Steven Horsford

Mr. Speaker, I rise today along with my colleagues, fellow Co-Chairs of the Congressional Labor Caucus, Representative Debbie Dingell, Representative Mark Pocan, and Representative Donald Norcross, to recognize our brother and friend, Lee Saunders, President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), who retired in August 2026 after five decades in lifetime service to the labor movement. President Saunders is a staunch and unflinching labor leader who has served with distinction and stood up for working people across this country with unparalleled enthusiasm and grit. He has served as the President of AFSCME since 2012.

Saunders grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and was the son of a union bus driver and a community organizer. In 1975, he started working for the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services and joined the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA). He started his career with AFSCME in 1978 as a labor economist and participated in numerous efforts for the union ranging from research and organizing to community outreach and building worker power. Saunders previously served as administrator of numerous AFSCME councils, including AFSCME District Council 37, and became AFSCME's Secretary-Treasurer in 2010.

Saunders has always been laser-focused on grassroots mobilizing and giving a voice to working people. Beyond his work to support workers, he has been deeply involved in political and civil rights as a board member of the NAACP and treasurer of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. His leadership reminds us not only that we have a duty to represent and fight for all workers, but that public services remain vital to every community in this country.

Widely known as one of the labor movement's most savvy political strategists, President Saunders presided over a period of unprecedented growth at AFSCME during his 14 years as its first African American president. His dedication to our Nation's public service workers both in his role at ASFCME and at the AFL-CIO have made the labor movement stronger and more united.

On behalf of myself and my fellow Congressional Labor Caucus Co- Chairs, Representive Debbie Dingell, Representative Mark Pocan, and Representative Donald Norcross, we thank President Saunders for his tremendous leadership and recognize the difference it has made in the lives of ordinary workers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and I am casting my vote for people, not for corporations.

Across the United States and in my home State of Nevada, the dream of homeownership has been slipping further out of reach for working families. In fact, Las Vegas is ranked second in the Nation for corporate homeownership. Thirty percent of the residents in Nevada have been impacted by institutional investors.

Last year, I listened when my constituents throughout southern Nevada told me that the issue of housing was

their greatest concern. That is why, working with the ranking member, we were able to build a housing platform that could really address the problems that people are facing.

Today, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will finally address these problems and make the dream of homeownership attainable.

This bill creates greater accountability in the housing market, increases housing supply, and places new restrictions on large, institutional investors from buying up single-family homes.

It ensures veterans are not penalized for receiving disability benefits when qualifying for housing vouchers, a commonsense change that I am sure that we can all support.

I am proud that we are putting homeowners over hedge funds, Mr. Speaker, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished ranking member for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise as a son of the labor movement and co-chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus in strong support of the Faster Labor Contracts Act.

When workers come together to form a union, they are not asking for a handout. They are asking and fighting for what they have already earned: better wages, safer working conditions, stronger benefits, and the dignity of having a voice on the job.

Collective bargaining is a fundamental right, guaranteed under Federal law, and it is one of the most powerful tools working people have.

Mr. Speaker, winning the union election is supposed to be the end of the fight. Instead, for far too many workers, it is just the beginning. It is just the beginning because current law provides no meaningful timeline for reaching a first contract.

Employers who want to stall can stall for months, even years, all while workers wait. Here is the number that should outrage every Member of this body: 458 days. On average, it takes 458 days to reach a first contract after workers have already voted.

Think about that. More than 1 year after workers have spoken clearly with their vote, they are still waiting. They are still waiting for the wages that they organized to win. They are still waiting for the benefits that their families need. They are still waiting for basic dignity on the job.

Too often, that delay is not an accident. It is a strategy to wear workers down and to preserve the status quo.

The Faster Labor Contracts Act, introduced by my friend and fellow co-chair of the Labor Caucus, Representative Norcross, closes that loophole. It does not guarantee any particular outcome at the bargaining table. It simply ensures that both parties show up and negotiate in good faith on a reasonable timeline.

A right delayed is a right denied. Workers cannot wait. Families cannot wait.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Faster Labor Contracts Act and to bring this PRO Act to the floor for its full approval.