Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the week of March 25th to March 29th as National Area Health Education Centers Week, or AHEC week.

Southern Nevadans are facing a dire shortage of health care providers, meaning longer wait times, fewer choices, and less access to quality care. To solve this crisis, underserved communities like ours need to expand the resources we offer so that medical providers can learn and grow their careers in southern Nevada.

AHECs are a part of that solution. These centers connect students to local populations, which helps facilitate future engagement and boosts care in our communities. That has been and will continue to be key as we fight to ensure every Nevadan has access to the health care they need.

In just the past five years, the AHEC program has already trained two million health care professionals. Across our state, from Elko to Reno to Las Vegas, the AHEC program is strengthening the future of our health care workforce which will help the collective health of all Nevadans.

That's why I'm proud to support this program and why, year after year, I've fought to secure essential federal investments in the national AHEC program.

On behalf of my constituents at the Nevada AHEC program, their national counterparts, and the thousands of Americans who benefit from the care fostered by AHECs, I am proud to recognize this National Area Health Education Centers Week.

I thank all of them for their dedication to keeping our communities healthy.

Mr. Speaker, I was necessarily absent from votes on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Had I been present, I would have voted: Yea on Roll Call No. 87 and YEA on Roll Call No. 88.

Madam Speaker, today, in honor of Black History Month, I rise to recognize Claytee White, director of the Oral History Research Center at the University of Las Vegas.

Claytee has spent the last 20 years developing an extensive knowledge of the city's history and its people, with an expertise on African Americans.

She studied and documented the role of Black performers in desegregating Las Vegas, expanding worker rights, and the continued fight for equality.

Madam Speaker, her positive impact on our community doesn't end there. She is the founder of the Las Vegas Black Historical Society, a hub for those to learn more about the valley's Black community.

She has held numerous leadership roles at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and she is past president of the Southwest Oral History Association.

I thank Claytee for all she has done to lift up and preserve the rich history of African Americans in Las Vegas.

Mr. Speaker, during the rollcall vote on H.R. 533, my vote was not successfully recorded. Had my vote been recorded, it would have been a ``yea'' on rollcall No. 53.

Madam Speaker, we can all agree in this House that our immigration system is broken, and we need a real bipartisan solution to protect our border and create a pathway to citizenship, solutions like the bipartisan Dignity Act and the bipartisan legislation that was negotiated in the Senate.

Business leaders all around this country are asking for this because it will help build the workforce our economy needs, address worker shortages, strengthen supply chains, and boost our competitiveness. It is a win-win for businesses of all sizes and for families.

Many of my Republican colleagues, I believe, agree with that. However, when they finally had the chance to do something about it, too many changed their mind because of none other than Donald Trump. The far right would rather campaign on a broken immigration system than actually fix a broken immigration system.

I came to Washington to solve problems, not exploit them for cheap political points, and I hope my colleagues have the courage to do the same so we can keep people safe, boost our economy, and preserve the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, during roll call votes on H.R. 2882 and H.R. 443, my vote was not recorded. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 32 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 33.

personal explanation

Mr. Speaker, our law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep our communities safe.

Last month, that bravery was put on full display when first responders were called to UNLV during a horrific active shooter alert, which tragically ended in the deaths of three professors and the traumatization of countless other students and staff.

Among those first responders were metro officers Jacob Noriega and Ty Vesperas, who encountered a fourth shooting victim immediately upon arriving at the scene. With Officer Noriega applying pressure to the victim's chest wound and Officer Vesperas racing them in a cruiser to a nearby ambulance, these officers were critical in saving the victim's life. They are heroes who ran toward danger. That is why we must stand by our law enforcement. When they see an opportunity to help someone in need, they don't hesitate.

These heroic actions in the face of a deadly threat were a silver lining on a very dark day in our community. The recognition they received for their lifesaving efforts from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is well deserved. I will continue to do everything I can in Congress to make sure our law enforcement has all the support they need to protect southern Nevadan families.

Rabbi Felipe Goodman

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Rabbi Felipe Goodman for his 25 years of dedicated service to Temple Beth Sholom in southern Nevada.

Before joining Temple Beth Sholom in 1998, Rabbi Goodman served as the assistant rabbi in Comunidad Bet-El de Mexico in Mexico City, one of the largest conservative synagogues in Latin America.

Rabbi Goodman has served as the senior rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas for 25 years, where his charisma and dedication has made a profound impact on our community. His dedication has increased attendance at Shabbat services significantly during his tenure and transformed Temple Beth Sholom into a more vibrant, stronger congregation.

In 2013, Rabbi Goodman was selected by The Daily Forward as one of America's most inspiring rabbis among the distinguished 36 rabbis shaping the 21st century.

In the past, he has served as a member of the Chancellor's Rabbinic Advisory Committee at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, a member of the executive committee of the Rabbinical Assembly, and as president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern Nevada.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring Rabbi Felipe Goodman for his many years of dedicated service to southern Nevada and congratulating Rabbi Goodman on his 25th Anniversary Jubilee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Rabbi Felipe Goodman for his 25 years of dedicated service to Temple Beth Sholom and southern Nevada.

Before joining Temple Beth Sholom in 1998, Rabbi Goodman served as assistant Rabbi in Comunidad Bet-El de Mexico in Mexico City, one of the largest conservative synagogues in Latin America. He also co- authored the most widely distributed Pesach Haggadah of the Conservative Movement in Latin America.

Rabbi Goodman has served as the Senior Rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas, Nevada for 25 years, and his charisma and dedication to community has made a profound impact on our Jewish community. Attendance at Shabbat services has increased significantly during his tenure through innovative programing and a true sense of community that has transformed Temple Beth Sholom into a more vibrant and stronger congregation.

Rabbi Goodman remains an active leader outside the synagogue. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Joint Retirement Board of the Conservative Movement. He is also one of the nine Permanent Members of the Joint Bet Din of Conservative Judaism, and one of a group of only 17 Conservative Rabbis in the world certified by The Joint Bet Din of The Conservative Movement, as experts in the laws and writing of ``Gittin.'' Rabbi Goodman is also part of the AIPAC National Leadership Council and is working on his new book. ``Torah from Sin City.''

In 2013, Rabbi Goodman was selected by The Daily Forward as one of America's Most Inspiring Rabbis, among the distinguished ``36 Rabbis Shaping The 21st Century.'' In the past. he has served as a member of The Chancellor's Rabbinic Advisory Committee at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, a member of the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Assembly, and as President of the Board of Rabbis of Southern Nevada.

Mr. Speaker, please join me today in honoring Rabbi Felipe Goodman for his many years of dedicated service to southern Nevada, and in congratulating Rabbi Goodman on his 25th Anniversary Jubilee.

Mr. Speaker, this is the first week of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' spring semester, a time when students should be excited to see their friends after winter break and faculty begin to review the syllabus with an eager class.

Sadly, this won't be a typical week back for the students of UNLV. That is

because this week is the first week that students will be returning to in-person classes since last month's horrifying shooting in which a gunman took the lives of three professors and critically wounded a fourth.

Thousands of students and faculty members were forced to huddle in classrooms behind locked and barricaded doors, waiting for hours to find out whether their campus was safe or not.

Immediately after the shooting, I, and many of my colleagues, demanded once again that Congress do something, just anything, to curb our Nation's gun violence epidemic.

Since then, our country has witnessed another 70 school shootings. That is in just 6 weeks. How many pieces of legislation to address gun violence have been brought to the floor in that time? Zero. It is shameful.

Instead, our far right has played partisan games to score cheap political points, threatening a government shutdown, and completely dismissing the very real fear that students and educators at UNLV and across the country feel each and every day.

That fear should not be normal. Nevadans are tired of it and so am I. I want my colleagues to work together to end this sick cycle of gun violence. Let's honor these victims with action.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jackie Wallin, a beloved figure in Laughlin, Nevada, and the architect of so much success across our community.

Jackie is retiring from her position as the president and CEO of the Laughlin Chamber of Commerce after dedicating 36 years of service to southern Nevada and the tristate area. She has been instrumental in promoting small businesses, tourism, and philanthropic work for families, veterans, and seniors across the community.

Just last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with Jackie during a roundtable conversation with the chamber. We discussed issues that face local businesses and how I can better help them here in Washington. We are working together to make sure that life is more affordable and to cut through red tape.

Notably, I got to see Jackie's work in action--not only her persistence in fighting for the interests of her community but also the genuine care and charisma she brings to every interaction.

Throughout the day, I had the pleasure of touring the beautiful riverfront in the downtown area in Laughlin, where I witnessed the incredible community development that would not have been possible without Jackie's decades of hard work. I wish Jackie the best of luck as she moves on from leading the chamber.

Laughlin is a tight-knit community that looks out for one another. Rest assured, Jackie will never stop looking out for her neighbors, no matter where she is. I expect to see her riding a motorcycle in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Jackie for all she has done for our community. Laughlin and all of southern Nevada are better off because of her.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as southern Nevada is reeling in the wake of a horrifying mass shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

We remember Jerry Chang, Patricia Navarro-Velez, and Naoko Takemaru. All three of these faculty members were killed last week at work in the middle of the day while teaching our next generation of leaders.

Once again, 6 years after Las Vegas witnessed the Nation's deadliest mass shooting, our community is coming together to mourn another entirely preventable loss of life this week when four more people were shot and killed in the northwest valley.

As we pick up the pieces of these tragedies, our community is once again asking why. Why do we continue to accept these atrocities as normal? Why do we tolerate this violence when we have legislation before us that could save lives and stop the next tragedy before it is too late?

Mr. Speaker, I have a son in college. He is a freshman. I worry every day about the possibility that a tragedy like this would strike his campus. For many parents in my community, that worry became a reality last week. They saw texts and tweets with the breaking news that every parent in this country has come to fear: an active shooter at their child's school.

Students were instructed to run, hide, and fight. That is not normal. For our kids, this reality is even more traumatic--the sound of gunshots, barricading classroom doors, everyone hiding under their desks, silence, not knowing whether the next person to walk through that door is someone to save them or a murderous assailant. That is not normal.

Let's not forget the resulting emotional trauma that will plague everyone involved for years to come.

We are all incredibly grateful for the quick action of the first responders, the University Police Services, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, who all bravely prevented that day from becoming even deadlier.

Like so many mothers in this country, I am angry, and I am exhausted. This has become a reality for far too many Americans for far too long.

Last week's shooting at UNLV was the 80th shooting at a school this year, a year that has broken the record for mass shootings and claimed the lives of over 40,000 children, parents, and neighbors. That is not normal.

On that same day that we lost three of our own in southern Nevada, Senate Republicans were busy blocking legislation that could prevent another tragedy. Students, faculty, and university staff were hiding for their lives, cowering in fear, while Washington politicians were cowering behind the gun lobby that refuses to support policies demanded by an overwhelming majority of Americans.

That should not be normal.

Nevadans are tired of it, and so am I. We cannot and should not continue to accept this violence. Weapons of war on our streets are not normal. Barricading classroom doors is not normal. Parents being afraid to send their children to school, from kindergarten to college, is not normal.

I don't want to hold another vigil. I don't want to hold another moment of silence. What I want to do is I want this institution, which Nevadans sent me to help fix, to stop accepting this violence and to end this sick cycle of inaction.

Mr. Speaker, I am not naive enough to think that we can't prevent every shooting, but, God, please, let us at least get caught trying.

Mr. Speaker, I am begging my colleagues and anyone who is listening to consider why we have accepted this for so long. Please, let's honor these victims with action.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an incredible educator in southern Nevada, Ms. Laura Penrod, who has been recognized as Nevada's Teacher of the Year for 2024.

Ms. Penrod currently teaches at Southwest Career and Technical Academy where she opened the special education department and began working and teaching English soon thereafter.

She brings 17 years of teaching experience to help her students not only in the classroom but also after school, advising several extracurricular activities and in her community as a fearless champion of public education.

Ms. Penrod exemplifies what makes our teachers so special--the drive to do good and always be there for our students.

I wish Ms. Penrod the best of luck as she moves on to the National Teacher of the Year competition, and I am deeply grateful for the impact she has on her students and our community.

Mr. Chair, during Roll Call votes on amendments to H.R. 5961, two of my votes were not recorded correctly. On Ogles No. 8, I intended to vote ``aye''. On Porter No. 10, I intended to vote ``aye''. Had my vote been recorded correctly, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall No. 683 and ``aye'' on rollcall No. 685.

Amendment No. 12 Offered by Mr. Jackson of Illinois

Mr. Speaker, during Roll Call votes on the motion on ordering the previous question (H. Res. 891) and H. Res. 891, the Rule for H.R. 5283, H.R. 5961, and S.J. Res. 32, my vote was not recorded. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 678 and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 679.

Mr. Speaker, during roll call votes on H. Res. 793 and H. Res. 888, my vote was not recorded. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 676 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 677.