Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Jamye Coleman Williams, who passed away peacefully on January 19, 2022. I extend my sincerest condolences to her daughter, Donna, her extended family and friends, and all who knew and loved her.

Born in Louisville in 1918, Dr. Williams made remarkable contributions to academia, the church, and her community across her inspiring 103-year life. Her trailblazing legacy is a testament not only to the progress of America but also to the ability of bold individuals--specifically brave Black women--to drive the change they wish to seek.

Across her decades-long teaching career at HBCUs, including Ohio's own Wilberforce University, Dr. Williams made key contributions to rhetorical studies, a field long dominated by the study of white male orators. In fact, her dissertation on Thurgood Marshall's Arguments before the Supreme Court in the Public School Segregation controversy was published in 1959 by the Ohio State University, where she was earning her Ph.D.

In addition to her academic career, Dr. Williams was a lifelong member of the A.M.E. church. While remaining active in her local church, Dr. Williams served as a board member of the National Council of Churches and later as editor of The A.M.E. Church Review, the oldest African American literary journal. She also helped to break glass ceilings by supporting Vashti McKenzie's election as the first female A.M.E. bishop.

A tireless community activist, Dr. Williams moved from early involvement in the civil rights movement to later serving as a member of the NAACP's Executive Committee. In 1999, she received the organization's Presidential Award for her critical contributions.

Dr. Williams' legacy of service, activism and education will live on through the students, colleagues and countless individuals she touched. Her commitment to doing her part to advance justice and equality for women and people of color serves as a shining example for us all.

Today, may we honor the memory of Dr. Jamye Coleman Williams, a loving wife, an impactful educator, a committed community activist, and a lifelong church leader.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call for an extension of the critical child tax credit.

Here is the truth: Before expiring at the end of 2021, the expanded child tax credit was working. Payments lowered hunger. They kept nearly 4 million children out of poverty. And they helped countless people make ends meet.

The child tax credit was a critical lifeline for more than 35 million American families. This includes more than 70,000 in my district, which has some of the highest poverty in America.

Shaneice, a mother of three from Cleveland, used the payments to pay rent and afford basic necessities. But now, 2 months after the payments stopped, Shaneice says she is just getting by, and she is looking for side jobs to support her family.

It is time to extend the child tax credit. We cannot--we must not-- let families down.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to highlight how the bipartisan infrastructure law will accelerate last year's record job growth.

In Cleveland and Akron, more than 50 percent of roads have pavement in poor condition. The infrastructure law will help to repave these roads and reduce commute times. The law allows public transit agencies like the RTA and Akron Metro in my district to replace outdated vehicles, build new garages, and expand services.

Ohio has more lead pipes than almost every other State in the country. The infrastructure law will help to ensure every child and family in our region has access to safe drinking water. The law will expand access to safe drinking water, and the law will expand access to high-speed internet to the roughly 30 percent of Cleveland households that currently lack it.

These projects will create thousands of jobs across our State, jobs that come on the heels of last year's record economic job growth. In 2021, we had the greatest year of job creation in history. Unemployment is down, and wages are rising.

Make no mistake, the Biden agenda is creating jobs and delivering results, real results, for the people.

Thank you to the co-leaders, Barbara Lee and Sheila Jackson Lee, my sisters and colleagues.

Madam Speaker, as we celebrate Black History Month, I rise today to join my CBC colleagues and my CBC sisters in honoring the life and trailblazing legacy of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm.

Before me, it was her. Before my predecessor, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, it was her. Before the record-setting number of 27 Black women in Congress today, it was her.

My career in public service rests on the shoulders and the contributions of the iconic Shirley Chisholm. In 1969 she became a political pioneer and shattered racial and gender barriers by becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress.

Her signature slogan, ``unbought and unbossed,'' spoke to her audacity, her sheer sense of will, and her fearlessness in the face of established norms and institutions. And it spoke to her rise as the people's politician, someone willing to speak up and speak out for those embattled by poverty, discrimination, and injustice.

In Congress, she fought for low-income families, for hungry schoolchildren, and for single moms. She was critical to the creation of the national school lunch program. She was critical to the growth of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, and she was critical to the creation of the Women, Infants, and Children's program, known as WIC. Then, as now, these programs reduce the hunger facing American children and families. Today I am proud to carry forth her legacy by fighting for their expansion.

Fifty years ago, Shirley Chisholm made history once again by becoming the first African American and the first woman to run for President. But more than being a mere political first, Shirley Chisholm is best remembered for her grit, her willingness to push on the pedal of progress, and her ability to not just see America for what it is, but for what it could be.

Chisholm understood the challenges women, particularly Black women, were facing in America, and she created a path for women like me. She passed the baton, and now it is up to us to continue the race.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to join President Biden and my colleagues in Congress in calling for action, long-overdue action, to protect the right to vote.

President Biden delivered a powerful speech this week in Georgia, and I am hopeful that this stiffened the spines of some of those here in the Capitol. I know that I want to live in the America of John Lewis, not Bull Connor, and the America of Dr. King, not George Wallace.

Today, I was proud to vote for the vital legislation to protect the essential right to vote. Now the Senate must act, using all available means.

The filibuster is not a law and it is not in the Constitution. It is a tradition that has been misused throughout history to deny civil and voting rights, and it is being used again today. What is in the Constitution? The right to vote.

Ahead of Dr. Martin Luther King Day, it is time to honor those who came before us to secure the America that we live in today. The eyes of history are upon us. We cannot let this moment pass us by.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, for her remarks; Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence; and my leader, my friend, my sister, and my mentor who is the chairwoman of the CBC, Joyce Beatty.

As I rise to make my first CBC Special Order hour speech, I would first like to thank my esteemed Congressional Black Caucus colleagues for welcoming me with open arms after I was sworn in as their newest member days ago; for playing a critical role getting the bipartisan infrastructure bill across the finish line, and for shining the spotlight today on another critical piece of the President's agenda, the Build Back Better Act.

Madam Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus is often called the conscience of the Congress for good reason. The bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law today by President Biden is a historic win for our economy, our communities, and the people of my district and from across this Nation.

Its provisions, from rebuilding our roads and bridges to expanding broadband access and ensuring every person has access to safe drinking water, are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. That is why politicians have talked about getting infrastructure done for years. But today, with critical support from the CBC, we are delivering results--real results--for the people.

But our work does not end there. We know the many challenges that have been holding families and our economy back for generations: high healthcare costs, lack of access to affordable childcare, rising prescription drug prices, students locked out of higher education opportunities, and shameful increases in food and housing insecurity. We know that Black communities have been disproportionately impacted by these many challenges for far too long.

The answer to these challenges is not just more failed tax giveaways for huge corporations. The answer is to make investments in families to improve their lives, boost their paychecks, and lower their kitchen table costs.

The Build Back Better Act delivers desperately needed action to tackle these challenges and lower the everyday costs that burden working families. It lowers healthcare costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug costs for seniors and expanding the ACA to bring down rising premiums. It provides universal preschool for all 3- to 4- year-olds giving every student a chance to have a head start. It expands access to higher education by raising the maximum Pell grant and making large investments in HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions. It includes critical provisions to ensure no child goes hungry and every American has a roof over their head.

Our task now is to pass a bill that reflects the President's agenda and our values: to promote equity, to ensure everyone has the opportunity to find a good-paying job, and to put money back in the pockets of American families by lowering the costs of living. Together with the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the Build Back Better agenda is going to create millions of jobs, reduce poverty, and rebuild the backbone of our country--the middle class. This is what delivering for the American people looks like.

Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Kaptur for her kind introduction.

I rise as the newest Representative for Ohio's 11th Congressional District.

First, I thank my family, including my mom and dad; my siblings, Ray and Nick; my nieces and nephews; aunts; uncles; cousins; and a special birthday shout-out to my cousin, Stephanie. I am guessing this is the best birthday present she has ever received.

I also thank my friends Azuree, Lisa, and Kelly, and their parents; my team; and all of my incredible supporters who helped me along the way.

But most importantly, I thank the great people of my district for placing their trust in me.

I am humbled and honored to have the privilege of serving you, the people of Ohio's 11th Congressional District, in the House of Representatives. I take this responsibility seriously.

I ran for Congress because I believe in the resilience of the community I love and call home; because I believe that public service is always about putting the people first; because I believe that now, with the eyes of history upon us, it is time to build a more just and more equitable future. These are the values I promise to hold close every day as I make your voice heard in Congress.

I enter these hallowed Halls on the shoulders of my predecessors, leaders like Louis Stokes; Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones; and my mentor and my friend, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge. I vow to do the same work that she did as I vow to work for the people and be a voice of the people.

As a proud Clevelander, I know that we are strong and that our work is to emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever. Our work is to rebuild an economy that puts the dignity of working people first, to protect the most vulnerable among us, to ensure every child has access to quality public education, to fight for a day when every person has a roof over their head and food on their plate, to protect the right to vote, and to tackle the other great challenges of our time.

I cannot wait to get to work with my colleagues in Congress to deliver results for the people of northeast Ohio and this great country.