Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, this February we recognize and celebrate the 41st commemoration of Black History Month.

This month we celebrate the contributions of African Americans to the history of our great nation, and pay tribute to trailblazers, pioneers, heroes, and leaders like the 44th President of the United States and First Lady, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, respectively; Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; U.S. Senator Blanche Kelso Bruce; U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan; U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland; Astronauts Dr. Guion Stewart Bluford, Jr. and Mae C. Jemison; activists, intellectuals, authors, artists, and entrepreneurs like Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, James Baldwin, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Gwendolyn Brooks, Shonda Rhimes, Ava Duvernay, and Oprah Winfrey, just to name a few of the countless number of well-known and unsung heroes whose contributions have helped our nation become a more perfect union.

The history of the United States has been marked by the great contributions of African American activist, leaders, writers, and artists.

As a member of Congress, I know that I stand on the shoulders of giants whose struggles and triumphs made it possible for me to stand here today and continue the fight for equality, justice, and progress for all, regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

The greatest of these giants to me are Mrs. Ivalita ``Ivy'' Jackson, a vocational nurse, and Mr. Ezra A. Jackson, one of the first African Americans to succed in the comic book publishing business.

They were my beloved parents and they taught me the value of education, hard work, discipline, perseverance, and caring for others.

And I am continually inspired by Dr. Elwyn Lee, my husband and the first tenured African American law professor at the University of Houston.

Madam Speaker, I particularly wish to acknowledge the contributions of African American veterans in defending from foreign aggressors and who by their courageous examples helped transform our nation from a segregated society to a nation committed to the neverending challenge of perfecting our union.

A few years ago about this time, I was honored to join my colleagues, Congressman John Lewis and Congressman Charles Rangel, a Korean War veteran, in paying tribute to surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen and the 555th Parachute Infantry, the famed ``Triple Nickels'' at a moving ceremony sponsored by the U.S. Army commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The success of the Tuskegee Airmen in escorting bombers during World War II--achieving one of the lowest loss records of all the escort fighter groups, and being in constant demand for their services by the allied bomber units--is a record unmatched by any other fighter group.

So impressive and astounding were the feats of the Tuskegee Airmen that in 1948, it helped persuade President Harry Truman to issue his famous Executive Order No. 9981, which directed equality of treatment and opportunity in all of the United States Armed Forces and led to the end of racial segregation in the U.S. military forces.

It is a source of enormous and enduring pride that my father-in-law, Phillip Ferguson Lee, was one of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Clearly, what began as an experiment to determine whether ``colored'' soldiers' were capable of operating expensive and complex combat aircraft ended as an unqualified success based on the experience of the Tuskegee Airmen, whose record included 261 aircraft destroyed, 148 aircraft damaged, 15,553 combat sorties and 1,578 missions over Italy and North Africa.

They also destroyed or damaged over 950 units of ground transportation and escorted more than 200 bombing missions.

They proved that ``the antidote to racism is excellence in performance,'' as retired Lt. Col. Herbert Carter once remarked.

Madam Speaker, Black History Month is also a time to remember many pioneering women like U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm; activists Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks; astronaut Mae C. Jemison; mathematicians like Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson authors Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Gwendolyn Brooks; all of whom have each in their own way, whether through courageous activism, cultural or intellectual contributions, or artistic creativity, forged social and political change, and forever changed our great Nation for the better.

It is also fitting, Madam Speaker, that in addition to those national leaders whose contributions have made our nation better, we honor also those who have and are making a difference in their local communities.

In my home city of Houston, there are numerous men and women who are great because they have heeded the counsel of Dr. King who said:

``Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You only a need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.''

By that measure, I wish to pay tribute to some of the great men and women who helped to make Houston the wonderful, dynamic, vibrant, inclusive, and progressive city that it is:

1. Mayor Sylvester Turner

2. Rev. F.N. Williams, Sr.

3. Rev. Dr. S.J. Gilbert, Sr.

4. Rev. Eldridge Stanley Branch

5. Rev. William A. Lawson

6. Mr. John Brand

7. Ms. Ruby Moseley

8. Ms. Dorothy Hubbard

9. Ms. Doris Hubbard

10. Ms. Willie Bell Boone

11. Ms. Holly HogoBrooks

12. Mr. Deloyd Parker

As we celebrate Black History Month, let us pay tribute to those who have come before us, and pay forward to future generations by addressing what is the number one issue for African American families, and all American families today: preserving the American promise of economic opportunity for all.

Our immediate focus must be job creation, and enacting legislation that will foster and lay the foundation for today's and tomorrow's generation of groundbreaking activists, leaders, scientists, writers and artists to continue contributing to the greatness of America.

We must continue to preserve the American Dream for all.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to stand here in celebration of the heroic and historic acts of African Americans and their indispensable contributions to this great Nation.

It is through our work in creating possibilities for today and future generations that we best honor the accomplishments and legacy of our predecessors.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for the extraordinary work it does all throughout the nation.

On January 15, 1908, nine college students on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. founded Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

As a member of the Xi Alpha Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, I take great pride in my sorority's tradition of service and the many programs that it has established to serve our communities.

One of the founders, Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, dreamed of creating a support network for like-minded women coming together for mutual uplift, and coalescing their talents and strengths for the benefit of others.

What began as a small band of sisters in 1908, transformed over the ensuing 111 years into a globally-impactful organization of nearly 300,000 college-trained members, bound by the bonds of sisterhood and empowered by a commitment to servant-leadership that is both domestic and international in scope.

As Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has grown, it has maintained its focus in two key arenas: the lifelong personal and professional development of each of its members; and galvanizing its membership into an organization of formidable power and influence, consistently at the forefront of effective advocacy and social change that results in equality and equity for all citizens of the world.

In order to maintain its commitment to servant-leadership, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority hosts an international conference every two years.

On July 6-July 12, 2018, my fellow Sorors from all around the world came to my hometown in Houston to launch ``New Dimensions of Service by Celebrating a Legacy of Leadership and Service.''

At this conference Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority decided on new targets of focus for the next two years, which include: HBCU for Life: A Call to Action; Women's Healthcare and Wellness; Building Your Economic Legacy; The Arts! and Global Impact.

February 2019 is Women's Healthcare and Wellness month.

To kick off Women's Healthcare and Wellness month, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has joined with the American Heart Association in the fight against heart disease in order to improve the health of all women.

On February 1, Alpha Kappa Alpha women all over the world took off their pink and wore red for the day to raise awareness of this deadly disease for their ``Pink Goes Red Impact Day.''

Alpha Kappa Alpha chapters are bringing awareness to the devastating effects of heart disease in communities around this country.

My chapter, Xi Alpha Omega hosted a Zumba and Line Dancing Class at our Houston Texans YMCA to promote a fun and healthy way to stay heart healthy.

As we observe Pink Goes Red Impact Day and Heart Health month on the international level, here are some unsettling truths about heart disease and high blood pressure and undeniable truths about prevention that can help to stem the tide of this dreadful disease.

Cardiovascular diseases kill nearly 50,000 African-American women annually.

Forty-nine percent of African-American women 20 years of age and older have heart disease.

Only one in five African-American women believes she is personally at risk.

Only 52 percent of African-American women are aware of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.

Only 36 percent of African-American women know that heart disease is their greatest health risk.

These unsettling truths are the reason that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has made Heart Health and Wellness Month one of its most important initiatives.

Although there is nothing that will 100 percent guarantee a life without high blood pressure and heart disease, there are several things women can do every day to take steps towards a healthier life.

Be honest about their health. There are several things that can be done to reduce the risk of heart disease: exercise regularly; eat healthy; know your family medical history; and monitor and treat pre- existing health conditions.

Moderate salt and sodium intake and read the label and be knowledgeable about what is contained in the food consumed.

Commit to improving eating habits by developing a healthy diet and healthy cooking skills,

eating more fruits and vegetable and staying hydrated.

Get moving. Live an active lifestyle and eliminate sedentary practices from daily routine.

Schedule regular check-ups with their physician to monitor their health.

During the Women's Healthcare and Wellness month, I encourage all women to join me in walking, running, exercising, and educating ourselves and our communities on heart health.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to be a sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act.

This Act is needed to stop discriminatory practices by employers against our mothers, wives, daughters, and granddaughters that do the same job as their male counterparts.

It is sad that today in America, women working full-time, year-round still earn 80 cents, on average, for every dollar earned by men.

Women of color face the brunt of the inequality, with African American women earning 61 cents, Latinas earning 53 cents, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women earning 62 cents compared with white, non-Hispanic men.

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of President Barack Obama signing the Lily Ledbetter Act, which made it easier to sue in cases of pay discrimination.

This legislation that we are discussing today--the Paycheck Fairness Act--is but one small step towards that end.

The Paycheck Fairness Act, will strengthen the Equal Pay Act--passed more than 45 years ago--and as a result improve the law's effectiveness, and help to address the persistent wage gap between men and women.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would:

Clarify acceptable reasons for differences in pay by requiring employers to demonstrate that wage gaps between men and women doing the same work are truly a result of factors other than sex.

Deter wage discrimination by strengthening penalties for equal pay violations, and by prohibiting retaliation against workers who inquire about employers' wage practices or disclose their own wages.

The bill's approach would ensure that women can obtain the same remedies as those subject to discrimination on the basis of race or national origin.

Provide women with a fair option to proceed in a class action suit under the Equal Pay Act, and allow women to receive punitive and compensatory damages for pay discrimination.

Clarify the establishment provision under the Equal Pay Act, which would allow for reasonable comparisons between employees to determine fair wages.

Authorize additional training for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission staff to better identify and handle wage disputes.

It will aid in the efficient and effective enforcement of federal anti-pay discrimination laws by requiring the EEOC to develop regulations directing employers to collect wage data, reported by the race, sex, and national origin of employees.

It will require the U.S. Department of Labor to reinstate activities that promote equal pay, such as: directing educational programs, providing technical assistance to employers, recognizing businesses that address the wage gap, collecting wage-related data, and conducting and promoting research about pay disparities between men and women.

More importantly for our young ladies going into the workforce it will establish a competitive grant program to develop salary negotiation training for women and girls.

As a Member of the Women's Caucus I have been fighting for pay equity for American women since before I arrived here as a Representative in 1995, and I believe that equal pay for equal work is a simple matter of justice.

Wage disparities are not simply a result of women's education levels or life choices.

In fact, the pay gap between college educated men and women appears first after college--even when women are working full-time in the same fields with the same major as men--and continues to widen during the first 10 years in the workforce.

Further, this persistent wage gap not only impacts the economic security of women and their families today, it also directly affects women's retirement security tomorrow.

Now is the time for additional proactive measures to effectively address wage discrimination and eliminate loopholes that have hindered the Equal Pay Act's effectiveness.

I urge my colleagues, both men and women to support equality in rights and pay for all Americans by supporting the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland for his astute analysis and his service on the Rules Committee, and I thank my good friend from Georgia for offering his recognition of the value of our Federal workers.

Mr. Speaker, this morning, I started my day, first of all, with supporting H.R. 21, and gathering with the leadership of the House and Senate recognizing that Social Security must be strengthened. But truly I joined in my long-term commitment for not only the survival of Social Security, but the survival of our families and seniors--3 million senior women living in poverty, 2 million senior men. These individuals have worked. They may have been Federal employees.

I then joined my colleagues, House and Senate, on supporting pay equity for women. And now I am on the floor dealing with a crucial component of survival in this Nation.

I thank Mr. Connolly and the Oversight Committee for bringing this bill. It is important, as I speak about the needs, to emphasize that we can do nothing else but pass this bill, the Senate pass this bill, and the President signs this bill.

For the idea of paycheck inequality, for example, that will be debated later today, it is important to know that women working full- time still earn 80 percent on average for every dollar earned by men, and women of color face the brunt of inequality, African-American women 61 cents on the dollar, Latinas earning 53 cents on the dollar, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women earning 62 percent with white non- Hispanic men.

So what are we doing today?

We are saying that the executive order squeezing Federal workers in the middle of the shutdown by the President of the United States in an executive order is null and void.

As I left for Washington talking to TSO officers who had worked and worked and worked with no pay as essential workers, one quietly said to me: Are we going to get our pay raise? Are you going to fight against the executive order?

Mr. Speaker, I said to them: We sure will.

We want Democrats and Republicans.

But I said: We sure will.

So I rise today to support this legislation that deals with the Federal Civilian Workforce Pay Raise Fairness Act of 2019. Texas has over 270,000 Federal employees. I have 4,000 in my district. The cost of the pay raise would be approximately $25 billion. President Trump's tax reform bill costs over 10 times that amount.

It is important to note that this is a 2.6 percent pay raise for Federal civilian workers and establishes pay parity between the military and service workers.

Mr. Speaker, it is ridiculous to say that Federal employees have been paid too much. They have been victims of attacks of, What do these people do? There have been charges of waste, fraud, and abuse. With the government shutdown we know what these workers do. They take care of our parks, they keep them safe. They keep the airways, the aviation industry, the aviation system in America and around the world alive with the best air traffic controllers in the world. They protect the airports with TSOs.

Mr. Speaker, I support enthusiastically the 2.6 percent increase. Let's do it now. Let the President sign the bill.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 790, the Federal Civilian Workforce Pay Raise Fairness Act of 2019.

On December 28, 2018, one week into the longest government shutdown in history, President Trump added insult to injury by announcing that all federal civilian workers would not receive a pay raise in 2019.

This action continues the years of menial pay raises that federal employees have received.

Federal employees have endured pay freezes, hiring freezes, higher pension contributions, and furloughs as a result of sequestration and government shutdowns, including the longest shutdown in our nation's history.

Texas has over 270,000 federal employees.

Almost 4,000 of those federal employees call my district, Texas 18, home.

It is time that Congress act and shows its appreciation for these and the almost 2 million other men and women who are federal employees and the services they provide to our great nation.

Denying these federal workers a hard-earned raise is not the way to balance the budget.

Providing these workers with a raise is not an unrealistic burden on the federal budget.

The cost of a pay raise would be approximately $25 billion.

Trump's tax reform bill cost over 10 times this amount.

It is inappropriate for the President to use these civil servants as a bargaining chip, and it is inappropriate to not recognize their hard work and dedication through a much earned pay raise.

For too long, federal employees have been the victims of attacks being told that ``good people don't go into government,'' that the federal government is full of ``waste, fraud, and abuse.''

This is categorically false.

Federal employees have contributed nearly $200 billion to deficit reduction and other government programs over the past several years.

These attacks on federal employees are in addition to the Republican attacks on federal worker pay and benefits that have been happening for years.

We need to help the morale of the federal workforce.

We need to make the federal government competitive with the private sector so that highly qualified candidates are able to serve the American people.

We need to retain the talent that we have.

It is time for Congress to show their support for the men and women who work selflessly and tirelessly for our government with this modest pay raise.

H.R. 790 would authorize a 2.6 percent pay raise for federal civilian workers and established pay parity between them and military service members for 2019, a longstanding Congressional tradition.

Federal workers who would receive this pay raise are employees in the competitive and excepted services; prevailing wage or blue collar workers; members of the career Senior Executive Service; and employees in the scientific and senior level positions.

This modest pay increase, between $488.41-$4,041.54 a year, would help offset the cost of inflation and to make up for years of freezes and negligible increases.

I am a strong supporter of the men and women who make up the federal civilian workforce, and I ask my colleagues to show their support to these integral federal employees by joining me in supporting H.R. 790.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the managers of the resolution, both of them, the gentleman from Missouri and the gentleman from North Carolina.

I thank Ms. Wexton and Mr. Connolly for capturing the essence of what this legislation is all about. It is not contentious. We don't intend to divide this House. We intend to unify this House.

But I think as we speak to our colleagues and the American people, it is clear that the opening sentence says that this body believes that shutdowns are detrimental to the Nation. That is a word that I think all of us can join on.

And if we look at the desperation of our Federal workers, 800,000-- 270,000 in Texas, 4,000 in my district--you see the opening line: ``My landlord is calling and I must pay.'' And the follow-up is: ``I have no money.''

All that we are saying today is to affirm the value of our constituents,

from the Coast Guard to FBI, to Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security, and Forest Service fighters who are on the front lines.

To my good friend from Texas, I can't count the times I have been to the border and seen barriers and fencing, but what I do know is, yes, Sheila Jackson Lee has voted over and over for border security here, years ago, and made the first crunch of dollars that dealt with increasing Border Patrol when they were barely in existence by providing laptops and providing the kind of vehicles that they needed and worked with landowners who didn't want any kind of fence, stone or otherwise, but to be able to give them the support.

Now we need smart border security, technology with drones, better infrastructure, more ports of entry. Today, we hope that will happen, because it will happen because appropriators are sitting down.

But can we reflect? This shutdown was in the midst of Christmas when we had bills that Republicans and Democrats had signed onto that came from the Senate. We could vote.

This is saying that whatever our policy differences are, you never hold a Federal worker, a person who is serving his or her Nation, hostage. You never make them desperate.

You never make them have to call a congressional office, ``I am about to be evicted,'' as my constituent did. We never let them lose their house. We never let them bring their children out of school, as some had to do.

You never let them do as they are doing in my district right now, going to get groceries. And you never let them hear the words: ``Go to a bank. I don't know why they just can't walk into a bank.'' Or someone else says: ``It is okay. They are doing it for their Nation.''

That is what this is about. It is simply allowing us to tell a reservist from the Middle East, Edith Banda, that she doesn't have to sell her belongings because she doesn't have a job because she is a Federal worker and she had been furloughed.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this resolution, and I ask them to stand for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of H. Res. 79, which expresses the strong sense of Congress that government shutdowns are detrimental to the nation and should never occur again.

I am pleased to be an original co-sponsor of this important resolution that condemns the President's callous decision to shut down the federal government for 35 days, furloughing 800,000 civil servants and forcing nearly half that many to work without pay, and which costs the economy more than $11 billion in lost productivity and economic output.

The collateral damage caused by the Trump Shutdown was substantial, long lasting, and unnecessary because it could have been avoided had the President not reneged on his promise to sign the continuing resolution passed by the Senate unanimously on December 19, 2018.

Because the President broke his promise, frontline federal employees, including law enforcement and public safety personnel, worked without pay from December 22 through January 25, 2019.

The way these federal workers, many of whom risk their lives in the service of this country, were treated was shameful.

This included around 14,000 FBI agents, 54,000 Customs and Border Protection agents, 47,000 Transportation Security Officers, and 6,000 Forest Service firefighters.

TSA employees received their last paycheck on December 28 and this single paycheck had to stretch much further than originally intended.

The shutdown forced some employees to look for new jobs or take on extra work, and the pressure was immense for employees and families with no other source of income.

Among those not receiving a pay check for their work were 3,200 Secret Service agents who risk their lives every single day to protect President Trump and his family.

Speaker Pelosi's decision to delay the State of the Union was in defense of the Secret Service agents who would be forced to work without pay.

In addition to the federal employees working without pay, hardworking federal employees at agencies like the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, and NASA had been furloughed without pay, plunging them and their families into uncertainty.

These are real American families that were put through an unwarranted and unnecessary shutdown, and they suffered because of it.

Many federal employees were furloughed, and those deemed essential were expected to work without pay.

American families were stuck wondering how they were going to get by without an income, especially since things like rent, groceries, children's prescriptions and general day-to-day living costs must still be paid whether the government is fully functional or not.

The Trump Shutdown ended when the Speaker Pelosi made the President face reality that the vast majority of the American people and their representatives in Congress did not support wasting $5.7 billion on an unnecessary and immoral wall that the President promised Mexico would pay for.

Not only were Americans struggling to pay for their day-to-day expenses but veterans and military families were suffering as well.

The military was also suffering in other areas.

For example, changes of station for military personnel were delayed and facility and weapons maintenance was suspended.

Military commissaries (base grocery stores) were shut down and military families were forced to shop elsewhere, costing up to 30 percent more on average than at the commissaries.

The United States Coast Guard went without funding for thirty-five days.

This was an added expense that added up very quickly, especially for military families living in cities with a high cost of living.

Edith Banda who recently returned from a reservist deployment in the Middle East was among thousands of people in the Houston area who felt impact of the government shutdown.

Edith was unable to work her federal job in downtown Houston for 35 days.

Making matters worse, she and dozens of others in Houston were unable to seek temporary private sector work because such jobs require permission, and the people who process those requests were also furloughed.

Edith had begun selling her personal possessions to make ends meet.

There are so many other issues that could be tackled with the money Trump wants to spend on the border wall.

With an increase of $265 million the Department of Justice could hire 2,000 new police officers and make steps towards making many communities a safer place.

With an increase of $99 million the Office of National Drug Control Policy could support community-level efforts to address substance abuse programs in nearly 730 additional communities.

With an increase of $200 million the Economic Development Administration could create or preserve 31,000 jobs for our hardworking Americans.

With an additional $20 million Small Business Administration grants could support dozens more Women's Business and Veterans Outreach Centers providing business training, counseling and outreach to 47,000 additional US veterans and women.

These are the changes that American citizens deserve.

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 79 could not come at a better time.

Having survived the Trump Shutdown, it is fitting and proper for the House of Representatives to go on record and state that the shutdown of the Government of the United States, or any portion thereof, causes substantial damage to Federal employees, to every American who benefits directly or indirectly from Federal services, to our Nation's economy, and to the reputation of the United States around the world.

Mr. Speaker, shutting down the Government of the United States, or any portion thereof, is not an acceptable tactic or strategy for resolving differences regarding policy, funding levels, or governing philosophy.

Given the damage mercilessly inflicted on the American people and the economy by the Trump Shutdown, Congress has a fiduciary duty to the American people to ensure the continued, uninterrupted operations of the Government of the United States and its services.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of H. Res. 79.

Mr. Speaker, allow me to thank the chairman for facilitating this bill to the floor and the support of our ranking member, Mr. Rogers, for this legislation and the work that we do on the Committee on Homeland Security.

Mr. Speaker, before I start, allow me to acknowledge, with my thoughts and prayers, the wounded officers and members of the Houston Police Department who were shot last evening in a senseless shooting. Four of the officers were shot in the attempt to render a drug warrant, and one was injured. I understand, of that group, there were several who are in critical condition.

Thanks to the professional work of the Houston Police Department, two of the persons perpetrating this crime have been stopped, and I hope the families of the victim police officers take comfort in the knowledge that everyone in our community--and, yes, in our Nation--is praying for the speedy and complete recovery of each of the officers wounded, injured in this terrible tragedy.

It is because of the importance of law enforcement in the communication with the Department of Homeland Security that I reintroduced H.R. 495 to require the Department of Homeland Security's Office for State and Local Law Enforcement to report annually on its activities.

As we all know, after the September 11 terrorist attacks, our Nation learned that the inability of Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial partners to share information was a critical failure in our national security apparatus. Those of us who happened to be in the United States Congress at that time saw that as this heinous act was occurring. It was the first responders, local law enforcement, who all converged on Ground Zero.

Today, I am proud to say that there has been real progress on closing this once-prominent information-sharing gap. It is now commonplace within the Federal Government to support policies that empower and include our State and local partners. I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, it is because of the work of the Members of the United States Congress--in particular, members of the Committee on Homeland Security--who gradually built this pathway that is so crucial.

I hear it often from my local law enforcement, the importance of communicating via a two-way street--classified, confidential--with officials in the Federal Government.

To keep DHS on that path, H.R. 495 requires the Assistant Director of the DHS office in charge of coordinating, liaising, and advocating for State and local law enforcement to submit an annual report to Congress on its work. It is important because we in Congress are the watchdogs to insist upon that cooperation.

Requiring this report will not only provide metrics to assess the effectiveness of the Office's current work, but it would include comprehensive information on existing programs and feedback from law enforcement agencies themselves. Remember, they are, every day, on the front lines. They are the first responders to see something and say something as relates to protecting us against terrorism.

More, this measure would ensure future accountability of the Department and its work with local partners.

It is no secret that the threat landscape of today is constantly evolving. What we have learned from this challenge is there must be proactive measures in place at all levels of the government to track the growth of and reflect upon our capabilities to combat crime and terror.

State and local law enforcement provide tireless work to investigate and apprehend individuals of heinous crime. It is our duty to ensure that they are able to do their very best work in collaboration with their Federal partners and keep our communities safe.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this very important legislation, and I also ask for prayers not only for those shot last night, but the injured officers in my district who were injured on Christmas Eve, one severely burned--that is two officers, Officer Daily and Officer Reid. We continue to pray for Officer Daily, who suffered burns all over his body.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 495, the ``FIRST State and Local Law Enforcement Act.''

Mr. Speaker. I want to take this time to acknowledge the Houston police officers injured.

My thoughts and prayers are with the wounded officers and the members of the Houston Police Department.

The senseless shooting of four of Houston's finest and bravest last evening, while they were serving a warrant, is a tragedy and another reminder of the dangers faced by law enforcement officers who risk their lives to keep their communities safe. One officer injured his knee. Totaling 5 officers hurt.

Thanks to the swift and professional police work of the Houston Police Department, two of the persons perpetrating this heinous crime have been stopped.

I hope the families of the victims take comfort in the knowledge that everyone in our community is praying for speedy and complete recovery of each of the officers wounded in this tragedy.

Mr. Speaker, I reintroduced H.R. 495 to require the Department of Homeland Security's Office for State and Local Law Enforcement to report annually on its activities.

As we all know, after the September 11th terrorist attacks our Nation learned that the inability of the Federal, State, local, tribal and territorial partners to share information was a critical failure in our national security apparatus.

Today, I am proud to say that there's been real progress in closing this once prominent information sharing gap.

It is now common practice within the Federal government to support policies that empower and include our State and local partners.

To keep DHS on that path, H.R. 495 requires the Assistant Director of DHS' Office in charge of coordinating, liaising, and advocating for state and local law enforcement to submit an annual report to Congress on its work.

Requiring this report would not only provide metrics to assess the effectiveness of the office's current work, but it would include comprehensive information on existing programs and feedback from the law enforcement agencies themselves.

More, this measure would ensure future accountability of the Department and its work with local partners.

It is no secret that the threat landscape of today is constantly evolving.

What we have learned from this challenge is that there must be proactive measure in place at all levels of government to track the growth of and reflect upon our capabilities to combat crime and terror.

State and local law enforcement provide tireless work to investigate and apprehend individuals of heinous crimes.

It is our duty to ensure that they are able to do their best work in collaboration with their Federal partners to keep our communities safe.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 495, which passed the House on suspension last Congress, requires DHS' Office of State and Local Law Enforcement to produce an annual report.

This report documents the office's coordination, liaison, and advocacy efforts for state and local law enforcement.

Again, I have reintroduced this measure because I believe our national security is at its best when the Federal government works together with our State and local partners.

With that, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 495.

I want to take this time to acknowledge the service and fighting spirit of Houston Police Officers John Daily and Alonzo Reid.

On Christmas Eve, Officers Daily and Reid were responding, with lights on, to a call for assistance from a fellow officer when they were hit nearly head on.

Their patrol car rolled several times before it collided with a pole and caught fire.

Thankfully, both survived the fiery car crash.

Officer Reid showed true heroism when he pulled Officer Daily from the driver's seat with the assistance of a passer-by, Juan Carlos Salgado.

Thankfully, Officer Reid was released from the hospital on Christmas Day.

However, Officer Daily, who suffered burns to over half his body, has endured five surgeries and is still in the hospital in serious condition.

Officers Daily and Reid put service above self every day, including on Christmas Eve when they were on their way to offer assistance to a fellow officer.

My thoughts and prayers are with Officer Daily, his family, and fellow officers for a full recovery.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in strong support of H.R. 495, the FIRST State and Local Law Enforcement Act, which supports the work of the Department of Homeland Security's Office of State and Local Law Enforcement (OSLLE) by requiring that an annual report of its activities be submitted to Congress so that we can be aware of the range of benefits and services needed by local and state law enforcement agencies.

The work of law enforcement is rewarding to those who serve, but it can also be very dangerous.

My thoughts and prayers are with the wounded officers and the members of the Houston Police Department.

The senseless shooting of five of Houston's finest and bravest last evening, while they were serving a warrant, is a tragedy and another reminder of the dangers faced by law enforcement officers who risk their lives to keep their communities safe.

Thanks to the swift and professional police work of the Houston Police Department, two of the persons perpetrating this heinous crime have been stopped.

I hope the families of the victims take comfort in the knowledge that everyone in our community is praying for speedy and complete recovery of each of the officers wounded in this tragedy.

The basis for creating the office is one of 33 recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, which called for a primary coordinator, liaison, and advocate for state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies.

This legislation mandates that OSLLE also leads the coordination of DHS's policies related to state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement's role in preventing, preparing for, protecting against, and responding to natural disasters, acts of terrorism and other man- made disasters.

As a member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I am very much aware of the importance of the work performed by the men and women who protect us from terrorism.

Homeland Security is defined as:

``the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive to the national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce the vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorism, and minimize the damage from attacks that do occur''

I am proud to have so many first responders as friends, and I am committed to working tirelessly to assure that they have the full support of Congress in getting the resources and training they need to protect our communities.

This bill will provide an important opportunity for DHS to report on this vital work with state and local law enforcement agencies.

The sacrifices made by our men and women in state and local law enforcement all too often go unnoticed.

One example of their heroism and bravery was seen when Houston Police Officers Alonzo Reid and John Daily were involved in a Christmas Eve car crash.

On Christmas Eve, Officers Daily and Reid were responding, with lights on, to a call for assistance from a fellow officer when they were hit nearly head on.

Their patrol car rolled several times before it collided with a pole and caught fire.

Thankfully, both survived the fiery car crash.

Officer Reid showed true heroism when he pulled Officer Daily from the driver's seat with the assistance of a passerby, Juan Carlos Salgado.

Thankfully, Officer Reid was released from the hospital on Christmas Day.

However, Officer Daily, who suffered burns to over half his body, has endured five surgeries and is still in serious medical condition.

I ask my colleagues to join me in offering prayers and well wishes to Officer Daily for a fully recovery.

Officers Daily and Reid like tens of thousands of their counter parts, put service above self every day.

The Department of Homeland Security has been in existence for 16 years, and in that time the men and women who serve on the front lines of defending the United States against terrorist acts at home have not wavered in their commitment.

During times of crisis, the relationships among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies is proven to be of the greatest value to an effective government wide response.

On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas.

Local, state, and federal first responders rescued 122,331 people.

The Coast Guard deployed 2,060 personnel, 50 aircraft, 75 boats and 29 cutters, rescuing 11,022 people and 1,384 pets.

FEMA deployed 28 Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from across the nation to Texas to assist state and local agencies with the lifesaving mission.

This is in addition to the tens of thousands of meals, water, supplies, and public assistance that were also provided.

Hurricane Harvey's Federal, state, and local response agencies benefit from collaborating with DHS.

Because the DHS office plays a significant role in the required outreach to state and local law enforcement entities it is important that the Committee on Homeland Security be kept apprised of its work.

Today, DHS is not funded due to the Trump Shutdown.

It is shameful that 85 percent of DHS employees are either working with no paycheck or have been furloughed.

These men and women work for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Customs and Border Protection, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Secret Service, and Transportation and Security Administration.

It has been reported that many DHS employees have described feeling depressed, stressed out, anxious, uncomfortable, and insecure because of the Trump Shutdown.

It is time to end the Trump Shutdown.

This bill will need DHS fully staffed and functioning to ensure that the reporting requirement of this bill are fulfilled so that the federal, state, and local agencies working with DHS receive the support that they need.

For this reason, I ask that my colleagues join me in voting for H.R. 495.

Madam Speaker, as we put the pieces back together again, the Budget Committee had a meeting with the Congressional Budget Office director. We know that it is clear that during this shutdown, the Nation lost $11 billion; $3 billion of it will not be recoverable. A shutdown is foolish. It hurts the American people.

And I am committed: One, to increase the pay of American workers, Federal workers, tomorrow, and, as well, to reflect that a shutdown should not hold our patriotic fellow workers hostage.

I ask my colleagues to join me in that.

Today, however, I am excited that I am introducing a bill, which is H.R. 835, the Anti-Doping Act, with Dr. Burgess and, of course, in the other body, Senator Wicker and Senator Whitehouse, that deals with the World Anti-Doping Agency that failed to suspend the Russian Anti-Doping Agency for missing a crucial December 31, 2018, deadline, and for the violations at the Olympics.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join in supporting this legislation. Let's get doping out of the Olympics. Let's have sports that are fair and square and to do what is right for these wonderful young athletes.

Mr. Speaker, last Friday the 25th of January, 2019, was a day of celebration for 800,000 Federal workers. They joined me at the Federal office building which my office is in, and we stood together listening to their pain and their stories of trying to survive. Many said: We don't want to be held hostage again.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say that no Federal employee over a policy question should not be paid. And as we have been saying, open the government and pay the workers. That same day, I went out to visit TSO officers and air traffic controllers.

When I came back today, I stopped to speak to air traffic controllers, and I thanked them and said, America now knows for all of the Federal workers what great patriots and servants of the Nation that they are. We must thank them.

I want to say to the officer who asked me about his pay being frozen that I hope Republicans will join Democrats in raising that pay to 2.6 percent. This is my answer to you, that we will pay you, and we will increase your pay.

As I close, Mr. Speaker, I want to offer sympathy and concern for five Houston police officers who have just been shot. I offer my prayers and concern and sympathy for their families, and a speedy recovery during this time.

Madam Speaker, Edith Banda a constituent who lives in Houston recently returned from a reservist deployment in the Middle East. She is among thousands of people in the Houston area feeling the impact of the government shutdown.

Edith has not worked her federal job in downtown Houston since the shutdown 25 days ago.

Making matters worse, she and dozens of others in Houston are unable to seek temporary private sector work because such jobs require permission, and the people who process those requests have been furloughed.

Edith has begun selling her personal possessions to make ends meet, but she said another couple of weeks of no work would be crushing.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for her years of service, appointed service, recognized service, for we have gone to the southern border many times.

I am a resident of the southern border. I am committed to the people of the southern border, as I am to the people of the United States, and most importantly, to the heroic workers who work for the Federal Government.

First, let me say that any regular order of business of this House should be the opening of the government and paying the workers now.

I have been alongside of every aspect of the southern border, every State, including California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. I have been to every part of the southern border. I have seen the terrain. I have gone up to the Rio Grande and on the Rio Grande several times. I have seen it at its fullest and I have seen it at its most narrow.

I have seen tunnels. I have seen the San Diego wall, if you will. I have seen the steel fencing. I have spoken to Border Patrol agents alongside of the border.

The tragedy of young Felipe, who passed away; I went to the part where he walked up with his father and they presented themselves to the Border Patrol.

My colleagues, including the gentle chairwoman, have likewise, walked with me or been to the border many times. They have solutions. So regular order now seems to be a straw man. We are placing on the floor of the House a bill that will open the government until February 28, but it will fund the Department of Homeland Security. May I say those words again? Homeland Security.

We are sitting here today, and we are not considering that our Homeland Security Department, one of the largest--I believe second to Department of Defense, rightly so, because it is homeland security-- which I have had the privilege of serving since the heinous terrorist act of 9/11. I have never given up this committee because it is close to my heart. It means the protection of the American people day by day that they look to now. Post-9/11, we have a Homeland Security Department.

All of the leaders of that department whom I have worked with, most recently Secretary Kelly, formerly the chief of staff of this White House, and Jeh Johnson, have said in a letter: Open the government.

Mr. Speaker, you will begin to see the unraveling. It is unraveling.

TSA officers make $28,000. Every one of you are going to see them going out and coming back in. You are counting on air traffic controllers to keep the planes aloft. You are counting on pilots and flight attendants to be there pursuant to the aviation system.

I have been hearing pilots and airlines talking about putting pilots on layoff, if you will, because they are frightened about the planes, and they may have to shut down some of the routes.

This is a ripple effect. The Smithsonian system is crumbling, $4 million. They cannot afford one more day.

But I want to get back to our TSOs and all of those line officers, the DEAs, the ATFs, the FBIs under the DOJ are not funded even though essential and working. So why not take this bill that covers Secret Service?

I hope the President's acquiescence and calm tweet announcement acknowledging that there cannot be a State of the Union when the government is in collapse and there is no state of a Union and that we will not have one, sadly, because we do work together, I am saying to my good friends: Pass the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I say to my good friends on this side of the aisle, Republicans: You are going to vote ``no'' on a homeland security bill on the pretense of regular business, the lives of TSOs. One young TSO had to send her newborn baby to her mother because she could not afford to take care of that child. They don't have gas money. They are not allowed to take enormous gifts.

Every time I travel, there they are, the frontline people of this government in the system that is most attractive to terrorists: airplanes. They have never moved away from that.

So I am asking my colleagues to realize the importance of this bill that will fund reopening the government, the Department of Homeland Security, allowing these employees to be paid and begin us on the process of opening government and paying our workers.

God help us.

Madam Speaker, let them eat cake--Marie Antoinette.

The Secretary of Commerce has indicated that my $28,000-paid TSA agent can walk into the Nation's banks and demand a loan. Well, right now, in my district, the city and other good neighbors are opening their doors to give free groceries to those TSOs and other wonderful Federal workers. I don't know what bank they can go into.

I can tell you that Edith, who just returned from deployment in the Middle East, is suffering. She hasn't worked for 25 days. To make matters worse, she has to take temporary work in order to help pay for her children. She now is selling personal possessions to make a difference.

Sandra, who recently came to Houston to work at NASA, came to start on January 7 from Nebraska. She hasn't been able to work; she doesn't have a job; and she doesn't have any money.

Or what about Linda, who has been working and now has to work extra shifts to help pay for her children? She, too, is selling her items for rent, groceries, everything that is needed.

Let them eat cake. That is what is being said by this administration.

Open the government. Pay our workers now.

Mr. Republican, join us in the 11 times that we have voted to open the government now.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to join my colleagues in condemning the President's decision to shut down the federal government, furloughing 800,000 civil servants and forcing nearly half that many to work without pay, and which is costing the economy more than $1 billion each day in lost productive and economic output.

As the Trump Shutdown enters its thirty-fourth day, the effects of President Trump and Republicans' reckless decision to shutter the government over a wasteful and unnecessary border wall are obvious.

A continuing resolution could be passed that would provide funding for the federal government through February 28, 2019 but it has not been done.

Frontline federal employees, including law enforcement and public safety personnel, have been working without pay since December 22. So many people have risked their lives in order to serve this country and the way they have been treated

This includes around 14,000 FBI agents, 54,000 Customs and Border Protection agents, 47,000 Transportation Security Officers, and 6,000 Forest Service firefighters.

TSA employees received their last paycheck on December 28, this single paycheck will now have to stretch much further than they initially anticipated.

The shutdown has already forced some employees to look for new jobs or take on extra work, and the pressure is immense for employees and families with no other source of income.

Among those not receiving a pay check for their work are 3,200 Secret Service agents who risk their lives every single day to protect President Trump and his family.

Speaker Pelosi's decision to delay the State of the Union is in defense of the Secret Service agents who would be forced to work without pay.

In addition to the federal employees working without pay, hardworking federal employees at agencies like the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, and NASA have been furloughed without pay, plunging them and their families into uncertainty.

These are real American families that are being put through an unwarranted and unnecessary shutdown, and they are suffering because of it.

With many federal employees being furloughed, and those deemed essential being expected to work without pay American families are now stuck wondering how they are going to get by without an income, especially since things like rent, groceries, children's prescriptions and general day-to-day living costs must still be paid whether the government is fully functional or not.

The Trump Shutdown will end when the President comes to his senses.

The Republican members of the House and the Republican controlled Senate can send a message to the President to end the shutdown by voting a veto proof margin in favor of a short term continuing resolution.

Not only are Americans struggling to pay for their day-to-day expenses but veterans and military families are suffering as well.

The shutdown has lasted long enough that the Department of Veterans Affairs has said that it may not have enough money to pay disability claims and pension payments.

This could affect approximately 3.6 million veterans.

The military is also suffering in other areas.

For example, changes of station for military personnel will be delayed and facility and weapons maintenance could be suspended.

Military commissaries (base grocery stores) have shut down and military families are being forced to shop elsewhere, costing up to 30 percent more on average than at the commissaries.

The United States Coast Guard is still without funding.

This is an added expense that adds up quickly, especially for military families living in cities with a high cost of living.

Edith Banda who recently returned from a reservist deployment in the Middle East is

among thousands of people in the Houston area feeling the impact of the government shutdown.

Edith has not worked her federal job in downtown Houston since the shutdown 25 days ago.

Making matters worse, she and dozens of others in Houston are unable to seek temporary private sector work because such jobs require permission, and the people who process those requests have been furloughed.

Edith has begun selling her personal possessions to make ends meet, but she said another couple of weeks of no work would be crushing.

There are so many other issues that we could tackle with the money Trump wants to spend on the wall.

With an increase of $265 million the Department of Justice could hire 2,000 new police officers and make steps towards making many communities a safer place.

With an increase of $99 million the Office of National Drug Control Policy could support community-level efforts to address substance abuse programs in nearly 730 additional communities.

With an increase of $200 million the Economic Development Administration could create or preserve 31,000 jobs for our hardworking Americans.

With an additional $20 million Small Business Administration grants could support dozens more Women's Business and Veterans Outreach Centers providing business training, counseling and outreach to 47,000 additional U.S. veterans and women

These are the changes that American citizens deserve.

Madam Speaker, it is critical that the President ends this government shutdown and end the unwarranted suffering of American families across the nation.

Mr. Speaker, what my good friends have not heard is the outrage and cry of the desperate Federal workers, some sending their children to relatives because they cannot support them, museums shut down costing $4 million, TSA officers not able to come to work, and air traffic controllers suffering.

Today, Democrats did again what they have done over and over again. The message is: Mr. President, open the government, pay the workers now, and let us sit down at the table of reconciliation and iron out the question of border security.

As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, I have voted time after time as a Democrat for border security--barriers, drones, technology, jeeps, and laptops. I know what it is. I am from a border State. I have been to the borders in the daylight and in the dark.

Today, we voted to open up Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, financial services, environment, Transportation, Housing, and all of the law enforcement we voted for.

Our simple cry is: Mr. President, understand the pain of America. Open the government, pay the workers, and let's get down to the business of negotiating on behalf of the American people.

Madam Speaker, on Monday, January 21, the nation observed for the 34th time the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.

Each year, this day is set aside for Americans to celebrate the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America.

The Martin Luther King Holiday reminds us that nothing is impossible when we are guided by the better angels of our nature.

Dr. King's inspiring words filled a great void in our nation, and answered our collective longing to become a country that truly lived by its noblest principles.

Yet, Dr. King knew that it was not enough just to talk the talk; he knew that he had to walk the walk for his words to be credible.

And so we commemorate on this holiday the man of action, who put his life on the line for freedom and justice every day.

We honor the courage of a man who endured harassment, threats, beatings, and even bombings.

We commemorate the man who went to jail 29 times to achieve freedom for others, and who knew he would pay the ultimate price for his leadership, but kept on marching and protesting and organizing anyway.

Dr. King once said that we all have to decide whether we ``will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness.

``Life's most persistent and nagging question,'' he said, is ``what are you doing for others?''

And when Dr. King talked about the end of his mortal life in one of his last sermons, on February 4, 1968 in the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church, even then he lifted up the value of service as the hallmark of a full life:

``I'd like somebody to mention on that day Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others,'' he said. ``I want you to say on that day, that I did try in my life . . . to love and serve humanity.''

We should also remember that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was, above all, a person who was always willing to speak truth to power.

There is perhaps no better example of Dr. King's moral integrity and consistency than his criticism of the Vietnam War being waged by the Johnson Administration, an administration that was otherwise a friend and champion of civil and human rights.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929.

Martin's youth was spent in our country's Deep South, then run by Jim Crow and the Ku Klux Klan.

For young African-Americans, it was an environment even more dangerous than the one they face today.

A young Martin managed to find a dream, one that he pieced together from his readings--in the Bible, and literature, and just about any other book he could get his hands on.

And not only did those books help him educate himself, but they also allowed him to work through the destructive and traumatic experiences of blatant discrimination, and the discriminatory abuse inflicted on himself, his family, and his people.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that we celebrate here today could have turned out to be just another African-American who would have had to learn to be happy with what he had, and what he was allowed.

But he learned to use his imagination and his dreams to see right through those ``White Only'' signs--to see the reality that all men, and women, regardless of their place of origin, their gender, or their creed, are created equal.

Through his studies, Dr. King learned that training his mind and broadening his intellect effectively shielded him from the demoralizing effects of segregation and discrimination.

Dr. King was a dreamer and his dreams were a tool through which he was able to lift his mind beyond the reality of his segregated society, and into a realm where it was possible that white and black, red and brown, and all others live and work alongside each other and prosper.

But the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not an idle daydreamer.

He shared his visions through speeches that motivated others to join in his nonviolent effort to lift themselves from poverty and isolation by creating a new America where equal justice and institutions were facts of life.

In the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote, ``We hold these truths to be self evident, that all Men are Created Equal.''

At that time and for centuries to come, African-Americans were historically, culturally, and legally excluded from inclusion in that declaration.

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King's ``I Have a Dream'' Speech, delivered 56 years ago this year, on August 28, 1963, was a clarion call to each citizen of this great nation that we still hear today.

His request was simply and eloquently conveyed--he asked America to allow of its citizens to live out the words written in its Declaration of Independence and to have a place in this nation's Bill of Rights.

The 1960s were a time of great crisis and conflict.

The dreams of the people of this country were filled with troubling images that arose like lava from the nightmares of violence and the crises they had to face, both domestically and internationally.

It was the decade of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and the assassinations of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Malcolm X, Presidential Candidate Robert Kennedy, and the man we honor here today.

Dr. Martin Luther King's dream helped us turn the corner on civil rights.

It started when Dr. King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, with Rosa Parks and others, which lasted for 381 days, and ended when the United States Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation on all public transportation.

But the dream did not die there.

It continued with a peaceful march for suffrage that started in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965--a march that ended with violence at the hands of law enforcement officers as the marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Dr. King used several nonviolent tactics to protest against Jim Crow Laws in the South and he organized and led demonstrations for desegregation, labor and voting rights.

On April 4, 1967, at Riverside Church in New York City, he spoke out against the Vietnam War, when he saw the devastation that his nation was causing abroad and the effect that it had on the American men and women sent overseas.

When the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was stolen from us, he was a very young 39 years old.

People remember that Dr. King died in Memphis, but few can remember why he was there.

On that fateful day in 1968 Dr. King came to Memphis to support a strike by the city's sanitation workers.

The garbage men there had recently formed a chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees to demand better wages and working conditions.

But the city refused to recognize their union, and when the 1,300 employees walked off their jobs the police broke up the rally with mace and Billy clubs.

It was then that union leaders invited Dr. King to Memphis.

Despite the danger he might face entering such a volatile situation, it was an invitation he could not refuse.

Not because he longed for danger, but because the labor movement was intertwined with the civil rights movement for which he had given up so many years of his life.

The death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will never overshadow his life.

That is his legacy as a dreamer and a man of action.

It is a legacy of hope, tempered with peace.

It is a legacy not quite yet fulfilled.

I hope that Dr. King's vision of equality under the law is never lost to us, who in the present, toil in times of unevenness in our equality.

For without that vision--without that dream--we can never continue to improve on the human condition.

For those who have already forgotten, or whose vision is already clouded with the fog of complacency, I would like to recite the immortal words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the

sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners

will be able to sit down together at the table of

brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the State of Mississippi,

a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering

with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an

oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day

live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color

of their skin, but for the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its

vicious racists, with its Governor having his lips dripping

with words of interposition and nullification--one day right

there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be

able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as

sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted,

every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough place

will be made plain and the crooked places will be made

straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and

all flesh shall see it together.

Dr. King's dream did not stop at racial equality, his ultimate dream was one of human equality and dignity.

There is no doubt that Dr. King wished and worked for freedom and justice for every individual in America.

He was in the midst of planning the 1968 Poor People's Campaign for Jobs and Justice when he was struck down by the dark deed of an assassin on April 4, 1968.

It is for us, the living, to continue that fight today and forever, in the great spirit that inspired the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 439, the ``National FFA Organization's Federal Charter Amendments Act.''

H.R. 439 updates the charter of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) to include the Department of Education on its board and governing committee in line with other Congressionally chartered organizations by changing the makeup of the board to consist of the Secretary of Education, or the Secretary of Education's designee who has experience in agricultural education, the FFA, or career and technical education and other individuals representing the fields of education, agriculture, food, and natural resources.

The changes will provide the National FFA Organization more autonomy while allowing it to collaborate with federal agencies on matters of mutual interest.

H.R. 439 also shifts the purpose of the FFA toward agriculture career and technical education, provides for online publications, and allows its headquarters to be located outside of Washington, D.C.

The shift in purpose of the FFA allows it to become an integral component of instruction in agricultural education, including instruction relating to agriculture, food, and natural resources, and helps prepare students for successful entry into productive careers in these fields.

This legislation helps to advance comprehensive agricultural education by supporting contextual classroom and laboratory instruction and work-based experiential learning.

With the changes promulgated by H.R. 439, the National FFA organization will be allowed to develop education materials, programs, services, and events as a service to State and local agricultural education agencies while being a resource and support organization that does not select, control, or supervise State association, local chapter, or individual member activities.

The FFA's mission, which remains the same, is to ``make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.''

FFA has a strong and positive impact in the state I represent.

The Texas FFA was chartered in 1929, and boasts one of the largest state memberships with over 123,000 members of which more than a third are young women.

I am a strong supporter of educational organizations like the FFA.

For instance, each year the Texas FFA conducts career development events over topics such as agricultural advocacy, food science and natural resources, entomology, land evaluation, and public relations.

In 2018, the Texas FFA awarded over $2 million in scholarships to graduating seniors who are ``the most capable and deserving FFA members'' who will be pursuing a bachelor's degree from a Texas college or university.

The FFA gives its members the opportunity to discover their individual talents and values while discovering careers in agriculture and developing leadership skills.

Agriculture is the nation's largest employer, with more than 23 million jobs.

Updating the FFA's Federal Charter means that the 653,359 FFA members in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands will have a national organization that is in a better position to offer them the support and resources they need.

For these reason, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 439.