Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 5796, the Patents for Humanity Act of 2021, which will codify into law an expedited process to obtain patents for inventors who use groundbreaking technology to meet humanitarian challenges.

H.R. 5796 establishes a competitive process that awards certificates to be redeemed to accelerate applications, appeals, and reexaminations at the Patent and Trademark Office.

The Obama administration established Patents for Humanity in 2012 as an awards program initiative to encourage businesses to apply their patented technology to address global development challenges.

Since 2012, the program has proven to achieve that by rewarding innovators for using technology to better the global community.

2020 Winners included: Usee Vision providing prescription eyeglasses to people who

lack access to vision care, the PfSPZ Malaria vaccine with the highest effectiveness rate for a Malaria vaccine, NEW generator recovering nutrients from wastewater, and NonSpec providing affordable and adjustable prosthetic limb systems.

These inventions are just some of the many innovative solutions that Patents for Humanity fast-tracked in aiding world humanitarian issues.

Innovation is a vital tool in bettering society, but often it comes slowly, with high costs and inefficient implementation. The pandemic has only highlighted how important it is to develop solutions quickly and effectively.

Codifying Patents for Humanity will ensure that innovators can provide solutions to the less fortunate in a sustainable and efficient way through the Patent Office.

Patents are essential to the United States' economy as they encourage creative disruption and growth within the country. Patents need to remain accessible and innovation needs to be protected; especially when it comes to groundbreaking technology that can assist others on a humanitarian level.

Companies should prioritize Corporate Social Responsibility to align commercial interests with the global good. Patents for Humanity encourages corporate citizenship through rewarding humanitarian engagement and proves that reaching underserved markets is compatible with business.

Congress needs to reward innovation and incentivize creativity to progress intellectually and scientifically in solving global development problems, which is why I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 5796.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7314, the Assessing Xi's Interference and Subversion Act or AXIS Act.

The AXIS Act requires the Department of State to report to Congress on how China's government is directly or indirectly supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The report will include evidence of the Chinese government helping Russian entities circumvent U.S. sanctions, inhibiting the U.S. government's investigations, or assisting Russia with any technology, propaganda efforts, and financial arrangements.

The bill notes that Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping met with Russian leader Putin on February 4, 2022, less than three weeks prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the two released a joint statement outlining a strategic partnership with ``no limits'' and no ``forbidden'' areas for cooperation.

Additionally, it notes that China abstained from UN votes condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 25th and March 2nd; and that China has not publicly condemned Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion.

The Chinese government has demonstrated its support of Russia and Putin through compliancy.

China opposed U.S. military support for Ukraine, and abstained when the UN General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution blaming Russia for the humanitarian consequences of illegal aggression against Ukraine.

Russian propaganda is spreading through China, subjecting the Chinese people to the delusion that the invasion of Ukraine is only a ``special military operation''.

Russia has claimed that their invasion is partly backed by Ukrainians attempting to free Ukraine from its Soviet Legacy.

The Chinese Communist Party has traditionally supported and encouraged Russia, as they are both rooted in communist ideology.

When Xi and President Joe Biden spoke on March 18th, President Biden communicated that there would be ``implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians.''

As a result of China's disinformation efforts related to Russia's war against Ukraine, China must be held accountable for suppressing Russia's war crimes, as well.

Russian war crimes include the indiscriminate killing of countless civilians. In light of this, if China is found to be materially supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine, there should be swift and rigorous consequences for China.

Specifically, this bill would include a discussion of China's support for Russia in terms of:

Helping Russia or Russian entities evade U.S. sanctions or multilateral sanctions and export controls;

Inhibiting U.S. export control end-use checks, including interviews and investigations in China;

Providing Russia with any technology that supports Russian intelligence or military capabilities, including certain classifications of semiconductors (EAR99);

Establishing economic or financial agreements that will have the effect of alleviating the impact of U.S. sanctions or multilateral sanctions;

Furthering Russia's disinformation and propaganda efforts;

Coordinating to hinder the efforts of multilateral organizations, including the UN, to provide aid to the people or government of Ukraine, to condemn Russia's war, to hold Russia accountable for the invasion and its prosecution of the war, or to hold those complicit accountable; and

Providing any material, technical, or logistical support, including to the Russian military or intelligence agencies and state-owned or state-linked enterprises.

We must ensure that, if China is aiding Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine, then such actions do not go unpunished.

This bill allows Congress to monitor the Chinese government's activity and assistance, and act accordingly. The report required by the bill would specific efforts relating to U.S. action and sanctions, recommending ways for our steps against Russia to be as effective as possible.

This alliance between the Chinese Communist Party and the Kremlin is a serious threat to the U.S. and our allies.

The world should know how China is aiding and abetting Russia in evading the effects of international sanctions.

I urge all members to join me in voting for H.R. 7314, the AXIS Act because as my colleague Congressman Gregory Meeks said, ``if China is complicit in the bloodshed of the Ukrainian people, the world should know that too''.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3522 the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act which temporarily waives certain requirements related to the President's authority to lend or lease defense articles if the defense articles are intended for Ukraine's government or the governments of other Eastern European countries affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

For FY2022 and FY2023, an agreement to lend or lease defense articles under this bill will not be subject to certain requirements and provisions that typically apply to such lend-lease agreements, including a requirement that generally prohibits a loan or lease period from exceeding five years.

S. 3522 will allow the President to establish expedited procedures to ensure the timely delivery of defense articles loaned or leased to Ukraine under this bill.

There is no question that the Russian Federation, under the direction of Vladimir Putin has been defying the laws of war throughout their unprovoked, unjust, and unlawful full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In the three decades since gaining its independence, Ukraine has sought closer economic, social, and political ties with the free market and democratic nations of the West.

Since 2013, Putin has directed a campaign of political, economic, and military aggression against Ukraine.

In February 2014, the Russian military began the invasion of eastern regions in Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula. Their military equipped and supported separatist insurgents in the Donbass region, where fighting has killed over 14,000 people.

Today the world is witnessing the unprovoked aggression and invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin.

Putin and his accomplices must be held personally liable for the war crimes committed against the people of Ukraine.

Russia claims it is not attacking civilians. But that is a lie, as Russia has killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians, mostly from explosive weapons over a wide impact area, shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes.

Families are being separated by war, adults and children are being ruthlessly killed, and a rogue Russia is violently crushing political speech from its own citizens who oppose the war.

Of all the victims of this irrational, immoral invasion, the most severe long-term effects are inflicted on Ukraine's children. Hundreds were killed, and many more children have been severely injured.

Many have been orphaned by Russian bombing of residences and gathering places, in addition to battlefield losses. Thousands have been traumatized by the fear and terror that missiles and bombs bring, with emotional and psychological wounds that are likely to last decades, if not for their entire lives.

Ukrainian children who escaped the carnage are also suffering. According to the United Nations and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, over 5.1 million Ukrainians have left Ukraine, about 40 percent are children, and over 2.9 million refugees from Ukraine have entered Poland since February 24, of whom [over] 90 percent are women and children.

They emphasized that the number of unaccompanied children is ``distressingly high,'' and are largely going uncounted. Children who are orphaned or separated from their families are especially at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation and abuse.

It is deplorable that children and their families' lives have been thrown into jeopardy by Putin's war crimes. All children, no matter their country's NATO status, deserve a stable, parented household in a safe community. They should never be victims of war, witnesses to atrocities, nor orphaned by war's toll, being left to navigate the remnants without their families.

Yet, all this is the reality for Ukraine's in-country and refugee children. They are scared and scarred, and a great number of them have no one to help them cope with the heartbreaking detritus of war.

Another tragedy stemming-from this war is the vulnerability of women and girls to the deplorable system of human trafficking. Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres said, ``For predators and human traffickers, the war in Ukraine is not a tragedy,'' ``It's an opportunity--and women and children are the targets.''

This is yet another reason this legislation must pass: to prevent women and girls from being subject to some of humanity's worst individuals.

Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support S. 3522 the Ukraine Democracy Lend-Lease Act to adequately support the Ukrainian forces against Russia unprovoked vicious attack on democracy.

The western world must continue to support Ukraine during their time of war.

I look forward to the briefing by Mr. Reznikov on his latest defense needs and requests.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 496, the Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act, which will oppose religious freedom violations in Ukraine by Russia.

H.R. 496 the Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act directs the President, when determining whether Russia is a country of particular concern for religious freedom under certain federal laws, to consider incidents occurring in the parts of Ukraine controlled by Russia or Russia-affiliated non-state groups.

Ukraine is a religiously rich country with 74 percent of people identifying as Orthodox, 10 percent Greek Catholic and the remainder identifying as Roman Catholic, Jewish and Protestant.

Ukraine has accused Russia of targeting historic monuments and cultural heritage sites. Damaging and destroying at least 59 religious sites across the country since its invasion began.

H.R. 496 will direct the president to consider incidents in the Russian controlled parts of Ukraine found by Congress.

Ukrainian groups targeted by Russia include Muslim Crimean Tatars, the Orthodox Church, the Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Christians, and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Religious freedom violations against these groups consist of abductions, torture, imprisonment, property confiscation, vandalism, and banning of peaceful religious gatherings.

Russia is utilizing religious extremism to silence and arrest Ukrainians, including closing religious institutions that don't conform. Religious freedom violations have been key in Russia dismantling Ukrainian civil society.

Congress' findings state that international humanitarian law requires Russia to protect religious freedom in occupied territories. This includes illegal entities, such as Russia's illegal occupation of the Crimea Region.

In opposing violations of religious freedom, it is imperative that we consider the extreme religious injustices and restrictions Russia placed on the territories they have invaded in Ukraine.

Freedom to practice religion should be a protected right for every person, worldwide. This bill will ensure the President considers these severe violations in Ukraine by Russia when determinizing Russia's threat to religious freedom.

I urge all members to join me in voting for H.R. 496, the Ukraine Religious Support Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3344 the Transatlantic Telecommunications Security Act to direct the Department of State and other federal agencies to help Central and Eastern European countries improve the security of their telecommunications networks.

To support eligible projects, the State Department shall provide diplomatic and political support and encourage international financial institutions to provide investment support.

This bill will strengthen national security cooperation by securing 5G development with our key allies and partners in Central and Eastern Europe.

In recent years, the United States and our allies have defeated increased threats from China and Russia that seek to expand their spheres of influence and undermine democratic institutions.

Recently, European countries have felt significant pressure to use Huawei 5G equipment, a state-linked Chinese information and communications technology company, giving China the ability to compromise allied critical telecommunications infrastructure.

5G networks are crucial to artificial intelligence platforms, which in the future will introduce immense national security and domestic economic implications.

Secure telecommunications are also critical for military interoperability with our European allies at a time when NATO coordination is needed now more than ever.

Given these critical national security needs, the United States must provide our allies an alternative to Chinese financing and provide increased diplomatic support to ensure secure telecommunications lines.

For this reason, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 3344 the Transatlantic Telecommunications Security Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 7372, the Protecting Semiconductor Supply Chain Materials from Authoritarians.

H.R. 7372 will require the President to establish a semiconductor supply chain working group and submit to Congress reports on potential disruptions to the supply chain.

We must always ensure that geopolitical dynamics do not impede or disrupt the United States' semiconductor supply.

Semiconductors were first developed in the United States for transmitter use. Since then, the industry has boomed with the creation of various types of Semiconductors that are used in everything from computers to cars, and from watches to washing machines.

Large semiconductor companies such as Intel and Texas Instruments rely on certain minerals to maintain manufacturing demands.

These threatened materials include palladium, neon gas, helium, and C4F6, which are necessary for the operation of electronic devices.

Semiconductors are essential to the American economy and day to day American life. A semiconductor shortage is a threat to National Security.

We need to plan ahead and anticipate the potential impact that Russia and other autocratic, authoritarian regimes may have on these supplies.

This bill will require the Secretary of State to submit a report analyzing Russia's impact on supply chains and the global economy while also recommending potential steps to bolster semiconductor production and secure necessary materials.

Taiwan is the world's largest supplier of semiconductors, so it is important to account for any geopolitical factors that might impact them. The bill requires these considerations in future reports as well as issues with health and natural disasters.

Through this report, Congress can stay updated for threats to the global supply chain for semiconductors and prepare for future geopolitical developments.

I urge all members to join me in voting for H.R. 7372, the Protecting Semiconductor Supply Chain Materials from Authoritarians.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7311, the Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act, which requires the Department of State to report to Congress a strategy and implementation plan outlining U.S. efforts to counter Russia's malign influence and activities in Africa.

This bill directs the Secretary of State to develop and submit to Congress a strategy and implementation plan outlining United States efforts to counter the malign influence and activities of the Russian Federation and its proxies in Africa.

Russia has been aggressively pursuing its strategic objectives in Africa in recent years by:

securing a foothold in the eastern Mediterranean,

gaining naval port access in the Red Sea,

expanding natural resource extraction opportunities,

displacing Western influence,

and promoting alternatives to democracy as a regional norm.

A report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change shows how Russia is reviving

Soviet-era ties with African states to extract resources from the region, and in exchange, become a security provider.

Russia has a vested interest in the deployment of private military contractors (PMCs) in the region.

Instead of bringing peace, Russia is thriving on instability in African states and among Africa's leadership.

Africa is home to some of the fast-growing economies in the world and is abundant in natural resources.

With the U.S. and French military draw-down in Africa, Russia is looking to prove itself as an alternative.

Its deployment to Mali in December 2021 demonstrated the rapid support Moscow can offer struggling regimes, however Russia is also influencing from within.

Since Putin's embrace of the region in the last decade, political strategists have been sent to African governments, including those of the Central African Republic (CAR) and Madagascar, to counsel their leaders.

The funding of pro-Russian television channels in Africa and electoral interference are other methods to sway sentiment among Africans.

The growing tendency to request PMC support for mounting security challenges, as Russian influence increases among African societies, is a clear indicator of a deepening authoritarian footprint on the continent.

It seems that African countries are viewed by Russia cynically as vehicles for accrual of geostrategic advantage and exploitation rather than as partners for legitimate economic investment for trade or security assistance.

The ``partnerships'' that Russia seeks in Africa are not state based, but elite based.

By helping these often illegitimate and unpopular leaders to retain power, Russia is cementing Africa's indebtedness to Moscow.

Russia's engagements are inherently destabilizing for the citizens of African countries, resulting in stunted economic development, human rights abuses, disenfranchisement of African citizens, the perpetuation of illegitimate governments, and social polarization.

African stability is not a priority for Russia, as it is largely pursued on a patron-client basis with compromised African leaders.

Russia's unofficial strategy runs counter to the interests of many African citizens.

We must work more closely with African members of the UN Security Council so that shared interests of security and development are advanced at these international assemblies.

I ask my colleagues to join me in voting for H.R. 7311 because the United States can help Africa become less of a permissive environment for Russian imperialism.

It is imperative that we try to help save African stability, sovereignty, and democracy.

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the manager, Mr. Wilson, who I have traveled with as well, and I know his heart.

Madam Speaker, I rise and support the legislation, S. 3522, that will provide the President with the authority to lend and lease defense articles to be able to help in the fight.

Madam Speaker, but as I do that, realizing what we are standing for, I raise my button that says, ``We Stand With Ukraine,'' the very nation that is standing in the gap and fighting for the preservation of democracy around the world against the tyranny of autocracy and a one- man band and a one-man war.

We have all heard of the atrocities that this violent dictator has chosen to wage against the innocent people of Ukraine, a country that wants nothing more than to love, to live, and to live under a democratic regime. But let me tell you the story of what they face every day.

Mariupol, the people who are there under siege do not know whether or not the soldiers, the injured soldiers, civilians, and children will ever come out alive. Or the mother who held her 3-month-old baby with her family members in her own apartment, seeking refuge and bombed by the Russians.

Or the little girl, 16 years old, who was told to take off her clothes to be raped by a Russian soldier, and to be raped again and again.

For the children who sat amongst the bodies of their parents, for the children who themselves were killed in Mariupol and around the nation, for those who lost loved ones who are fleeing through universal humanitarian routes that are known in every war.

I recall, as a Member of the United States Congress, going to the Bosnian War, Albanian Civil War, Iraq, Afghanistan. I don't think I have ever seen a direct and deliberate attack on civilians as Vladimir Putin's war has done.

So this is a crucial moment in our history. We have our responsibilities to America. We have the responsibilities of securing the southern border. I just spent hours in the Committee on the Judiciary where my friends on the other side of the aisle decided to take up one issue, the attack about title 42.

On this floor, just a few hours ago, there was a constant rampant voice of title 42 regarding the southern border when we were discussing this bill under the rule.

I want the American people to know that talk is cheap, and what we should be doing now is realizing that this is serious business. We must pass this legislation.

Madam Speaker, the gentleman is extremely kind for the passion that I have.

Madam Speaker, we must pass this legislation to deal with not only the lend-lease on defense articles, but to be able to provide the necessary humanitarian relief as well.

Madam Speaker, I conclude my remarks by saying that the children have to be prioritized. When I was in Ukraine on the border and visiting a reception center, I saw the faces of the children. Unaccompanied children should be registered. Children with parents should be registered. We should be focused, as UNICEF says, to eliminate the nightmare that the children are facing, the death that they face, the injury that they face, and to prioritize it and to make sure that children can face the trauma that this war is.

As we do that, let us continue to bolster up the American people's support and let us address their needs, because they have needs, but let us make sure that the victory is ours.

Finally, I am grateful for one of our hostages coming home; he lives in Texas. There are two more that we know that are well-known, and we must bring home both of them, including the Olympian that plays in Russia and who is a WNBA star. We must bring them home.

Madam Speaker, I support this legislation and ask all my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3525, the ``Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture Act.''

This bill seeks to create the first national museum dedicated to preserving the history, culture, and accomplishments of Asian Pacific Americans (APA).

As the representative for the 18th District of Texas, which has a significant Asian population, this bill is of great personal importance to me.

Asian Americans are significant contributors of our nation's history as champions of social and racial justice. Yet, Asian Americans have also uniquely suffered in the United States, and those stories should also be told.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first and only major federal legislation to explicitly suspend immigration for a specific nationality. The basic exclusion law prohibited Chinese laborers-- defined as ``both skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining''--from entering the country.

Subsequent amendments to the law prevented Chinese laborers who had left the United States from returning. The passage of the act represented the outcome of years of racial hostility and anti-immigrant agitation by white Americans, set the precedent for later restrictions against immigration of other nationalities, and started a new era in which the United States changed from a country that welcomed almost all immigrants to a gatekeeping one.

Another glaring example of their suffering are the internment camps of World War II.

Prior to the outbreak of World War II, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had identified German, Italian, and Japanese aliens who were suspected of being potential enemy agents; and they were kept under surveillance. Following the attack at Pearl Harbor, government suspicion arose not only around aliens who came from enemy nations, but around all persons of Japanese descent, whether foreign born (issei) or American citizens (nisei). During congressional committee hearings, representatives of the Department of Justice raised logistical, constitutional, and ethical objections. Regardless, the task was turned over to the U.S. Army as a security matter.

The entire West Coast was deemed a military area and was divided into military zones. Executive Order 9066 authorized military commanders to exclude civilians from military areas. Although the language of the order did not specify any ethnic group, Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt of the Western Defense Command proceeded to announce curfews that included only Japanese Americans. Next, he encouraged voluntary evacuation by Japanese Americans from a limited number of areas; about seven percent of the total Japanese American population in these areas complied.

On March 29, 1942, under the authority of the executive order, DeWitt issued Public Proclamation No. 4, which began the forced evacuation and detention of Japanese-American West Coast residents on a 48-hour notice. Only a few days prior to the proclamation, on March 21, Congress had passed Public Law 503, which made violation of Executive Order 9066 a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Because of the perception of ``public danger,'' all Japanese Americans within varied distances from the Pacific coast were targeted. Unless they were able to dispose of or make arrangements for care of their property within a few days, their homes, farms, businesses, and most of their private belongings were lost forever.

From the end of March to August, approximately 112,000 persons were sent to ``assembly centers''--often racetracks or fairgrounds--where they waited and were tagged to indicate the location of a long-term ``relocation center'' that would be their home for the rest of the war. Nearly 70,000 of the evacuees were American citizens. There were no charges of disloyalty against any of these citizens, nor was there any vehicle by which they could appeal their loss of property and personal liberty.

``Relocation centers'' were situated many miles inland, often in remote and desolate locales. Sites included Tule Lake, California; Minidoka, Idaho; Manzanar, California; Topaz, Utah; Jerome, Arkansas; Heart Mountain, Wyoming; Poston, Arizona; Granada, Colorado; and Rohwer, Arkansas. (Incarceration rates were significantly lower in the territory of Hawaii, where Japanese Americans made up over one-third of the population and their labor was needed to sustain the economy. However, martial law had been declared in Hawaii immediately following the Pearl Harbor attack, and the Army issued hundreds of military orders, some applicable only to persons of Japanese ancestry.)

In the ``relocation centers'' (also called ``internment camps''), four or five families, with their sparse collections of clothing and possessions, shared tar-papered army-style barracks. Most lived in these conditions for nearly three years or more until the end of the war. Gradually some insulation was added to the barracks and lightweight partitions were added to make them a little more comfortable and somewhat private. Life took on some familiar routines of socializing and school. However, eating in common facilities, using shared restrooms, and having limited opportunities for work interrupted other social and cultural patterns. Persons who resisted were sent to a special camp at Tule Lake, California, where dissidents were housed.

In 1943 and 1944, the government assembled a combat unit of Japanese Americans for the European theater. It became the 442d Regimental Combat Team and gained fame as the most highly decorated of World War II. Their military record bespoke their patriotism.

As the war drew to a close, ``internment camps'' were slowly evacuated. While some persons of Japanese ancestry returned to their hometowns, others sought new surroundings. For example, the Japanese- American community of Tacoma, Washington, had been sent to three different centers; only 30 percent returned to Tacoma after the war. Japanese Americans from Fresno had gone to Manzanar; 80 percent returned to their hometown.

The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II sparked constitutional and political debate. During this period, three Japanese-American citizens challenged the constitutionality of the forced relocation and curfew orders through legal actions: Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu, and Mitsuye Endo. Hirabayashi and Korematsu received negative judgments; but Mitsuye Endo, after a lengthy battle through lesser courts, was determined to be ``loyal'' and allowed to leave the Topaz, Utah, facility.

Justice Murphy of the Supreme Court expressed the following opinion in Ex parte Mitsuye Endo:

I join in the opinion of the Court, but I am of the view that detention in Relocation Centers of persons of Japanese ancestry regardless of loyalty is not only unauthorized by Congress or the Executive but is another example of the unconstitutional resort to racism inherent in the entire evacuation program. As stated more fully in my dissenting opinion in Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214, 65 S.Ct. 193, racial discrimination of this nature bears no reasonable relation to military necessity and is utterly foreign to the ideals and traditions of the American people.

In 1988, Congress passed, and President Reagan signed, Public Law 100-383--the Civil Liberties Act of 1988--that acknowledged the injustice of ``internment,'' apologized for it, and provided a $20,000 cash payment to each person who was incarcerated.

One of the most stunning ironies in this episode of denied civil liberties was articulated by an internee who, when told that Japanese Americans were put in those camps for their own protection, countered ``If we were put there for our protection, why were the guns at the guard towers pointed inward, instead of outward?''

Asian Americans and Asian immigrants also have suffered systematic exclusion from the political process and it has taken a series of reforms, including repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, and passage of amendments strengthening the Voting Rights Act

three decades later, to fully extend the franchise to Asian Americans. It was with this history in mind that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was designed to make the right to vote a reality for all Americans.

Despite this track record of suffering familiar to all minority groups in America, we must not forget the positive history of Asian Americans.

Congresswoman Meng, the sponsor of this bill, put it best when she recalled how:

``Chinese Americans fought for the Union at the Battles of Antietam and Gettysburg during the American Civil War and Japanese Americans comprised the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II, which became the most decorated unit in the history of the U.S. Military.''

``While Chinese and Japanese Americans have demonstrated valor and bravery, they have also faced institutionalized disenfranchisement that manifested in U.S. laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and Executive Order 9066 that ordered the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Yet, from the first wave of Southeast Asian refugees on our shores to the Filipino Americans who helped found the farmworker labor movement--AAPIs have left an indelible mark on our American story.''

``From these Halls of Congress to every American classroom, our AAPI heroes such as Grace Lee Boggs--a human rights activist for seven decades; Larry Itliong--the quintessential leader for labor rights and justice; Dalip Singh Saund--the first Asian American elected to Congress; and Patsy Mink--the first woman of color elected to Congress, and the original champion of Title IX protections in the Higher Education Act, have fought for human and civil rights and social justice with their every breath. Shamefully, these stories are starkly missing from the narrative of American history.''

Mr. Speaker, these stories must not continue to be unknown to so many Americans. This bill would put an end to that shameful practice, so I am proud to support it and urge my colleagues to as well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2793, the ``Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2022.'' The Highlands Conservation Act, a bipartisan land conservation program funded through the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), protects critical conservation areas in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. The Highlands is a nationally significant landscape that yields benefits and resources to more than 11 million Americans.

A boon to our agriculture and tourism economy, the bill authorizes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the U.S. Forest Service to work together to help the Highland states, local governments, nonprofits and private forest and farm landowners to conserve the land and natural resources of the Highlands region, helping to lower costs for local farmers and preserve open spaces.

Since 2007, $70 million in funding has been awarded through the Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program to the four States, including $20 million to New York. The program has helped preserve nearly 11,000 acres in the Highlands region, including over 4,000 in the state of New York alone.

This bill will improve upon the already popular land conservation partnership projects made possible by the Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program. In consultation with conservation groups and the FWS, the Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act:

Reauthorizes this important program through 2028 with $20 million in annual funding.

Authorizes set-aside funding for the FWS to administer the program in a manner consistent with appropriations and other administered FWS programs.

Includes a process in which states can petition for new areas to be included in the Highlands region, thus allowing for expansion of the eligible areas.

Provides states with more complete information of what areas are ecologically connected.

Allows the petition process to be administered on a rolling basis to eliminate possible bottlenecks.

Gives FWS approval authority in the petition process, to remain consistent with how the program is currently administered.

Allows the FWS to modernize the science of conservation resource values in the region.

Responsible conservation is important for maintaining this country's beautiful lands. Mr. Speaker, the Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2022 achieves such ends, so I am proud to support this significant piece of legislation and urge my colleagues to as well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6450 the SCORE for Small Business Act of 2022 which would:

reauthorize $13.5 million for the program for two years;

ensure the SBA prevents abuse and misuse of funds; and

expand counseling and training programs to provide online webinars, electronic mentoring platforms and online toolkits to better serve small businesses.

The SCORE program provides vital mentoring and education programs for business owners and entrepreneurs.

SCORE is dedicated to helping small business owners plan, launch, manage and grow their businesses. The programs volunteers also give continuous advice and support to the firms.

Almost 97 percent of businesses in the greater Houston area have fewer than 500

employees--the standard to be considered a small business--and these collectively employ 44 percent of the region's workforce, about 1.2 million people.

Houston adds more than 9,200 new startups annually. In 2021 startups attracted a record $753 million in venture capital funding, up from $702 million in 2019.

The creation of small businesses in Houston is likely to keep growing. Last year, real estate investment group Roofstock released a report ranking Houston among the Nation's top 10 metros for startup formation.

Houston also ranks number 5 among the nation's largest metro areas when it comes to the percentage of minority-owned startups.

Nearly 5,600 startups in the Houston area are minority-owned or about 30 percent of all companies less than two years old.

Together, these minority businesses employ more than 22,700 workers in the region.

But in a region where minorities make up 64 percent of the population, clear inequities in entrepreneurship remain in Houston that mirror the rest of the Nation.

There are currently close to 170,000 minority-owned startups in the U.S. employing more than 700,000 workers and generating close to $100 billion in annual revenue.

Nationally, Hispanics represent about 18 percent of the population but just 7 percent of startup owners. For Black Americans, those figures diminish to just 12 percent and 3 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, Non-Hispanic Whites make up 60 percent of the U.S. population but own nearly 80 percent of the nation's startups.

Mr. Speaker, the reauthorization of the SCORE program funding is essential to the thousands of minorities and women entrepreneurs in this country.

People who have been historically disadvantaged are the people who benefit most from programs like SCORE and we must ensure that they continue to receive assistance.

I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 6450 the SCORE for Small Business Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6441, the Women's Business Centers Improvement Act, to amend the Small Business Act and improve the Women's Business Centers program.

The Women's Business Centers Improvement Act reauthorizes the WBC program for four years, increases the authorization level from $18 million annually to $31.5 million, and increases the cap on individual center grants for the first time since the program began.

The bill also establishes an accreditation program run by the Association of Small Business Development Centers to ensure all WBCs provide excellent service and counseling and will increase access to resources and opportunities for female entrepreneurs across the country.

WBCs help women succeed in business by providing training, mentoring, business development, and financing opportunities.

Compared to men, women comprise a smaller percentage of entrepreneurs and start fewer businesses in the United States. Currently, only 24.5 percent of startups in their first two years are owned by women, according to the American Survey of Entrepreneurs.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the changing face of employment has seen a lot of people go into business for themselves. Women are part of the entrepreneurial trend in Houston. Nationally, Houston ranks fourth in the number of women-owned businesses.

In the metro area, more than half (252,000) of businesses are minority-owned and 40 percent (172,000) are women-owned.

Houston is a place where community members take pride in their homes and businesses, and when faced with challenges, like Hurricane Harvey in 2017, they come together in their determination to move forward.

Despite these strengths, disparities prevent minorities and women from fully participating in wealth-building through small business ownership.

These challenges are not unique to Houston: nationally, women and minorities face disproportional barriers to starting and sustaining businesses.

Women and minority business owners are not reaching the size of their male and non-minority peers.

The expansion of funding outlined in H.R. 6441 will be pivotal to the success of women-owned businesses as they continue to grow, giving women the resources to reach their full potential.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill because we must support the women entrepreneurs of our great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6445--the Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act of 2022, which reauthorizes the Small Business Development Center Program through FY2025 and amends the Small Business Act to require an annual report on entrepreneurial development programs.

H.R. 6445 will authorize the appropriation of $175 million for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2025 for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) program. The program awards grants to centers that counsel and train current and prospective small-business owners.

The Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act would help strengthen the SBDC network and allow the center to do more to build awareness of their programs and services.

More specifically, H.R. 6445 will prohibit entities other than institutions of higher education from receiving new grants under the program; allow centers to collect fees related to private partnerships or co-sponsorships; authorize centers to market their services directly to small businesses; and modify or establish provisions related to program funding, operations, data collection, and reporting.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Business Dynamics Statistics, about 97 percent of businesses in the greater Houston area are considered small businesses.

Companies that employ less than 500 people collectively employ 44 percent of Houston's workforce, or 1.2 million people.

Eighty-two percent of businesses operating in the Houston area have fewer than 20 employees. Together, these businesses employ just under 400,000 workers, or about 14 percent of the regional workforce.

According to a study done by Self Financial, a personal finance service, there are nearly 170,000 minority-owned startups in the U.S., employing over 700,000 people and generating close to $100 billion in annual revenue.

The study states that Houston ranks fifth in the Nation for minority entrepreneurship.

Nearly 35 percent of Houston-area small businesses employing 50 or fewer people are minority-owned.

And based on demographic trends, these numbers are likely to grow as the population continues to diversify on racial and ethnic lines.

As a senior Member of the House Committees on Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Budget, I have and continue to advocate and fight for funding for the self-employed, independent contractors, sole proprietors, and small businesses.

In the early stages of the pandemic, I introduced H.R. 6292, the COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Grants Act, to help struggling farmers, ranchers, and small businesses that suffered an economic loss due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Specifically, this legislation would have established a $1 billion fund to provide direct relief to eligible parties who were experiencing financial losses due to the coronavirus.

The bill supported the American people by preserving the economic viability of small businesses that have been devastated by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Entrepreneurship is the backbone of American commerce, especially small businesses that are significant drivers of economic growth and job creation in the U.S.

Small businesses provide opportunities for entrepreneurs, jobs for neighbors and gathering places for communities. They're rooted in the landscape where they grow, and foster local economies, keeping money close to home.

Small Business Development Centers are an essential resource for small business owners, especially those who have been historically disadvantaged. SBDC's provide them with business advising, access to training, tools, and resources to help small businesses start, grow, expand, and succeed.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6445 the Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act because we must support our country's small businesses to ensure that our economy is prosperous.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4877 the One Stop Shop for Small Business Compliance Act of 2021 to require the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman to create a website compiling small entity compliance guides and contact information for individuals who can assist small businesses with each guide.

H.R. 4877 will compile information on federal regulations that govern small business operations onto one website, making it easier for firms to educate themselves on the small business compliance guidelines.

Currently, small business compliance guides are published on several different agency websites, making it difficult for small businesses that usually don't have the time or resources to navigate the web to fully comply with their responsibilities under new laws.

The centralized website would not only accumulate small business compliance guides, but it would also provide small business owners with details regarding the appropriate agency and staff members who owners should contact regarding regulatory assistance.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Business Dynamics Statistics, 82 percent of firms operating in Houston have fewer than 20 employees. Together, these businesses employ just under 400,000 workers, or about 14 percent of the regional workforce.

Houston also adds more than 9,200 new startups annually.

H.R. 4877, the One Stop Shop for Small Business Compliance Act, will make it easier for thousands of Houstonian entrepreneurs and people across the country to comply with the small business compliance guides.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of S. 270, the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park Expansion and Redesignation Act.

S. 270 will redesignate the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas as the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park.

Further, the bill will expand the Brown v. Board of Education designation by establishing additional sites in South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.

The Topeka, Kansas site has memorialized the stories of perseverance for equal access to education. However, when Brown v. Board of education was litigated at the U.S. Supreme Court, it consolidated four other school segregation cases and it is important that we recognize this through expanding the Brown v. Board National Historic Site to each of these four relevant locations.

These cases were Briggs v. Elliot in South Carolina, Davis v. County of Virginia, Gebhart v. Belton of Delaware, and Bolling v. Sharpe of the District of Columbia.

The Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education found that racial segregation in public education violated the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal protection of laws.

The effect of this decision was the end of segregation in public schools, effectively overturning the doctrine of ``separate but equal'' established by the Court in the 1896 decision of Plessy v. Ferguson.

Every child has a right to equitable education and learning opportunities without being limited by their race and other arbitrary or irrelevant factors.

It is incredible how Brown v. Board overturned what was a commonplace injustice. And in its place formed a new reality where every student can learn unhindered by the color of their skin or their ethnicity.

This case changed the course of civil rights in this country and set a powerful precedent for equality and human dignity around the world.

In memorializing this unprecedented decision, it is vital we consider the states and respective towns involved in this case. Each of the 5 cases contributes its own unique stories and backgrounds in the struggle for educational equity.

By establishing additional sites and affiliated areas in South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, we ensure that the 5 major cases and locations in Brown v. Board are commemorated in each of the locations that gave rise to this historic transformation.

I urge all members to join me in voting for S. 270, the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park Expansion and Redesignation Act.