Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, when I joined the Marine Corps, the most sacred part of my oath was to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I took that oath again when I was sworn into office as a Member of Congress. I never thought I would have to defend this oath against domestic enemies on the floor of Congress--but on January 6, I did.

Democracy is fragile. We have seen it across the world: When leaders cower in the face of an attack on democracy, it can be lost. Let's be clear: Democracy itself was violently attacked on January 6. If we don't stand up for it, it will happen again. If we don't tell the truth about what happened on January 6, it will happen again. If we don't have swift and harsh accountability for everyone involved in January 6, it will happen again.

If all of us don't stand up to traitors and cowards in defense of our Constitution, January 6 will happen again. That is why all of us have an obligation today to defend our democracy and support the creation of a national commission to investigate the January 6 attack, because it can never be allowed to happen again.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 2878, the Native VetSuccess at Tribal Colleges and Universities Pilot Program Act.

I thank Chair Takano for bringing this bill to the floor. I also thank my co-leads on this legislation: Representative Dusty Johnson, Representative Tom O'Halleran, and Representative Tom Cole.

Native Americans have served our country in every war since the American Revolution. To this day, Native Americans volunteer to serve at higher rates than any other demographic group. I, myself, served alongside Native American Marines in Iraq.

Indigenous peoples have a decorated history of service, yet Native veterans have less access to benefits than other groups of veterans. That must change.

Today, we consider a bill that will give Native veterans attending Tribal colleges and universities access to an already successful student veteran program, the VetSuccess on Campus Program.

The VetSuccess program helps student veterans graduate on time, successfully enter the workforce, and access VA benefits at over 100 colleges and universities. H.R. 2878 would extend this successful program to TCUs in a regional model to reach as many Native veterans as possible. There is no time to waste in passing this important legislation.

In addition to expanding the VetSuccess to Native veterans, H.R. 2878 includes emergency funds for veteran technology education courses, known as VET TEC. The VET TEC program was created to allow veterans to pursue vocational training for 21st century careers in high-tech fields like software development, programming, coding, media, and more.

During the pandemic, more veterans than ever are looking for training in high-skilled, high-tech careers, so much so that the VET TEC program has run out of money for this year already. That is why H.R. 2878 includes an immediate influx of funds for VET TEC so more veterans can receive this critical funding.

H.R. 2878 also includes a provision to fight veteran homelessness. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated our economy and healthcare system in general, disproportionately hurting veterans. We don't know yet the full impact of the pandemic on veteran homelessness, but we know veterans need our help immediately.

My bill will extend the authorization allowing the VA to partner with nonprofits, States, Tribes, and localities to help more veterans find both temporary shelter and permanent housing. This provision will save veterans' lives, period.

Finally, H.R. 2878 includes a provision to help student veterans keep their housing benefits in their final semester of education. Ensuring student veterans can remain housed for the duration of their education is essential to ensure that veterans graduate on time and can successfully enter the workforce.

Before I close, I want to especially thank Representatives Miller- Meeks, Levin, Mann, and Pappas for their work with me on this bipartisan bill.

Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 1688, the Native American Child Protection Act.

I first want to thank my friend and the dean of the House, Congressman Don Young, for working with me on this bill to ensure Native American and Alaska Native Tribes have the resources they need to keep Native children safe from abuse and neglect.

Last week, I joined my colleagues in recognizing the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

When I was chairman of the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States last Congress, I held the first-ever House committee hearing on MMIW, which paved the way for critical bills like the Not Invisible Act and Savanna's Act.

At that hearing, we learned that, in addition to experiencing incredibly high murder rates, one in three Native women experience domestic violence in their lives. That statistic is even more horrifying when we recognize that, in 49 to 70 percent of cases, men who abuse their partners also abuse their children.

Despite this fact, Tribes have never received the resources they need to address child abuse and neglect in their communities. My bill changes that.

My bill will improve the prevention, treatment, investigation, and prosecution of child abuse and neglect in Indian Country by ensuring Tribes have the resources they need to take care of Native children in culturally competent ways. It does so by modernizing and reauthorizing three programs originally passed as part of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act.

The Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act became law in 1990, after being authored by the late Arizona Senator John McCain in response to widespread reports that Native children were being physically and sexually abused in BIA-run boarding schools in the 1980s.

The original purpose of the law was to identify the scope of the underreported child abuse in Indian Country, fill gaps in Tribal child welfare services, improve coordination between child welfare and domestic violence programs, and provide funds for treatment in Indian Country.

But the horrible truth is that the grant programs created by this law in 1990 were never funded, never enacted, and were allowed to expire in 1997. My bill revives the three grant programs from the original act that are still sorely needed in Indian Country because the problems identified by Congress in 1990 still exist today.

Specifically, my bill does: one, provides Tribes with more funding for culturally competent child abuse treatment; two, allows Tribes to choose to partner with urban Indian organizations or Tribal consortiums to identify and treat victims of abuse; three, creates a national child resource and family services center to provide technical assistance and support to Tribes in maintaining child welfare programs; four, authorizes enough funds for every Tribe to hire at least one child welfare case manager to help investigate and prosecute instances of abuse; and, five, authorizes the only Tribal-specific grant program aimed at preventing child abuse in Indian Country.

A core part of the Federal Government's trust responsibility is protecting the most vulnerable members of indigenous communities, Native children. Right now, we are failing in that responsibility.

Passing this bill today allows us to take an important step forward in protecting Native children and upholding our trust responsibility to Tribes.

I am proud of the strong bipartisan support this legislation received in the Natural Resources Committee last year when it passed and when it passed by a voice vote in the House. I urge all of my colleagues in the House to join me once again in supporting this important piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the faithful service and hard work of Elisa de la Vara, who will retire this month after nearly fifty years of service to the people of Arizona. Born and raised in the small border community of Somerton, Arizona, Elisa has dedicated her life to following her father's example by giving back to her community.

Elisa most recently served as Chief Community Officer for the Arizona Community Foundation. In this role, she oversaw the investment of nearly half a billion dollars in grant funding to community organizations across Arizona and brought diverse voices and perspectives together through her work with the Latinos Unidos Initiative, the Black Philanthropy Initiative, the Asian Pacific American Women's Giving Circle, and the Native American Initiative. She also led the Foundation's affordable housing initiative and rural philanthropy work, where she developed innovative solutions to make sure more Arizona families had access to housing.

Elisa has also served in many other roles including as District Director for my distinguished predecessor, Congressman Ed Pastor, Special Assistant to Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt, Executive Vice President for Chicanos Por La Causa, and Assistant to the President of the League of United Latin American Citizens. Elisa's work often focused on housing. She opened and led Fannie Mae's Arizona Office and she developed and hosted Arizona's first Spanish language real estate television show on Univision entitled Bienvenido a Mi Casa, which was devoted to informing and educating viewers on the rights and responsibilities of home ownership, including the mortgage process.

Throughout her distinguished career, Elisa rightfully earned many awards and recognitions. I would like to share my deep appreciation to Elisa for her years of service to our Congressional District, to our community, and to all of Arizona, and I wish her all the best in her retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of tribal nations in Arizona and across the nation that are struggling to protect the health and welfare of their citizens.

As Chairman of the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the U.S. last Congress, I heard from countless leaders about how this pandemic has impacted them. We heard their stories about the loss of elders, the challenges their children face trying to engage in distance learning without access to broadband internet, and the near total collapse of on-reservation economies that provide critical jobs for tribal members and funds for government services.

While the CARES Act funding passed last year for Tribes was a lifeline, it was not nearly enough to address the disparate impact of this pandemic on Indigenous people and communities across the country. That is why I fought so hard to ensure that Tribes would not be short- changed in further COVID-19 relief efforts and why I am so proud that House and Senate Democratic leadership has approved the largest one- time investment in Native communities in our history.

The American Rescue Plan includes more than $28 billion for tribal governments. This is a real, meaningful investment that will allow Native communities to respond to the wide-ranging effects of the virus on their communities and that will begin to address the shameful federal history of ignoring the needs of Native communities.

The package specifically includes $20 billion in direct relief for Tribal governments. Importantly, these funds will be able to be used more flexibly by Tribes than CARES Act relief dollars, enabling Tribes to help struggling businesses cover the cost of employees, develop 21st century infrastructure, and address the health and economic barriers that worsened the pandemic in Tribal nations. Additionally, many tribal communities have lost elders who are the keepers of their languages, history, and cultural teachings at an alarming rate--the loss of this knowledge exacerbating the existing crisis of Native language loss. American Rescue Plan funding will be critical for Tribes to cover government programs that will help preserve Native languages and culture.

Last Congress, the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples heard from Tribes about inadequacies in the distribution of Coronavirus Relief Funds to Tribes under the CARES Act. The decision to solely rely on Indian Housing Block Grant formula for the calculation of tribal population resulted in dramatically inaccurate counts for many Tribes. I have been very encouraged by this administration's renewed commitment to Tribal consultation, and I urge the administration to continue to make good on that commitment by consulting with and deferring to Tribes on the fairest and most accurate way to determine Tribal enrollment population for the purposes of the American Rescue Plan.

Finally, in order to maximize the effectiveness of this historic investment in Native communities, the American Rescue Plan relief funding must be distributed on an equitable basis. That is why I am proud of the American Rescue Plan's establishment of a minimum payment to ensure every Tribe receives a strong baseline of support. We also heard from Tribes that equitable distribution should include the utilization of both Tribal population and economic and employment data. Once again, it is my hope that the Biden Administration will rely on Tribal consultation in this area when deciding how best to distribute this desperately needed relief in an equitable, timely, and effective manner.

Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to highlight this important and historic investment in Tribal Nations, who have showed leadership and resilience even as COVID-19 devastated their communities. I look forward to working with my colleagues and with this Administration to ensure quick and effective implementation of this bill in the coming weeks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Calvin C. Goode, a civil rights leader and longest-serving Phoenix City Council member in the city's history.

Mr. Goode passed away in December 2020 at the age of 93, but his impact on Phoenix will be felt for generations to come.

Calvin moved to Arizona with his family when he was just 10 months old, and later had to move across the State to find a high school that would enroll Black students. He eventually graduated from Carver High School in 1945 and went on to earn a master's in education from Arizona State University.

In 1971, Calvin became only the second Black American ever elected to the Phoenix City Council. In his 22 years on the council, Calvin advocated for historic preservation, affordable housing, more accessible neighborhoods, and educational programs such as Head Start.

Calvin was married to his wife, Georgie Mae Goode, a Phoenix activist and educator, for 55 years.

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, I would like to recognize and share my appreciation for Calvin C. Goode's commitment to the Black community in Phoenix and to advancing the lives of young people in the city. His spirit will be missed, and his leadership will be felt for years to come.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the Arizona Informant, a newspaper which for the past fifty years has reported on news that directly impacts the Black community across the Phoenix Valley. The Arizona Informant now reaches 100,000 weekly readers and is the only Black owned weekly newspaper in our state.

The Arizona Informant started with an investment of just $1 in 1971 by brothers, Clovis Campbell Sr. and Charles Campbell, who noticed there was a lack of coverage on issues affecting the Black community in Arizona. Clovis, the first Black Arizona State Senator, and Charles, an educator with a doctorate in higher education administration, were pillars of the Black community in Phoenix whose impact across the Valley is still felt today.

Still family owned and operated, the Arizona Informant has stayed true to its mission of bringing to the forefront stories of accomplishment and achievement in the Black community. The protests that erupted after George Floyd last summer and the ongoing struggle for racial justice have shown that the work of the Arizona Informant is needed now as much, if not more, than it was fifty years ago.

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, I am proud to be able to recognize and uplift the Arizona Informant. I wish to congratulate the Arizona Informant on fifty years of `Recording Black History Every Week' and thank them for their continued work.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the objection.

Madam Speaker, I am the proud son of immigrants. Growing up, I heard stories about parties,

politicians, and Presidents invalidating elections when the people took power for themselves. That is why, when I joined the Marine Corps, the most sacred part of my oath was to protect the Constitution of the United States.

I never thought I would have to do that on the floor of Congress, but here we are. The people have spoken, and the power of the people, the Constitution, will be preserved.

Madam Speaker, I left my youth, I left my sanity, I left it all in Iraq for this country because there is this one precious idea that we all had, that we all believed: that this country was going to protect everyone's individual rights, that you were going to be able to vote, that you were going to be able to preserve democracy and pass it on as a legacy, as an inheritance to every American.

But today--today--there was treason in this House. Today, there were traitors in this House.

So I am not asking my Republican colleagues to help me and stop this objection to Arizona; I am asking you to get off all these objections. It is time for you to save your soul. It is time for you to save your country.

That man at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will forget you. He will use you and he will dump you to the side, but what will be left will be the stain--the stain--on democracy that you are engaging in right now.

Listen to yourselves. I consider most of you very smart, believe it or not, but the idea that we would rig an election for the President but not preserve the congressional seats for all of our friends that we just lost in the last election is absurd.

The idea that we would help Vice President Biden win but wouldn't make sure that we got enough Senators in the Senate for us to pass a full agenda is absurd.

The idea that there was somehow nefarious border registration in Arizona that tipped the scale when, during that same time of border registration, there were more registered voters that were Republicans than Democrats is absurd.

You are better than this. Many of you did serve, many of you have never served, but there is an opportunity and a time for courage. I hope you never have to face fire or bullets or bombs for your country, but right now--right now--this country is asking you to be better. Right now, this country is asking you to show courage.

That man will leave. Your soul will stay with you for the rest of your life.

You owe it to democracy. You owe it to the hundreds and thousands of men and women that have sacrificed their life.

You know better. You are better. Be the good American. Be the American you want. Preserve this democracy; reject this movement; and stop this terrorism that is happening from the White House.

Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Madam Chair, I rise in proud support of the amendment sponsored by fellow marine and public servant, Mr. Pence.

October 23, 1983, remains seared in the memory of all marines. On that day, over 300 innocent people were killed in a surprise terrorist attack sponsored by the Government of Iran. Most of the people killed 36 years ago were my brothers. They were U.S. marines. They were serving our country and doing their best to preserve the peace in war- torn Lebanon.

We know that the wheels of justice turn slowly, Madam Chair. It took over 35 years for victims to get traction in U.S. courts. But now that they are getting that traction and winning judgments, marines in Congress are here to help to ensure that Iranian funds cannot be hidden from them in secret foreign bank accounts.

This amendment helps the families of those killed and wounded by making sure that Iran is held liable for this attack. It makes it harder for Iran to hide money in overseas bank accounts when it should be paying for the pain and suffering of its victims. It shows that, even 36 years after the attack, we have not forgotten, and it once again proves that U.S. marines remain ``no better friend, no worse enemy.''

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

Mr. Speaker, no President in the history of our country has ever been subject to as many credible allegations of illegal conduct as Donald Trump.

Given the serious nature of these crimes and the President's refusal to cooperate with congressional investigations, it is time for the House of Representatives to begin an impeachment inquiry.

The Mueller report documented compelling evidence that the President obstructed justice, including numerous attempts to shut down the Mueller investigation.

Despite the strong evidence, DOJ policies prohibited the special counsel from even considering bringing charges against a sitting President. So, Congress has a responsibility to act where Mueller left off.

For the past several months, Trump, his Attorney General, and congressional Republicans have outright lied about the contents and findings of the Mueller report. The Trump administration has repeatedly rejected or undermined congressional subpoenas and obstructed the ability of Congress to get the facts for the American people.

Launching an impeachment inquiry is a necessary step to ensure that we get to the bottom of Trump's wrongdoing. It honors the process that our Founding Fathers enshrined in our Constitution to empower Congress to investigate and hold the President accountable for committing high crimes and misdemeanors.

I believe that impeachment inquiry should examine the actions and conduct documented in the Mueller report, but an impeachment inquiry should not be limited to just those matters. Congress has the responsibility to investigate the broad range of Trump's conduct as part of our inquiry.

With all the tweets and daily distractions, we cannot lose sight of the much broader scope of Trump's alleged wrongdoing: more than a dozen accusations of sexual assault; campaign finance violations, including hush-money payments; illegal foreign contributions to the Trump inaugural committee; illegal misuse of the Trump Foundation charity for personal and political purposes; welcoming foreign interference in U.S. elections; mishandling top-secret information; and abusing the security clearance process for his son-in-law. And we shouldn't overlook how inappropriate it is for the President of the United States to engage in constant, daily lying.

The list, unfortunately, goes on and on.

Trump's actions should concern every single Member of Congress and every American citizen, regardless of what side of the aisle we are on. This activity and behavior call into question Trump's fitness to serve as President of the United States and Commander in Chief.

As a marine and as a Member of Congress, I swore to protect the Constitution of the United States, and I will not stand by as Donald Trump erodes the rule of law and our democracy. It is time for Congress to launch an impeachment investigation against President Trump.

Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman (Mr. Blumenauer), my friend, for introducing this amendment.

Earlier this year, I introduced a bill to codify the Roadless Rule across the country. For nearly two decades, the Roadless Rule has been an important tool for preserving pristine forests, clean water, and wildlife. It has also protected taxpayers from subsidizing even more costly road building in national forests.

No roadless place is more in need of this protection than Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The Tongass National Forest is home to some of the most undisturbed, temperate, old-growth rainforests in the world.

These 16 million acres of beautiful landscape are also a critical carbon sequestration tool and a resource for climate change mitigation.

Despite these facts and the opposition of many Alaska Native communities, as well as the concerns of the Alaska tourism and sportsmen industries, the State of Alaska has proposed to strip this forest of full Roadless protection.

Stripping Roadless Rule protections from Tongass National Forest will allow millions of taxpayer dollars to be funneled into incredibly expensive road-building projects in one of the most remote, wild parts of our country.

This amendment does not end discussion of how and where the Roadless Rule should be applied in Alaska and other States. It is much simpler than that. All this amendment does is prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to subsidize more old-growth logging in Alaska's Tongass National Forest.

Taxpayers should not have to foot the bill to construct environmentally harmful roads for the logging industry in this pristine place. This is the exact sort of fiscally responsible amendment my colleagues on the other side of the aisle should support. That is why I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in protecting Tongass National Forest and American taxpayers by supporting this amendment.

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to honor the service of dozens of Arizonans who worked around the clock to repair the Puerto Rican electrical grid in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Their life-saving efforts helped restore food production, transportation, education, and health care services.

In the fall of 2017, Irma and Maria struck Puerto Rico in quick succession, less than two weeks apart. A Category 4 storm, Maria's 155 mph winds and rainfall compounded Irma's damage, and further devastated an island that is deeply vulnerable to the extremes of climate change. Flash floods and high winds damaged neighborhoods, houses, roads, schools, and businesses in a matter of mere hours. The storm also completely destroyed Puerto Rico's electric grid: 89 percent, or 2,100 miles of the island's transmission lines, and 24,000 miles of distribution lines, were gone.

This was the largest blackout in United States history. All 3.4 million of our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico lost power, including those for whom access to electricity can make the difference between life and death. Thousands of citizens, for example, rely on electricity for essential medical needs--to power their respirators, refrigerate their insulin, and sustain their dialysis treatments.

In the wake of Maria's landfall, with death tolls rising to 2,700, Puerto Ricans went to sleep each night in total darkness and uncertainty. This is why we recognize the commitment of the 83 Arizona Public Service line workers who, between January and March of 2018, traveled 3,000 miles from Arizona to Puerto Rico to rebuild and reenergize the island's electric grid. These Arizonans left their families for more than six weeks to work alongside new friends and fellow Americans in Puerto Rico. Together in partnership with Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and 12 other public power utilities, APS workers helped install 5,000 poles and 4,400 miles of wire, restoring power to 97 percent of the island's residents.

I want to thank them for their service at a time of such dire need. As Puerto Ricans continue to rebuild after the hurricane, residents have rallied around the saying, ``Puerto Rico se levanta!''--Puerto Rico is rising again! But the APS line workers who served in Puerto Rico have demonstrated something more: ``Cuando Puerto Rico se levanta, el mundo se levanta tambien.'' When Puerto Rico rises, the rest of the world rises in tandem, alongside them.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Luria).

Honoring Virginia Beach Shooting Victims

Mr. Speaker, while the Trump administration is setting fire to our legal immigration system, separating families, and all but closing down our border, I am proud that today, here in the House of Representatives, Democrats are standing up and taking action to provide legal status and an earned path to citizenship for young people and families that already call this country home.

Dreamers and TPS holders are our neighbors, coworkers, and our friends. They are productive and contributing members of our society, raising families, serving in our military, and uplifting our communities.

Even though they collectively represent some of the strongest parts of this country, the Trump administration has forced them to live in constant uncertainty and fear that they or their loved ones will be deported.

But even so, they have had the courage to step out of the shadows and tell their stories and fight for the lives they have built for themselves and their families and for the futures they aspire to.

They have spoken up many times, putting themselves at risk to do so in hopes that they would drive us to act to uphold our American values and allow them to become, on paper, what they already are in their hearts: Americans.

The hundreds of thousands of Dreamers who came forward to register with the government as part of the DACA program trusted the government to live up to its end of the bargain.

Although the Trump administration has tried to break that promise, today we are taking action to make sure we keep our word.

We will not allow these aspiring Americans to become the next victim of Trump's brutal deportation force. This wasn't an easy process, and the fight isn't over. It takes immense courage to stand up to power at any time, but even more so, when your life--as you know it--is at great risk.

I have the utmost admiration and respect for Dreamers who have taken a stand and fought for the right to continue to live and work in the country they call home. I know they will continue to fight until this bill that we pass becomes law.

In the meantime, I--and my fellow Democrats--will continue to be right by their side.

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to honor the contributions of one of our country's greatest boxers, activists, and philanthropists as my district celebrates the unveiling of the newly renamed street ``Muhammad Ali Way'' this June 3rd--the three-year anniversary of Muhammad Ali's passing in Scottsdale in 2016--thanks to the initiative of Dignity Health.

I want to recognize something more than the endurance with which Ali inspired us each time he entered the ring. The athleticism, determination, and honor he brought to the sport of boxing are commendable. But the endurance he sustained outside the ring after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1984 has been a true inspiration to the world--and to the people of Phoenix in particular, where he and his neurologist Abraham Lieberman helped establish the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center (MAPC) at Barrow Neurological Institute in 1997. The center has grown over the past two decades into an internationally renowned facility for Parkinson's disease and movement disorder related medical care. MAPC continues to carry out Muhammad and Lonnie Ali's mission each day to provide high-quality and compassionate treatment, education, and support to every individual battling Parkinson's disease, to their caregivers, and to their families.

The team of neurologists, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists at MAPC sees more than 1,200 patients a year. It is through the Ali family's continued support and devotion to driving the world towards a cure for Parkinson's disease that the center is able to maintain robust outreach programs to patients and families, and serve Arizonans with palliative care, remote-telemedicine appointments, and other critical services.

It is fitting, then, that the road leading to the center also be named in recognition of Ali's contributions: his demonstration of American tenacity and spirit in sport, in his battle with Parkinson's, in his support of the advancement of medical research, in his service to the Phoenix community, and in his service to our country as a whole. I look forward to traveling down the newly renamed ``Muhammad Ali Way'' each time I have the opportunity to visit the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix for years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I know I speak for my colleagues when I say that we all loved Jerry. How could you not love Jerry?

Her spirit and unwavering optimism and her love for our State and our party made her the quintessential Arizonan. She lived to 104 years old, and she really lived. She lived in a way that set an example for all of us. She made every day count.

Her life spanned some of the momentous times in our Nation's history: the Great Depression, the fight for women's suffrage, World War II, and the civil rights movement.

In 1914, when Jerry was born, women did not have the right to vote. Who could have thought then that a century later Jerry would announce our State's delegates on the floor of the 2016 Democratic National Convention for the first major-party female Presidential nominee in our Nation's history. It was an honor to stand by her side that day, and it is a moment I will never forget.

In her 104 years, Jerry saw our State and our country through some tough times, but she never lost hope, she never lost optimism, and her commitment to bringing about the change she believed in never wavered.

Her son Jim recalled that her biggest lesson was: No matter what is going on at that time, as long as you keep hope, you keep believing things will change, and you are doing you best to help change, it will change.

Those words guided Jerry's life. Those words have inspired me and should inspire us all as we keep fighting for the things we believe in.

We will miss you, Jerry.