Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, as parents, we only want the best for our kids. That is why I speak before you today as not just a Member of Congress but as a mom who is terrified about sudden cardiac arrest and its impact on our young people.

Together, we have the ability to protect our kids before it strikes. The odds of surviving cardiac arrest remain low when occurring outside of a hospital setting such as in the classroom or the soccer field.

I can't even imagine what it would feel like to get that call about my children. Here is where AEDs come into play in saving lives in a moment of crisis.

I am proud to announce that I have introduced the Access to AEDs Act, my bipartisan legislation that will reduce deaths from sudden cardiac arrest.

My legislation would establish a grant program for schools that they can use to buy and maintain lifesaving AEDs, develop cardiac emergency response plans, and provide crucial CPR and AED training.

Our children's well-being is not up for political debate. All children's lives are put on the line when sudden cardiac arrest hits.

We have a responsibility as Members of Congress, as parents, and as American citizens to ensure that every child has a chance to survive sudden cardiac arrest.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my deep concern with Speaker McCarthy's reckless plan to address the debt ceiling, which will impose a hardship on working Americans. Instead of solving problems, House Republicans are holding our Nation hostage and demanding that their ransom be met.

Let us not beat around the bush: Caps equal cuts, and Speaker McCarthy's brinkmanship is dangerous. If extreme Republicans have their way, communities across the country will suffer.

The 320-page proposal from the other side of the aisle pushes forward drastic cuts to government programs, programs that families in my district desperately need.

The Republican Party seems to be more focused on padding the pockets of large corporations and billionaires instead of lending a hand to working Americans. The GOP framework is nothing short of a catastrophe.

It includes sweeping cuts to SNAP and food assistance programs that low-income families depend on. It destroys President Biden's student loan debt agenda under the guise of fiscal responsibility. It imposes cruel Medicaid work requirements, ripping healthcare coverage directly from people's hands. It would rescind $80 billion allocated to the IRS through President Biden's historic Inflation Reduction Act. It would repeal clean energy tax credits, which have proven crucial in addressing the climate crisis.

What Republicans are proposing is just not in the best interests of our working people. The American people need a government that works for them, not against them. There will certainly be an opportunity to debate the GOP's rightwing policy proposals down the road, but doing so at the expense of the American people through gamesmanship is reckless and irresponsible.

We need to all work together to make life easier, not harder. Members of Congress have a responsibility to serve the American people. I urge Speaker McCarthy and the Republicans to stop playing political games with our economy and those we are elected to serve.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today again for the second time to express my concerns with Speaker McCarthy's proposal which cancelled President Biden's student loan debt forgiveness program and wreaks havoc on our educational system.

President Biden is committed to providing economic relief for families and ensuring that all students can access quality education that sets them up on the best pathway to success.

Altogether, more than 40 million borrowers would qualify for the Biden administration's debt relief program. It is also targeted at those who need the most help with nearly 90 percent of the benefits of the relief going to out-of-school borrowers who earn less than $75,000 per year.

Speaker McCarthy has other priorities. Both he and other extreme Republicans are willing to send our economy into a recession, using American students as a bargaining chip.

If extreme MAGA Republicans had their way, they would not only eliminate Pell Grants for more than 6,000 students in Florida but would also reduce the maximum reward by nearly $1,000 for the remaining 500,000 students who receive Pell Grants.

This would be especially harmful to communities of color. Black and Brown college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student debt than White college graduates.

Black women carry the highest student loan debt burden of any racial or ethnic group. This is unacceptable.

Republicans aren't stopping at college either. Their proposal would mean 10,000 children in Florida would lose access to childcare and to slots in the Head Start programs.

Nationwide, 100,000 children would lose access to childcare, making it difficult for parents to join the workforce.

My Republican colleagues care more about special interest groups and massive corporations than our children.

We need to be investing in our kids all across America and in their lives and give them the tools they need for success.

Speaker McCarthy's proposal does the exact opposite. I call on the Republicans to quit playing games with our children's future.

It is time for our parties to come together and make decisions that are best for our community and for all Americans.

The party politics, the partisan politics, must end today. I ask Leader McCarthy to not go forward with this proposal and to have compassion for American people, for our students, for our children, and for Americans across this country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the third time in opposition to Speaker McCarthy's debt ceiling brinksmanship, which would deliver a crushing setback to the numerous successes of President Biden and House Democrats.

Just look at how far we have come. Annual inflation has declined in the last 9 months. Gas prices are much lower than the record highs we saw in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. The price of many foods like chicken and fruits and vegetables have declined in March.

Labor force participation is at record-high levels. Unemployment has reached a 50-year low of 3.5 percent. Within the Black community, unemployment has never been this low.

Real income has risen both for low-income Americans and across the economy as a whole. All the while, our deficit has dropped more than $1.7 trillion in 2 years. We are not out of the woods yet. There is always more we can do and could be done to reduce the financial burdens faced by American families and making things even just a little bit easier.

Let's give credit where credit is due. Since taking office, President Biden has passed legislation that has created a strong foundation for the economy to grow and he has invested in the middle class. The administration has worked tirelessly to reduce the cost of living and bringing down the cost of prices.

President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act has also been transformative, slashing kitchen table costs for working families, forcing pharmaceutical companies to negotiate lower drug prices, capping insulin at $35 per month for Medicare patients, and cutting healthcare insurance premiums for millions of Americans.

President Biden's budget proposal stands in stark contrast to what Speaker McCarthy has floated. It is bold, compassionate, and puts working families over politics. Not only would President Biden's proposal reduce the deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years, but it does so while investing in our Nation. It lowers costs for working families by making childcare, healthcare, and housing more affordable. These are all things that are crucial to our economy and to the American people at this present time.

Now is the time for my Republican colleagues to put aside partisan politics and work with us to pass a budget that reinforces America's promise to our constituents. House Republicans should not stand in the way of this progress.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, for the next 60 minutes, we have a chance to speak directly to the American people on issues that are of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus, Congress, the constituents we represent, and all Americans.

I rise today for the Tennessee Three, who stood in the face of bigotry and vitriol to fight for the communities they serve.

After six lives were lost due to gun violence in Nashville, the Republican-led Tennessee Legislature expelled two Black lawmakers who stood with families, teachers, and students to demand a solution.

What happened to Representative Justin Pearson and Representative Justin Jones is an utter disgrace. This expulsion was a blow to our democracy and underscored the legislature's flagrant disrespect for their First Amendment rights.

The families of those who lost loved ones in The Covenant School shooting deserve real legislative solutions, not bigotry and petty politics.

As elected officials, it is our solemn responsibility to keep our communities safe from gun violence. Extreme Republicans have other priorities; protecting the NRA instead of our children and silencing the voices of our Black leaders.

Extremist Republicans continue to look the other way as our schools become firing ranges; as our movie theaters become firing ranges; as our places of worship become firing ranges.

It should provide us with some comfort that both of these lawmakers expelled were recently reinstated with unanimous support. Local leaders in Shelby County and Nashville were able to see through the hatred and recognize that representatives Pearson and Jones were fighting for their constituents.

However, let's not forget that what happened in the Tennessee Legislature can happen in any community anywhere in our country. Any State could be next, including my home State of Florida.

We cannot forget about why Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were expelled in the first place. They were fighting for an answer to end the gun violence epidemic that wreaks havoc in all communities in our country.

Nashville, like so many other cities, has been touched by this crisis. Families in South Florida know it all too well after a gunman entered the grounds of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and took 17 innocent lives in 2018.

Enough is enough. I urge Congress to come together in passing an assault weapons ban before more lives are lost. This senseless violence can no longer be left unaddressed.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois, (Mr. Jackson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty), from the Third District.

Mr. Speaker, can I inquire how much time is remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), from the 18th District.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the Seventh District of Georgia (Mrs. McBath).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Second District of Louisiana (Mr. Carter).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), our chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing us to address the floor this evening, and thank you to the Congressional Progressive Caucus for holding this Special Order hour.

I rise today on behalf of the millions of Americans whose student loan debt balances are at risk of escalating due to the rightwing reactionary judiciary.

Hundreds of borrowers from across the country gathered in front of the Supreme Court on February 28 to express their discontentment. West Palm Beach resident Kayla shared: I think President Biden's loan forgiveness plan is a good thing for college students who don't have funds to pay for college. Indeed, this is a good thing.

One important aspect of the debt relief program is that it addresses the unequal burden that student debt has placed on borrowers of color.

Mr. Speaker, 40.2 percent of White undergraduate students use student loan debt to pay for their school, while 50 percent of Black students use student loan debt. In addition, approximately 72 percent of Latinx students take on debt.

By providing up to $20,000 in debt relief to borrowers that received a Pell Grant, President Biden's plan would allow one in four Black borrowers to see their debt fully eliminated, and nearly half of all Latinx borrowers to be entirely debt free.

This is so important because Black and Brown college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than their White counterparts.

Furthermore, Black bachelor's degree holders have an average of $52,000 in student loan debt. Over 50 percent of Black student borrowers report that their net worth is less than they owe in student loan debt.

The disparity between the amount owed by Black and White borrowers quadruples 12 years after graduation. Four years after earning their degrees, 48 percent of Black students owe an average of 12.5 percent more than what they borrowed. After that same time period, 83 percent of White students owe 12 percent less than what they borrowed.

In addition, women hold nearly two-thirds of outstanding debt in this country. Black women carry the highest student loan debt burden of any race or ethnicity.

We must address the unequal burden that student loan debt has had on borrowers of color. I ask the majority of the Supreme Court to turn against the right-wing, reactionary agenda and to deliver for the 40 million people in June.

We rely on our education systems. Education and higher education is one of the pivotal equitable points that we have in this country. We must protect it for everyone.

The destiny of our country is dependent on everyone being able to matriculate through school, pursue their education, and give back to this country that we love so much.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for holding this Special Order hour. To the Congressional Progressive Black Caucus, and the anchor, the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Lee), it is an honor to be here this evening to speak on behalf of the student loan borrowers. But it is also a special honor to be here tonight with my Howard University alumna.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of today's Special Order, which is voting rights.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to coanchor the CBC Special Order hour along with my distinguished co-lead, Representative Jackson.

For the next 60 minutes, members of the CBC will have an opportunity to speak directly to the American people on voting rights, an issue of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus, Congress, constituents we represent, and all Americans.

In 2018, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 4, with more than 64 percent of the voters. This historic constitutional amendment automatically restored voting rights to most Floridians with past convictions who had completed the terms of their sentence.

Before this vote, Florida was one of only four States that enacted permanent felony disenfranchisement, which affected about 1.7 million felons.

However, in June 2019, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a misguided law that prohibited returning citizens from voting unless they pay off certain legal financial obligations imposed by a court pursuant to a felony conviction.

This abhorrent, undemocratic law has created a pay-to-vote system in the State of Florida and overwhelmingly targets Black and Brown communities.

Florida has no centralized system to tell what a person might owe, so it is often impossible for people with past convictions and election officials to know who is eligible to vote.

Last year, the DeSantis administration started prosecuting people with past convictions for making honest mistakes about their eligibility, intimidating potential voters, and further undermining the rights that Amendment 4 gave to millions of Floridians.

Many of the people arrested were told by local election officials that they were eligible to vote. Due to the confusing law that Tallahassee Republicans put into law, these officials mistakenly misled these individuals by telling them that they were eligible to vote.

Armed with the new election police unit, the DeSantis administration arrested 20 people who were among the 11 million Floridians who voted in the 2020 election.

The Republicans in Tallahassee and Washington are using fear and misinformation to disenfranchise millions of voters because they know their policies are not popular.

It is time that Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature honor the will of our constituents and implement Amendment 4 as it is written.

It is now my privilege to yield to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Horsford for spearheading our Special Order today.

I now have the privilege of yielding to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson), my co-anchor.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my privilege to yield to the gentleman from New Jersey, the Honorable Donald Payne, Jr.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Carter).

Mr. Speaker, I thank so much Representative Troy Carter for his words.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Sykes).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Emilia Sykes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Lee for her words.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I would inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Jackson for his remarks.

I ask, Mr. Speaker, that we secure voting rights for all Americans. We must honor the legacy of civil rights advocates like John Lewis and those who came before by standing strong in the face of adversity. Every American deserves to be able to vote freely without the fear of reprisal.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 8 o'clock and 35 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today and say a special thank you to the Congressional Black Caucus, Chairman Horsford, and also my colleagues for having this Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, my heart is broken for the family of Tyre Nichols, another Black man who lost his life to senseless police overreach and violence.

The horrifying footage of his untimely death displays why the United States must pass comprehensive police reform and public safety legislation.

Tyre Nichols' murder occurred in Memphis, the city where Dr. King lost his life fighting for a dream that we still are reaching for today.

Our country must reckon with the longstanding and fraught legacy of racism and violence against Black people.

Tyre Nichols, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and so many more Black men, women, and children should be alive today. Their deaths were preventable.

Black Americans constantly find themselves trapped in an endless cycle of grief. Mr. Speaker, 3 decades after the heinous beating of Rodney King, Black communities continue to bear the deadly consequence of a culture of policing that allows law enforcement officials to dehumanize, debase, and victimize individuals without consequences.

As a mother of two Black children, it is heartbreaking to shoulder your kids with the responsibility of a double-consciousness of how you as a parent see them, but also as the whole world sees them.

Our Black children go from being viewed as innocent to future convicts in the eyes of society and in the eyes of those who are charged with the responsibility of protecting them.

It is terrifying to not know if your child will return home after they step out that door. Mothers and fathers planning their children's funerals cannot become a standard in our great Nation. It is simply unacceptable.

In the 117th Congress, House Democrats introduced a George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House but failed in the Senate, ultimately failing all Black families.

In a humanitarian call for action, I urge the House to pass public safety legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I end by saying their names: Tyre Nichols, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and so many more Black women, men, and children would be alive today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on the Biden administration to close the disposable e-cigarette loophole. I commend this administration's work to curtail youth e-cigarette use. Youth usage of cigarettes and vaping is at a historic low, but the FDA's guidance issued by the previous administration in January 2020 that prohibits flavored e-cigarettes does not apply to any of the disposable e-cigarette products currently on the market.

It is important to note that nondisposable products with cartridge inserts are already banned by the FDA, but the loophole on disposable e-cigarettes has allowed a surge in youth usage, according to the Centers for Disease Control 2022 National Youth Tobacco Study. The study shows that usage is up by 2,000 percent since 2019.

It is a dangerous oversight that can easily be fixed by closing the Trump-era loophole. Disposable e-cigarettes are single use. They are not meant to be refilled or recharged.

Right now, in smoke shops and corner stores around the country, you might see dozens of disposable e-cigarette products in flavors like iced apple mango, strawberry, pineapple, and even lemonade. These products are sleek, affordable, pocket-sized, and highly accessible to our youth.

The President can take immediate action by closing this Trump-era loophole. The future and safety of American youth depends on this.

Rejecting African-American History is Wrong

Mr. Speaker, last week Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' administration blocked a new advanced placement African- American history course from being taught in Florida high schools, arguing that the course violates State law and is historically inaccurate.

The DeSantis administration's rejection of the AP course is unfathomable, unsound, and unacceptable. Instead of improving and expanding on the quality of education for Florida high school students, this administration's extreme agenda aims to roll back the clock by denying its students the right to explore the painful, complex, and rich history of African Americans in our country.

The rejection of this course is an attempt to erase from our memory the truth about how hate and bigotry has destroyed our Nation's moral fabric and ushered in one of the darkest moments of United States history.

Governor Ron DeSantis claimed that he wants to protect students from

``woke indoctrination,'' but what he really wants to do is to deny the truth by making bigoted relics and policies more digestible for future generations.

It is only when we acknowledge and learn from our past that we can embrace the present and confidently shape our future.

This blatant attack on the importance and value of African-American history and culture fails to move our States and our country forward. It is these theatrics and schemes by the GOP that cripple our Nation's growth and exemplify a poor reflection of who we are as a nation.

America's diversity is, in fact, its greatest strength, and every culture has to be respected and celebrated.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 33,000 veterans in this country experiencing homelessness and ask for your support for my bill, the Healthy Foundations for Homeless Veterans Act.

This bill would make permanent the temporary flexibilities granted to the Department of Veterans Affairs from section 4201(a).

Veterans make up 7 percent of the general population but represent 13 percent of adults who are suffering from homelessness. Nationally, the total number of veterans experiencing homelessness has decreased by 11 percent since January 2020.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has placed over 40,000 veterans in permanent housing as a result of the temporary flexibilities granted to it to provide shelter. This is a great start; however, we can make more progress. This is just the beginning, as there are an estimated 267 homeless veterans in Broward County, where I represent.

This commonsense legislation would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide shelter, food, clothing, bedding, hygiene items, transportation, communication devices, and other necessary assistance to veterans who are homeless and are using rental vouchers.

Mr. Speaker, we will not stop until every veteran has a roof over their head.

Madam Speaker, in what seems to be a concession to the most far-right members of the Republican Party, the Republican leadership has scheduled a vote on the alleged FairTax Act that would completely overhaul the tax system to blatantly favor the rich.

The proposed legislation would abolish the Internal Revenue Service and eliminate all Federal taxes, including the estate taxes and corporate income taxes. In place of Federal taxes, the bill would impose an effective 30 percent national sales tax across the board.

The working class would face a substantially higher tax burden as a result, and the richest Americans would receive a sizeable cash reward. It is difficult to overestimate how regressive this tax would be, and according to the tax experts, it would have a wide range of detrimental effects, not just on income taxes but also on items like Affordable Care Act premiums and the child tax credit.

The Republicans claim that they are the party of working people, but they appear to be making an effort to demonstrate that they are absolutely not that. Some of the wealthiest people in our country can pay exceptionally low tax rates, avoid paying taxes on their largest assets, and pass their fortunes on to their children tax-free because of the many ways the tax system is set up to enable corporate taxpayers to avoid paying taxes.

Conservatives have spent decades creating this kind of tax emancipation for the rich while waging a fierce battle against attempts to reinstate tax enforcement against the 1 percent. This just further advantages the wealthy by giving them more opportunities to take advantage of the working class. In Florida's 20th District where the median household income is under $55,000 a year and families already struggle to make ends meet, the FairTax Act will put my constituents at a unique disadvantage.

There is nothing fair about the FairTax Act. This is a handout to the rich. Americans will feel the weight of this 30 percent sales tax on necessities like food and gas.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reconsider this legislation and work with House Democrats on the most pressing issues that face our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Cervical Cancer Elimination Day of Action.

Two years ago, the World Health Organization launched a global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer by 2030. Last year, the WHO announced a partnership with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami's Health System, designating it the first WHO Collaborating Centre for Cervical Cancer Elimination.

Across the globe, one woman dies every 2 minutes from cervical cancer, even though the disease is preventable, treatable, detectable, and curable.

Here at home, according to the CDC, 13,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed, and 4,000 women die of this preventable and treatable cancer every year. Cervical cancer disproportionately affects Hispanic and Black women.

Social determinants of health such as income, lack of access to the internet, race, geographic location, and limited access to transportation often impact women's ability to obtain needed prevention, screening, and treatment for cervical cancer. This is why I wanted to highlight Sylvester's work on developing new cost-efficient tests for HPV, improve treatment options to prolong survival, and increasing screening through mobile outreach campaigns.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Sylvester's focus on decreasing cancer disparities across South Florida and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my sincere gratitude to those who came before me who made it possible for us to honor Caribbean Heritage Month in the United States Congress. Today, we celebrate the 16th year anniversary.

June is Caribbean Heritage month, where we celebrate the extraordinary contribution of people of Caribbean ancestry. According to the U.S. Census, almost 13.4 million Caribbean Americans live in the U.S. In Florida's 20th Congressional District, the two largest groups are Haitians and Jamaicans.

These are cab drivers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, and nurses, who, without, our economy cannot thrive. Immigrants found one quarter (25 percent) of new U.S. businesses.

Despite our contributions, we see the mistreatment of Black and Brown migrants who are merely seeking refuge in the U.S. due to political persecution and insecurity.

Since my arrival at the United States Congress, I have called out the Administration for its disparate treatment of Black migrants. We have all seen the influx of Haitian migrants at the Florida shores and the U.S. Mexico border. Many of these migrants are merely seeking refuge and cannot return to their native country due to fear of persecution and immense violence.

I wanted to see the treatment of migrants in detention centers, so I visited the Broward Transitional Center, where I spoke with migrants from Central America, Haiti, and other parts of the world to better understand their journey. I was devastated. My Congressional colleagues and I have since written letters to the Administration to not use private facilities for any detention, including the detention of undocumented immigrants.

Unfortunately, the Administration regularly sends pregnant women, babies, and children to Haiti and other parts of the region without the right to due process or undergo a credible fear interview to determine their eligibility for asylum. As of today, more than 300 flights have landed in Haiti. This Trump-Era public health authority cannot continue to be used as an excuse to turn away and repatriate migrants. It is illegal and unconscionable to repatriate Haitians under these circumstances.

While the Biden Administration did listen to our plea to rescind Title 42, there is now a legal battle. I pray that the upcoming court's ruling will not continue to violate U.S. asylum law and evade U.S. treaty obligations by blocking and returning asylum seekers to places where their lives and safety are in peril.

We have also called on the Administration to invite families to apply for the Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program, which the Administration announced during the Summit of the Americas that the program would no longer exist only on paper. I have demanded that the Administration also enforces provisions in the Immigration Naturalization Act (INA) and provide Humanitarian Parole to Haitian nationals at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Last month, I requested more than 300 million dollars from the House Appropriations Committee to provide pro bono legal services to immigrants from the Republic of Haiti, Jamaica, Guatemala, Honduras, and nationals from other parts of Central America.

While there's a great need for comprehensive immigration reform, and the House has passed the Dream and Promise Act, which would create a pathway to citizenship for millions of DACA and TPS recipients, the Senate has failed to vote on the legislation.

In the interim, I understand the economic challenges impacting countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, which is why I co- introduced the Opportunities in Americas Act.

This legislation also represents my unwavering commitment to my constituents from the Caribbean and Latin America, many of whom frequently engage in commerce in the region and need policies that support their expansion and foster business growth. Low-interest loans are vital to promote innovation and competition and eliminate barriers that prevent businesses from developing.

I remain committed to working with the Caribbean community and congressional colleagues to create a more fair and just immigration system and draft robust legislation that can yield economic prosperity across the Caribbean and the diaspora.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7910, the Protecting Our Kids Act.

As we all know by now, on May 24, 21 children and teachers were senselessly murdered in Uvalde, Texas. Just 10 days earlier, 10 Black people were killed in a racially motivated hate crime.

For decades, the epidemic of gun violence has gripped this country, depriving Americans of their neighbors, siblings, children, and friends. On average, over 38,000 people die from gun violence every year in this country, including, on average, over 1,600 children. That is roughly an average of five kids every day.

Think about that: Five children being murdered, committing suicide, or being killed by the unintentional discharge of a weapon every day in America.

I do not pretend that this bill will save every one of those children or stop racially motivated murder in our Nation, but the idea that we simply stand back and do nothing and expect this problem to resolve itself is nonsense.

It offends the tens of thousands of gun violence victims every year, their families, and communities that are ravaged by unending tragedy. We can and we must take steps, meaningful steps, to reduce gun violence.

This bill will restrict the sale of assault-style weapons to those over the age of 21 years old. It will close longstanding and dangerous loopholes in Federal law, require that firearms sold in the United States be traceable, and help prevent gun trafficking, among other steps. These are measured, commonsense, and widely supported measures that would help reduce gun violence in our country.

As an American, as a Congresswoman, and as a mother of two children, I implore the Members of the House and the Senate to pass this bill. I am pleading with this Congress to set aside partisanship, dogma, and reflexive bickering. Now is the time to come together and act in unison to end the violence in our schools and on our streets.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to extend our eternal gratitude to Mrs. DeAnna Deluna for her dedication to our Nation's children as a 16-year educator for our South Florida community.

She is known to go above and beyond to support struggling children and to provide everyone, from every background, with a quality education.

Education is the one field that makes all others possible. Every one of us has been shaped by someone who inspired our curiosity and helped us find our confidence.

We are inspired by Mrs. Deluna and are thankful for her service to our children and her dedication to the Broward County School District.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in outrage over the Buffalo massacre. The deaths of the 10 African Americans who were just shopping cannot go unavenged.

We must punish the vile predator to the fullest extent of the law. This white supremacist committed an act of domestic terrorism and specifically targeted a Black community because of the rhetoric, such as the false white replacement theory pushed by the previous administration.

He was also empowered by social media websites, such as Twitch and Discord, which did not correctly filter his hate comments. We must quash the growing levels of hate and make sure that such an act never happens again. We need a national background check law to prevent radicalized individuals from getting their hands on military-style assault weapons.

A single tragedy of this magnitude is a travesty, but allowing all of these shootings to become normalized is a crime against the American people.