Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2025
Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 8772--Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2025. As with all the additional appropriation bills up for consideration on the House Floor, I strongly oppose the passage of this bill for a…
Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 8772--Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2025.
As with all the additional appropriation bills up for consideration on the House Floor, I strongly oppose the passage of this bill for a myriad of reasons--including the following.
First, although this bill provides for a 3.5 percent increase over FY24 levels, sadly the underlying text contains many of the same harmful partisan policy riders as last year.
In particular, this bill
fails to confront the climate crisis by removing a longstanding provision to eliminate or reduce plastic waste across the Legislative Branch and the requirement for Members to lease low-emission vehicles;
contains the repeated misguided and harmful clause prohibiting discrimination against any person with a ``sincerely held religious belief, or moral conviction, that marriage is, or should be recognized as, a union of one man and one woman,'' opening the door for discrimination against LGBTQI+ Members and staff; and
bars funding for any diversity, equity, and inclusion training or implementation, a clear prohibition on the return of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODI) that was eliminated last year.
Indeed, it is truly unfortunate that this bill, like several others that the House Appropriations Committee recently reported, continues the Republican's obsession with cutting federal funds and eliminating programs that help to grow and diversify our country.
Yes, it is certainly a sad day in our nation's government that where we are at a place in time that backtracks and rolls back critical advances in diversity and inclusion.
It is bad enough that last year's bill eliminated dedicated funding for the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion, an office put in place to diversify and expand access to the House of Representatives.
To continue efforts to prohibit any funding for programs and training aimed at supporting diversity, equity and inclusion is simply an untenable legislative policy within our nation's government.
This House should make every effort to be reflective of the ENTIRE Nation we serve, and the districts Members represent.
Which is why I also put forth the following amendment that was shamefully excluded during the Appropriations Committee markup.
The Jackson Lee Amendment No. 30 if adopted would have stricken from the bill Sec. 212, which seeks to prohibit funding to be used for purposes of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ``DEI''.
The Legislative Branch bill should never be a place for divisive politics.
Rather, it should be used to ensure Congress has the tools it needs to legislate and support the constituents we serve.
In my home state of Texas, I proudly represent TX-18, a district that embodies the diverse melting pot of America.
According to the Greater Houston Partnership, Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the nation, with no ethnic majority and where nearly one-in-four residents are foreign-born.
Specifically, according to census data, Houston's population is 46.8 percent White, 44.5 percent Hispanic or Latino, 22.6 percent Black, 10.8 percent two or more races, and 6.8 percent Asian.
Additionally, as one of the fastest growing cities in the nation with increasingly important industries, Houston has the opportunity to set the standard for DEI practices in the workforce and society.
Despite dangerous attempts by the Governor of Texas to roll back and strip out DEI across educational and state-wide agencies, we must continue to push back and fight for what is right for our country and for the future generations of our Nation.
I look forward to contributing to diversity efforts around the nation and in my community in Houston.
Yes, it is important to embrace diversity--and it is good for the economy, too.
Not only have waves of immigration changed the face of the nation, but they have also brought in fresh perspectives, skills, and technologies to help the U.S. develop a strong adaptability to change.
It is no secret that economies generally fare better when they openly embrace and capitalize on new ideas.
Cultural diversity is also a mighty economic engine that powers our city, state, and national economy.
Diversity is important in all industries, as it allows businesses to work with a variety of perspectives, which can lead to best results for more communities.
I am a strong proponent of diversity in all of its forms as a means of advancing opportunity, inclusiveness and quality of life for everyone.
As a society, we have collectively directed a critical eye on the injustices that many Americans unfortunately face due to the color of their skin, gender, sexual orientation, migration status, socioeconomic standing.
We cannot let words like diversity, equity and inclusion become tarnished by extremists talking points.
No, DEI is not anathema to a free society, as it has been so disingenuously portrayed.
This pernicious emergence of a counter-narrative to DEI has spread false and dangerous misnomers that diversity and cultural inclusion is the promotion of racism and discrimination and that acknowledging and aiming to redress disparate impact is somehow inherently racist.
As we all know, ``equity'' literally means ``fairness and justice''.
How this term has somehow become a dirty word is symbolic of the dangerous territory we are now entering and must remain vigilant in claiming and reclaiming not only the words, but the meanings and actual and true implementation and realization of what we all know (and should know) words like ``justice'' ``fairness'', ``equality'' and ``equity'' mean and look like.
For these reasons, it is disappointing that this Jackson Lee Amendment No. 30 did not receive the full and fair consideration it deserves.
I respectfully request that my colleagues vote in opposition to H.R. 8772, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2025.