Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, Federal funding for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program is set to expire September 30. This program in the Virgin Islands Department of Health gives at- risk pregnant women and families necessary information, resources, and skills to raise children who are physically, socially, and emotionally healthy and ready to learn.

In June, Republicans in the House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee introduced a bill reauthorizing this program. The legislation, which has yet to receive a hearing, included a 5-year reauthorization, but did not expand funding to meet the growing needs for services. It also included serious modifications to the way the program is run, which advocates fear could have harmful unintended consequences.

Home visiting programs are a critical opportunity to reach at-risk pregnant women and new mothers. The first few years of life are the most rapid period of brain development, and home visiting programs provide support to vulnerable families in the earliest stages of their child's life. Home visiting programs establish a solid foundation by partnering with families to support maternal and newborn health and parent engagement.

I would like to express my support for the reauthorization and expansion of this program, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Chair, I want to thank the chairman and ranking member for agreeing to include my amendment en bloc in the NDAA.

The amendment that we have is a transitioning of the Virgin Islands Active Guard and Reserve from overseas housing allowance to basic allowance for housing.

We know that, in 2013, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness reported that a change would be feasible and would not be difficult to allow Virgin Islands Active Guard and Reserve members to be part of the basic housing allowance.

Congress didn't intend inequitable and unfair treatment to the Virgin Islands Active Guard and Reserve members, and this amendment provides an equitable solution to the disparate treatment of the housing allowance for Virgin Islands Active Guard and Reserve members.

We are grateful for the support and are thankful that our servicemembers will now, in their housing, be treated the same as those in the 50 States and the District of Columbia.

Mr. Speaker, I only have 5 minutes to do justice to a great people, and it is with great honor that I rise today to speak on issues impacting the Caribbean and the contributions of the people of Caribbean heritage to the American fabric.

On June 6, 2006, President George Bush signed a proclamation that was ushered through this House by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, H. Con. Res. 71, naming June Caribbean American Heritage Month. June allows us to highlight the many contributions of Caribbean Americans to the United States.

The campaign to designate June as National Caribbean American Heritage Month was spearheaded by Dr. Claire Nelson, founder and president of the Institute of Caribbean Studies. Through the commemoration of this month, we hope to ensure that America is reminded that its greatness lies in its diversity, with Caribbean immigrants from Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, sports icon Tim Duncan, and journalist Malcolm Gladwell, who have and continue to shape the American Dream.

The Caribbean region was created through violence and trauma, from the exploration and annihilation by Columbus and his Spanish backers on the native people to the French, English, Dutch, Danish, and American use of African, Indian, and others to create income wealth in their nations.

The sweat, labor, and king sugar of the Caribbean people have shaped this and other nations. Our rebellion, innovation, and ingenuity, as well as our independent intellectual intensity, have benefited this and other countries.

As one of the pillars of American patriotism and democracy, Alexander Hamilton was born in Nevis, and raised and educated on the island of St. Croix, where he learned the theories and financial methods of the English, Danes, as well as the West African counting system that created not just the foundation of our financial system, but our Federalist ideas.

During that same time, Caribbean financiers assisted the American Revolution and gave courage through the example of the tremendous victory of the Haitian people over the French, British, and Spanish armies.

But the contributions of Caribbean Americans to the making of America didn't stop with those heroics. The massive migration of Caribbean people to the United States of America, during the early 20th century, gave us another opportunity to make our impact upon the liberation process that was taking place in this country through politics and the arts.

Who doesn't know Hubert Harrison and Edward Wilmot Blyden, intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance? Marcus Garvey, Cicely Tyson, Malcolm X, and Harry Belafonte are all of Caribbean heritage and have personified the enormous dignity, revolutionary spirit, and unyielding intellectual gravitas and sense of self worth that hallmarks Caribbean people and has supported the African diaspora pride during times when those attributes would be desired to be denied by others in this country.

We continue to contribute to this country in many ways. Secretary of State Colin Powell is of Jamaican heritage; Attorney General Eric Holder, Barbados; Senator Kamala Harris, Jamaica; and former Governor David Paterson's family is from Grenada.

We see many of them in great places. As a result, we all have families and friends who have emigrated to the north and contribute to the social, political, educational, and economic prosperity of the United States.

Who doesn't know Beyonce, who is of Bahamian background, who was named by Forbes as the most powerful celebrity? We have Gwen Ifill from Barbados; and Dr. Patricia Era Bath of Trinidad, who invented the Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment. She is the first Black woman doctor to receive a medical patent.

We have Romany Malco of Trinidad, an actor and comedian; Dr. Marcia Roye, who has done research in HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases; as well as Camille Wardrop Alleyne of Trinidad, who works for NASA and the Department of Defense working on low Earth orbit.

This list does not scratch the surface of those making their mark in the United States. There are so many others that I cannot and do not have the time to highlight.

During this month, we have tried to make others aware of the contributions that the Caribbean has. It is not just the contributions we have made, but the commitment that this country should have to its nearest neighbor, the Caribbean.

The Caribbean and the United States have shared a long and prolific history together. The United States is the largest economic partner of the Caribbean; and the Caribbean, that small region, accounts for the third largest receiver of American goods.

The United States needs to act as a buffer to the increased influence of China and Venezuela in the Caribbean through economic projects the U.S. can continue.

As a Delegate representing the only district in the English-speaking Caribbean, I am committed to working with the Caribbean community.

To those young Caribbean people, I see you. Be strong and of good courage. We are a small people, yet mighty in spirit.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I rise to take this Special Order hour on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus.

It is with great honor that I rise as coanchor for the next 60 minutes. We have a chance to speak directly to the American people on the issues of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus, Congress, and the constituents we represent, as well as all Americans.

This evening, myself and coanchor Marc Veasey will discuss two topics: wealth care over healthcare and the contributions of Caribbean Americans.

On the matter of healthcare, Senate Republicans have finally released their draft version of the House-passed American Health Care Act, and it is clear why they kept it behind closed doors all this time. The bill is worse than the one that was passed in the House, with deeper cuts to Medicaid

and a ban on Planned Parenthood funding for 1 year.

Just like the bill that passed the House, this proposal will likely strip coverage for millions of Americans and do nothing to address affordability. This bill is just as mean and heartless as the one the Republicans jammed through the House.

As bad as it already was, Senate Republicans have made TrumpCare even more devastating to Americans on Medicaid, and those include veterans, middle class seniors with long-term care needs, vulnerable children, and pregnant women. No, it is not just minority Black people who are on Medicaid.

TrumpCare's Medicaid cuts will have an especially severe impact in rural America, shutting rural hospitals, an important source of good- paying jobs. TrumpCare fundamentally means higher health costs, millions of hardworking Americans losing healthcare coverage, gutting key protections, a crushing age tax, and stealing from Medicare.

Republicans shut the American people out of writing TrumpCare. And if TrumpCare passes, the American people will be shut out of affordable healthcare, too. Now, after crafting this monstrosity in secret, the GOP wants to rush it to the floor before the American people see the damage it will do, abandoning any pretense of respect for the democratic process.

Democrats in Congress and across the country will continue to fight with all our strength to protect seniors and hardworking families from TrumpCare's assault on their healthcare.

June, as we know, is Caribbean American Heritage Month, and we will later hear from Members of Congress related to that.

At this time, I yield to the gentleman from Fort Worth, Texas (Mr. Veasey), my co-chair, an advocate for his constituents and for all Americans. He sits on the Armed Services Committee and is here to discuss the effect that this bill will have not only on his constituents, but to the people that we care deeply about.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those words. We were discussing the Medicaid expansion and the fact that it is going to disappear after 2023.

The other thing that is going to be removed from this bill is the Prevention and Public Health Fund which presently has billions of dollars that are supportive to the CDC. What is this money used for?

This money is used for preventative block grants that go to all places, like my district, the Virgin Islands, that deal with chronic conditions such as heart disease and hypertension, provide maternal and child care, support public laboratories and research, and maintain vital statistics. Those moneys would be gone if this bill passes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to Mr. Scott, my esteemed colleague from Richmond and Hampton Roads in Virginia, who is the ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, to talk about the issues and how he sees this is important, not only to his constituents, but to America as well.

I thank the gentleman for being here this evening and giving us his thoughts.

Mr. Speaker, it is their loss.

I know the gentleman is still working for them though.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman so much for those thoughts and reflections that we should have about this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Houston, Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee). She has been an advocate for Americans, has spoken, and done so eloquently, related to her work on the Judiciary Committee, as well as Homeland Security, and I am eager to hear what the gentlewoman has to say about healthcare. And as well, of course, as a fellow Caribbean American, I would wish her and her family a Happy Caribbean American Heritage Month, which was, of course, offered by our colleague, Barbara Lee, in 2005.

I thank the gentlewoman so much for that information, for much of the testimonies that you have given for the record.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, it gives me great pleasure to yield to Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who not only represents California in the area of Berkeley as well as Oakland, but is also someone who is a real progressive fighter for the American people, cares passionately about healthcare.

But on this evening when we are also talking about Caribbean American Heritage Month, I have to tell you that, in June of 2005, the House unanimously adopted H. Con. Res. 71, which was sponsored and ushered through by Congresswoman Barbara Lee with other Members, which was recognizing the significance of Caribbean people and their descendants in the history and culture of the United States. On February 14, 2006, the resolution similarly passed the Senate, culminating a 2-year bipartisan, bicameral effort that was issued by President George Bush on June 6, 2006.

Since the declaration, the White House has issued annual proclamations recognizing June as Caribbean American Heritage Month, and it gives those of us of Caribbean-American heritage great honor and a real opportunity to extol and let other Americans know about the contributions, the issues that are important to us.

I thank Congresswoman Lee for bringing that forward and for ushering that through. It is really, I feel, quite often that we get subsumed, that the experiences of Caribbean Americans often get glossed over, and I want to thank her for affording us the opportunity to have this month to be able to talk among ourselves and among other Americans about the things that we have done.

I yield to the gentlewoman from California to discuss healthcare as well as Caribbean American Heritage Month.

It says a lot for what we can accomplish.

I thank the gentlewoman for that information and for her passionate words.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), who is an advocate for people throughout this country, not just Wisconsin, and who is a poet along with being a great Congresswoman.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Speaker, it is with enormous, not just gratitude, but great pride, actually, to yield to someone who, to me, is one of my big sisters here, who is the champion in the House, the foundation for those of us within the Caribbean Caucus who are Caribbean Americans here in the Congress. She represents probably one of the largest Caribbean constituencies in the United States, that being part of Brooklyn, New York, which I tell everybody is the largest Caribbean island in the world.

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke is a great member on the Committee on Energy and Commerce. She is one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Caribbean Caucus, and she is a passionate progressive advocate for healthcare and for all care for Americans and for those who have been forgotten.

I am so glad and so grateful for the gentlewoman's continued efforts to raise the level of awareness on issues related to the Caribbean Basin, of Caribbean Americans here in the United States, and the African diaspora as a whole, that we are not a monolithic group, that we have a richness and a variety within even Americans who are of Caribbean descent here in America. And that needs to be celebrated and discussed, and the achievements and how we all, as a mosaic, make America great by being part of different cultures.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke) this evening to discuss healthcare and Caribbean American Heritage Month.

Mr. Speaker, I find it very interesting for myself that we have Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and the next Member to come up is also from New York. Both of them have been Representatives of districts that I have lived in and that my family lives in. They represent what I think of when I think of my parents who live now in Congressman Meeks' district, and my mother who was partly raised in Congresswoman Clarke's district. My parents represent most Caribbean Americans who come to this country--people who come here with not much, who are willing to work hard, who believe that the sacrifice toward education and support of their families and helping others to come and find good, stable jobs and create middle class is what America is about.

We have contributed so much, and we can talk about so many of the Caribbean Americans who have done amazing things in this country. But it is those individuals who we do not talk about--our parents, our families--who come to this country, who provided the stability for others. It is why we are so concerned about the temporary protective status of Haitians--the 50,000 Haitians who are hardworking Haitians in this country, who are being sent back, who are now here working hard and sending so much money back that is the backbone of the economy of Haiti, who we cannot let go back because that country will collapse with them, leaving this country, and being good citizens--as much as they can be citizens--yearning for the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Meeks represents Queens, which is one of the backbones of Caribbean Americans. He is my parents' Congressman. The gentleman has been so good to the people that he represents as well as all the American people. The gentleman sits on the Committee on Financial Services. He also

sits as a member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, where he advocates and speaks for those individuals who cannot speak for themselves.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have left.

I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans), and I will close out after that.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 8 o'clock and 39 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, with this being Caribbean-American Heritage Month, I wanted to highlight and congratulate a native Virgin Islander who is now the new commander of the USS Gabrielle Giffords, which was commissioned this past weekend in Texas.

The USS Gabrielle Giffords, the 16th ship to be named for a woman and only the 13th ship to be named for a living person since 1850, is, in fact, commanded by Keith Woodley, a native of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, a graduate of Florida A&M and the Florida Institute of Technology.

At the commissioning of the ship, Commander Woodley stated: ``This is not just a new ship. This is a new class of ship. . . . They have risen to that challenge and performed exceptionally well in getting this ship ready for service.''

I would be remiss in not also acknowledging, during Caribbean- American Heritage month, Alton Adam, born in 1889, who was also from St. Thomas and the U.S. Navy's first bandmaster. His music was performed by numerous bands and continues to be performed.

I also, of course, want to wish my parents a happy 58th wedding anniversary today. We love you. God bless you.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to coanchor this CBC Special Order hour.

I would like to acknowledge the great work and the leadership of our chair, Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, and, of course, my coanchor, Marc Veasey of Texas, as we lead the discussion for the next 60 minutes.

In these next 60 minutes, we have a chance to speak directly to the American people on issues of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus, Congress, and the constituents that we represent.

In this hour, we would like to discuss racism and discrimination in America and, specifically, hate crimes and the radicalization and the domestic terrorism that they present to the American people.

The conclusion of Dylann Roof's trial a few month's ago is the latest reminder that homegrown terrorism has become part of the fabric of life in America. This problem shows no signs of fading yet reveals a threat that is both rare and more complex than simple explanation suggests.

Solving the issue of domestic terrorism through hate crimes involves understanding the true nature of the problem--violent domestic extremism--so that effective steps can be taken to protect the Nation from it.

It is legitimate to ask whether homegrown terrorists are being radicalized. We talk about jihadi narratives and Islamic extremism, the Islamic State group recruiting online; but there are other groups in this Nation which are radicalizing our youth, radicalizing young people to be a threat against other Americans. This is a subject and a discussion that has rarely been discussed and which we believe is very important.

Since 2001, almost 40 percent of the nearly 150 terrorism fatalities in the United States were related to domestic motivations, not jihadi narratives. It is my hope that in the discussion we will have this hour we are able to discuss in depth the effect that these hate crimes and this domestic violence has on the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter that was written June 7, 2017, by the Congressional Black Caucus to the Honorable Jeff Sessions, Attorney General; Andrew McCabe, Acting Director of the FBI; and John Kelly, Secretary of Homeland Security, in which we express our concern over the alarming number of hate crimes reported across the country, particularly in the wake of the election of President Donald J. Trump.

Congressional

Black Caucus,

Washington, DC, June 7, 2017.

Hon. Jeff Sessions,

Attorney General, Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

Andrew McCabe,

Acting Director, Federal Bureau of Investigations,

Washington, DC.

Hon. John Kelly,

Secretary of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland

Security, Washington, DC.

Dear Attorney General Sessions and Acting Director McCabe:

I write today to express my concern over the alarming number

of hate crimes reported across the country, particularly in

the wake of the election of President Donald J. Trump. In

addition to speaking out against this rising tide of hate,

violence, and intolerance, it is critical that your agencies

proactively investigate each and every incident of a

potential hate crime and aggressively prosecute these cases

to the fullest extent of the law.

During the presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald

Trump employed starkly divisive rhetoric to connect with a

segment of his base that relished in cultural grievance and

hatred. His tone and the arguments that he made were

incredibly offensive to minority communities, and his

campaign rallies were forums for some of the ugliest public

displays of race-based violence and animus in modern

political times. Numerous Black Americans were assaulted at

his rallies and scenes of deep racial resentment against

Blacks, Hispanics, immigrants, and Muslims were frequently

paraded and celebrated.

Since the election, it seems hate-filled individuals have

been emboldened to terrorize minority communities. In just

the first 34 days after the election, the Southern Poverty

Law Center counted a total of 1,094 bias incidents around the

nation. Disturbingly, the Center also calculated that 37

percent of these cases directly referenced either President-

elect Trump, his campaign slogans, or his infamous remarks

about sexual assault. This data is just from the immediate

aftermath of the election. The numbers have increased since

then, with national news providing coverage. These are not

isolated incidents, but rather a frightening trend forming

before our eyes.

In fact, this is occurring in Congress' own back yard, like

the horrific hate crime that took place just a few miles away

at the University of Maryland when Richard Collins III, a

promising young man, was stabbed to death on the eve of his

graduation from Bowie State University by an admitted white

supremacist. There have also been several reports of nooses

hung throughout the District of Columbia, including in the

African American Museum of History and Culture and on

American University's campus. To add insult to injury, a

Mississippi lawmaker recently called for Louisiana

politicians to be ``lynched'' for supporting the removal of

racist confederate monuments from New Orleans.

Surely there is no greater cause of a government than to

protect the lives of its citizens, particularly those

uniquely vulnerable to hate, intolerance, and violence. The

federal hate crimes statutes were designed with that mission

in mind and serve as a critically important tool in

combatting the most insidious elements of our society. That

is why I implore you to dedicate additional resources within

your respective agencies to address the increasing frequency

of these deplorable acts. you should and must investigate

each and every potential hate crime and prosecute offenders

to the fullest extent allowed under the law. You should also

ensure that community leaders, including state and local law

enforcement, understand the federal resources available to

investigate and prosecute hate crimes.

Your leadership is required to not only bring justice to

the victims of hate crimes, but also to send a clear message

that these acts of domestic terrorism will never be tolerated

in this country.

Sincerely,

Cedric Richmond,

Chair, Congressional Black Caucus.

In addition to speaking out against the rising tide of hate, violence, and intolerance in this country, it is critical that those agencies--the FBI, the Department of Justice, as well as Homeland Security--speak out and proactively investigate each and every incident of potential hate crime and aggressively prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law.

Since the election, it seems that hate-filled individuals have been emboldened to terrorize minority communities. In just the first 34 days after the election, the Southern Poverty Law Center counted a total of 1,094 bias incidents around the Nation. Disturbingly, the center also calculated that 37 percent of these cases directly referenced either President-elect Trump at the time, his campaign slogans, or infamous remarks about sexual assault. This data is just from the immediate aftermath of the election. The numbers have increased since then.

It is the responsibility of this Congress as well as those agencies to stem this flow of violence that is occurring in this Nation. We know that our President would not tolerate these sorts of matters, and we are hopeful that he, the Justice Department, the FBI, and Homeland Security will do whatever is necessary to protect American lives from hate crimes that are occurring, domestic terrorism, and the radicalization of our young people to exert hate against other Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey), my coanchor, to speak on this issue. Then we will have an opportunity to hear from other members of the Congressional Black Caucus about this.

Congressman Veasey, I think it is important, one of the things you talked about is what is going on in our homes and the fact that our children can be radicalized outside of the home. This is an opportunity for us as Americans to see the victimization even of those children who become a part of the alt-right, who become a part of neo- Nazi groups; that they are, in fact, being radicalized by these very disturbing groups, and that we, as leaders in America, have a responsibility.

That is why I am asking unanimous consent to have the letter that was written by Chairman Cedric Richmond put into the Record--the letter of June 7 that went to the FBI, to Homeland Security, as well as to the Justice Department to ask them to investigate and take proactive stances; not just to protect those individuals who are victimized when violence occurs, but to protect those young people and others who may be untowardly influenced by social media to become part of these groups.

I think that is a great point that you bring up, as well as our President becoming someone who can lead the charge against this. We see the rise of this activity during his campaign and after his election. Well, then our President needs to be the one to be Presidential and to stem this influence and this rise of hate crimes that are taking place.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am asking that our colleague, Donald Payne, from the great State of New Jersey, who has done an amazing amount of work in his own community in the area of Newark in trying to stem violence and criminal justice, the reform work that he is doing, to speak on this matter this evening. I thank him so much for the time that he is giving us. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).

Thank you so much, Mr. Payne, for your words, your enlightenment, and for sharing that very personal piece of you and your own experience. There are so many African Americans and so many people of color in this country who have those exact same experiences.

Whether it is us, personally--I know I have mine exactly like that. You know, I have four sons, and each one of them have had that kind of experience here in this country.

With the rise of hate that is occurring, we have to be careful for every American and we need to be concerned that this country is no longer becoming a safe place for groups of individuals; that there are people that are rising up and attempting to terrorize other Americans. This should be of concern to Congress. This should be of concern to our President.

I thank Mr. Payne again for that.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee from Texas, who sits not only on the Budget Committee, but, very relevant to our discussion this evening, is one of the senior members of the Judiciary Committee, as well as Homeland Security Subcommittee, where so many of these issues form a confluence.

Thank you so much for being with us this evening, Congresswoman Jackson Lee. We look forward to your remarks and to the enlightenment that you will be giving us here in this Chamber as well as the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman for her leadership on issues related to the Judiciary Committee and to others.

At this time, I would like to invite the Congressman, not just from New York, but from, of course, what I believe is the best, most illustrious borough in New York City--Brooklyn, of course, which is where I was born and raised.

Thank you so much, Congressman Jeffries, for your leadership on the Judiciary Committee, your discussions about the issues that we are discussing here this evening, and I am waiting to hear what you are going to not only present to us here in this Chamber but to the American people on this issue.

I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries).

I thank Congressman Jeffries and I really appreciate his remarks. I know that this House has rules and is concerned about decorum in here. We at the Congressional Black Caucus are also very concerned about decorum. While we uphold the position of the President of the United States, many individuals--particularly constituents, the underserved within our communities--are fearful about us actually speaking out, specifically to the personage and to the person of President Donald Trump.

What we are trying to do in this Special Order is speak unrefutable facts; not about the personality, not subjective discussion about the President, not our feelings, and not our fears, but the actual facts of what has happened in this country and what is happening in this country because that is life for our children, that is the very essence of us continuing, and that is what democracy is about.

If we cannot critique the actions of our President, then that is very fearful

to us as Americans and very fearful to this House, which is supposed to be a separate branch of government and which I recall maybe a year ago it speaking very vehemently against the person who was in the White House at that time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman), who is my classmate. I thank Congresswoman Watson Coleman for her work, particularly in working with other Congressional Black Caucus women to found the Caucus for Black Women and Girls, which is very important right now because this is a forgotten group quite often here in the United States, and the gentlewoman is advocating and speaking out for those individuals.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman very much for her inspiring words and motivation to us all.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans). We always bring up the fact that Congressman Dwight Evans is a freshman, but he isn't really a freshman. Everybody acknowledges his leadership in his work in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the State house that transcends him as a freshman. We call the gentleman a superfreshman in that respect because he comes with a great deal of experience and wisdom here to the House floor. I am very anxious to hear what the gentleman has to speak about related to hate crimes and the rise of domestic terrorism against people of color and against minorities here in this country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for his remarks and continued work to discuss middle communities, middle neighborhoods, and the importance of these communities and how they need to be protected.

Congressman Veasey, we have had a discussion here this evening about so much of the rise in hate crimes and the rise of racial tensions. I know that this weekend Puerto Rico had its plebiscite in which they talked about becoming a State.

One of the things that I often talk to people about is the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico, all of us are territories now after 100 years.

It was never the intent of Congress for areas of the United States to be a territory for 100 years except for the fact that these are now people of color. These are communities of people of color. So based on the insular cases 100 years ago which said that the people living in the territories and offshore territories were people of alien races who couldn't understand Anglo-Saxon principles of law, that is why we were not able to have the full-fledged rights of American citizens.

Now we are seeing, even here on the mainland, individuals, people of color, who are being treated as second-class citizens and who are not afforded the full protection of this country.

When you have incidents like on May 20 with Richard Collins, on May 26 with Jeremy Joseph Christian, who began shouting racial slurs at two women on a Portland, Oregon, train, and as the two men stepped in to de-escalate the situation, those two great men were stabbed to death, and a third man was wounded, much needs to be done.

We have our moments of silence when there are mass shootings. We mourn for the families of Pulse nightclub and for what happened in those areas. But it is not enough for us to have Special Order hours, to have discussions, or even have moments of silence. Action must be taken by this administration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, I know that there were other issues that the gentleman wanted to discuss with regard to some of these and examples that he wanted to give as well, and I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

I think he knows now.

That was in the 1970s, I believe.

Actually, they weren't men at the time. They were teenagers.

Part of leadership is expressing your shortcomings and using that as an opportunity to move forward and to move the Nation forward. So many people look to our President for his leadership and for his thoughts and his out-of-the-box thinking. This would be tremendous not only to the people who are being oppressed, but to others as well.

One of the things I wanted to leave us with was a quote and some work that the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is working on, that has a mission to secure equal justice for all through the rule of law, targeting, in particular, the inequities confronting African Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities.

In December 2016, Kristen Clarke, who is the president, stated: ``Hate

crimes and hate-filled incidents stand as a dark cloud over our democracy. The recent spike in hate crimes is attributable, in part, to racially charged rhetoric that characterized the 2016 election cycle and the rise of `alt-right' white nationalist extremism. This is a moment that calls for Federal, State, and local officials to use every tool in their arsenal to fully investigate and prosecute these incidents when they occur.''

And we from the Congressional Black Caucus say, as well, to eradicate this from our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this month marks the end of the school year for students. And, of course, that means graduation and promotion celebrations.

I want to congratulate all of our students on their achievements and their proud family members.

To our teachers, faculty, and staff, we thank you for your continued commitment to educating our children. We know that there are many challenges in today's learning environment, but amid the challenges we face, you stand strong. We appreciate all of your work.

As a representative in Congress for the Virgin Islands, I pledge to continue to support legislation and initiatives that make our children, teachers, and administrators a priority.

To the students of the U.S. Virgin Islands, I have a message for you: During these summer months, please take this time to continue to learn, participate in the Governor's reading challenge, find a new hobby, work, and please explore the natural wonder of our home, the Virgin Islands of the United States. Be safe, and best wishes to you all as you continue a productive educational journey. Have a safe and fun- filled summer.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my family and staff, I want to salute and commemorate the fallen veterans of the United States Virgin Islands and throughout the United States as we prepare to celebrate or participate in this Memorial Day observance.

Memorial Day is the day our Nation gathers to honor the many men and women who have selflessly defended this country and have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the public and our democratic principles.

The Virgin Islands proudly served and sacrificed its sons and daughters to American freedom, even before it was a part of this Nation. Our service history is rich and will continue. After becoming a part of this country 100 years ago this year, we lobbied, petitioned, for the responsibility to be a part of the draft. We shirk not from our duty.

The Virgin Islands, along with the other territories, send more men and women per capita to serve in the U.S. military than anywhere in the United States, and have more fallen veterans per capita than anywhere else.

I take this opportunity to thank and extend condolences to these men and women, their families, for their bravery, strength, sacrifice, and courage. We as citizens, and as a community, are forever indebted to our servicemen and -women. Our resolve is that their sacrifice is not in vain as we continue to fight for liberty and justice for all, both home and abroad.

Mr. Speaker, just as we vow to leave no soldier behind on the battlefield, we here in Congress will not forget any veterans when they return home.

Mr. Speaker, today the President put forth his budget proposal. The budget includes roughly $2.5 trillion in cuts to programs that help struggling families and elderly and disabled people afford the basics, like putting food on the table, keeping a roof over their heads, and affording healthcare.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, would be cut by $192 billion over the next decade. Medicaid, the health program for the poor, would be cut by $800 billion. TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, would be cut by $21 billion. In 2014, 20 percent of the population of my district, the Virgin Islands, received SNAP. SNAP feeds primarily poor children. In 2013, 19 percent of Virgin Islands' children were covered under Medicaid. Another 27 percent went without any health coverage at all.

Mr. Speaker, budgets are about priorities. Unfortunately, our President's priorities are clear: more tax cuts for the wealthy taking precedence over ensuring that poor children have enough to eat, that people with physical and mental disabilities can make ends meet, and that low- and moderate-income Americans have access to healthcare. The budget would make inequality and poverty significantly worse, while allowing deficits, when honestly measured, to soar. Mr. Speaker, we must reject this budget.

Madam Speaker, as I stand here, our world stands at a crossroads. As I stand here, 20 million stand at risk of starvation at the hands of what has the potential to become the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II: famine in South Sudan and impending famine in northeast Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen. Additional

funding is needed to avert the destabilization of entire regions and to support refugees fleeing into neighboring countries.

Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of Members proposed that the U.S. allocate $1 billion in emergency funding for famine response. Thanks to those efforts, Congress pledged to provide $990 million in emergency funding in fiscal year appropriations.

Foreign aid is an investment. It makes our country, and those overseas fighting for us, dramatically safer. With leadership comes responsibility. Providing aid is a moral imperative.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to anchor this CBC Special Order. For the next 60 minutes, we have a chance to speak directly to the American people on issues of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus, Congress, the constituents we represent, and all Americans.

Tonight, we will highlight the President's action to undermine our national security, including, but not limited to, abruptly firing FBI Director Comey in order to ease pressure on the Russian investigation just 1 day before sharing classified information with a Russian official.

Madam Speaker, many in this country believe Congress continues to have trouble accomplishing the basic requirements of its job. Up until a few weeks ago, we were still scrambling yet again to complete spending legislation to prevent a government shutdown.

If the only measure of national security success during the President's first 100 days were avoiding catastrophe, okay, President Trump has succeeded: no attacks on the U.S., no new wars, no nuclear Armageddon.

These are good things, and in the moment we can breathe a sigh of relief. However, these outcomes, arguably, owe more to the national security machine built by the President's predecessors than any decision of the 45th President.

President Trump's first major budget proposal will be released tomorrow. It is reported to include massive cuts to Medicaid and will call for drastically and unprecedented changes to antipoverty programs.

As for Medicaid, the State Federal programs that provide healthcare to low-income Americans, Trump's draconian budget plan would follow through on a bill passed by House Republicans to cut more than $800 billion over 10 years.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that this would cut off Medicaid benefits for 10 million people over the next decade. That is unacceptable.

The dysfunctional relationship between Congress and the Trump administration has helped to bog down and complicate the fiscal 2017 budget process and has stymied the work of this Congress when it comes to passing legislation that will help our constituents.

A recent survey found that 48 percent of Americans now prefer increased government spending in areas like healthcare, veterans care, education, and infrastructure--things that the people of my district, the Virgin Islands, desperately need, with a 15 percent unemployment rate and 33 percent of our children living in poverty.

It is time for Congress to get back to work for the people that have put us here.

I want to highlight three pieces of legislation that I have introduced that will help my constituents in the Virgin Islands in various ways.

With a special counsel now having been appointed to look into the distractions the White House has created, it is time that Congress focus on our job and proceed to hold hearings on these bills followed by a vote on the House floor, and, hopefully, these commonsense bills will be signed into law by the President.

Healthcare: President Trump and the Republican Congress are planning to cut more than $800 billion out of Medicaid funding over 10 years while converting the program to a cap block grant to the States and territories and eliminating ACA's Medicaid expansion. These provisions are in the American Health Care Act, the House GOP's ObamaCare repeal bill.

As a Member representing the Virgin Islands, I believe we need to get back to doing the work of the people, and that is working to pass laws that better the lives of our constituents.

I introduced improving the treatment of the U.S. territories under the Federal healthcare program, which would eliminate existing inequities the territories face under Medicaid and Medicare. There are numerous bills that my other colleagues have introduced to assist their constituents and all Americans in areas of healthcare. We need to bring those bills to the floor and vote them up or vote them down.

Veterans: There are few places in the United States with higher per capita rates of military service than the United States Virgin Islands. As a Member, I am committed to ensuring Virgin Islands veterans have full and equal access to health, housing, education, and employment benefits they have rightfully earned. Our constituents have deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq more than 30,000 times since September 11, and about 120,000 military veterans live in the territories, yet none are allowed to cast a ballot to choose their Commander in Chief.

We need to remember that nearly 4 million Americans call Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa home, a combined population greater than 22 States. We represent those Americans in the U.S. House who cannot vote for their interests on the House floor. Our constituents are denied representation in the U.S. Senate and are barred from the general election for President and Vice President. When the Presidential vote was tabulated in 2016, it was as if 4 million Americans we represent do not exist. There is a time, however, when our people are counted--when the country goes to war.

I have introduced H. Res. 91, which proposes an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding Presidential elections, voting rights for residents of all United States territories and commonwealths.

Education: We have to fix the education system. We have to give our young people better choices. We need to allow our children to be able to be educated in a place that is hospitable to learning. That does not occur right now in many places in the United States. The President's budget cut would remove support to schools for infrastructure, for afterschool programs, and for summer reading programs.

We cannot continue with this if we want to have national security. National security is the security of our young people to be educated and to grow safely. That is not happening in the Virgin Islands or anyplace in the United States at this time.

I recently introduced the United States Virgin Islands College Access Act of 2017, which will allow college students who are residents of the Virgin Islands to receive more reasonable tuition rates at participating 4-year institutions of higher education.

It is time for Congress to stop doing business as usual. With budget decisions impacting everything from national security to infrastructure investment, Congress needs to focus on doing its job and doing it with more than the next few months or current fiscal year in mind. Moving forward, we as Members of Congress need to make sure that we deal with our legislative and budgetary responsibilities with more thoughtfulness and foresight.

Congressman Dwight Evans represents the wonderful city of Philadelphia and the people of Pennsylvania. He is a legislator of many years. Although he comes here as a freshman,

none of us consider him as a freshman having served in the legislature in Pennsylvania for more than 20 years. I would ask him to speak on the topic that the Congressional Black Caucus' Special Order hour has introduced: What Do We Have to Lose: National Security.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans).

Madam Speaker, I thank the Congressman so much for his comments.

I think it was very interesting that the gentleman was saying that the American people and people that he spoke with over the weekend want the truth. I think that is what we all here in Congress want. We want the facts. We want to hear specifically what has happened so that the people of the United States can make a decision about what happens next.

I am not here to ask for impeachment or ask for any rash decision, but I am asking that the American people be able to see a transparent Congress and a transparent process that allows them to then speak to us as Members of Congress as to what they would like.

Several months ago, almost 2 months now, several colleagues of mine and I wrote a letter to the Department of Justice, to the Acting Attorney General, requesting that he institute a special counsel, a special prosecutor, in this matter. We are grateful that that has happened. But a special counsel cannot replace an independent, outside commission and vigorous congressional investigation.

The appointment of a special counsel speaks to the urgency of investigating the Trump connection to Russia's interference in our election and the gravity of the President's abuse of power in trying to shut down the FBI Director; but the American people need to understand that, while a special counsel could bring charges against those individuals who were, in fact, if the facts prove to be so, in collusion with the Russians, it cannot do anything to the President except bring a report to this Congress for this Congress to act on.

This Congress needs to remember that we are a separate branch of government than the White House. This Congress seems to be acting as if it is part of the White House, an extension of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, when, in fact, this Congress stands alone.

We have a separate set of rules, a separate power, and a separate responsibility than the President of the United States. As such, Madam Speaker, it is important that we demonstrate to the American people that we are acting that way. A special counsel within the Trump- controlled Justice Department cannot replace a truly independent, outside commission, because it is the commission which would then be able to make a decision about our President.

I say it is our President because we all respect the Office of the President, and we want the world to know that we respect and hold in reverence the individual who holds that and hold him accountable for that position that he holds. An independent, outside commission, as special counsel, Director Muller's actions will still be subject to review and approval by the President Trump-appointed leadership of the Justice Department.

Congress must act to create an independent, outside commission that is completely free of the Trump administration's meddling. A special counsel cannot be used as a pretext for Republicans to shut down investigations by Congress or hide the facts of the President's wrongdoing from the American people.

Now, I have heard the Justice Department and others talk about this being a criminal investigation, that the special counsel is using it as a special criminal investigation. As a lawyer, as someone who has been a prosecutor, I understand that the burden of proof for criminal charges are much different than this Congress would hold for a President if it were to ask for impeachment.

So this Congress must not abdicate its responsibility because the work needs to be done. Jobs need to be created and infrastructure needs to be put in place so that commerce can be done in this country. Healthcare needs to be put in place for Americans. We cannot lose more Americans' healthcare. We need to gain more Americans having healthcare. We need to settle the issues of immigration.

Madam Speaker, never mind criminal justice reform. It seems that this Congress has completely forgotten that, in the last Congress, we agreed, both Republicans and Democrats, to reform criminal justice. We are seeing our young people die not from the Justice Department and not just from what is happening on the streets, and never mind what is happening in our criminal

justice system. I understand that a bill is going to be coming on the floor asking for minimum mandatory sentencing for a slew of charges which will again increase the school-to-prison, cradle-to-death pipeline of prisons in this country.

So these are the things that we as Congress need to be concerned with. The national security issues that our President has are things that we need to continue to look at.

There is an old Washington cliche: personnel is policy. The same reflects the wisdom that any President's agenda depends on his political appointees to refine and implement that vision. Trump's White House has failed first and most spectacularly in this requirement. That failure may not even be the President's failure at this time but the people he has put in place by both building a dysfunctional White House and National Security Council and by failing to staff his national security agencies with the appointees necessary to oversee and direct foreign policy.

For now, the failures of Trump's political favorites with his new establishment professionals likely mean incoherence on the national security front for some time, with the White House lurching from one crisis to the next, its actions and words disconnected from any broader doctrine.

Bad personnel decisions have also dogged the Trump administration during its first 100 days. Michael Flynn and K.T. McFarland hardly did well in leading the NSC during their brief sojourns there. Low-level hires have also continued poor performance.

The most obvious foreign policy failures are that there is no policy, no doctrine, no strategy that knits together Trump's desired ends with the government's ways and means. That should be of concern to my Republican colleagues who want this Republican President to succeed. If you want him to succeed, you need to help him. The help needs to come in terms of the personnel that he has put in place, in terms of the transparency, and as they said, cleaning the swamp, getting rid of the swamp, so that there can be those professionals and those above reproach in the White House carrying out the mission of this President.

At the agency level, the Trump's White House political appointments machine has been incredibly dysfunctional, reportedly because of fights between the White House factions over personnel picks.

This has starved the Pentagon, State Department, Justice Department, and other agencies of under secretaries, assistant secretaries, deputy assistant secretaries, special assistants who actually are carrying out the President's agenda.

In the absence of an entire team, the uniformed military leadership and career civil servants of these agencies have carried on, but with significant friction given the personal disdain for these people during the campaign and afterwards.

The personnel failures have worsened the second category of the failures, those of process. If there was personnel, we also have process failures going on right now.

The NSC was codified in 1947, along with the modern Defense Department, CIA, and Joint Chiefs of Staff to correct perceived process failures during World War II. The big idea behind the National Security Act was to create a process that could withstand poor personnel by ensuring the institution of the presidency was well served by its national security agencies and could, therefore, make better informed decisions.

Despite its aspirations to run the White House like a fine-tuned machine, the administration has uniformly failed to implement processes to serve its agenda. Indeed, at times--an example being the 63-hour rush to strike Syria with cruise missiles or its announcement of a tax plan before the details were ironed out--the White House seems at war with the very idea of process, as if budgets, planning, and coordination were toxic features of the Washington swamp, to be rejected at all costs.

The biggest process failures have been those that affected the entire government. Trump's failure to develop detailed budgets, let alone to agree with Congress on the funding levels and priorities, nearly led the country to the brink of a government shutdown. All indications point to the impasse being settled, but the outcome will likely be a continuing resolution once again that punts all the major budget decisions and keeps agencies in limbo on major programs, including, if we are talking about national security, major weapons systems, acquisitions, spending on important training and exercises, and outlays for servicemembers and military families. This is something that is going to cause all Americans to suffer, spectacularly in some cases.

One of the President's biggest campaign promises, the pledge to build a wall on America's border with Mexico, has stalled for lack of funding, and proposals will likely remain stuck in the government contracts process for months, if not years.

His immigration orders have been held unconstitutional because of errors that his Justice Department or Department of Homeland Security lawyers would have caught and corrected had they been there or had a chance.

In some cases, the process failures have had deadlier consequences. President Trump ordered a risky special operations raid on Yemen over a dinner meeting with his senior staff with scant process or coordination. The raid went badly, as military operations sometimes do. Instead of taking responsibility, the White House blamed the military, both for the substantive failure on the ground and the faulty decision process that put the SEALS there. Disconnects between the White House, Department of Defense, and the U.S. Pacific Command resulted in a confusing saga regarding the movements of a U.S. aircraft carrier, resulting in the dilution of any deterrent value that President Trump's words might hold in Moscow or Beijing.

The personnel and process failures contribute to policy failures across the national security chessboard. The most obvious Trump foreign policy failure is that there is no policy, no doctrine at this time. We deserve better in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, in China, in North Korea, but most importantly, here on the home front. We as Americans deserve a coherent, comprehensive process oriented as well as personnel driven with career intelligence individuals at the helm and within the ranks of each one of these agencies because we have a lot to lose.

We have our young people to lose if we go into wars that have not been thought out and have not been process driven. Our young people deserve better. Our world deserves better because the world is looking to America to still be the ones--although we seem to be abdicating our responsibility, whether it be in war or in the other forms of diplomacy that we engage in--to keep this a safe place. Famines that are going on in Sudan, in Yemen, and in other places, it is the American might, the might of our aid and our support to them, that keeps democracy alive, not just on the ground and in fact, but in the hearts and minds of those who yearn for it in other places.

That is the national security that this America needs to be engaged in, and it is that kind of national security that this Congress needs to be concerned with. We need to get back. We have a week of bills that are dysfunctional in themselves that do not serve the best interests of the American people. This Congress needs to stop scuttling legislation, scuttling bills that their colleagues are trying to put forward. Vote them up or vote them down. Let the American people know where you stand on every issue. We need to stop the voice votes that are going on in committees that allow Members to hide behind what their positions are with their constituents. I know it is not easy, but that is why we are all adults here. We want to put on our big girl pants and be the kind of people who can stand for what we believe.

So let's bring those bills forward. Let's support the infrastructure jobs activity, as well as national security and support for the world abroad. That is what we have to lose if we do not hold this President, this White House, and all of his agencies and his Cabinet accountable for the work that they are doing.

Madam Speaker, it appears that I do not have additional Members who would like to speak in this Special Order hour.

Madam Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on April 4 of this year, I, along with my colleagues Ted Lieu and Kathleen Rice, sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking that they appoint a special counsel to investigate any Trump campaign collusions with Russia.

Yesterday, the Department of Justice took a step in the right direction by appointing former FBI Director Robert Mueller as the special counsel to oversee the Federal investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election, including potential collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials.

I have worked with Mr. Mueller at Justice and recognize his past accomplishments. His appointment speaks to the urgency of bringing some stability to this process so that Congress can get back to the business of working on what our constituents need most: issues affecting Virgin Islanders and the United States of America and the world; issues of jobs, infrastructure, education.

Last week I introduced H.R. 2404, the Improving the Treatment of the U.S. Territories Under the Federal Health Programs Act of 2017, a bill to remove the existing inequities and disparities that territories face under Medicaid and Medicare, and also to provide us with a fair share of funding for our hospitals.

Mr. Speaker, these are the types of issues Congress must begin to work on for the American people, and I ask my colleagues to continue to put people over politics.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to coanchor this CBC Special Order hour with my esteemed colleague from Texas (Mr. Veasey). For the next 60 minutes, we have a chance to speak directly to the American people on issues of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus, Congress, the constituents we represent, and all Americans.

This evening, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Richmond), my friend and colleague, I first thank him for his continued leadership of the caucus and on issues impacting Black America and other minority communities across this great Nation.

I would also like to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey), my colleague, for joining me in chairing this evening's Special Order hour, and my other CBC colleagues who are joining us to speak on important issues.

Mr. Speaker, we are here tonight to address the first 100 days of the Trump Presidency and its impact on minority communities like the district I represent and those of my fellow CBC colleagues. Specifically, we will highlight 100 actions taken by this administration in the last 100 days with less than positive impact to the communities we represent.

The President hails his first 100 days as the most successful in the history of the United States. These actions, however, do not spell success for low income and minority communities. Actions that, in turn, roll back Department of Justice protections designed to ensure police accountability; actions that threaten to further restrict voting rights and undermine the public education system; actions that threaten

access to quality affordable health care for millions of Americans, including children, seniors, and those with preexisting medical conditions; actions that propose gutting programs, HUD, and others that provide housing assistance for extremely low-income families and the homeless; mean-spirited actions that break up families and make immigrant communities less safe; and actions that roll back important environmental protections which serve to, among other things, ensure safe air and drinking waters in communities like Flint, Michigan, and mitigating the effects of climate change in vulnerable coastal communities like my home district of the United States Virgin Islands.

Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus has reached out to President Trump and is willing to work with his administration to continue to build upon the greatness of this country--and not just for the privileged few but for all.

As representatives of a congressional district that is home to the only HBCU outside the continental United States, I take exception to the administration's Education Secretary viewing HBCUs as pioneers for school choice, even though these institutions were founded because White colleges and universities refused to admit Black students.

This statement illustrates a lack of understanding of the history of the African Americans and the Black community. President Trump's proposed budget for the Department of Education plans to eliminate afterschool and teacher-support programs, as well as slashing funding for Federal supplemental education opportunity grants, Pell grants, and instead divert Federal funds to private school vouchers. This plan would be devastating to communities like my home district where almost one-third of the children live below the poverty line and where public schools are already struggling to make the best with limited funds and resources.

President Trump's budget proposal would also cut the Department of Health and Human Services' budget by $12.6 billion, a 16 percent cut. In my home district of the United States Virgin Islands, HHS funds critical early childhood education; and nutrition programs provide assistance to seniors, low-income families, and funding for mental health programs.

Mr. Speaker, these and other actions that my colleagues will speak about are not to criticize the President, but more to highlight the importance of funding of these programs and, more importantly, highlighting how important these programs and government functions are to American families and to the safety and progress of our communities. America, stay woke. There are still more than 1,300 days to go.

I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey).

Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey) is correct about staying focused and, in the lexicon of the young people, to stay woke about what is happening.

The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey) gave some great examples about some of the things that happened in this first 100 days that should make us aware how this is, in some ways, an assault on distressed communities, on minority communities. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey) spoke to some of them.

One of the things I wanted to highlight is a booklet that the Congressional Black Caucus has put out about 100 actions that have taken place in these 100 days:

President Trump's proposed budget would eliminate the Economic Development Administration at the Department of Commerce. In 2015, EDA invested 38 percent of its funds in highly distressed areas, including communities with high minority populations, such as the gentleman from Texas' and mine.

President Trump's proposed budget would eliminate the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. People ask, What is that? This is an organization which channels investments into communities in need of capital for housing, small businesses, and community facilities. That is its sole function.

President Trump said that the private sector already did a good job making investments in these communities, which demonstrates how out of touch and ill-informed he and his administration are. His administration needs to tell him and give him the facts about what is going on in minority and underdeveloped communities.

As we will hear from our colleagues, there are areas in which environmental protection and climate change, social justice for environmental justice needs to take place. President Trump's proposed budget would cut environmental protection agencies, environmental justice programs that work to ensure the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, and national origin or income with the respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. It would simply cut it out of place.

The proposed budget would cut the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's coastal programs, which would affect populations, including minorities living along the Gulf Coast and other coastal areas.

At this time, we have other members of the Congressional Black Caucus that are here to talk about environmental justice.

This freshman Member has really stepped in and just taken a hold of actions and demonstrating a love for his constituents in coming here this evening and wanting to address environmental justice areas.

I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. McEachin).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans), from the great city of Philadelphia.

I thank the gentleman, Congressman Evans, for keeping us focused and giving us the information we need to understand what real communities are going through and the environmental justice that we need to be fighting for in this administration. I appreciate that so much.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. McEachin), who has been the person who was at the forefront of this evening, bringing issues of environmental justice to our minds and exposing and explaining to the American people the assault on environmental justice that is taking place right now, and appealing to President Trump to be mindful of those communities who are going to be affected by the cuts and by other interest groups that are going after the basic needs that Americans have to stay healthy and stay alive.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. McEachin for his passion and for his commitment to these issues of environmental justice.

Particularly in the Virgin Islands, we know that climate change is real. We feel it, and we see it in how we operate and how our environment is changing, whether it be mosquitoes and Zika, before that chikungunya and dengue. We know that the effects of climate change are impacting our health and impacting the livelihoods of our environment.

The Congressional Black Caucus supports policies that ensure that all Americans also have access to a clean and healthy environment. Studies have long shown an unsettling correlation between race and the location of hazardous waste facilities. For example, a 1983 Government Accountability Office study found that 75 percent of hazardous waste landfills in eight southeastern States were located in predominantly poor and minority communities.

The places where minorities live, work, and learn are significantly compromised by air, water, land, soil, noise, and light pollutants. Black Americans and other minorities are predisposed to health issues directly linked to environmental and toxic waste. We cannot take away funding to support the eradication of these health hazards. We must continue to push for that.

We are not here as the Congressional Black Caucus simply to disparage our President. We are not here to point out his fallacies. But we would be doing a grave disservice to the people that we represent, not just minorities but all Americans, if we do not stand up and discuss the issues that are of grave concern to us, to ask for support and funding, to ask that there not be a rollback on many of the gains that we have had that have supported and helped our community.

At the beginning of the 115th Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus launched: ``What Did Trump Do?'' It was a rapid-response messaging document we used to inform our external stakeholders. This ``What Did Trump Do?'' is a special #staywoke edition. We are listing 100 actions President Trump and his administration have taken over the last 100 days. It was developed by 78 million Americans that the CBC collectively represent, including 17 million African Americans, as well as millions of Americans we do not represent.

We want this information to be before the American people to show that work must still be done. We talked about environmental areas. I am going to list some of the things that have happened in the 100 days that we need to be cognizant of, that we need to make sure that these things do not take place, and that they not become embedded in this great America in which we live.

On February 28, Attorney General Sessions said that the DOJ would pull back from using its legal authority to monitor police departments responsible for repeated instances of police misconduct and abuses by backing away from legal commitment first enacted into law by Representative John Conyers as part of the 1994 crime reform legislation. Sessions sent a signal to the African-American community that the police misconduct laws will not be equally and fully enforced. On that same day, the President signed a bill that rolled back a regulation restricting gun purchases by the mentally ill through a use of background checks.

Attorney General Sessions rescinded the Obama-era order to reduce the use of privately operated prisons. The use of privately operated prisons creates a financial incentive to lock people up using African Americans, Latinos, and poor people. In addition, in comparison to the government-operated prisons, privately operated prisons are less safe and secure for both staff and inmates, don't provide the same level of rehabilitative services like educational programs and job trainings which increase the likelihood that those who are released from prison will return to a life of crime.

Finally, although privately operated prisons are said to be more cost effective than government prisons, they are not because those that are in those prisons will continue to, in many instances, come back causing a burden not just on the American people and taxpayers but on the families and the communities in which those individuals reside.

Other things that have happened in these first 100 days: President Trump appointed Candace E. Jackson as Acting Assistant Secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education. Ms. Jackson once said that affirmative action promotes racial discrimination and claims she was discriminated against for being White. Secretary DeVos hired Robert Eitel, an official with deep ties to the for-profit college industry, to be a Special Assistant to the Department of Education. This hire presents a serious conflict of interest and raises questions about whether Eitel can put students' needs above the interest of his former colleagues.

President Trump's proposed budget for the Department of Education hurts low-income students from pre-K through college by undermining public education through the elimination of afterschool and teacher- support programs and diverting Federal funds to private school vouchers, eliminating support for college students, gutting Federal workstudy, and slashing critical funding for Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and Pell grants.

All of these cuts would have severe consequences for our Nation's students--not just African Americans but Latinos and students in large urban areas. No afterschool programs, no support for teachers--what will our children do?

What will those families do that need those children and that support?

On March 9, EPA Administrator Pruitt said that he did not think that carbon dioxide was the primary driver of global warming even though that is the public position of EPA, NOAA, and NASA.

We can go on and on. We have a document with over 100 actions that have been taken in the last 100 days.

In housing and homeownership, President Trump's proposed budget would cut the Department of Housing and Urban Development by $6 billion. HUD is responsible for providing housing assistance to extremely low-income families and the homeless and reinvesting in American cities and counties.

Those same proposed budgets would end the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which assists families with energy costs, including home energy bills, energy crises, weatherization, and energy-related home repair.

These are some of the many examples of what has happened. We give these examples not merely to degrade what has happened with this administration, but to show that work must still be done and that we, as Americans, must stay woke to what is happening in this country. We must keep our eyes vigilant and on the prize and ensure that Americans will see what is really happening and not be moved by the media, by the tweets, but see actual facts.

We are working in real facts here to let you know what needs to be done and that we, the Congressional Black Caucus, as Members of Congress, are asking our colleagues across the aisle and in the Democratic Caucus to support us and to support the issues that are relevant not just to African Americans, but to all Americans this day.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 9 o'clock and 3 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, May 2, 2017, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.