Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today, I rise to acknowledge and congratulate the newly elected members of the Sixth Constitutional Convention in the Virgin Islands.

The willingness of each one of them to help us move forward to achieve civil rights and self-determination as a collective people is commendable. The work that they do in this legislative session will uplift generations of Virgin Islanders to come.

The legacy of the Virgin Islands--Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, Saint John, and Water Island--continues to be defined by the collective greatness of all Virgin Islanders who have resisted exploitation in the name of freedom and independence.

We first exercised our right of self-determination in 1493 when a Carib war party on the island of Saint Croix fiercely resisted Christopher Columbus' expedition, preventing his men from establishing a foothold on the island.

Over the next 200 years, the Caribs fought colonization until they were completely eradicated in 1590. Their enduring resistance is our ancestral legacy. The island of Ay Ay, Saint Croix, from which I come, is proud to see this legacy continue in this Sixth Constitutional Convention.

It continues. In 1733, the Akwamu, enslaved individuals from Ghana, fought against their enslavement on the island of Saint John and became the first organized armed resistance in the Western Hemisphere against enslavement. They held that island for almost a year until the Danes working with the Spaniards, the French, and the British were able to overthrow them.

The organizers of that rebellion chose collective suicide rather than go back to slavery.

In 1848, on the island of Saint Croix, those enslaved organized themselves, rose up, and took their freedom. Our freedom was not given to us by any individual or any government. We took it for ourselves. That is the legacy from which I come, and as a daughter of the Virgin Islands, I will continue that fight.

The Virgin Islands has held five Constitutional Conventions since its acquisition by the United States in 1917, yet no constitutional drafts have been approved since 1977. Personally, I believe some of the issues that we have put in our constitution are issues that were never resolved by Denmark when we became part of the United States.

As of 2025, the Virgin Islands have governed under the Revised Organic Act of 1954, which acts as the de facto local constitution after being passed by Congress in 1936.

As not only the Representative of the Virgin Islands here in Congress but as a daughter of those islands, my family on both sides go back in records to the 1700s, maybe earlier. And it is for them that I continue to fight for the fundamental and constitutional rights for which all Americans, including Virgin Islanders, are entitled.

When we became a part of the United States, my grandfather's generation came to Washington and insisted that we be a part of the draft. We wanted the responsibility along with the privileges of being part of the American experience. We are part of the draft. We fight in every war in numbers per capita greater than any other State, and yet, no Virgin Islander can vote for their Commander in Chief.

I have built upon the work of my predecessor, Congresswoman Donna Christensen and numerous Governors of the Virgin Islands to challenge the United States' reliance on the Insular Cases as it relates to the territories. The Insular Cases were decided at the turn of the 20th century by the Supreme Court to justify a racist and colonial legal framework for the territories.

Now, you may ask, oh, why are you saying it is racist? When the Supreme Court Justice in his opinion says that the people who inhabit these islands are savages who cannot understand constitutional law, that is prima facie racism to me, particularly when a Virgin Islander who came to the United

States in the 1700s, Alexander Hamilton, helped to write that Constitution under which we stand.

However, through hard work, we have worked together over the years to overturn the Insular Cases, advance equality, and challenge the status quo. In both the 116th and 117th Congress, I am grateful that under Democratic leadership the For the People Act of 2019 and the For the People Act of 2021 included a path for voting rights and self- determination for U.S. territories. Both pieces of legislation included a congressional task force to review the issues and make recommendations on providing equitable voting representation in Congress, voting rights in the Presidential election, and fair inclusion in Federal voter protection and election integrity laws.

In this 119th Congress, I will continue to advocate for the equitable treatment of all Americans, including my fellow brothers and sisters in the territories. Self-determination, voting rights, and equitable treatment under Federal assistance programs must be the cornerstone of our work. If we work together, we can all achieve meaningful change.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a former prosecutor and a Republican political appointee in the Bush administration's Justice Department. I know the law. All I see is the President and Elon Musk's unelected cabal flagrantly breaking the law.

Last week, the Trump administration recklessly issued and then rescinded a memo freezing taxpayer funds lawfully appropriated by Congress to local agencies, nonprofits, and school districts. This week, Musk agents demanded access to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, overriding laws and regulations and accessing the most sensitive personal information of every American.

Every promise to lower costs and put the working and middle class first was a lie. The reckless quest to sell out the American people and silence opposition jeopardizes our national security and undermines the very foundation of our country.

Mr. Speaker, Project 2025 is the playbook; fear is the weapon; and greed is the point.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 33.

This legislation, supported by the Biden-Harris administration, is an opportunity for the United States to strengthen its economic ties with Taiwan. H.R. 33 creates a new section within the tax code to facilitate mutual investment from the United States into Taiwan and vice versa by reducing double taxation traps for Taiwanese residents with income from sources within the United States.

By removing these traps, H.R. 33 facilitates the creation of a strong domestic semiconductor ecosystem, creates jobs, and incentivizes investments in semiconductor technology and our American economy.

Securing our Nation's position at the forefront of the chip manufacturing race is possible only if we constantly work to remove the barriers to developing American manufacturing, both in our tax code and regulatory environment.

The United States and Taiwan have long shared a strong economic partnership powered by extensive two-way trade, and we must ensure that this partnership remains robust. It is critical that we work to improve our existing trade agreement with Taiwan and ensure that future trade agreements continue to facilitate the development of domestic American manufacturing.

As elected officials, it is our responsibility to ensure the tax code works for the benefit of all. Supporting H.R. 33 makes certain that our tax code reflects the values of fairness and trust.

As a member of the Intelligence Committee in the 118th Congress, I can tell my colleagues that this increased trade, both in the Pacific and viewed throughout the world, is helpful to America's strength.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the new Governor of Puerto Rico, my Caribbean sister and former Member of Congress, Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon.

I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on her remarkable work while a Member here in this body.

As co-chairs of the Rum Caucus, the first caucus dedicated to promoting the rum industry, we successfully advocated for the Rum Cover Over legislation, which increased the amount of tax revenue generated from the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on rum that was sold in the mainland. Additionally, I am grateful for our bipartisan efforts to improve security in the Caribbean, ensuring that Federal agencies are properly equipped to hold drug traffickers accountable, and of course our work together to change the Stafford Act in 2018 after the devastating hurricanes of Irma and Maria in our district, which has brought billions of dollars to rebuild both the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Although her presence will be missed in Congress, I look forward to seeing the incredible impact she will have in her new role as Governor of Puerto Rico.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address a crisis in the Virgin Islands.

On December 13, a shooting claimed the life of another of my constituents. My deepest condolences go to the families and loved ones of each of the 42 victims who have died by homicide in 2024 in the Virgin Islands.

Throughout the Caribbean, gun violence, driven by unemployment and drug and human trafficking, is pervasive.

During a recent codel to Barbados, led by Leader Jeffries, we heard similar concerns from our Caribbean allies.

The Senate must pass the ONDCP Reauthorization Act, which includes my Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act, to combat the illegal trafficking of deadly drugs which traverse through American territories in the Caribbean.

In the Virgin Islands, 93 percent of guns recovered by law enforcement were trafficked illegally into the territory, and the homicide rate is nine times higher than the continental United States.

We need our Federal partners, especially ATF, to provide resources and maintain a presence in the territory.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and celebrate Kevre Hendricks, a master musician, dedicated educator, Virgin Islands National Guardsman, and this year's honoree for the Crucian Christmas Festival Village in my home, St. Croix.

Mr. Hendricks is a passionate advocate for music and the arts in our community and tremendously committed to the work of supporting young people interested in music. He not only teaches music but also teaches creativity, discipline, and dedication to craft.

He is a teacher, a band director for St. Croix Educational Complex High School, and the musical director of a local band that has won the Crucian Christmas Festival Road March numerous times.

Congratulations to Cousin Kevre on this well-deserved recognition. We all look forward to this year's Village experience and Maestro's Musical Haven.

Festival on St. Croix is the warmest celebration of all, with sweet music, food, and fellowship.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today and speak on behalf of so many individuals, who do not have the ability to speak, to address a crisis in our hemisphere and a significant threat to American regional stability, our neighbor to the south and our ally from the inception of this country's birth, Haiti.

The elected government of Haiti collapsed some time ago, leaving gangs in control of the capital and raining chaos down upon the Haitian people.

Although Haiti holds the distinction of being the first republic of people of African descent and one of the oldest nations in the Americas, Haiti faces a significant and ongoing humanitarian crisis, overwhelmed by gangs that systematically endanger its democratic process.

Don't be fooled that this does not affect the United States. The persistent failed state situation is an open opportunity for America's adversaries to destabilize the Caribbean region and undermine the security of neighboring nations. We are seeing the outlines of malign actors, including those with whom we are in global competition.

Since President Jovenel Moise's assassination more than 3 years ago, gangs seized complete control, creating a humanitarian catastrophe that has left more than 12,000 people dead and forced nearly 800,000 from their homes. More than 5,000 people in Haiti have been killed by the gangs alone this year.

Just last weekend, more than 180 people were killed in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, as part of a multiday slaughter that was the result of a gang leader massacring older people and those he believed practiced Vodou as a personal vendetta to avenge his son's grave illness.

Without immediate support, the crisis in Haiti will worsen, the criminal network will expand, and Americans will suffer the consequences.

Haiti's Caribbean neighbors do not have the infrastructure or the capacity to accommodate this continued influx of refugees, which has seen hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants at their borders seeking a safer place to live.

The Multinational Security Support Mission, led largely by officers from Kenya, has never received the support it needs to make an impact in the fight for the security and stability in Haiti. The mission is currently undermanned and underfunded. Many of our closest allies are not close to meeting their pledged obligations, nor have we in Congress given the resources that we said to advance the peace and prosperity of that nation.

In particular, let me single out France. Where is France?

Haiti has long suffered from the legacy of slavery and colonialism and the exploitation of resources by France. Upon winning a revolution, France, with our acquiescence, forced Haiti to pay $28 billion as a debt for their freedom and lost revenues from slavery. France enslaved and trafficked those people, extracted many mountains of wealth from Haiti, and kept taking from the Haitian people long after those people had achieved their personal emancipation and national freedom from the country of France.

The nation of Haiti, with its past, current, and ongoing humanitarian crises, is a testament to the tragedy of that wealth extraction.

I urge our allies to join us in providing meaningful financial support, especially France, to advance stability and allow the people of Haiti to prosper. As I said earlier, the instability in Haiti is not only of humanitarian crisis, but a threat to our national security.

Our adversaries have already set their sights on expanding their reach to the United States' third border in the Caribbean. The continued expansion of Russian and Chinese influence, as well as military support in the region, threatens our national security, our prosperity, and our democratic values.

Depending on what Congress does or does not do will be what will happen to Haiti. The reauthorization of HOPE/HELP trade preference program will keep providing economic opportunities for Haiti.

The apparel sector is one of the last formal sectors of Haiti's economy and represents nearly 80 percent of Haiti's exports. They used to have 60,000 jobs in this area which have now dropped to 25,000.

Congress must act. We as Americans must act, if not just for the Haitian people, then for our own security.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge International Human Rights Day, observed annually on December 10, to commemorate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This landmark document was signed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, with contributions of representatives from all regions with different legal and cultural backgrounds to create a universal structure and standard of fundamental human rights.

This year's theme, ``Our Rights, Our Future, Our Now,'' is a call to address the formidable year of human rights suppression, wartime atrocities, and transactional democracy, including renewed hostilities between Israel and Hamas, the ongoing crisis in Haiti, and backsliding democracies in the Sahel region of Africa.

Millions worldwide face violations of their basic rights, and the very system we rely upon is under threat.

Today, and every day, let us renew our commitment to the universal protection of human rights where all people are entitled to live with dignity, respect, and equality.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and celebrate the first Alicia ``Chucky'' Hansen Day in the United States Virgin Islands, designated by the Virgin Islands Legislature as December 6.

From the moment Senator Hansen stepped into the Virgin Islands Legislature in 1986, she committed herself to being an advocate for Virgin Islanders and individuals from all walks of life.

Our beloved Chucky was truly a force to contend with and a role model and mentor for young girls and women. She continues to hold the record for the longest serving senator from St. Croix.

Senator Hansen committed much of her time to The American Legion, supporting our territory's veterans. She was a lively radio personality, engaging with our community on a weekly basis. Let me tell you, if Chucky was for you, nobody could be against you.

We remember and honor Senator Hansen's memory today.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to acknowledge International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which is observed annually on December 3.

Mr. Speaker, 1 in 4, approximately 70 million, adults in the United States report having a disability. In the Virgin Islands, my home, approximately 10,000 people report having a disability.

Despite significant progress within the disability rights movement, in December 2022, 40 percent of adults with disabilities reported experiencing unfair treatment and discrimination.

As elected officials and legislators, we have a special responsibility to advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities. We must pass legislation that supports their right to affordable, accessible, and quality housing; educational opportunities; healthcare; technology services; transportation; and rights of work.

We must continuously champion policies that improve and make the world a more equitable place for all Americans.

Today and every day, I remain dedicated to creating a barrier-free world that values the diversity and uniqueness of each individual.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate two of the Virgin Islands' students on their accomplishments in the Florida- Caribbean Cruise Association Essay Contest, which gives youths throughout the Caribbean the opportunity to advance their scholastic endeavors.

I am immensely proud of these students for their unique perspective on how to promote sustainable cruise-line tourism.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Ms. Rachel Guzman Ramirez on her first place in the senior division, and Mr. Tyler Ian Antonio Chung for his second place in the junior division.

One of the Virgin Islands' economic mainstays is tourism, which is heavily impacted by the cruise ship industry. In the 2023-2024 season, cruise tourism contributed more than $258 million to the Virgin Islands' economy.

It is imperative that we in Congress continue to support sustainable tourism that accounts for climate change, community investment, and environmentally friendly practices so that the Virgin Islands can continue to be America's paradise, and we can compete with other Caribbean islands.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the importance of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court, the highest court in the Virgin Islands of the United States.

As a member of the bar of both New York and the Virgin Islands, as a former prosecutor, and a former political appointee at the Justice Department, I understand how important our courts are.

I congratulate Associate Justice Harold Willocks on his recent investiture to the Virgin Islands Supreme Court. He boasts a distinguished career of more than 40 years as a jurist, as both a prosecutor and public defender, and served in multiple roles within the Virgin Islands Superior Court.

I thank the Virgin Islands Supreme Court for their continued commitment to making decisions in the strictest fidelity to justice. The independence of our courts has never been more critical. Democracy relies upon judicial independence and the ability to deliver impartial, prompt decisions in accordance with the rule of law.

We must keep our courts free from political influence or pressures to ensure our judges can make decisions solely on the law and the facts of a case. The integrity of the courts will determine the future of our Nation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and celebrate September 15 through October 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month. During this month, I celebrate the rich history, culture, and contributions of the Hispanic community, particularly in my home of the Virgin Islands. This always includes Virgin Islands-Puerto Rico Friendship Day, where we recognize our deep-rooted connections and the unity shared between our islands and culture.

The Virgin Islands Hispanic community has long contributed to the success of our territory and our country through public service and the enrichment of our heritage and culture. This time gives us the opportunity to take pride in their achievements and impacts that have shaped our Nation. I honor individuals like the iconic Senator Alicia ``Chucky'' Hansen; Senators Sammuel Sanes and Nellie Rivera-O'Reilly; the third elected Governor of the Virgin Islands, Juan Francisco Luis; and the list goes on.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month to all Virgin Islanders. Happy Virgin Islands-Puerto Rico Friendship Day.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman) for yielding and for convening us here. I also thank the gentleman for not being swayed by the rhetoric that is happening outside, that is pulling people's attention away from this dire threat to our democracy that is Project 2025.

This is, in fact, a blueprint, as the gentleman has said and so many others have said, to the culmination of years of planning by Washington, D.C.'s, shadiest conservative groups, shadiest individuals, to upend the structures, institutions, and, indeed, the basic rights that actually make America great.

Project 2025 is a playbook for Donald Trump's second term and a plan for the destruction of America as we know it. Despite flashy headlines printed over American flags and men who give loud speeches about their love of freedom, this plan is, in fact, a destruction of our freedoms.

This is a plan, in many ways, related to the great replacement theory, a means to say that America should be a homogenous society, not recognizing that what makes this country so great is, in fact, not just our diversity, but our willingness to have the tug and pull of different ideas.

I can remember when this House was a place where people compromised, where people negotiated, where we did not think that one was right or the other, that we tried to work together. Those days are long gone, and those of us who want to stick our heads underground and pretend that Project 2025 is not a reality, shame on you.

Many of my colleagues who want to pretend that they don't know what this is, that they haven't read it, just because you haven't read it doesn't mean it is not real.

This is a manifesto to ensure that Donald Trump has the ability to do what he wants to be, which is to be a king, to take away the rights that so many of us have, to restrict free speech

in schools, to only allow far-right-approved agendas and curricula, to make sure that schools are a place where children are indoctrinated to one idea, not to many ideas and let parents go back and have discussions with their children about those various ideas and instill in them what they believe is right.

I am a parent of five children. I do not have the fear that my children can hear other ideas because I know what I am putting in them and that that is what they are going to do.

These parents who are afraid of their children hearing about slavery, but also not recognizing that we have moved beyond that and are still moving forward and correcting ourselves are doing a disservice to their children. It will cut title I funding that supports low-income schools and results in budget cuts at over 60 percent of public schools across our country.

Project 2025 and its tenets will eliminate Head Start, a program that currently supports 800,000 children across our country, increasing the number of Americans living in childcare deserts. It will erode our freedoms under the vague guise of making America great.

Yes, because it is a Republican plan, Project 2025 calls for severe cuts to Medicare and Social Security. We can't have a Republican plan without a cut to Social Security and Medicare. Then they hide their hand and pretend that that was not a cut that they wanted.

Project 2025 even calls for the elimination of the National Weather Service, making Americans effectively blind when preparing for potentially disastrous hurricanes and tornadoes. I know the people in my district in the Virgin Islands, and I know even those who were dealing with wildfires in the district of the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman) need to have this weather service to be able to predict these things.

Republicans know that these ideas are not popular with real people of America. That is why my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are hiding from the facts, obfuscating the truth, distracting the public's attention with wild claims right now to vilify minorities.

That is why the former President and Senators, his running mate, are distracting the media with bigoted, racist tropes about legal immigrants in this country, so that we are not talking about this, Project 2025.

It is a playbook, and it is authored by individuals who worked very closely with Donald Trump in his last administration and want to execute this within 100 days to ensure that he has the full authority.

I am an alumni of the Department of Justice as a political appointee. The idea that the Department of Justice would have to answer to the President is obscene, and we know that the Supreme Court has set the stage for him to be able to do that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman so much for allowing us to illuminate and share just some of the things that are in this playbook for the first 100 days of a Trump administration.

The more we let the cronies and individuals who have run this across without giving light to it and letting Americans know, the more we are likely to lose our democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate a group of exceptional young men from my home in the Virgin Islands for their division title win this past week in Minnesota during the USA CUP tournament, the largest youth soccer tournament in the Western Hemisphere.

The St. Croix Helenites Sports Club under-16 squad played through the quarterfinals and semifinal rounds to clench the championship. The boys on the under-11 team also played with great heart and made it to the top four in their division.

Our entire community is tremendously proud of our boys for their hard work, their great sportsmanship. The Virgin Islands is small, but when we show up, we show out, and we excel.

We are all so proud of Head Coach Raejae Joseph, Assistant Coach Dale Richards, parents, young men, and my boy Nico.

Let's go St. Croix Helenites Sports Club.