Amendment 49 prohibits the Defense Department from providing or approving Pride flags.

Amendment 47 prohibits even the teaching of affirmative action. Now, this one you wonder, what does this have to do with Defense policy or keeping our country safe?

Amendment 22 prohibits the DOD from buying electric vehicles or chargers. Talk about Big Government being proscriptive.

Amendment 44 directs the Confederate Memorial to return to the Arlington National Cemetery.

Mr. Chair, my hope is that this committee could debate the top line of defense and what we need to do to keep our country safe and that we do not bring these cultural, divisive issues into supporting our troops and into keeping America the strongest country in the world.

Mr. Speaker, the term ``troubled teen industry'' probably brings to mind a specific image of struggling teens and families who need help combatting addiction and behavioral challenges.

In reality, it is not just the teens who need help. The industry itself, comprised of boot camps, residential treatment centers, and wilderness programs,

is troubled. The lack of transparency and accountability in this multibillion-dollar industry means that families seeking care are unknowingly signing their children up for nightmarish and even abusive conditions.

It happened to Paris Hilton. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone.

With the help of Paris and countless other survivors, I introduced the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act. My bill will increase transparency and accountability for this industry. It has 102 cosponsors, 100 organizations, and it is moving in the Senate.

Today, in recognition of Children's Week, I urge the Energy and Commerce Committee and the House of Representatives to pass it.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to finally decolonize Puerto Rico. We have kept Puerto Rico as a territory since 1898, more than 125 years. Over 3 million people have been denied full political rights.

My grandfather, Amaranath Vidyalankar, was in jail with Gandhi for over 4 years as part of India's independence movement.

Self-determination is essential, and it is essential for Puerto Rico. We must either grant them full independence or statehood. I am committed to working directly with Puerto Ricans on this issue.

It is not our place to tell them what they should choose, but we must end harmful policies like Act 22 that enables tax evasion by the wealthy at the expense of Puerto Rico. We also need to end the lack of food sovereignty in Puerto Rico.

We must end Puerto Rico's colonial status. It was wrong for India, and it is wrong for Puerto Rico in 2024.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 11 o'clock and 23 minutes a.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until Friday, June 7, 2024, at 2 p.m.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to sound the alarm on the housing crisis in the United States of America.

Over half of U.S. renters are paying more than 30 percent of their income in rent, and we have over 650,000 who are unhoused.

Here is what we need to do: Stop Wall Street from buying up single- family homes. I have a bill to end the corporate subsidies.

Second, cap rent so it doesn't go higher than inflation. The President can do this because many corporate landlords are reliant on financing from our Federal agencies.

Third, let's make sure that we build 7 million in new, affordable housing units.

Finally, let's make sure that those with prior criminal records aren't banned from public housing, and we have a tenant's bill of rights.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Government Service Delivery Improvement Act, H.R. 5887. I did want to say a word about our ranking member. I appreciate his support, but I have also come to appreciate at these times his erudition from the House floor. Every time he speaks about history, I learn something, and I have really appreciated his leadership and statements recently.

I appreciate Representative Mace, Representative Timmons, Representatives Donalds, Loudermilk, and, of course, our Ranking Members Raskin and Connolly for truly making this a bipartisan effort, and Selene Ceja on our team and the Oversight and Accountability Committee staff who have been incredible on both sides.

I am proud to say that this bipartisan legislation passed unanimously in the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability with a vote of 44-0.

The Government Service Delivery Improvement Act builds upon the progress made by the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience, or 21st Century IDEA. While the IDEA Act primarily focused on digital services, this bill takes the next step by addressing all service channels, including online, in-person, and by phone.

What sets this bill apart is its whole-of-government approach. It recognizes that improving service delivery requires collaboration. The bill directs the head of Federal agencies to each designate a senior official responsible for improving services, and it requires the Office of Management and Budget to select a senior official to coordinate efforts across Federal agencies.

We really appreciated working with the OMB and with both the Democratic and Republican oversight staffs who have been excellent. These officials will help agencies implement best practices, measure progress, and enhance coordination.

The Government Service Delivery Improvement Act prioritizes constituents' experience by mandating agencies to incorporate service delivery into their strategic plan.

Madam Speaker, the Government Service Delivery Improvement Act represents a significant step forward in creating a more responsive, efficient, and service-delivery oriented Federal Government. It is a commonsense approach to improving government services.

I thank, again, Representative Mace, who has always been a pleasure to work with, and our lead, Ranking Member Raskin.

Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on H.R. 5887.

Mr. Speaker, today, Senator Bernie Sanders and I introduced a historic bill to eliminate medical debt for every American.

Over 100 million Americans have medical debt. That is criminal in a country as wealthy as ours. No American should go into debt because they go to the ER or because they go to a doctor.

Our bill eliminates all medical debt for families. It eliminates the credit card damaging reports on medical debt, and it stops hospitals from sticking debt collectors on vulnerable patients.

Can we not agree in America that no one should have to give up their dream of owning a home because they have medical debt? No one should have to create GoFundMe pages to get medical attention. No one should have to decide between curing their cancer and medical bankruptcy.

This bill stands up for every American's right to healthcare. I thank Senator Merkley and Representative Rashida Tlaib for co-leading this effort.

Mr. Speaker, I have a message for my colleagues today: Don't come to Congress if you want to make a profit.

Americans are frustrated with Congress because too many Members are personally trading stock, because PAC money is drowning out the voice of voters, and because there are more lobbyists around here than legislators.

That is why, today, I am calling on Speaker Johnson to bring for a vote, an up-or-down vote, a bipartisan bill to ban Members of Congress from trading stock.

Representative Abigail Spanberger and Representative Chip Roy have been working on this bill since 2020, listening to voices like Unusual Whales, Quiver Quantitative, and Capitol Trades. They understand that we need a vote. Speaker after Speaker keep saying we will have a vote, but we haven't had a vote.

Bring that bill for an up-or-down vote in 2024. Let's ban Members of Congress from trading stock. Then let's ban PAC money, and let's ban Members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose the neocon march into another war in the Middle East. It is the same chorus. This time it is Iran.

John Bolton, who blundered us into Iraq, now is calling for strikes on Iran all over CNN and cable news. Then you have Senator Marsha Blackburn saying that we need retaliatory strikes into Iran. Who can forget Senator Lindsey Graham saying: Hit them hard. Blow them off the map.

This is foolishness. Let me be clear. The American people, Democrats or Republicans or Independents, do not want another war in the Middle East. They do not want us to make the same mistake we made in Iraq. They do not want trillions of our tax dollars going into foreign wars. Instead, they are demanding that we invest in jobs here at home, in childcare, and in healthcare in America.

I call today for the American people to stand up against the foreign policy blob and against the establishment and prevent them from getting us into another war in the Middle East.

Mr. Speaker, the Doomsday Clock is set at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been. We should heed its warning.

We are inching dangerously close to nuclear war and must do everything we can to reduce the risk of nuclear catastrophe. Russia has threatened to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Iran is closer to developing the nuclear bomb. North Korea is increasing its nuclear arsenal. The risks of miscalculation and rapid escalation are exacerbating these threats.

The nuclear arms race needs to stop. We can and must turn back the Doomsday Clock. We need to work with Russia and China to collectively reduce our stockpiles, increase transparency, reduce the risk of miscalculation, and avoid a dangerous arms race. Nuclear negotiation has always been part of the United States' history, and we must do that again.

First, let's revive a version of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty that Richard Nixon negotiated to cap the arms race by limiting homeland missile defenses. This will reduce pressure on the United States, China, and Russia to build more nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, President George W. Bush withdrew from the treaty in 2002. We need to negotiate to reenter.

Second, we must reenter the Treaty on Open Skies that was first proposed under Dwight Eisenhower and signed by President George H.W. Bush. Open Skies authorizes treaty parties, including the United States, to conduct unarmed flights that provide opportunities to monitor others' nuclear capabilities. Donald Trump withdrew from this treaty in 2020 that Republican Presidents had negotiated. We need to get back in.

Third, we should restore the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and expand it to include China. This was Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev's achievement, yet Donald Trump withdrew from this treaty in 2019. We need to get back in.

Fourth, we need to resume implementation of the New START Treaty negotiated under President Barack Obama to limit the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads. Putin suspended New START in 2023, ripping up the last remaining nuclear treaty with the United States. He did this because of our support of Ukraine. We need to pass funding for Ukraine to defend its sovereignty, end the war justly, and renegotiate New START with Russia and China.

Lastly, we must negotiate with Russia to agree that both of our countries will adopt a no-first-use policy. We would be joining China and India, which already have this posture, unlike Russia and the United States. Adopting a no-first-use policy only if Russia agrees as well would clarify that our nuclear weapons are for deterrence and avoid unintentionally escalating a crisis.

Maintaining the nuclear triad as a deterrent should not bankrupt us. We must cut the costs of modernization that are excessive and going to defense contractor lobbyists. The Air Force's new Sentinel ICBM program is already 37 percent over budget, costing taxpayers $132 billion. That is money that could be going to feed our kids in school, to help pay for college or vocational education, or to pay for childcare.

I call on my colleagues in Washington to help avoid a global catastrophe and a nuclear arms race, to look to previous Presidents like Eisenhower, Reagan, Bush, Obama, and Clinton and negotiator- statesmen to reduce the risk of nuclear war.

We must stop this arms race. We must take our weapons off hair- trigger alert. We must spend our tax dollars here at home, where Americans most need it. We must ensure diplomacy prevails, not nuclear war.

As Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev said: ``A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.''

Mr. Speaker, Art Ellison has one final wish: to provide free lunch to students in need.

Art, a Democrat from the New Hampshire State House, is currently in hospice and knows he doesn't have long to live. He is using his final time to try and pass a bill to increase eligibility for free lunch to all students at or below 350 percent of the Federal poverty line.

Making kids go hungry is cruel. That is why I am on a bill with Senator Sanders to provide free lunch and free meals to every child. We can do it for $3.30 a day.

Let us honor Art Ellison and get this done. He represents the best of politics.

Mr. Speaker, due to technical difficulties, my vote was not recorded on adoption of H. Res. 1065. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 85.

Madam Speaker, it is time that we have a real solution for having high-skilled immigrants help with our national security.

That is why I, as a cosponsor of the EAGLE Act, am going to introduce it and attach it to the National Defense Authorization Act.

The reality is we need immigrants to help build some of the critical technology that is going to keep us ahead of China and keep our military strong and our industrial base strong.

The EAGLE Act benefits all American workers by lifting the arbitrary per country green card cap to bring down the decades-long backlog.

It also will help end H-1B visa abuse by foreign outsourcing corporations, as these visas undercut wages.

It is time to pass the EAGLE Act, attach it to national defense, and make it a national security issue.

Mr. Speaker, today, we honor the selfless life of Bishop Carlton Pearson who passed away last November at the age of 70. Bishop Carlton Pearson was an evangelist, ministry leader, author, and award- winning singer. He was raised in San Diego, California with five siblings. He is survived by them, his wife, and his two children.

An expert in many crafts, his congregation often praised his diverse passions and the limitless communities impacted by his work. He preached what he called a gospel of inclusion. He saw all human life as an integral part of a broader community. He was welcomed in Synagogues, Islamic groups, Atheist and Agnostic organizations, and a variety of other spiritual communities. He felt a mandate to strive for peace through an emphasis on inclusion in spirituality and interfaith fellowship.

I commend him again today and emphasize his teaching that we don't have to go along to get along. That we can mind many of the same things without necessarily having the same mind about everything. We honor the life of Bishop Carlton Pearson, the legacy he left won't be soon forgotten. I include in the Record this Rolling Stone Magazine memoriam about how he has inspired generations to come.

How Bishop Carlton Pearson Inspired a Generation of Singers and Gospel

Artists

(By Meagan Jordan)

Bishop Carlton Pearson, a renowned preacher, singer and

composer, known for his Live At Azusa albums, died on

November 19 after a battle with cancer in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

His theology, known as the ``gospel of inclusion,''

preached against homophobia and embraced the LGBTQ community,

but cost him his congregation and approval within the

evangelical community. However, his message of inclusion and

his denial of hell has become a model, and his impact in

gospel music continues to inspire new generations of artists.

``He has an album of hymns that people would sing in the

Black church for communion like `I Know it Was The Blood,' or

his version of `Precious Memories.' gospel artist and former

Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams tells Rolling Stone,

referring to Pearson's Live At Azusa 2: Precious Memories

album from 1997. ``He amplified those songs and made them

mainstream for church.''

Pearson was born and raised in San Diego, California, where

his father and grandfather were preacher men in a storefront

``heaven or hell'' Pentecostal church. After graduating high

school, he attended Oral Roberts University, an evangelical

Christian University, where Oral Roberts, a white preacher

who had the leading religious television broadcast in the

Seventies, was the school's founder. Roberts mentored Pearson

as he navigated the ministerial realm.

Pearson left the school before graduating in 1977, starting

his own church, Higher Dimensions. With over 6,000 members,

it would make him one of the first Black mega church pastors,

bringing Black churches into a mainstream space in the

Nineties and 2000s.

``In the Seventies, here in the West, the church was on a

decline,'' says Larry Reid, a pastor, media personality and

friend to Pearson. ``You had evangelistic campaigns all over

the U.S., but it was fading away and Black people were not

leading it. We were the musicians and the singers. But

Carlton Pearson created a stage called Azusa and brought

Black Christians in and the white stations would play clips

from his platform.''

Pearson's Azusa Conferences, which were inspired by the

1906 revival that took place on Azusa Street in Los Angeles,

were a hybrid of preaching and music. It gave preachers, like

Joyce Meyers, Michael Pitts, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and gospel

heavyweights, such as Donnie Mcclurkin, the Clark Sisters,

and the late Lashun Pace, agency and a platform to showcase

their talents and introduce them to a wider audience of

people. The conference, which was held at Pearson's old

university, Oral Roberts, would host thousands of guests. For

those who could not attend, they were taped and sold via VHS,

which gave way to many successful careers in television

ministry and gospel music.

``I had always known his music for many years before I

became an artist,'' says Ricky Dillard, a renowned gospel

artist and composer, known for his choirs and directorial

abilities. ``He had a choir with him and that was influential

to me. He was out here doing it at an A-1 level, so everyone

was a fan. If you're a gospel music lover, there's no way

that you could not have heard the music of Bishop Carlton

Pearson.''

Pearson's album The Best of Azusa. . . Yet Holdin' On is a

staple in the Black community. On the 14-track album,

featuring songs from his Azusa conference days, he has

an oratory track called ``Mother Sherman Story,'' in which

he recounts a question an elderly mother from his home

church would ask him, even as dementia began to set in:

``You yet holding on?''--The album's title.

``That meant many things,'' explains Williams. ``It meant

keep holding on to your faith and also meant keep holding on

to your morals and your standards.''

In the late Nineties, Pearson--who not only studied his

bible but also studied its roots, foundations, and original

language of Hebrew--came to a realization that would shake

the foundation of his faith and his social standing within

the church.

``When my little girl was an infant, I was watching the

evening news and the Hutus and the Tutsis were returning to

Rwanda from Uganda,?'' Pearson recalled on an episode of This

American Life from December 2005. ``I'm watching these little

kids with swollen bellies, their skin is stretched. . . Their

hair is kind of red from malnutrition and they have flies on

the corner of their eyes and mouths.''

Pearson thought of his baby, who is now 27 year-old Majeste

Pearson--a pop and gospel singer--and his big screen

television and the plate of food he was in the middle of

eating. Knowing the culture of the people on the screen and

assuming they were not all Christian, he said, ``God, I don't

know how you can call yourself a loving, sovereign God and

allow these people to suffer this way and just suck them

right into hell.'' Pearson heard a voice saying ``Can't you

see they're already there? That's hell. You keep creating

that for yourselves, I'm taking them into my presence.''

Pearson had a realization: ``We do that to ourselves and to

each other,'' he recalled in the podcast episode.

The next Sunday, he shared his revelation to his

congregation, urging them to stop

telling people that they weren't ``saved.'' Instead, he

wanted them to send a message that they were ``safe with

God.''

But this new theology of inclusion and universalism marked

his downfall within the evangelical mainstream. Congregants

left the church. Preachers like T.D. Jakes spoke out against

him; Jakes told Charisma Magazine, a popular Christian

publication, that Pearson was wrong and had incorrectly

interpreted the Bible. Many churches and leaders turned their

backs on him. He lost his church, both its members and the

building. He was banned from hosting the Azusa conference at

the Oral Roberts institution and Roberts, his former mentor,

remained silent. At the time, Pearson was also running for

the Mayor of Tulsa, the city with the worst race riot in 1922

known as the Black Wall Street massacre. He lost.

``I told Carlton that if he told them he believed there was

no such thing as hell and damnation, he will reduce this

weapon of fear based religion, which is the foundation of

religious institutions money,'' said Bishop Yvette Flunder, a

friend of Pearson and a same gender loving preacher and

singer who sung with The Hawkins Family. ``His colleagues and

the College of Bishops that he was a part of put him on blast

and said he was a heretic and excommunicated him.''

Charisma Magazine didn't let the issue rest. According to

Reid, they wrote about Pearson for two years, demonizing his

theology and teachings.

``He was deeply hurt and felt betrayed,'' his children

Majeste and Julian Pearson wrote in an email to Rolling

Stone. But Pearson stood by his beliefs. ``He internalized a

lot of it, resulting in him becoming physically sick. Around

that time, he had his first bout with cancer. We were nine

and 11 when we knew it was our last service.''

While no longer popular in the mainstream church, Pearson's

ministry continued through his church New Dimensions, where

he preached against homophobia and embraced the LGBTQ

community as members. He challenged scriptures used to

demonize and oppress their existence. He also authored books

like The Gospel of Inclusion and God Is Not a Christian, Nor

a Jew, Muslim, Hindu. . . . : God Dwells with Us, in Us,

Around Us, as Us. He also was a minister to many in person.

``Bishop Pearson's ministry was a mirror for me,'' says

Dillard. Back in 2005, Dillard had met Pearson leaving an

event and felt inclined to give him a ride back to Atlanta.

``Something very powerful happened in our moment together.

I was seeking God in a different way and I had come up with

translations that I needed confirmation from. I felt low in

spirit that I was not meeting the standards of the Word of

God. Bishop said something to me that changed my life that

day. He said `As others have judged you, you have now taken

on their judgment and you are judging yourself.' It spoke to

my heart.''