Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2157, the Supplemental Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2019.

This bill is a comprehensive emergency disaster supplemental bill I to help meet the urgent needs of American communities still struggling to recover from recent hurricanes, typhoons, wildfires, floods and other natural disasters.

This bill would have been signed into law much earlier, had it not been thwarted by Republican House Members from the 21st Congressional District of Texas and from the 4th Congressional District of Kentucky who deprived the bill of the unanimous consent needed for passage.

This robust disaster package includes $17.2 billion in long overdue emergency spending for disaster-stricken communities across our nation and territories.

It builds on the legislation that passed the House in January-- including an additional $3 billion to address the urgent needs of those living in the Midwest (Nebraska, Missouri, South Dakota, Iowa and Kansas) and South (Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas) who have been devastated by flooding and tornadoes in recent months.

This bill also provides some additional disaster assistance to communities continuing to recover from Hurricane Harvey.

House Democrats are standing up and acting to help communities across the United States and in Puerto Rico, Texas, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa recover and heal from devastating disasters--these communities should not be held hostage because of this administration's benign neglect toward Puerto Rico.

Senate Republicans should come to their senses and join Democrats in advancing this bill and speeding relief to millions of Americans.

Included in this legislation is critical funding for:

Infrastructure and community development to rebuild our transportation systems and repair housing, businesses and public infrastructure;

Farmers and rural communities to bolster the farmer safety net and restore disaster-damaged lands;

Social services, mental health, education and dislocated worker initiatives to invest in the well-being of children, workers and families in disaster-struck areas--including providing critical nutrition and Medicaid assistance for Puerto Rico and U.S. territories;

DOD and Veterans Affairs to repair and rebuild hurricane-damaged bases and facilities; and

Disaster resiliency to mitigate damage and costs from future disasters which are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change.

American families hit by natural disasters deserve to know that (their government will stand with them throughout the road to recovery.

Democrats are committed to delivering this assistance to our fellow Americans as they work to rebuild their lives and their communities.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2157, the ``Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2019,'' provides much needed and long overdue relief to Americans in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Texans who are still suffering from the ravages of Hurricanes Maria, Irma, and Harvey as well as provide relief to victims of Hurricane Michael which struck Alabama, Florida, and Georgia in October 2018 and to the victims of the Midwestern floods.

Hurricane Harvey ranks as the second-most costly hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since 1900, causing more than $125 billion in damage.

Our residents need more money for single-family home repairs, whether it is disaster recovery or general housing dollars and I will continue to strive on behalf of the neighborhoods and on behalf of hard-working homeowners who deserve these funds, so they can continue on with their lives and return to their homes.

Victims of natural disasters are entitled to know who to contact when issues related to FEMA arise and to be assured that their questions are answered, and complaints addressed.

Allocating funding for measures such as Electricity Delivery for necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricanes Harvey, Maria, Irma, and Super Typhoon Yutu, is vital to negate the effects of these catastrophic events from significantly worsening.

Hospitals, first-responders, and a number of other vital institutions that help our communities recover from the after-effects of natural disasters need access to electricity.

Moreover, with the severity of natural disasters and the ranging of their locations, we must be proactive in our preparation for recovery.

Alternatively, water is the most essential resource known to man.

A human can go for more than three weeks without food--Mahatma Gandhi survived 21 days of complete starvation--but water is a different story.

At least 60 percent of the adult body is made of it and every living cell in the body needs it to keep functioning.

Under extreme conditions an adult can lose 1 to 1.5 liters of sweat per hour and if that lost water is not replaced, the total volume of body fluid can fall quickly and, most dangerously, blood volume may drop.

We do not have the luxury of ignoring hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, mudslides, tornados or other natural disasters.

With these events it is not a question of ``if'', but ``when.''

For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2157.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2940, which strengthens the ``Temporary Assistance for Needy-Families'' program.

Specifically, H.R. 2940 extends the authorizations for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) and the Child Care Entitlement to States (CCES) through September 30, 2019.

The legislation passed by Congress to end the Trump Shutdown authorizes the TANF program through June 30, 2019.

H.R. 2940 is necessary to ensure that the Department of Health and Human Services has the authority to pay fourth quarter allotments to states, tribes, and territories on time and in full, preventing any interruption of benefits to low-income parents and children.

TANF is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and features four program goals: provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes; reduce the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage; prevent and reduce unplanned pregnancies among 1 single young adults; and encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

Under TANF, the federal government gives states a fixed block grant totaling $16.5 billion each year.

This annual amount has not increased for inflation over the past two decades-and now covers only two-thirds of the purchasing power when it was created.

TANF and SNAP are essential to provide nutritional and financial assistance to the nation's neediest families and children.

Nearly half (48 percent) (3,375,666) of Texan children live in low- income families which is significantly higher than the national level of 41 percent.

Texas needs to increase the amount of funding for needy families to support their livelihoods and prosperity.

Many TANF families struggle with multiple barriers to self- sufficiency, such as disabilities, mental health issues, domestic violence and substance use disorders.

As a result, these families may not always be able to meet the full participation requirements.

States and counties should be given the flexibility to provide partial credit to these families with special needs.

TANF funding should be increased annually by an amount commensurate with the rate of inflation to ensure that the program's actual value does not decrease each year.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in Texas has supported 57,201 Texans in FY2018.

Texas has reported March 2019 TANF expenditures of $3,371,717 for 18,195 cases.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Texas is listed as one of nine (9) states that spend less than 10 percent of TANF funds.

Another families program that falls under assistance for needy is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides nutritional assistance to children and families.

Texas has spent $357,125,771 over the span of 1,377,384 cases in April 2019.

As of April 2019, Houston has 1,557 SNAP cases, which provides services to 3,168 people, of which 252 are elderly and 1,461 are children.

In total, SNAP has funded $350,743 in food assistance as of April 2019 in Houston.

Long-term reauthorization and adequate funding for this safety-net program are critical for counties, which invest over $58 billion annually in human services.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2940 to support the extension of these critical programs for our needy families and children.

Madam Speaker, I was saddened to stand alongside Congresswoman McBath to ask for a moment of silence for yet another innocent group of Americans who died.

We must gather in this House and demand the Senate to pass our legislation on gun safety, but we must also stand together against making legal access for anyone to have a silencer. We just have to do better as relates to the lives of Americans.

I stand, as well, to support the passage of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, very important to those of us in Texas.

As I watched this past week all of the disasters that were happening, it was sad. It was disappointing to know that there were Members on the floor objecting to this bill.

In particular, Houston, Texas, impacted by Hurricane Harvey, needed this money for its water treatment, its reimbursement, freshwater, and its sewage treatment.

In addition, the people in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico territories are desperate for resources. Many of us who visited know that they are long overdue.

Finally, I am supporting the extension of TANF, the very important nutrition legislation that provides for our children. It is expiring on June 30.

We have to do better. We cannot, in essence, yield to people who believe that these kinds of solutions should be over.

Madam Speaker, yesterday, I introduced H.R. 2898, the ``Buddy Check Week Act of 2019,'' which provides support and training to organize outreach events and educate veterans on how to conduct peer wellness checks and recognize signs of problems in fellow veterans that indicate suicide risks.

The Buddy Check Week Act directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with veterans, non-profits that serve veterans, mental health experts, and members of the Armed Forces, to develop and implement collaborative education opportunities for veterans to learn how to conduct wellness checks.

A wellness check involves contacting veterans who may be demonstrating signs of having difficulty and making sure they receive visits to see how they are doing and provide support for any needs.

The VA will provide online or in-person training to individuals, as well as provide opportunities for Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) to learn how to: train individuals to conduct peer wellness checks, transfer phone calls to the Veterans Crisis Line, and be resilient when handling a veteran in crisis.

The bill inspired by the American Legion's ``Buddy Check National Week of Calling,'' held March 11-16, 2019.

The American Legion unveiled this new initiative to connect past and present veterans and ensure that they receive the care they need.

A Buddy Check Week will provide the time, space, and resources needed to help these veterans through personal interaction and kindness.

This legislation will amplify the work of the American Legion and support efforts to conduct outreach to veterans across the nation.

Madam Speaker, veteran suicide is a pervasive and critical issue, threatening the lives of many of our bravest and most patriotic Americans.

Although, the VA has screening protocols designed to aid veterans and stage suicide interventions, some 6,000 veterans a year tropically fall through the cracks of this system, finding themselves without the necessary aid and resources that were promised to them by the VA and commit suicide.

Many Suicide Prevention Coordinators and offices specializing in veterans affairs report being overworked and unable to keep up with their many responsibilities.

On average, about 20 veterans die every day by suicide, and since 2017, 25 veterans have taken their lives on the grounds of Veterans Affairs hospitals, including seven this year and at least four last month, actively seeking help from an unprepared agency before committing suicide.

It is long past time for the federal government to provide the necessary legislation to address the troubling uptick in veteran suicides and help improve suicide prevention and mental health resources at the at VA.

To truly address this issue, we need to make sure that the VA and veterans aid organizations have the tools needed to serve every veteran that walks through their doors.

It is critically important that we provide training on the signs that a veteran may be in crisis and the needed make it easier to get them the help that they need.

I believe this bill is a step in the right direction toward making sure that happens.

Madam Speaker, it is unconscionable that a veteran will commit suicide every hour.

The fact that veterans make up just 20 percent of the male population, yet veterans make up close to 32 percent of all male suicides is shocking and must spur our action.

It does not have to be this way, Madam Speaker, and we can do something about it, starting with the passage of H.R. 2898, the ``Buddy Check Week Act.''

Madam Speaker, I rise to announce to the House that I have introduced H. Res. 396, a resolution authorizing and directing the Committee on the Judiciary to investigate whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise the power vested by Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5 of the Constitution in respect to acts of misconduct by Donald John Trump, President of the United States.

I invite every Member of the House to join me in cosponsoring this important and necessary step to uphold the rule of law, preserve the strength of our democracy, and affirm the rightful place of the Congress as a co-equal branch of government with the constitutional duty to check and hold accountable a wayward head of the Executive Branch.

This resolution is both necessary and timely.

Last week, hours before the House Judiciary Committee was to vote to hold Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt of congress, the President indicated that he intended to assert executive privilege to deny Congress and the American people the Mueller Report.

Yesterday, the White House Counsel indicated that it believes that the House Judiciary Committee's inquiry was an improper exercise of its oversight powers and was instead intended to ``harass'' the President.

The White House Counsel, in mistaken belief that the Mueller Investigation was the final word into investigations concerning this President, stated that Congress was not permitted ``an unauthorized do- over of exhaustive law enforcement investigations conducted by the Department of Justice.''

The White House position is clearly wrong on history, on the law, and on the Constitution, but more that than, it is reckless and destabilizing.

It disregards or misapprehends the nature, structure, and purpose of the system of government devised by the Framers that served us well for nearly 250 years.

It contemplates branches of government superior to others and represents an indifference, belligerence and disrespect towards Article I of the Constitution unseen in American history.

Congressional requests for documents have been ignored, subpoenas have been flouted, witnesses refuse to appear for congressional oversight hearings, norms shattered.

This is intolerable and why, in consultation with and by working with my colleagues, I have introduced H. Res. 396, a resolution authorizing and directing the Committee on the Judiciary to investigate whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise the power vested by Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5 of the Constitution in respect to acts of misconduct by Donald John Trump, President of the United States.

This is a significant measure because it invoives not just the standing committees but the whole House of Representatives, the body that is vested by the Constitution with the ``sole power of impeachment.''

Madam Speaker, if approved by the House, H. Res. 396 gives the Committee on Judiciary a broad and affirmative mandate by the body that is vested with the sole power conveyed by Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5 to investigate the areas of possible misconduct listed in the Resolving clause.

Since 1900, responsibility for conducting investigations of the type envisioned by the resolution has been delegated by the House to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Nothing in the resolution preempts or forecloses any other Committee of the House from exercising its oversight authority and adoption of the resolution will convey to the Administration, the public, and relevant witnesses the seriousness to which the House takes its responsibilities to act as a check on a wayward Executive and the gravity of the findings and conclusions set forth in the Mueller Report.

Finally, nothing in the resolution compels the Committee on the Judiciary to reach a particular result or make a particular recommendation; rather, the resolution charges the Committee with undertaking a comprehensive investigation following the evidence where it leads and reporting its conclusions and recommendations to the full House.

Madam Speaker, the time has come to reassert proper oversight in our system of government.

During the first two years of this administration, House Republicans shirked their oversight responsibilities.

This new House majority, propelled by the largest class of women and the most diverse class in history, will do its job to ensure the preservation of this government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Madam Speaker, I rise to speak in support of the ``Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019.''

H.R. 1994, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act helps Americans to save more for a secure retirement and delivering a urgently needed fix for Gold Star military families facing drastic tax hikes under the GOP tax scam.

This legislation:

Makes it easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans to their employees;

Ensures that hard-working home health care workers can receive retirement benefits; and,

Eliminates the unexpected and unfair enormous tax increases caused by the GOP tax scam that were on the survivorship benefits of children in Gold Star military families already facing the extraordinary hardship of losing a loved one.

The spouses of our fallen heroes sometimes sign over earned benefits to their children to ensure the family receives all benefits.

This bill will help Gold Star Families who are being taxed unfairly by the Trump Tax Cut.

But because the new Republican tax law brought changes to how children's assets are taxed, many Gold Star Families are required to pay thousands of additional dollars in taxes on survivor benefits--a crushing blow to families who have already given so much to our country.

Prior to the Trump Tax Cut Scam, money given by the military to the children of troops who died on duty were taxed at the same rate as their surviving parents.

But under Trump's tax cuts the changes included in the December 2017 tax law overhaul, those benefits were instead treated the same as family estate transfers, which increased the tax rate from no more than 15 percent to up to 37 percent.

This change significantly raised the tax bills for many of those military families.

It is important to provide these needed changes to protect Gold Star Families, and I look forward to the additional changes that are under way to help others hurt by the inequity of the Trump tax hike for the very rich.

Madam Speaker, as the founding Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus and a senior member of the Committee on the Judiciary, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2480, the ``Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.''

I support H.R. 2480 because this legislation will help states to address the recent rise in child abuse and neglect by providing strategic funding to build networks of prevention services designed to strengthen families and to improve the quality of child protective services.

Madam Speaker, child abuse and neglect is a pervasive public health problem that continues to affect millions of children across the country.

Although we witnessed significant declines in the rate of child abuse and neglect across the 1990s and 2000s, the rate of child maltreatment has ticked up in recent years as the opioid epidemic has devastated families and communities across the country.

In 2017, more children received an investigation or response from child protective services agencies than any other time in the decade prior.

It is long past time for the federal government to provide the necessary funding to reverse the rise in child maltreatment.

The ``Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act'' authorizes $270 million for the expansion of prevention services to reach over 3 million children annually and another $270 million to foster new research and support state child protective services agencies to expand services to meet increased demand without sacrificing quality.

Madam Speaker, another reason I strongly support this legislation is that it will also help address child abuse and neglect by improving the quality of federal and state data.

Specifically, the ``Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act'' establishes uniform standards for counting child fatalities and near fatalities related to child maltreatment and will create an electronic system that allows states to share data from their child abuse and neglect registries with other states.

H.R. 2480 also combats childhood maltreatment and protects children by initiating protocol designed to detect infant abuse earlier, prevent child injuries and fatalities and halting the effects of maltreatment before they even develop.

By supporting the training and careers of medical and child welfare professionals, the ``Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act'' will help successfully identify and respond to signs of potential abuse in infants under age three, better protecting them from the immediate and lifelong negative impacts of childhood maltreatment and offering an ensured solution to end abuse.

Madam Speaker, it is unconscionable that 1 in 7 children in the United States suffers from child abuse or neglect.

The effects of this abuse are far-reaching and severe, hindering a child's mental, physical, and emotional development with consequences that may follow the person through his or her lifetime.

Childhood maltreatment has also been linked to higher risk for a wide range of long-term and future health concerns, including diabetes, lung disease, and cancer.

It does not have to be this way, Madam Speaker, and we can do something about it, starting with passage of H.R. 2480, the ``Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.''

Madam Speaker, I rise to express my strong opposition to the so-called ``fetal heartbeat'' laws recently enacted in Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, Texas, and other states.

Mr. Speaker, I rise during this Special Order to pay tribute to the Honorable Judge Damon J. Keith, a pivotal

civil rights leader and legal trailblazer that our country lost on April 28, 2019 at the age of 96.

When Judge Damon J. Keith was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 to serve as Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, it was at a time when there were very few African American federal judges.

Judge Damon J. Keith said, ``I never had a black teacher. . . . There wasn't a black police officer above the rank of sergeant. There were no black judges. There were not black elected officials.''

Judge Damon J. Keith's appointment to the U.S. District Court was the same year that Thurgood Marshall was nominated and confirmed to the Supreme Court Bench as an associate justice.

When Judge Damon J. Keith was later nominated by President Jimmy Carter to serve on the federal court of appeals, he was the sixth African American appointed to serve on a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The sixth.

Judge Keith made a series of landmark decisions that changed the social and legal landscape of this country throughout his 52 years of service on the bench, including:

Davis v. School District of City of Pontiac, 309 F. Supp. 734 (E.D. Mich. 1970), which ordered citywide buses to integrate and helped integrate Pontiac public schools.

Judge Keith stood up to the KKK with this ruling and it became the first case to extend federal court-ordered integration to the North.

Then, Judge Keith ruled that President Nixon and U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell did not have the right to wiretap in domestic security cases without a court order in United States v. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, 407 U.S. 297 (1972).

That same year Judge Keith ruled in Garrett v. City of Hamtramck, 335 F. Supp. 16 (E.D. Mich. 1971), that Hamtramck practiced so-called ``Negro removal'' under the guise of urban renewal and ordered the city to build new public housing.

In Stamps v. Detroit Edison Co., 365 F. Supp. 87 (E.D. 1973), Judge Keith ordered Detroit Edison to pay 4 million to black employees and start an affirmative action program in a historic job-discrimination case.

Furthering integration of public spaces and jobs, in Baker v. City of Detroit, 483 F. Supp. 919 (E.D. 1979), Judge Keith ordered the Detroit Police Department to carry out Detroit Mayor, Coleman Young's plan to integrate.

And in Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft, 195 F. Supp. 2d 937 (E.D. 2002), he upheld a lower court's decision prohibiting the Justice Department from barring the public and press from deportation hearings involving people suspected of supporting terrorism.

Judge Keith did his job amid death threats and the obstacles of racial bigotry.

Judge Keith's dedication to civil rights and civil liberties came from a life dealing with racial inequality as a solider and a young man.

Judge Damon J. Keith was born July 4, 1922.

Judge Keith was the grandson of slaves and the son of a Ford factory worker who made 5 dollars a day.

Judge Keith was youngest of seven children and he was the first member of his family to earn a college degree.

Once Judge Keith graduated from college during World War II in 1943, he enlisted in a segregated U.S. Army.

Judge Keith recalled the three years he spent in the Quartermaster Corps during World War II in Europe as ``absolutely degrading,'' partly because the ``all-colored'' unit did not have a single black officer.

After Judge Keith was discharged in 1946 as a sergeant, he returned home to experience White German soldiers riding in the front seats of buses and dining in restaurants where he was not welcome.

Judge Keith's experience seeing African American soldiers being treated with less respect than White German prisoners of war, made him vow to fight for civil rights here at home.

So, Judge Keith attended and graduated from Howard University Law School with his JD in 1949.

While in law school, Judge Keith helped research civil rights cases, participated in mock trials and watched rising legal stars, like Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP's chief legal counsel, practice his legal arguments and argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

After Judge Keith graduated law school in 1949, he went on to not only pass the bar but found one of the first Black law firms in Detroit city.

Judge Keith was a man dedicated to change and as he climbed the legal ranks, Judge Keith brought women and minorities up with him, not just African-Americans but also Hispanics and Asians.

Judge Keith hired more minorities law clerks than any other federal judge and encouraged those he helped to do the same for other young minorities.

But, not only should Judge Keith be rewarded for what he has done as judge, but for what he has done as a man.

Judge Keith became the surrogate father and guardian for Willie Horton, guiding the young athlete from a troubled neighborhood into manhood and to stardom with the Detroit Tigers.

It was also Judge Keith who came to Rosa Parks's rescue in 1994 when the Civil Rights icon had been attacked by a burglar in her Detroit home.

Judge Keith helped her find a safe place to live in the aftermath.

Judge Keith's eldest daughter, Cecile Keith, said Saturdays was spent with their father, who would take them to dance classes, music lessons, and choir rehearsals, and afterward they would go out for hamburger and French fries.

Judge Keith took his children to the movies, Tiger games, played ball in their backyard, and he taught them how to ride bikes.

Judge Keith was more than a civil rights activist and he was more than a trailblazer.

Judge Keith was also a father and husband.

Judge Keith was a man dedicated to his wife, family, and to his community.

Judge Keith has always been a beacon of justice and we are a better country because of his work and are forever in his debt.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 106 denouncing female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and urging the international community and the Federal Government to increase efforts to eliminate this harmful practice.

Female genital mutilation is a clear human rights violation and must be ended immediately.

In many parts of the world, female genital mutilation is still performed by a religious leader, town elder, or a medical professional with limited training using crude instruments which can include broken glass, kitchen knives, and razor blades, however, antiseptics and anesthesia are rarely used.

Leaving these young women, many of which are between the ages of 4 and 13, susceptible to elevated risk of HIV transmission, hemorrhaging, chronic pelvic inflammation, septicemia, and delayed menarche.

In about 15 percent of cases, infibulation, the most severe form of FGM/C, involves the removal of the labia and the suturing together of the vulva.

This practice may place the victim's life at risk and victims of infibulation must be cut open to have intercourse and may be repeatedly opened and closed at the husband's will to ensure fidelity.

The practice of FGM/C abroad has persisted due to strong sociocultural influences which ensure that it is secretly done and underreported.

And despite many international efforts, anti-FGM/C legislation has not ended the practice in many countries.

FGM/C is still embraced by practitioners of all the major faiths-- Christianity, Islam and traditional worship on the contents of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

In the past, the U.S., largely through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Health Organization

have made several recommendations designated to end the practice of

Madam Speaker, what an amazing day: 100 years ago, the Congress voted out a resolution to empower women with the right to vote.

What is interesting, the last day, the last State, Tennessee, when the vote was taken, or when it was about to be taken, the then-Speaker, who was against it, wearing a red rose, said: We have got the votes.

But there is nothing like the power of a woman and the power of a mother. And a young legislator got a letter from his mother that very morning that said: Son, be a good boy, and vote to let women vote.

And, lo and behold, Tennessee ratified that right because that 24- year-old voted to let women vote.

It is an important time now for women to be empowered, because the States of Alabama and Texas and Mississippi and Missouri and others are now trying to reign back the rights of women and the right to choose.

We respect other values. We respect the Constitution and the Ninth Amendment, but Alabama and Mississippi and Texas and Missouri, we are not going back, because women got the right to vote. And just like that young man, be a good boy and leave women alone, for them to choose their own right, the right to vote.

Madam Speaker, as a long-time advocate for veterans' well-being

and resources, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2333, the ``Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act.''

I support H.R. 2333 because this legislation will provide much needed assistance to the VA to reduce the incidence of suicide among our veterans. The ``SPCA'' provides DVA suicide prevention coordinators with the resources needed to effectively do their job of providing veterans with critical mental health resources to veterans in need.

Madam Speaker, veteran suicide is a pervasive and critical issue, threatening, and in to many heartbreaking cases, taking the lives of many of our heroes.

Although, the Department of Veterans Administration has screening protocols designed to aid veterans and to stage suicide interventions, about 6,000 veterans fall through the cracks of this system annually, finding themselves without the necessary aid and resources that were promised to them.

Many suicide prevention coordinators and offices specializing in veterans affairs report being overworked and unable to keep up with the demand for their services.

On average, about 20 veterans die every day by suicide and since 2017, 25 veterans have taken their lives on the grounds of Veterans Affairs hospitals, including seven this year and at least four last month. These veterans were actively seeking help from an unprepared and under resourced agency before they took their lives.

It is long past time for Congress to provide the help needed to address the troubling increase in veteran suicides and help improve suicide prevention and mental health resources at the at DVA.

It is imperative that the DVA has the tools it needs to serve every veteran that walks through the door.

The ``Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act'' would require the Comptroller General to assess the responsibilities, workload, and vacancy rates of the Department of Veterans Affairs Suicide Prevention Coordinators and report it to Congress within one year, on the ability of the DVA to detect and protect veterans from self-harm.

It is critically important that we provide suicide prevention coordinators with the resources needed to successfully combat the troubling trend of veteran suicide, and I believe this bill is a necessary step in the right direction.

Madam Speaker, it is unconscionable that a veteran will commit suicide every hour.

The fact that veterans make up just 20 percent of the male population, yet veterans make up close to 32 percent of all male suicides is shocking and must spur our action.

It does not have to be this way, Madam Speaker, and we can do something about it, starting with the passage of H.R. 2333, the ``Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act.''

Madam Speaker, I thank the sponsor of this legislation for really tapping into something that every single Member must face with their veterans, and certainly those who have been out of the military for a period of time, and then all of our new veterans who are coming in from some of the more recent conflicts that we have had, and wars that we have had.

Just about a week or so ago, I was meeting with veterans from a certain battalion that had flown into Houston to share with us their concerns about the state of mind and the increasing amount of suicides among veterans, but, in addition to those conversations and ones that I have had, the idea of a Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Administration and the Under Secretary of Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition of the Department of Veterans Affairs to oversee vocational rehabilitation employment, educational assistance, veterans housing loans, and the verification of small businesses.

I think this is important because veterans want to know that they can fully integrate into society when they return home.

One of the initiatives that I had was to ensure that their service- related professions, whatever their assignments were in the military, would equate in civilian life and that they would be respected for their hierarchy of rank and also responsibility.

Having an office like this one helps those veterans with creative minds who want to start small businesses.

When we had the impact of Hurricane Harvey, one of the hardest hit groups were small businesses. We carved out dollars to help small businesses by grants and not loans because that is the economic engine of this Nation.

With respect to veterans, they are very creative. They see solutions where there are problems. To have an office that would focus on their vocational rehabilitation, employment, and giving them educational assistance, that is also very important.

I have gone to my college campuses and met many, many, many veterans who are using some of the dollars that this House provided for them back during the first time Speaker Pelosi was Speaker, when we voted on major reformation of the process of giving dollars to veterans for their educational assistance, a great bill dealing with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans that has helped them a lot.

I see the impact that getting a home has on veterans as well, and I have been involved in projects where organizations are in the business of donating homes to disabled vets. What a difference it makes in their lives.

Madam Speaker, I applaud the author of this legislation and the Veterans' Affairs Committee as well because you are now looking holistically at these veterans and giving them a hand up, as they want, and not a handout.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his courtesies.

Madam Speaker, I rise to support this bill, H.R. 2045, because, as I have said, whether it is a homeless vet, whether it is a vet who has been a veteran for a long period of time or those in the recent conflicts or those coming home today, this is a package that they need.

This is what Members of Congress try to help them with, in their offices. If we knew that we had an office in the Veterans Affairs Department that deals with education, vocational rehabilitation, and small business, and it is a one-stop shop, I think that our veterans will appreciate that very much.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 2045.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much, and I thank Mr. Cicilline.

Let me refute the suggestion that this is a bill that was rushed to the floor. This is a work that has been germinating for 5 years plus, and many of us have watched and been engaged in meetings and collaboration to ensure that the bill would reflect all of what America is about.

I want to speak to my religious friends--that is, all of us claim a religion of some form--and I want to say to them that religious liberty is not dead, but it is alive.

This bill focuses on saving lives; it focuses on understanding what it means to be transgender and denied the right to serve in the United States military. It stands up for African American transgender women who have been killed in the South, in the region that I live in; and it stands up for the person who knocked on the door and could not get housing because of their status.

And so I would ask my friends who are Mormon, Seventh Day Adventists, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and other religions: How would you feel if you knocked on a door and you could not get in, if they had no place for you at the inn?

So I am well-aware of the Restorative Act, dealing with religion, passed in 1993, but I am also aware of the Supreme Court case, the Hodges case in 2015, which said: ``They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.''

That is what this bill is doing, and the Constitution will protect those who are involved in the religious practices. As it has indicated: ``We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union.''

And then you go to the Bill of Rights, and it has as Amendment Number I: ``Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.''

The Constitution will be alongside of the Equality Act, and we will be able to have fair housing and civil rights, and we will be able to deal with this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for the time.

It will allow, with this Constitution alongside of the Equality Act, the idea that the Civil Rights Act stands for those in the LGBTQ community, the Civil Rights Act in title VI and title II and title VII; and they will stand alongside of the ACLU and the NAACP and the Urban League and LULAC and all of the civil rights groups.

They will stand alongside those of us who have been fighting for fair housing time after time so that, when we knock on the door, no matter who you are in this country, you will have the Constitution and the Equality Act.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my friends and others in the religious community to support the Equality Act.

Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committee on the Judiciary and an original cosponsor, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5, the ``Equality Act of 2019.''

Let me thank my colleague on the Judiciary Committee, Congressman David Cicilline of Rhode Island, for introducing this landmark legislation and his tireless efforts in making this day a reality.

Mr. Speaker, our nation's long but inexorable march towards equality reaches another milestone today.

For as long as our national charters have been in existence, we have endeavored to ask ourselves: what do we mean when we say ``We the People?''

How expansive do we hold our pledge that all are entitled to the blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

To be certain our nation has come a long way, but as we debate this critical bill, I am reminded of the Supreme Court's decision in

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce this resolution honoring retired Congressman John Conyers on the occasion of his 90th Birthday. Congressman Conyers was born in Highland Park, Michigan, on May 16, 1929, and grew up in the city of Detroit. Like many men of his generation, he served in the military and was stationed in Korea, during the Korean War, as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he was awarded combat and merit citations.

Following the completion of his military service, he earned both his B.A. (1957) and LL.B. (1958) degrees from Wayne State University and became an active member of the Michigan Bar. He had the distinction of working on the staff of Congressman John Dingell, serving as counsel to Detroit-area labor union locals and as a referee for Michigan's workmen's compensation department.

His commitment to civil rights was forged during the great movement of the 1960's, when traveling throughout the South, and was in Selma, Alabama, for the Freedom Day voter registration drive in 1963. In correspondence, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., would later remark that Conyers presence in Selma, Alabama ``had an electric effect on the voteless and beleaguered Negro citizens of this city, state and nation.''

Conyers legislative career began in 1964 when he ran for an open seat in Michigan's 1st District, following the landmark 1964 Baker v. Carr decision, and defeated his opponent with 84 percent of the vote. In this race, Congressman Conyers received the only known political endorsement from Dr. King and Rosa Parks, known for her prominent role in the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, moved to Detroit and served on Conyers' staff between 1965 and 1988.

Congressman Conyers went on to serve 26 terms, winning re-election twenty-five times, and is the third longest-serving member of the House in history, and the sixth longest-serving member of Congress in history. He was one of the 13 members who founded the Congressional Black Caucus in 1969 and was considered the Dean of the Caucus during his tenure.

As a freshman member, Congressman Conyers won a seat on the Judiciary Committee and went on to serve as Chairman of that committee from 2007 to 2011, along with serving as the ranking Democratic member on the Committee from 1995 to 2007 and again from 2011 to 2017. During his tenure, he successfully worked to oppose initiatives that violated Constitutional values and served as a beacon of hope to those facing poverty and injustice. He was the first member to introduce legislation or hold hearings on an important series of civil rights issues, including: police misconduct; LGBTQ protections; violence against the Arab and Muslim American communities; AIDS in the African-American community; environmental racism; and restorative justice, just to name a few.

Over the course of his legislative career, Congressman Conyers was responsible for more than 100 bills, amendments, and resolutions being enacted, including 57 on which he was the overall lead sponsor, and an additional 56 that he managed or was the lead Democratic sponsor. From his position on the Judiciary Committee, he led many of our most notable legislative efforts on civil rights and civil liberties, including: the Martin Luther King Holiday Act, the Voting Rights act Reauthorizations, the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorizations, the Hate Crimes Prevention

Act, Pattern and Practice Enforcement Act, the USA Freedom Act, the Fair Sentencing Act, the ``Motor Voter'' Act, and the Innocence Protection Act.

For these reasons, Congressman Conyers is recognized as a champion of civil rights and civil liberties, receiving numerous honors, including the NAACP Spingarn Medal and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Hubert H. Humphrey Award. Always a leader and gentleman, Congressman Conyers walked the halls of this institution for more than 50 years, leaving a lasting impact through his dedication to freedom and justice for all people.

Like so many in this body, I am proud to have been his colleague and friend. The celebration of his 90th birthday is an ideal time to reflect on his accomplishments and celebrate his distinguished legislative career. His dedication and commitment to service is an example for us all. He will always be the Chairman.