Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman and ranking member for their hard work on this important legislation.

Every day, America faces threats to our national security. Some threats are evolving, like cyber attacks on our infrastructure. Some are emerging, like the radicals of Boko Haram. And some are right in front of us demanding direct action.

Because we face a diverse array of threats, our security depends on an intelligence community that is equally diverse. In a 2011 address to Morehouse College, CIA Director Leon Panetta stated that we need an intelligence community with a workforce that reflects the world it engages.

My amendment helps the intelligence community meet its strategic diversity goals by providing grants to predominantly black institutions that educate future generations of intelligence experts through advanced language training, study abroad, and cultural immersion programs.

To remain globally secure, we must have human assets on the ground who can blend in easily abroad, especially in Africa and the Middle East. Overcoming cultural, language, and educational barriers is critical to achieving this goal. I ask that my colleagues support this commonsense amendment.

Mr. Speaker, as Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry commemorates the 70th anniversary of the capture of the U- 505 submarine, I recognize the museum for offering world-class experiences that inspire children to achieve their full potential in science, technology, medicine, and engineering.

The U-505 German submarine terrorized the Atlantic Ocean as part of a massive U-boat campaign that almost altered the outcome of World War II. On June 4, 1944, it was brought to the ocean's surface with a depth charge attack from the USS Chatelain, after which crew from the USS Pillsbury boarded the sub and helped Allied forces gain valuable defense intelligence that forever changed the course of world events.

The U-505 exhibition is not only a memorial to the sailors who gave up their lives on the high seas, it is a reminder of the role that science and technology plays in keeping the world safe and changing history for the better. I thank the Museum of Science and Industry for molding the minds of the future while celebrating America's innovative past.

In closing, I want to salute the students watching from the museum.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great concern for the safety of over 200 kidnapped Nigerian girls that I urge my colleagues to vote for the National Defense Authorization Act.

This bill includes an en bloc amendment I offered requiring the Department of Defense, in consultation with the Department of State, to report on the efforts to assist in the search and rescue of the young women who were abducted in Nigeria last month.

There is more that our government can do to address the threat that Boko Haram poses to international security. By Congress knowing more about this terrorist group, their movements, the safety of the girls, and what the U.S. and Nigerian Governments can do to protect these girls and others like them, we will be in a better position to end Boko Haram's reign of terror.

Families weep in Nigeria. The global community holds vigil for these children.

I thank the chairman for including my amendment in the en bloc package and urge my colleagues to vote to help ``bring back our girls.''

In regard to Memorial Day, I want to thank those who gave up their tomorrow, so we could have today.

Mr. Speaker, April was a particularly violent month in the city of Chicago. Thirty-two people were shot and killed in the city, 19 of them under the age of 25.

You have heard me talk before about the epidemic of gun violence, about how urban violence in cities like Chicago is robbing us of a generation. But nothing illustrates how our gun violence permeates everyday life in Chicago more than the stories of the deaths of those 19 young people.

They, like scores of teens and young adults across the city, were stalked by gun violence. It followed them home from school, creeping up on their porches or tapping on their car windows; and, in an instant, an everyday activity became an unspeakable tragedy.

Jordan Harris, 24, was shot during a house party.

Michael Flournoy, 17, was shot in front of a neighborhood church.

Adrian Soto, 17, shot on a sidewalk.

Gakirah Barnes, 17, shot in the street.

Andres Cervantes, 22, shot while sitting in a car.

Joshua Martinez, 20, shot on a front porch.

Keno Glass, 16, shot in a drive-by shooting while on spring break.

Trevolus Pickett, 20, shot in a gangway.

Nicholas Ramirez, 19, chased and shot while he was driving.

Anthony Bankhead, 18, and Jordan Means, 16, shot in an apartment during an argument.

Timmy Bermudez, 19, shot while driving in an ambush on Easter Sunday.

Quinton Jackson, 22, shot in a building hallway.

Darius Kelly, 22, shot in a drive-by.

Demario Collins, 19, shot while sitting in a car.

Martavarian Emery, 21, shot from outside while standing in a kitchen.

Jaquez Williams, 17, shot on a sidewalk.

Cindy Bahena, 21, shot while riding in the backseat of a car.

And then there is Endia Martin, a 14-year-old girl who was shot and killed last week by another 14-year-old girl in a dispute over a boy.

Endia, a high school freshman and an honor student, and the 14-year- old suspect, an honor student, friends since elementary school, had been feuding on Facebook. After school last week, the teen suspect confronted Endia with a gun. That gun, a .38 caliber revolver, went from a local gun shop popular with straw purchasers to a man who resold the gun illegally and falsely reported it as stolen. From there, it made its way to a 25-year-old man who gave the gun to his niece, the 14-year-old suspect.

The girl, standing in a crowd of onlookers and instigators, drew the gun from her waistband and pulled the trigger. The gun actually malfunctioned. She handed it to someone in the crowd who fixed it and handed it back to her before she fired again, hitting Endia in the back and another teen in the arm.

This shooting painfully underscores the need for commonsense gun reforms, like cracking down on straw purchasers and better tracking gun sales to curtail illegal trafficking. There were many opportunities along the journey of that .38 caliber revolver to save Endia's life.

The shooting also spotlights the need for better social supports, greater accountability within our families and communities, and increased responsibility for the welfare of our children.

Losing a bright light like Endia is a tragedy, but so is the baby- faced accused killer sitting in juvenile lockup right now, the product of a community of accomplices who encouraged one child to kill another. As a society, we failed both girls. We have failed to provide Endia with a safe community she deserved, and we failed to teach her killer to value her own life, much less anyone else's.

Preventing senseless killings like this requires a combination of legislative initiatives and community action. We in Congress must do our part to stop the bloodshed by passing commonsense gun legislation. We must also do more to support programs on the ground that provide our young people with alternatives to violence. It is a moral imperative we can no longer ignore.

Before I go, I would like to pay tribute to Leonore Draper, a beloved and dedicated gun violence prevention advocate in Chicago who herself was

killed last week in a possible drive-by shooting. Leonore was headed home from an antiviolence charity fundraiser she helped organize when she was shot and killed. What a horrible irony.

Leonore devoted her life to ending the violence on Chicago's streets. Her killing rattled the city and her fellow antiviolence advocates who are determined to continue to work to stop the shootings that claimed her and young Endia. Both Leonore and Endia were buried on Monday. Please do not let their deaths be in vain.

To my colleagues, it is past time that we took action.

Mr. Speaker, I submit the following:

Whereas, The Chicagoland area is proud to host the Second Annual Turquoise Art and Language Contest, organized by the Turkish American Society, to be held at the Rosemont Theater in Rosemont, Illinois on April 12, 2014; and

Whereas, The Turquoise Art and Language Contest is held annually to promote intercultural understanding, friendship, and dialogue; and

Whereas, The contestants will demonstrate diverse talents such as folk dancing, singing and poetry recitation, in a multitude of languages including English, Spanish, and Turkish; and

Whereas, The Turkish American Society began operating in 2005 in the city of Mount Prospect, Illinois to facilitate and encourage cross- cultural experiences and interfaith cooperation; and

Whereas, The Turkish American Society is involved in generous philanthropic ventures and projects benefiting the people of the State of Illinois while addressing the social and cultural needs of the Turkish-American community living in the Chicago area; creating a welcoming environment for new immigrants adjusting to life in the United States; providing communities with educational services; introducing Turkish culture to the Chicago area; uniting the Turkish- American community; and establishing dialogue between diverse communities with the goal of leading to global peace; and

Whereas, The Turkish American Society's efforts to forge a stronger bond amongst all Illinoisans and spread the wonders of Turkish culture are worthy of the greatest respect; now therefore be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the United States of America, that best wishes are extended to the participants of the Turkish American Society's Second Annual Turquoise Art and Language Contest, and the Turkish American Society is honored and commended for its wonderful work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the urgent need to raise the Federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

Since 2009, we have had the same $7.25 per hour minimum wage. Over the last 5 years, inflation rates caused the value of that to decrease by an average of 13.6 cents per year.

Today, $7.25 is worth 9 percent less than it was in 2009. For someone working full time on minimum wage, this is like getting a $26 decrease in pay. Meanwhile, the cost of everyday necessities continues to increase. Between

basic needs like gas, milk, heat, and electricity, Americans are paying $23.19 more per month.

Many times, I have urged my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to do the right thing and allow a vote to ensure American families can have the comfort of a livable wage.

For those who are not working and struggling to keep afloat in these tough times, let's vote to extend the unemployment benefits that expired.

I urge my colleagues to stop brushing working Americans under the rug and pass a fair minimum wage.

Mr. Speaker, 42 years ago, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment to guarantee equal rights for American women. Although we have made progress leveling the playing field, we still have a ways to go.

Women earn more advanced degrees and make up half of our national workforce, but the return on their educational investment doesn't come close to their male counterparts. Women still earn 77 cents to the dollar men earn and are working lower wage jobs in a time when their families are becoming more dependent on their salaries.

I am working to balance the inequities that disadvantage American women and, consequently, their families. I cosponsored House Joint Resolution 56, the constitutional proposal for an equal rights amendment, and I supported the Paycheck Fairness and Fair Minimum Wage Acts. These bills are good for working women and good for their families.

Today, I urge my colleagues to stand up for the many unemployed women and impacted families in their districts by passing an unemployment insurance extension immediately.

Let's honor Women's History Month by supporting fair wages for all, promoting equal treatment under our laws, and by supporting vulnerable women by extending safety net benefits like unemployment insurance.

Mr. Speaker, as we observe the final week of Black

History Month, I would like to recognize the Divine Nine historically Black fraternities and sororities of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

For over 100 years, brothers and sisters of the Divine Nine have played an instrumental role in altering the course of American history, and the Divine Nine have served as training grounds for some of our Nation's best and brightest leaders.

The Divine Nine Organizations are:

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, founded in 1986 at Cornell University. Their brotherhood includes the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Congressmen Emanuel Cleaver, Danny Davis, Chaka Fattah, Al Green, Gregory Meeks, Charles Rangel, David Scott, and Bobby Scott; Ambassador Andrew Jackson Young; the National Urban League president, Marc Morial; legal pioneers Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall; and their honorable grand president, Mark S. Tillman.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, founded in 1908 at Howard University. Their sisterhood proudly boasts Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Terri Sewell, and Frederica Wilson; actress Phylicia Rashad of ``The Cosby Show''; author Maya Angelou; civil rights leaders Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King; and their honorable president attorney, Carolyn House Stuart.

Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, founded in 1911 at Indiana University. Among their notable achievers are Microsoft chairman and CEO, John W. Thompson; civil rights leader the Reverend Ralph Abernathy; founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Reverend Delegate Walter Fauntroy; Congressmen Sanford Bishop, William Lacy Clay, John Conyers, Alcee Hastings, Bennie Thompson, and Hakeem Jeffries; and Grand Polemarch William ``Randy'' Bates.

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, founded in 1911 at Howard University. They include in their ranks Assistant House Democratic Leader James Clyburn of South Carolina; Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia; NASA Administrator Charles Bolden; comedian Bill Cosby; Dr. Charles Drew, whose medical research in the field of blood transfusions led to the founding of the blood bank; and their honorable grand basileus, Dr. Andrew Ray.

Delta Sigma Theta, founded in 1913 at Howard University. Delta counts as sisters my esteemed colleague and chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Honorable Marcia L. Fudge; also Congresswomen Yvette Clarke and Joyce Beatty; Shirley Chisolm, the first African American woman elected to Congress; former Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman; and their honorable president, Paulette C. Walker.

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, founded in 1914 at Howard University. Not only are the Sigmas the fraternity of my husband, Dr. Nathaniel Horn, they also include former President of the United States William Jefferson Clinton; Congressman John Lewis; A. Phillip Randolph, civil rights pioneer and leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; Dr. George Washington Carver; and their Honorable President, Jonathan Mason.

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, founded in 1920 at Howard University. Notable sisters include author Zora Neale Hurston; jazz great Sarah Vaughan; the late Congresswoman Julia Carson; and their honorable president, Mary Breaux Wright.

Sigma Gamma Rho, my sorority, founded in 1922 at Butler University. The sisters of Sigma Gamma Rho include Congresswoman Corrine Brown of Florida and the late Congresswoman Lindy Boggs; the first African American winner of an Academy Award, Hattie McDaniel; and our esteemed grand basileus, Bonita Herring.

Finally, Iota Phi Theta, founded in 1963 at Morgan State University. Their notables include Congressman Bobby Rush; Billy Ocasio, former alderman to Chicago's 26th Ward and current adviser to Governor Pat Quinn; and their honorable grand polaris, Robert Clark.

Whether it has been standing up for women's suffrage, advancing civil rights by dismantling Jim Crow, advancing the science of medicine, or leading in business innovation, the Divine Nine has been there the entire time leading from the front.

The Divine Nine's scope of service is felt far beyond their organizational borders. The work of these fraternities and sororities has helped to make this Nation a better place for all Americans. For this, and many other reasons, I thank the entire Divine Nine for a job well done.

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate Black History Month, I rise to honor a remarkable American, John Rogers, Sr., a man of unrivaled determination and intellect who led an extraordinary life.

Mr. Rogers moved to Chicago at the age of 12, following the death of his parents, and later earned his pilot's license and enlisted in the Army Air Forces, where he flew in 120 combat missions in World War II as a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

He went on to attend the University of Chicago's Law School on the GI Bill and served for 21 years as a Cook County juvenile court judge. He was known as much for his compassion as he was for his conviction, and believed as much in giving second chances as he did in doing things right the first time.

Mr. Rogers was a great leader and role model. He passed away last month at the age of 95, but he leaves behind a

legacy of accomplishments that have made a greater America and are worthy of being celebrated in any month.

Thank you, Congresswoman Beatty.

I want to thank all of my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus who have joined us here tonight and who continue to fight and serve as the conscience of our Congress.

Mr. Speaker, ``When Women Succeed, America Succeeds.'' It is a simple enough concept, yet it hasn't received the attention it deserves in the policy arena. As we reflect on moments like the fifth anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act--a bill that most of us would agree was long overdue--it is important that we keep in our minds and hearts the critical lesson of that important legislation, which is that it is unacceptable for pay discrimination to exist in our workforce, that workers who face discrimination have a right to claim compensation for the injustices they face, that regardless of gender, race, religion, or sexual identity, we all have a right to be justly compensated for our work, and most importantly, that it is beneficial to our economy, our families, and our children to pay fair wages to all of America's workers.

In that spirit, we must lift up the cause of an economic agenda for women and their families. As we look to grow our economy, let us keep in mind how women drive that growth.

Women are the breadwinners or co-breadwinners in nearly two-thirds of America's families. Women now outnumber men at every level of the higher education ladder. In 1964, only about 40 percent of women were enrolled in any type of college. Today, that figure is 57 percent. There are, roughly, 3 million more women currently enrolled in college than men. Women-owned businesses, like those owned by Vicky Linko, Letty Velez, and Christie Hefner in Illinois, account for nearly $3 trillion of the gross domestic product in the United States.

Women are vital to our economic future. Still, the facts on how far we need to go for women to truly achieve the American Dream are staggering.

One in three adult women is living in poverty or on the brink of it. One-quarter of single mothers spend more than half of their incomes on housing compared to one-tenth of single fathers. Of all single mothers, nearly two-thirds are working in low-wage retail, service or administrative jobs that offer little economic support to adequately provide for the needs of their families. Women make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes--a pay gap that exists even the first year out of college and continues through a woman's life. If you are a woman of color, no matter what your education is, there is that gap, and the gap grows as your education increases. Wage disparities cost American women an estimated $400,000 to $2 million in lost wages over a lifetime.

Thank you, Congresswoman.

I, too, feel compelled to tell my Shirley Chisholm story. As you have heard, I was privileged enough to be at the unveiling of her stamp, and I was very, very proud to be there, but also, I met Shirley Chisholm 22 years ago. I was a director of minority student services for Bradley University, and we invited Congresswoman Chisholm out to be a speaker. I picked her up from the airport and drove her back when her time was done.

We had the opportunity to have coffee together, and I felt her passion for the everyday person, to improve their quality of life. Little did I know that she was planting a little seed in me, as she was the first black woman elected, and I am the 30th and hopefully counting black woman elected to Congress. So I am very proud of that moment, and it gave me that opportunity to reflect when I heard all of her stories last Friday.

You have heard from our many colleagues that nearly half of the workforce is female, yet two-thirds of all minimum wage workers are women. You have heard 40 percent of working women are their family's primary breadwinner. If these women were paid the same wages as their male counterparts, their family income would increase by $6,776 a year. This is a $245 billion increase in wealth nationwide. If women receive equal pay, our economy would generate $447.6 billion in additional income. Again, we all would benefit from this, not just women.

41.5 million adult women and 16.8 million adult working women live in households below 200 percent of the poverty line. Women workers, single mothers, and low-income workers are the least likely to have access to paid leave and workplace flexibility offered through their employer, only exacerbating gender inequality and women's poverty.

The United States, as we said, the wealthiest country in the world, is the only developed nation that does not require employers to provide paid maternity leave, and the family and medical leave protections that do exist fail to cover nearly half of all full-time employees.

Revenue of women-owned businesses is 27 percent of that of men-owned businesses. I remember when I was a State representative, thanks to SEIU, being a child care worker for a day, and I went into the home of a woman who took care of other children for other women so that they could go to work. Both the child care worker and the mom going to work were very low-wage earners, but if it wasn't for that low-wage earner or child care worker, the mom couldn't afford to pay her so she could then go to work. It would be easy for the moms to stay home, but they didn't want to stay home. They wanted to work. They wanted to build their resume, and they also wanted to give their children the opportunity to be around other children and to learn from those low- wage child care workers. So both groups of women are affected by the minimum wage in this country.

With that, I yield back, Congresswoman.

Thank you, Congresswoman. You make me think about my grandmother, because it was my grandmother in the late 1940s who purchased a grocery store and told my grandfather, We are in the grocery business now. It was because of her parents instilling in her and helping

her to succeed and be a role model that she planted a seed for our family and her sons and then my father and my uncle. And it just fed the line for success and all of us going to college because of my grandmother. She was the very strong one in the family.

America cannot afford to maintain the status quo. Nearly 70 percent of Americans on or above the brink of poverty are women and the children who depend on them. That is almost 42 million American women and more than 28 million American children living on or at the brink of poverty. Tonight's conversation is about sparking an agenda that will enable women to achieve greater security. This includes raising wages for women and their families and allowing working parents to support and care for their families.

I want to thank the entire Congressional Black Caucus, especially my fellow co-anchor, the gentlewoman from Ohio, Congresswoman Beatty, who did a fantastic job.

As we recognize Black History Month, we are reminded the Congressional Black Caucus exists to improve communities through policy action that meets the needs of millions of our most vulnerable citizens. It is that spirit that guides us here tonight. When we see millions of women and children on the brink of poverty, we must act. When we see total household incomes being short-changed because of gender biases in wage, we won't stand for it. When women succeed, America succeeds. I will say it again. When women succeed, America succeeds.

I thank my colleagues for caring enough to get involved in this debate.

General Leave

I ask unanimous consent that my colleagues have 5 days to revise and extend their remarks.

With that, I yield to my co-anchor, Representative Beatty, for any last words.

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, a gunman walked into a mall in Columbia, Maryland, and opened fire, killing two people before taking his own life. Prior to the mall shooting, we saw six school shootings take place nationwide in just 10 days.

Countless other Americans are terrorized each day on streets that have become shooting galleries where kids aren't safe to walk to school or go to the corner store or sit on their front porches. And yet we do nothing.

Time and time again, despite the headlines and the bloodshed and the pleas from the parents of the victims to act, Congress has failed to pass commonsense gun reforms that would save thousands of American lives, including background checks, which are supported by 90 percent of Americans.

Somehow, in the years between Columbine and Newtown, we have developed a collective indifference to the killings. After each shooting, we are in disbelief; but then we shrug and move on, dismissing the mass shootings as isolated incidents and ignoring the everyday shootings altogether.

Sadly, a callus has formed where our compassion should be. Or is it that the gun lobby's agenda has taken the place of our country's conscience?

I am at a loss because I truly do not understand how we can continue to ignore the public health epidemic that is gun violence in America. What will it take? How many more must die? How many parents must weep before we do the right thing?

Make no mistake, gun violence is robbing us of a generation. It is a slow-motion plague that is killing our kids one day at a time.

In the Chicagoland area, gun violence has claimed some of our best and our brightest, like 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed a year ago this week while standing in a park with friends. You may remember, she was killed a week after performing for President Obama's inauguration.

She was certainly one of my district's shining stars. But she was, by far, not the only one. There were many Hadiyas, young people with promise and potential who were felled by gun violence. They had family and friends who loved them, communities who mourned them, and they are:

Eva Casara, 17; Tyrone Lawson, 17; Maurice Knowles, 16; Darnell Williams, 17; Abdullah Trull, 16; Leonard Anderson, 17; Jaleel Pearson, 18; Malcolm Whitney, 16; Fearro Denard, 18; Tyshon Anderson, 18; Tyrone Hart, 18; Ashaya Miller, 15; Equiel Velasquez, 17; Christopher Lattin, Jr., 15; Rey Donantas, 14; Victor Vegas, 15; Tyrone Lawson, 17; Antonio Fenner, 16; Frances Colon, 18; Jorge Valdez-Benitez, 18; Oscar Marquez, 17; Jonyla Watkins, 6 months; Arrell Monegan, 16; Victor Damian, 15; Clifton Barney, 17; Miguel Delaluz, 17; Leetema Daniels, 17; Fearro Denard, 18; Patrick Sykes, 15; Dionte Maxwell, 18; Miguel Villegas, 15; April McDaniel, 18; Fernando Mondragon, 18; Kevin Rivera, 16; Ricardo Herrera, 17; and Alexander Lagunas, 18.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here in honor of their memories, asking my colleagues to get serious about gun reform and to pass legislation to help them stem the tide of shootings in this country. I hope one day never to have to add another name to that list.

Mr. Speaker, as we begin today's activities, 1.3 million individuals face a harsher reality because Congress failed to extend unemployment insurance benefits. That includes 2 million children and 20,000 veterans who face a more uncertain future because Congress failed to do the right thing.

The moms who attended my Chicagoland job fair don't want an unemployment check more than a job. They do want a Congress that recognizes that any one of us could use a little help when an economic crisis hits and leaves us vulnerable.

The families I represent aren't looking for handouts. They are my friends and neighbors and paid into the unemployment insurance system with the promise that, if times got tough, they would still be able to provide for their families using the benefits they paid for as a bridge over troubled waters.

I am a cosponsor of H.R. 3824, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act, because I stand by my friends in tough times. I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to do the same by passing a bipartisan unemployment insurance extension now.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate a milestone in our Nation's history. Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson stood before Congress and declared an unconditional war on poverty.

As we reflect on this war, I am inspired by the progress we have made in 50 years. We have expanded economic opportunity, and we have made the American Dream a reality for millions. But this is not enough. Recent events, like allowing unemployment insurance to expire, remind us that the war is not over.

Even though our economy is recovering from a recession, 10.9 million Americans are still struggling to find work. Meanwhile, 16 million children live in poverty. And now the 1.3 million Americans who lost unemployment insurance have no means to provide for their family while they look for work.

This cannot continue. No child should go to bed hungry, and no family should struggle to keep a roof over their heads.

Fifty years ago we started a war, and yes, we have won many battles. But it is time to win the war, and we must start by making sure that Americans can continue to meet basic needs as they pursue their dreams. So I urge my colleagues to stand with me and extend unemployment insurance.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of over 1 million Americans to urge my colleagues to extend unemployment insurance benefits so they can continue to meet their basic needs while searching for work.

Last week, we were encouraged by the labor report that showed the economy was adding jobs, the unemployment rate is shrinking, and companies are again investing. But there is still work to be done. For the 11 million Americans without a job, the economy is still in a state of emergency. When a mom in Chicago or a dad in Kankakee loses their job, the whole family feels it.

I have met with many people from Illinois with impressive qualifications who are weary from the job search. They want what we all want: a good job, a livable wage, and a Congress that will work to create new economic opportunities. But until that is achieved, they are asking for a hand up, not a handout, in these tough times.

It is for these Americans I urge my colleagues to extend unemployment insurance benefits now, because every citizen deserves support in their pursuit of the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a historic week. On Sunday, we celebrated Rosa Parks Day; Thursday, we observed the start of the Montgomery bus boycott; and Friday, we commemorate the 148th anniversary of the Thirteenth Amendment, which ended slavery.

As we reflect on these historic events, we see how far our Nation has come in advancing equality for all Americans. However, recent actions like the Supreme Court's decision to gut the Voting Rights Act remind us that we have much more work ahead.

Although I dream of a day that the Voting Rights Act is unnecessary, the truth is that voter discrimination and suppression live on today as ugly legacies of our past. In the past few years, many States have introduced legislation that would restrict access to a voting booth. These discriminatory actions prove that the protections in the Voting Rights Act are still necessities in our world today.

So this week, as we remember the struggles and sacrifices made to ensure basic rights for all Americans, I urge my colleagues to continue fighting to ensure that no American is denied their right to vote.