Shomari Figures

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the anniversary of the most defining day of my life to date, September 13, 1996, a fall afternoon.

My mother walked into a waiting room at the University of South Alabama's medical center and announced to a collection of friends, family, and colleagues that my father, Michael Figures, had died. He had suffered a brain aneurysm at the house at the dinner table a couple of nights before and ultimately passed away.

Mr. Speaker, my father was a lot of things to a lot of people. He was a State senator. He was a civil rights advocate. He was a lawyer and a community leader. To me, he was just Daddy.

By any assessment, he exceeded expectations of a Black kid born in 1947 in Mobile, Alabama, in a neighborhood called The Bottle.

He went on to excel academically, went to Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, and was one of a handful of students who were selected to integrate the University of Alabama Law School, and he did that.

Mr. Speaker, 3 years later, he walked out as the first African American to graduate from the University of Alabama Law School.

He didn't stop there. He got elected to the State senate. Because of the Voting Rights Act, he was one of the first three African Americans to walk into that chamber since Reconstruction.

He used that position, as well as being a lawyer, to continue to advocate for rights and to continue to advocate for equality and fairness in communities. You can imagine that Alabama,

at that time, had not experienced them.

He didn't stop there. In 1981, the Ku Klux Klan lynched a young man in Mobile, Alabama, named Michael Donald. My father ultimately brought the lawsuit that resulted in the bankruptcy of the Ku Klux Klan.

I remember that when my father passed away, the condolences started pouring in. President Clinton called the house, and then-Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman called the house, and then Jesse Jackson.

Then, there was one who surprised me: George Wallace--that George Wallace, who, just a few years before my father had integrated University of Alabama Law School, had stood in the schoolhouse doors, famously, to block enrollment of African Americans coming into the school. Later on, their lives would cross paths. As Governor Wallace was winding down his terms as Governor, my father was in the State senate.

As a kid, though I did not fully comprehend or understand the magnitude of my father's impact or who he was or what he was and what he meant to so many people, I knew one thing: that the respect that I saw shown to him as a kid, whether it was at a park ballfield, in the aisles at Home Depot, or at a gas station, I knew I wanted to be like that when I grew up.

This is in an era where Gatorade commercials were plastered around at the time telling kids that ``I want to be like Mike,'' but the Mike I wanted to be like was not a basketball player. He wore a suit to work, and he was my father.

Those footsteps that he left, I would later walk in them. I followed those same footsteps to the University of Alabama, where I got my law degree. I followed those same footsteps to the career that I had at the Department of Justice in seeking to make government work for everybody. I followed those footsteps here to Congress because my father, though he never served in Congress, was a State senator. He was the first Black president of the Alabama State Senate.

He was the named plaintiff, believe it or not, in the Voting Rights Act case that created the first opportunity district for an African American to represent Alabama since Reconstruction, a seat that is now occupied by Congresswoman Terri Sewell. He literally paved the pathway for me to be here some 30 years after his death.

Mr. Speaker, I can stand here today with just a simple message to my father, and that is: I am here because of him. That 10-year-old boy, or barely 11-year-old boy back in September of 1996, became a man, and not just any man. He became a Congressman who can stand on this floor in this House and deliver this speech because of what he and because of what my mother did for me.

As I sit here today, it is only my dream and my hope that one day, my children, the children who I have of my own--I have four now of my own just like my father--that one day they can also look to me with the same admiration, with the same twinkle in their eyes that I did with my father and say, ``I want to be like my daddy,'' and that based on the work that we have done in our lives, that that pathway is made easier and possible for them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Act of 2026, which would authorize Tuskegee Airmen, Incorporated to establish a memorial on federal land in the District of Columbia to commemorate the service, sacrifice, and enduring legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen.

The Tuskegee Airmen are widely recognized for their exceptional combat record, including their escort missions protecting American bombers over the skies of Europe, which was vital to the Allied victory in World War II. During combat, they flew more than 15,000 sorties, escorting bombers and engaging enemy fighters. Their courage, skill, and unwavering determination helped pave the way for the desegregation of the U.S. military. Their achievements effectively broke down racial barriers, expanded opportunities for future generations of Black military personnel, and had a profound effect on the U.S. Armed Forces.

These men defended rights and freedoms abroad that they did not have back at home. They were trained as pilots on Moton Field and on Tuskegee Army Airfield in Tuskegee, Alabama, going on to form units such as the 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group. The Tuskegee Airmen, alongside thousands of Black mechanics, navigators, bombardiers, instructors, and support personnel, were essential to American victory in World War II.

The memorial will serve as an educational resource, designed to teach future generations about one of the greatest, most well-known, most well-decorated fighting forces in this Nation's history, and to highlight the important roles that Black military pilots and support personnel played during World War II.

The Tuskegee Airmen have received numerous accolades for their service, including the Congressional Gold Medal, 14 Bronze Stars, one Silver Star, 3 Distinguished Unit Citations, 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 744 Air Medals, and at least 60 Purple Hearts.

Their legacy has continued through Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., a national nonprofit organization founded in 1972 and incorporated in Washington, D.C., in 1975. The organization was established to preserve the history and achievements of the original Tuskegee Airmen and engage with youth to inspire future careers in aviation, aerospace, and STEM.

It is fitting that Congress enact legislation that would authorize a memorial of the Tuskegee Airmen in our Nation's capital, allowing millions of visitors who travel to Washington, D.C. each year to learn about and honor the extraordinary service and enduring legacy of the Airmen.

I invite all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Tariff Impacted Farmer Support Act of 2026, which would establish a temporary Farmer Support and Revenue Loss Assistance Program to provide targeted relief for producers of cotton, peanuts, soybeans, corn, and poultry. The Trump Administration's tariffs and foreign policies have uniquely impacted these farmers, who are experiencing significant revenue losses due to increased fuel and fertilizer costs and a reduced ability to export their products to foreign markets. This bill seeks to support small and mid-sized family farming operations and ensure that America's producers can continue feeding, fueling, and clothing our Nation.

Farmers across Alabama and the Nation continue to face rising production costs, market volatility, and economic uncertainty that have placed extraordinary pressure on family farming operations. These challenges have been compounded by rising fuel and fertilizer costs due to the Iran War and retaliatory tariffs resulting from the Trump Administration's trade policies, which have reduced export opportunities and created current and future uncertainty in agricultural markets. For farmers operating on thin margins, a single year of substantial losses can threaten the long-term viability of their operations.

Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Alabama's and the American economy, supporting rural communities and generating billions of dollars in economic activity each year. Despite their importance, this Administration has not adequately addressed the harm its policies and decisions have had on farmers. While the Trump Administration extended approximately $20 billion in financial support to the Government of Argentina, American agricultural producers are facing measurable financial strain and need support.

The Tariff Impacted Farmer Support Act of 2026 would authorize up to $15 billion through the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide direct assistance to qualifying agricultural producers of soybeans, cotton, corn, peanuts, and poultry with no repayment obligation. Eligibility would be limited to agricultural producers with gross annual farm revenues of $500,000 or less, consistent with applicable definitions under the Food Security Act. Assistance would be based on documented revenue losses between the 2024 and 2026 crop years, utilizing receipts, contracts, and other producer records to verify eligibility.

I encourage my colleagues to support and cosponsor the Tariff Impacted Farmer Support Act of 2026.