Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These inalienable rights have served as a compass in guiding us as we strive to create a more perfect Union.

Yet, recently, these rights have been the target of relentless political attacks by a Supreme Court that has seemingly abandoned the promises of our Constitution and by far-right extremists with a radical agenda to dismantle decades of progress to take us back, back to a time when people were ashamed and murdered because the person they chose to love didn't have a certain skin color or was of the same gender and back to a time when women could not access legal and safe reproductive healthcare measures.

Today, I stand in solidarity with the millions of Americans who have been angered by these disgraceful acts to say that I refuse to be taken back because we have come much too far.

Madam Speaker, it has been more than 3 weeks since the Supreme Court ignored the constitutional right to privacy that guaranteed women could make their own reproductive health decisions. Now, States are encouraged to restrict or ban abortion and birth control.

We are now witnessing the horrifying consequences of an extreme agenda to criminalize women's reproductive health decisions, including the arrest of doctors.

Americans overwhelmingly support protecting women's reproductive rights, and I stand here today to affirm their voices and carry out their will.

Last week, House Democrats passed two strong bills to defend women's right to decide. This week, we will once again ensure progress, not regression, when we pass the Right to Contraception Act.

Far-right extremists continue to wage an all-out war to control women's reproductive rights, but we will continue to put people over politics and ensure birth control access for all.

Mr. Speaker, extremists have waged an all-out war against reproductive health freedom, and American bodies are being used as political battlegrounds to advance their radical agenda.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Americans have overwhelmingly voiced their opposition, and we must not ignore them. I am determined to defend reproductive healthcare rights of millions of Americans from all racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, and I implore my colleagues to join me in the fight.

A post-Roe America sets our country's five decades of progress backward and threatens the health of marginalized communities who already face systemic barriers to accessing healthcare. Extremists have proven they will not stop until they have criminalized Americans for their right to take ownership of their reproductive health.

It is time that we make Roe the law of the land.

I urge our colleagues across the aisle to prioritize the will of the people and undo this grave injustice and protect it from being overturned in the future.

Madam Speaker, while the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has impacted millions of Americans, we must also acknowledge its economic and racial implications.

We live in a country plagued by generations of healthcare inequities and racial disparities. Black, Latino, indigenous, and other communities of color already face healthcare barriers and will only continue to suffer in the aftermath of a post-Roe America.

State trigger bills that restrict or ban more than half of a country from reproductive healthcare access have already stripped millions of their fundamental right to decide their reproductive care. But our fight continues.

I implore my colleagues in Congress to unite to pass legislation to protect every American's constitutional right to travel freely and voluntarily throughout the United States, including for reproductive healthcare.

Mr. Speaker, last week I was heartbroken when I learned a 10-year-old rape victim from my home State was forced to cross State lines for an abortion because of Ohio's 6-week ban, which became law when the Supreme Court overturned Roe.

Grief quickly became anger because I know she will not be the last victim of an extreme agenda to criminalize abortion nationwide. The overturn of Roe was a direct attack on Americans' reproductive rights, and it is clear that too many support criminalizing contraceptive care, arresting doctors for offering reproductive care, and even charging women with murder because of their fundamental right to decide.

We must make Roe the law of the land to restore women's fundamental rights and protect other victims from harboring the ramifications of rape.

Madam Speaker, supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic have contributed to rising prices across America. These disruptions included considerable congestion at our ports last year.

In this void, the Port of Cleveland in my district, increased its tonnage by nearly 70 percent, helping to keep goods moving across America and beyond.

Yet, even as congestion has eased, international shipping companies have been charging extremely high fees to transport goods.

This is driving up costs on store shelves and hurting our small businesses while leaving key products waiting on our docks.

Last week, the House passed, and President Biden signed into law the bipartisan Ocean Shipping Reform Act. The law cracks down on these unfair shipping fees.

This will help goods get in and out of docks like the Port of Cleveland quicker, it will reduce costs for families, and it will level the playing field for our businesses. I call that a win-win.

Madam Speaker, I rise to thank my communications director, Conor Fryer, for his commitment to the 11th Congressional District of Ohio and his invaluable contributions to my team and that of my predecessor.

Conor joined the office in 2019 under the leadership of then- Congresswoman and now Secretary Marcia L. Fudge and was pivotal in my transition in 2021. He consistently raised the bar and that of those around him.

When we arrived in Congress, we had a skeleton crew of a staff. Conor always stepped in and stepped up, filling those gaps, from legislation to transportation and everything in between.

His boundless energy, strategic creativity, and Ohio pride has served my constituents well. I wish Conor well as he moves closer to reaching his long-term professional goals. He will be missed.

Madam Speaker, as President Biden pointed out last week, here is the cold, hard truth about gas prices: The last time oil was at its current price, the average price of gas at the pump was about $4.25 per gallon. Today, gas prices are nearly 75 cents higher.

That difference, across just 3 months, is the result of historically high profit margins for refining oil into gasoline.

Oil and gas companies are announcing record profits while Putin's war in Ukraine is driving up prices at the pump. These companies are prioritizing stock buybacks while families are struggling to pay higher prices at the pump.

This is exactly why the House passed the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act last week. Yet not a single Republican voted with us to stop Big Oil from raking in record profits on the backs of hardworking Americans. Families are facing a crunch, and they deserve action.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Pallone for yielding, and I thank Congresswoman Eshoo for her leadership on this bill.

I applaud President Biden for having the foresight to propose the creation of an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, also known as ARPA-H, an agency tasked with driving breakthroughs in cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and other difficult diseases.

The new science moonshot agency is modeled on the successes of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, also known as DARPA. For decades DARPA has driven advances in technologies that have changed our lives for the better. Yet, there are so many things that we take for granted, things like the internet and flat-screen displays. I am confident the same will be true for ARPA-H as it seeks to accelerate advancements in health and medicine. Thanks to President Biden's leadership, my colleagues in Congress funded ARPA-H in March for the current fiscal year.

Yet in order to successfully carry out its mission, ARPA-H needs long-term resources and authorities. That is exactly what this bill does. The ARPA-H legislation would authorize the agency for 5 years and create the structure it needs to successfully drive breakthroughs that would otherwise die in the commercial market.

Yet ARPA-H not only needs long-term funding but also a long-term home. ARPA-H's mission is centered around high-risk, high-reward research, which is a charge that Cleveland has historically proven it is prepared to lead. With world-class healthcare systems, top-tier institutions of higher education, advanced biomedical companies, and a highly skilled manufacturing workforce, Cleveland has a long track record of bringing cutting-edge innovations from discovery all the way to production. This includes groundbreaking medical advancements like the first face transplant in America as well as the region's cutting- edge cancer research.

Now, wherever the agency lands, it will have a meaningful impact on the lives of Americans nationwide for generations to come. Creating ARPA-H with 1 year of funding was a good first step, but it is time to put this new breakthrough agency on firm footing

and in a firm location so we can truly start to revolutionize how we prevent, treat, and cure a range of diseases.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Pallone again for his leadership, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, last week, House Democrats took aggressive action to address rising food prices by passing the Lowering Food and Fuel Costs Act.

The bill would lower costs by doing three things:

First, it will reduce our dependence on overseas fertilizer production. Russia and Ukraine are major producers of fertilizer. Putin's war on Ukraine has driven up the cost of fertilizer for our farmers, and, therefore, for critical staples on our grocery store shelves.

Second, the bill will also crack down on unfair, anticompetitive practices in the meat and poultry sector, helping to drive down the prices of meat products.

Third, and finally, it would expand access to cleaner ethanol blends that cost, on average, 40 cents less per gallon. This will help ease the pain at the pump.

These provisions may sound technical, but they are sound and sensible solutions to lower prices for America's families in the grocery aisle and at the gas pump.

Madam Speaker, rising prices at the pump and at the supermarket are costing families more each month, and higher prices are falling hardest on low-income families, who spend a larger share of their budget on food and gas.

Since the beginning of the year, gas prices have increased by nearly $2. No doubt, this is in part due to Putin's war in Ukraine, but it is also driven by oil and gas companies raising prices on consumers.

Last month, the House passed the Gas Price Gouging Prevention Act to institute the first Federal law against profiteering by oil and gas companies. Today, the House considered and passed legislation to make cheaper and cleaner ethanol blends more available.

These commonsense measures would get gas prices under control and put money back in families' pockets.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Green for yielding. I thank Chairwoman Waters for her leadership on this bill.

For far too long, consumers and businesses in the underserved communities have been blocked from accessing safe and affordable capital and credit. These systemic barriers worsen racial and economic inequality and cut off opportunity for too many Americans.

This critical bill recognizes these changes and supports efforts to eliminate racial disparities in lending.

My amendment is simple. It requires the Federal Reserve's ``Monetary Policy Report'' to include demographic information on individuals with dependent children in its analysis of labor force trends.

Why is it important? Because while the unemployment rate is near historic lows, women with children have been one of the slowest groups to return to work. Solutions like the child tax credit and affordable childcare would help working families better balance childcare responsibilities and their careers. This amendment would ensure we have the data to understand this problem and begin to address it.

I thank Chairwoman Waters, again, for her leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment and the underlying bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Alex Johnson, who will soon be retiring after nearly a decade of service as Cuyahoga Community College's President.

Dr. Johnson retires a pillar of the Cleveland community. His deep commitment to Tri-C's students and forward-thinking leadership helped shape graduates who were prepared for a lifetime of success in Northeast Ohio.

After becoming President of Tri-C in 2014, Dr. Johnson shared his vision for pushing Tri-C into the future by making degree programs, workforce training opportunities and personal enrichment classes more accessible to Northeast Ohioans. As a result, Tri-C continues to expand opportunity through high-quality education and skills training right here in the Greater Cleveland area.

Under Dr. Johnson's leadership, Tri-C's Nursing, Creative Arts, Public Safety, Hospitality Management, Information Technology and Manufacturing programs were reorganized to provide training and pathways for students entering some of the most in-demand career fields. He also spearheaded new investments in workforce training, like the College's Transportation Innovation Center in Euclid, as well as new programs aimed at uplifting those in low-income and distressed areas across the region.

During Dr. Johnson's tenure, Tri-C produced a record number of graduates and increased its graduation rates. It is hard to overstate the impact of this legacy. More students are graduating from Tri-C with the skills and information they need for a lifetime of success. Meanwhile, our workforce grows stronger thanks to the fact that around 85 percent of Tri-C graduates stay and work in the region.

Even in the most trying moments, Dr. Johnson's leadership proved to be crucial. Throughout the tumult of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Johnson served as a steady hand at the helm, ensuring students' continued success. Tri-C successfully transitioned to an on line learning and working environment and scaled its technology capabilities to maintain the school's promise to its students.

Dr. Johnson oversaw an era of growth, adaptation, and modernization at Tri-C, all while remaining committed to the school's core mission of delivering affordable higher education, providing equitable job opportunities, and ensuring successful degree completion. He helped to forge Tri-C into a vanguard of our local community and a model for community colleges nationwide.

Dr. Johnson's legacy is one of true distinction. His tenure as Tri-C president represents the culmination ofa 40-year career in higher education. Beyond his contributions in the classroom, Dr. Johnson has also been an active and leading member of the Cleveland community. He has served on various boards, including the United Way of Greater Cleveland, Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Ideastream, Playhouse Square, MAGNET, Team NEO, and the Greater Cleveland Partnership.

As a Tri-C graduate and the Representative for Ohio's Eleventh District, I deeply appreciate Dr. Johnson's extraordinary leadership, unparalleled vision, and lasting accomplishments. His legacy will only continue to grow through the countless students, teachers, and administrators he impacted.

On behalf of the people of Ohio's Eleventh Congressional District, I would like to thank Dr. Alex Johnson for his years of service as Tri- C's President and congratulate him on his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Alex Johnson, who will soon be retiring after nearly a decade of service as Cuyahoga Community College's president.

Dr. Johnson retires as a pillar of the Cleveland community. His deep commitment to Tri-C's students and forward-thinking leadership helped shape graduates, like myself, who were prepared for a lifetime of success in northeast Ohio.

During Dr. Johnson's tenure, Tri-C produced a record number of graduates and increased its graduation rates, all while remaining committed to the school's core mission of delivering affordable higher education, providing equitable job opportunities, and ensuring successful degree completion. Meanwhile, throughout the tumult of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Johnson served as a steady hand at the helm, ensuring students' continued success.

As a Tri-C graduate and the Representative for Ohio's 11th Congressional District, I deeply appreciate Dr. Johnson's extraordinary leadership, unparalleled vision, and lasting accomplishments. His legacy will only continue to grow through the countless students, teachers, and administrators he impacted.

Madam Speaker, thank you for the kind introduction. I thank Chairwomen Beatty and all my Congressional Black Caucus colleagues for highlighting the significance of Juneteenth during today's Special Order hour.

Madam Speaker, the date was Monday, June 19, 1865; the location, Galveston, Texas. It was 2\1/2\ years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and 2 months after the Civil War ended, 250,000 enslaved Black people in Texas still did not know they were free.

That was until--on that Texas summer day--Federal troops rode into town and a Union general read aloud an order announcing their freedom.

Emancipation didn't happen all at once, and slavery wasn't formally abolished until the passage of the 13th Amendment later that year. That 19th day in June came to be known as Juneteenth, a day celebrating the end of slavery in America.

The year following the 1865 declaration, freedman in Texas organized the first of what became the annual June 19 celebration. Slowly but surely, Juneteenth celebrations spread across the country.

Last year, thanks to the hard work of my friend, my colleague, the dynamic incomparable Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, President Biden signed a bill into law recognizing Juneteenth as a Federal holiday.

Juneteenth is a time to celebrate, and it is a time to take pride in the many contributions of African Americans to our society and our country across the generations.

It is also a time of remembrance and action. On Juneteenth, we acknowledge a dark period in our history and its lasting legacy of inequality and injustice--a legacy that continues to influence our country today. We have made

much progress as a Nation, yet we still have a long way to go. Progress is not possible without a full accounting of both our brightest days and our darkest nights.

As we honor those enslaved Texans who finally learned of their freedom 157 years ago, let us recommit to fulfilling the promise of Juneteenth--and indeed of our Nation at large--by fighting for equality, liberty, and justice for all.