Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of the Honorable Mel Hannah, who passed away this week. Mel was a lifelong Arizonan, civic leader, and friend and mentor to many. He will be greatly missed.

Mel was born and raised in the small town of Winslow, Arizona. After high school, he earned a scholarship to play football at what would become Northern Arizona University. While traveling through the South for football games, Mel experienced the realities of segregation--being denied a room at the hotel where his white teammates were staying.

Mel's experience with segregation, as well as President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty campaign, inspired him to get involved in politics and activism. He went on to become the first African American member of the Flagstaff City Council and to serve on the Coconino County Board of Supervisors. He later moved to Phoenix where he worked in the administration of Governor Fife Symington and was Director of Community Outreach and Job Development at the Greater Phoenix Urban League. More recently, he served as Chair of the Arizona Secretary of State's Advisory Council and was a charter member of the Arizona Commission of African American Affairs.

Mel's life and career embodied his commitment to civic engagement which he defined

as, ``what we do to make lives better.'' For him, that meant serving and empowering low-income, rural, and minority communities. I trust that current and future generations will continue to be inspired by Mr. Hannah's life to get involved in the betterment of their communities.

I offer my deepest condolences to Mel's family and friends.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7776, the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023.

First off, the bill is a win for servicemembers, providing a 4.6 percent pay raise, increased funding for basic housing allowances, and improved women's healthcare.

The bill also authorizes a range of critical provisions to address strategic challenges from China and Russia.

We provide $6 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative, $800 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, and $225 million for the Baltic Security Initiative, all of which is much-needed support for Ukraine and our NATO allies and partners.

As chair of the Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee, I am proud of the bipartisan work of our subcommittee members, including historic reforms to the defense intelligence enterprise, Special Operations Forces, and our approach to the issue of civilian harm.

The bill authorizes up to $50 million to support NATO Special Operations Headquarters, an effort that will improve relationships among Special Operations Forces of NATO countries.

It also establishes an oversight framework for information operations, ensuring that Congress is notified no later than 48 hours after DOD approves a new military information support operation, and the bill delivers on our commitment to address civilian harm.

Mr. Speaker, it requires the establishment of a civilian protection center of excellence and provides $25 million to implement the civilian harm mitigation response plan.

Finally, and more importantly, I thank my subcommittee ranking member, Trent Kelly, for his contribution to this bill and his strong bipartisan work.

I also thank my subcommittee staff, Shannon Green, Craig Greene, Will Braden, and Patrick Nevins, and, of course, my MLA Michelle Shevin- Coetzee and defense fellow Charlie Juhl.

Mr. Speaker, it is a good bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Neighborhood Ministries, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Founded in 1982 by Kit Danley, who remains President of the organization today, Neighborhood Ministries has continuously aided the Phoenix community from the day it opened. The organization has found success in broadening its reach through four crucial programs. Those programs are Neighbors at Work, Neighborhood Family Services, Neighborhood Spiritual Development, and Education for Life. These programs focus on at-risk youth and young adults in obtaining employment, providing families with the basic needs of life, creating opportunities for people to explore their faith and spirituality, and education assistance in pursuit of providing an educational and mentoring support system.

Neighborhood Ministries through their core values of Incarnational Love, Leadership Development, Work of Justice, Community, and many others has been able to effect ``whole generations of families [that] have forever been changed by being shown a way out of the cycle of poverty that grips most urban communities,'' in its 40 years of existence.

I would like to again congratulate Neighborhood Ministries on 40 years of faith and service.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Native American Connections, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

Founded in 1972, what once was a small grassroots organization that focused on Native American men and substance abuse has blossomed into an operation of 21 sites throughout Phoenix. What once was just a focus on substance abuse, Native American Connections expanded its reach to affordable housing, health, homelessness, Native American healing and many other projects that affect over 10,000 individuals and families each year. Native American Connections especially takes pride in their community development resources and projects that strengthen the Native American Community and helps celebrate the rich cultural history that is so essential to America today.

Through the organization's core values of empowerment, integrity, stewardship, spirituality, and others, Native American Connections has been able to positively affect the lives of countless people and families for 50 years. Their mission of ``Improving the lives of individuals and families through Native American culturally appropriate health, affordable housing, and community development services,'' has not only been accomplished but continues to do so.

I would like to again congratulate Native American Connections on a remarkable 50 years and look forward to seeing how you change the world next.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Amigos Block Watch, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary this month.

Amigos Block Watch was formed by a group of community members in Phoenix who work together to minimize crime in their neighborhoods. For 25 years, Amigos Block Watch has hosted community meetings where individuals can voice their concerns or questions, helping provide resources from community action officers and keeping the Phoenix City Council informed. Amigos Block Watch also hosts events that bring the community together, building a more inclusive city. They are also active in using their social media to promote educational and work opportunities for residents, while continuing to encourage those in

the area to get involved and stay updated on impactful safety issues.

For so many years, Amigos Block Watch has been ensuring everybody feels safe in their community. They have lived up to their message of ``One Neighborhood, One Family''. Their community efforts continue to provide free resources and support to those in need, and they continue to advocate for the members of the community while never backing down from the fight to create neighborhoods where all feel safe.

I would like to again congratulate Amigos Block Watch on their 25th anniversary. I hope Phoenix has this incredible organization for decades to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on my and Senator Lujan's bill, the PAVA Program Inclusion Act.

This bill is based on a simple principle that every American should have equal access to vote, no matter where they are from.

S. 3969 makes a long-overdue fix to the Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access program to improve voting access for Native and rural voters with disabilities in Arizona, the Four Corners region, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The PAVA program was first passed 20 years ago to break down barriers that Americans with disabilities face while exercising the most sacred right of all Americans, the right to vote. This program improves ADA compliance at polling locations, voting procedures for blind or deaf Americans, and training for poll workers to help Americans with disabilities cast their votes.

Unfortunately, due to an oversight in the original Help America Vote Act, voters with disabilities in the Northern Mariana Islands and in the rural, largely Tribal Four Corners region of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado were not included in this critical program.

That means for years, Americans with disabilities living in these regions have not received the investments they need to ensure they can access the ballot.

That is especially hard in northeast Arizona, which is largely Indian Country, where voters already often travel hours to get to the polling location, sometimes to find that it is not accessible to them. That must change.

This bill is a necessary step to bring resources to Native and other rural voters with disabilities who are trying to do their civic duty.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all of my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, to vote ``yes'' and reaffirm the importance of voting access to everyone in our democracy.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Phoenix Indian Center, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.

Founded in 1947, the Phoenix Indian Center is the oldest American Indian non-profit organization of its kind in the United States. Originally established to help Native Americans who traveled to downtown Phoenix to sell arts and crafts to support their families, the non-profit has successfully expanded its services to offer exemplary employment, education, cultural enrichment, and community engagement services for urban Native Americans. Additionally, the Phoenix Indian Center has continuously achieved its goal to ``keep families intact and help them maneuver through difficult situations they may encounter.''

By implementing their core values of integrity, accountability, adaptability, and respect, the Phoenix Indian Center has established resources such as job preparedness workshops, youth services, housing assistance, scholarships, and many others that have positive impacts throughout the Native American community. For 75 transformative years, I thank the Phoenix Indian Center, and I look forward to seeing what they accomplish next for our community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr. on 45 years of preaching at the First Institutional Baptist Church of Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Stewart's leadership, faith, and advocacy have inspired generations of Arizonans, and I want to express my gratitude for his service to our community.

Dr. Stewart is the Senior Pastor at First Institutional, where he has served since 1977. Since moving to Phoenix, Dr. Stewart has tirelessly worked to help Arizona's most vulnerable populations and fought to bring justice to all in the state. He was instrumental in the passage of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in Arizona and founded FIBCO Family Services, Inc. in 1986. Through the values of service, respect, integrity, empowerment, and diversity and inclusion, FIBCO Family Services works to, ``provide people with knowledge, skills and support to transform and empower their lives.'' The services they provide include food and clothing distribution, affordable housing, immigrant and refugee support, and health care.

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Stewart has had numerous academic achievements, won awards and accolades, and published several books. He has served as a beacon of hope and integrity. I'd like to again congratulate Dr. Stewart on 45 years of preaching at First Institutional and thank him for over four decades of service and leadership to the Phoenix community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Circle the City. By recognizing health care as the first step to empowerment and independence, Circle the City is an invaluable community partner in addressing homelessness in Phoenix.

Founded by Sister Adele O'Sullivan, CSJ, MD, Circle the City opened the first medical respite center for people facing homelessness in Phoenix in 2012. Today, Circle the City operates two medical respite centers, two outpatient health care clinics, and four mobile medical units. The COVID-19 pandemic increased homelessness in Phoenix dramatically and made providing health care to underserved populations more important than ever. Circle the City rose to the challenge, providing vaccinations to the hardest to reach individuals. As climate change continues to worsen extreme heat in Phoenix, Circle the City has been working to help people experiencing homelessness prevent and heal from heat exhaustion and dehydration.

I would like to offer my deepest thanks to Circle the City for their work providing health care to a population that is too often overlooked. I congratulate them on a decade of service and look forward to helping them achieve another 10 years.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Barrio Cafe. Since 2002, Barrio Cafe has been a Phoenix institution, serving up world-renowned Mexican food and promoting Mexican American arts and culture.

Barrio Cafe was founded by Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza and her business partner, Wendy Gruber. Chef Silvana grew up in the Central Valley of California, learning to cook at her grandmother's side and in her family's bakery. Since opening Barrio Cafe, she has been featured in Sunset Magazine, Esquire Magazine, and Food Network's Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, and she has been a finalist for the James Beard Award. Now, she is mentoring the next generation of chefs and small business owners.

Chef Silvana is also a community leader in her own right. She has tirelessly advocated for the rights of all in Arizona and has worked to feed those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her leadership and vision have transformed a stretch of 16th Street into `Calle 16,' a hub for local economic development, flourishing with Mexican art, murals, culture, and food.

For 20 years, Chef Silvana and the Barrio Cafe have embodied `comida chingona'. I am lucky to get to call Chef Silvana and Wendy friends, and I wish them all the best on 20 more years of Barrio Cafe.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Equality Arizona on its 30th anniversary. For three decades, Equality Arizona has been fighting for the rights of LGBTQ+ Arizonans to fully participate in social, economic, and civic life. They have done this by building a diverse community of support and engaging with all levels of government.

In response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Equality Arizona started in 1992 to support those living with HIV and AIDS and to repeal discriminatory laws that criminalized LGBTQ+ lives. Since then, they have continued that work in the campaigns to repeal ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' and pass marriage equality. Just in the past year, Equality Arizona has helped pass non-discrimination ordinances in Glendale and Tolleson, both of which are in my district, and in Mesa and Scottsdale. I cannot wait to see the great work they will do over the next 30 years.

I would like to congratulate Equality Arizona on their 30th anniversary and thank them for their tireless efforts to support the LGBTQ+ community in Arizona and across the country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Yolanda Collazos Kizer. Yolanda was a small businesswoman, community leader, mother, friend, and mentor to many.

Yolanda had a passion and skill for business and together with her husband, Aaron Kizer, founded Casa Unlimited--an airport retail enterprise with stores at Phoenix Sky Harbor and airports across the country. Not just concerned with her own success, Yolanda served as Chairwoman of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where she mentored other small business owners, students, and Chamber staff. She also spearheaded programs to bring economic development to the West, support rural businesses, and support small businesses development training. As Alumni of Arizona State University, Yolanda and Aaron were founders and supporters of the Los Diablos Alumni Association which provides tuition assistance, mentorship, and professional development to ASU students.

Yolanda believed strongly in the power of women, small business, and the Hispanic community. Her presence in Phoenix will be greatly missed. I offer my deepest condolences to Aaron, their children, Joya and Nicolas, and everyone who knew and loved Yolanda.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Honoring Our PACT Act--overdue, desperately needed legislation providing care for veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances while serving their country.

I am especially grateful for the provisions in this bill that provide healthcare to veterans harmed by burn pits. When I was in Iraq, exposure to burn pits was an everyday, constant fact of life.

Too many veterans--my dear friends from Lima Company 325 and other marines--are sick from that exposure with respiratory diseases, cancer, and other chronic conditions that young men should not be having right now.

Too many veterans live in fear that their next doctor's appointment will reveal an illness that--in addition to harming their health--could drive them into bankruptcy because the VA refuses to care for them. I am one of those people who does have that fear.

Every day we go without fighting for those veterans is a choice to let down those who have sacrificed most for our Nation. We will not let them down today.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to vote for this bill on behalf of my fellow veterans, and I urge all my colleagues to join me in doing so.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7900, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023.

I congratulate my colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee for bringing forward a bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act for the 62nd consecutive year.

I especially want to thank Ranking Member Trent Kelly of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations for his leadership and contributions to this bill. I also thank the subcommittee staff-- Shannon, Craig, William, and Patrick--for their tireless efforts, as well as my personal office staff members Michelle and Charlie.

This year's bill contains crucial investments in America's allies and partners to address the threat the world faces from Vladimir Putin, including $225 million for the Baltic Security Initiative, which I started last year with my friend and cochair of the House Baltic Caucus, Congressman Don Bacon.

This bill also takes historic strides to prevent and mitigate civilian harm by creating mechanisms to increase transparency and accountability at the Department.

As chairman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations, I am proud of this bill's critical investments in intelligence modernization and special operations forces. Specifically, our bill invests in agility across the defense intelligence enterprise, protects our warfighters, and builds pandemic preparedness by adding $91 million to the Chemical and Biological Defense Program's top priority of accelerating the Department's biodefense capabilities.

Our bill provides the resources to ensure Special Operations Command has the hardware it needs to conduct our Nation's most sensitive operations.

This year's bill strengthens oversight of intelligence collection, information operations, and irregular warfare to ensure our intelligence professionals and special operations forces are positioned to prevail in the complex threat environment they face every day.

Colleagues, in addition to meeting the most pressing security challenges we face today, this bill supports our servicemembers with a 4.6 percent pay raise, codifies the $15 minimum wage for all workers, includes $111 million in research activities at HBCUs, and improves women's healthcare.

This an important bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary this month.

Founded in 1922 by Reverends Jake Howard, R. Thomas, and M. Boyd, Pilgrim Rest has been serving the Phoenix community ever since. In addition to its well over twenty ministries, Pilgrim Rest offers a wide range of human services that assist not only their congregation, but any in the community who are in need. These services include family support, employment assistance, a monthly food bank, and much more. As the church has grown, Pilgrim Rest has expanded its sanctuary, built the Word Center to house classrooms and the Family Services Resource Center, and opened the Wellness Center to care for the physical body as well as the soul.

Since 2018, Pilgrim Rest has been under the able leadership of Pastor Terry E. Mackey, who has continued to develop Pilgrim Rest and the community it serves. Pilgrim Rest's mission is to be, ``like a city that sits upon a hill; a beacon of hope for all.'' They have been spreading that hope for the last 100 years, and I look forward to seeing all they will do next.

I would like to again congratulate Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church on 100 years of faith and service.