Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the amendment at the desk that protects against any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Mr. Speaker, this so-called big, beautiful bill is nothing but a big, ugly betrayal of Alabama families and a big handout to billionaires.

There is nothing beautiful about stripping healthcare from working families. There is nothing beautiful about taking food off the table of the most vulnerable neighbors, and there is nothing beautiful about putting rural hospitals on life support in communities that can least afford it.

Mr. Speaker, the cuts in this bill are not just numbers on a page. They are empty cupboards and shuttered clinics. They are hospital wings closed in small towns already struggling to keep their doors open. They are parents lying awake at night wondering how they will afford medicine for a sick child or how they will keep food on the table if they lose their hours.

Here are the facts: 170,000 Alabamians will lose their healthcare; 700,000 Alabamians will lose or have reduced their nutrition assistance; five Alabama hospitals will close, and it adds $5 trillion to the national debt.

On behalf of the 750,000 Alabamians that I represent in Alabama's Seventh Congressional District and the 5 million hardworking Alabamians, I say

vote ``hell no'' on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge June 19 as Juneteenth. On June 19, this Nation will recognize Juneteenth with a Federal holiday. We will gather in the spirit of remembrance, resilience, and recommitment to celebrate a day of delayed liberation, but not undeniable triumph.

On June 19, 1865, more than 2 years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with the news that the last enslaved Black Americans were finally free.

Freedom did not come easily. It came slowly, unevenly, and at a painful cost, but it came. Along with it, generations of Black Americans began the long, unfinished journey toward full equality through Reconstruction, through Jim Crow, through the civil rights movement, and through the voting rights movement even now in our time.

Juneteenth is not just about history. It is about truth telling. It is a reminder that freedom delayed is freedom fought for and that liberation means more than just the breaking of physical chains. It demands justice in our laws, equity in our institutions, dignity in our labor, and respect in our schools, in our neighborhoods, and in our Nation.

My district, Alabama's Seventh Congressional District, will honor Juneteenth with a host of activities. The NAACP in Tuscaloosa will kick it off with a parade on Saturday and a luncheon on Thursday. In Birmingham, we will have a variety of events including a unity breakfast on Friday hosted by DA Danny Carr and the League of Gentlemen.

We will also welcome Major League Baseball back to Birmingham, Alabama, for the second consecutive year. On June 19, 2025, Major League Baseball will return to the Magic City for the 2025 East-West Classic game at Rickwood Field. The game will pay tribute to the Negro leagues and honor Birmingham's important contributions to baseball history.

This year, we will also celebrate the ribbon cutting of the newly refurbished Willie Mays Park in Fairfield, Alabama. Thanks to the generosity of Major League Baseball and the extraordinary efforts of State Senator Merika Coleman and numerous community partners, the Willie Mays Park will undergo major improvements and will now serve generations of aspiring young baseball players in Jefferson County.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Major League Baseball for their continued investment in Alabama's Seventh Congressional District. We look forward to welcoming them back to the Magic City. Of course, we know how important baseball has been not only to the African-American community but to the American community writ large.

We are excited to welcome Major League Baseball back to Birmingham, Alabama. Thanks to their generosity and the generosity of so many, we will continue to play ball in Alabama's Seventh Congressional District.

Let's play ball.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Julian L. McPhillips, Jr., the people's lawyer of Alabama, who passed away on April 12, 2025, at the age of 78.

Julian was a compassionate lawyer, a devoted family man, an obedient man of God, a dedicated servant leader in Montgomery, Alabama, and a dear mentor who was instrumental in my personal and professional development.

Julian was born in Birmingham and raised in Cullman, Alabama. He was a gifted athlete and a graduate of Sewanee Military Academy. He became an All-American wrestler at Princeton and graduated cum laude in 1968 with a degree in history. He earned his law degree from Columbia University Law School in 1971 and began his legal career on Wall Street.

Julian returned to Alabama in 1975 and launched his own Montgomery- based law firm in 1978, which became known as McPhillips Shinbaum, LLP.

As a lawyer in Alabama for over five decades, Julian gave a voice to the voiceless, representing the marginalized and disenfranchised. He took a bold stand against discrimination of all kinds and was a champion for civil rights, labor rights, and social justice.

Among his many victories, Julian successfully challenged laws targeting low-income Alabamians and civil rights activists, and he secured acquittals in all five death penalty cases he undertook.

His fearless advocacy for the marginalized earned him the moniker of ``The People's Lawyer.'' He was a brilliant lawyer, fierce advocate, and a generous investor in people and just causes.

Julian's heart was his family: His beloved wife, Leslie; his three children, Rachel, Grace, and David; and his seven grandchildren; as well as his surviving siblings, his two sisters, Sandra and Elizabeth, and his brother, Frank.

On a personal note, my life's journey was paved by many mentors but none more influential than the special relationship I shared with Julian McPhillips.

It was a phone call by Julian when I was a senior at Selma High School inviting me to his home to learn about Princeton that set my life on a different course.

Julian had read a newspaper article about my winning national debate tournaments and got in touch with me through my school guidance counselor. Julian's love for Princeton was infectious, and his insistence that I apply was relentless. He wrote me a glowing recommendation letter, telling the admission officers that with a Princeton education I would certainly be the Barbara Jordan of Alabama.

There were countless times throughout my life's journey that Julian stood in the gap making sure that I didn't fall through the cracks. It was Julian that gave me a summer job before college at his law offices so I could save money for school. While my parents could not afford to visit Princeton, it was Julian and Leslie that came to campus for athletic and alumni events and always took me and my roommates out to lunch or dinner.

When I graduated from Harvard Law School, it was Julian who suggested that I apply to work at his old New York law firm, Davis, Polk & Wardwell, and made the call. When I moved back to Alabama 7 years later, after my father's massive stroke, it was Julian who suggested that I give his brother, Frank, a call to learn about his Birmingham law firm, Maynard Cooper & Gail.

When I decided to run for Congress, yes, it was the McPhillips brothers, Julian and Frank, that gave me my first checks.

When Julian believed in something or someone, he was relentless. Julian's faith in me was unwavering, and his kindness knew no bounds. His belief was so powerful that he made me believe in me too.

When his prediction came true, it was Julian and Leslie that stood with my parents as I placed my hand on our family Bible to be sworn in as Alabama's first Black Congresswoman.

There are times in a person's life that change the trajectory of one's life. Some may call it serendipity, but I call it divine intervention.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Leslie and the entire McPhillips family for sharing Julian with me and my family. I thank Julian for being one of the angels in my life. I am so proud to call him a lifelong mentor and friend, and I am forever grateful for the profound impact that Julian had on my life.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Alabama's Seventh Congressional District, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the extraordinary life and legacy of ``The People's Lawyer,'' Julian L. McPhillips, Jr. May his legacy live on in the many lives that he touched and may my dear friend rest in power and peace.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the one big, billionaire, boondoggle bill. We are here because, according to President Trump, Elon Musk, and Republicans in Congress, billionaires and giant corporations don't have enough money.

We could be working to help Americans deal with the high cost of living. We could be working to make sure that healthcare is affordable for all, but what are we doing? At 4:35 a.m. in the morning, we are preparing to vote on a bill that will provide a $4 trillion tax giveaway to the wealthy, well-connected, and well-off.

How will we pay for it? We will pay for it by kicking 13.7 million Americans off of Medicaid and cutting $300 billion in SNAP benefits from hungry families. The people who I represent in Alabama's Seventh Congressional District are good and honest Americans. They work hard every day. They make enormous sacrifices to support themselves and their families, but they are hurting. They are hurting and being crushed by the high cost of living, and they live paycheck to paycheck.

Meanwhile, my Republican colleagues are hell-bent on providing and making life much harder for them. It is outrageous. It is simply unacceptable. This is a sad day in Congress. I strongly oppose this bill, and I give this warning: Hands off Medicaid, and hands off SNAP.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Alabama-native, Civil Rights activist, and trailblazing public servant, former Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman, who passed away on April 25, 2025, at the age of 77.

A native of Mobile, Alabama, Secretary Herman was born on July 16, 1947, to Alex Herman and Gloria Caponis. The daughter of Alabama's first African American ward leader, she became involved in the Civil Rights Movement at an early age. As a sophomore, Herman was suspended from Heart of Mary High School for a week for taking a stand against the Archdiocese of Mobile's exclusion of Black students from religious pageants.

After graduating, she continued her educational journey at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, and Spring Hill College in Mobile before transferring to Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. There, she became an active member of the Gamma Alpha Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 1969.

A dedicated advocate for civil rights and workers' protections, Secretary Herman's commitment to service was the throughline of her career. Shortly after earning her degree, Secretary Herman returned to Mobile where she helped desegregate parochial schools, including her alma mater, and persuaded the city shipyard in nearby Pascagoula, Mississippi, to give apprenticeships to young Black laborers. She later moved to Atlanta to lobby corporations to hire Black women for white- collar jobs before working at a New York-based consulting firm where she led programs to provide apprenticeships for women in nontraditional careers.

Her successful career advocating for labor rights and workers' protections gained the attention of United States President Jimmy Carter, who appointed her to serve as director of the Labor Department's Women's Bureau.

Following the Carter Administration, she managed Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns, served as Chief of Staff for the Democratic National Convention, and was Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison in the Clinton Administration.

In 1997, Secretary Herman made history as the first African American and the fifth woman to lead the U.S. Department of Labor under President Clinton. During her almost four-year tenure, unemployment dropped to a 30-year low, and she served as an instrumental mediator in the 1997 United Parcel Service workers strike, which at the time was the largest strike in the United States in two decades. Additionally, she played a role in the efforts to curtail sweatshops, supported two minimum wage increases, and helped pass the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, an overhaul of job training programs.

After serving in the Clinton Administration, Secretary Herman formed a consulting company, New Ventures, and served on the boards of numerous companies, including Coca-Cola, Entergy, and others. She was also a co-chair of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund in 2006 and joined the board of the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Additionally, Secretary Herman was the president of the Dorothy I. Height Education Fund, named for the civil and women's rights activist who was her mentor.

Secretary Herman is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Dr. Charles Franklin, Jr. She is survived by her stepchildren, Charles J. Franklin, Michelle Franklin, and Shari Smith; her nephew Kirke (Teresa) Herman, Jr.; her cousins Bernard (Moncenya) Broadus, Robin Broadus Iwuoha, Lori Hendricks, and Darryl Hendricks; and a host of godchildren, friends, mentees, and colleagues.

On a personal note, Secretary Herman was a great mentor and role model to me and so many women and African Americans in Alabama. A trailblazer and pioneer, she advocated for civil rights and workers protections. As we celebrate her incredible life and legacy, I want to express my sincere gratitude for the guidance she has given me in my life journey. Her extraordinary career in public service and advocacy is a testament to the power of one person to change the world. Through her hard work, brilliant mind, fearless determination, and thoughtful decision-making, she has changed lives. May the seeds she sowed into countless mentees continue to bear the fruit of change agents. Let us find comfort in knowing her incredible legacy will live on in the countless people she touched. May she rest in peace and power.

On behalf of Alabama's 7th Congressional District, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the extraordinary life and legacy of an exceptional public servant, former Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman, for her service to the City of Mobile, the State of Alabama, and our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the House Republican's so-called SAVE Act, the most restrictive voting law to be considered by this body in decades.

The SAVE Act is just the latest in the ongoing assault on our democracy by President Trump and his allies in Congress. Instead of working to meet the needs of the American people, House Republicans are busy spreading fear and lies to justify their attempts to disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.

Let's be clear: It is already against the law for non-Americans to vote. This bill is a solution in search of a problem. The SAVE Act would create new barriers to the ballot box for millions of eligible voters. That includes almost 70 million American women who got married and changed their last name. It also includes 140 million Americans without a passport, and it includes Americans with military and Tribal IDs.

To be clear, this bill is not about protecting our elections; it is about making it harder for Americans to vote and easier for Republicans to win.

As elected officials, we should be working to expand access to the ballot box, not restrict it. Congress should be considering H.R. 14, the John Robert Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to ensure that every American can freely and fairly vote.

Mr. Speaker, this is very personal to me. I am not only the Representative of America's civil rights district, but I am also the proud daughter of Selma, Alabama. It was in my hometown where hundreds of foot soldiers were bludgeoned on a bridge for the equal right of all Americans to vote. This legislation before us today makes a mockery of their legacy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the SAVE Act.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud today to join my colleague, Representative Malliotakis, in cosponsoring and speaking in favor of the Recovery of Stolen Checks Act.

This bill requires the Treasury to make procedures that allow taxpayers to opt in to receiving a replacement refund by direct deposit after their paper checks have been lost or stolen in the mail.

Right now, the Treasury Department is only allowed to continue sending a paper check to the same address, even though the check was stolen or lost at that very address. It is Congress' responsibility to give Treasury the ability to modernize, become more efficient, and most importantly, deliver much-needed payments to people that are relying on them as quickly as possible. This is a commonsense, straightforward, and urgent reform.

Every year, millions of Americans eagerly await their tax refund, money that they have rightfully earned. Unfortunately, criminals have exploited weaknesses in our system, stealing and cashing checks that do not belong to them. This fraud not only robs individuals of their refunds but also costs taxpayers millions of dollars annually.

The Recovery of Stolen Checks Act strengthens the government's ability to track and recover stolen refund checks. It empowers the U.S. Treasury and financial industries and institutions to act swiftly when fraud is detected, enabling that victim to get their payment much faster and that criminal to be held accountable.

With this bill, stolen checks can be flagged and traced more efficiently, victims will experience a quicker resolution and recovery process, banks and financial institutions will have clearer guidelines to prevent fraudulent transactions, and taxpayer dollars will be better protected, reducing the losses due to fraud.

Every dollar, Mr. Speaker, lost to fraud is a dollar taken from taxpayers. H.R. 1155 ensures that their hard-earned money is safeguarded and that criminals cannot exploit the system without consequences.

By closing loopholes and enhancing the recovery efforts, this legislation protects the integrity of our tax system and restores trust in financial security.

Mr. Speaker, I have had dozens of conversations with constituents who have spent months trying to receive a check from Treasury. In one instance, a constituent was sent two checks by the Treasury Department, neither delivered to her nor cashed by her before reaching out to my office for assistance. She just wanted the payment that she was owed.

Instead, the Treasury Department told her that they would only continue mailing a paper check to the same address where it had failed to get to her multiple times.

This policy is burdensome and it simply does not work. The caseworker on my staff continued to encounter cases just like this one, some taking over a year to resolve. This is way too long for the American public, and we need to do something about it. That is why this particular bill's resolution is common sense. I ask my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing.

Mr. Speaker, I am excited about the strong bipartisan support that H.R. 1155, the Recovery of Stolen Checks Act, has received. The bill will take a critical step toward combating financial fraud and protecting hardworking Americans from falling victim to check theft.

Each year, countless Americans are targeted by criminals who steal and fraudulently cash their checks, causing financial hardship and eroding the trust in our banking system. It happens not just in tax refunds, as my colleagues have indicated. Increasingly, Social Security and SNAP benefits are also being stolen by these criminals.

This bill strengthens law enforcement's ability to investigate and prosecute these crimes, ensuring that victims can recover the money and that the criminals are held accountable.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation for at least these three reasons: First, that the bill protects consumers from financial harm. Check fraud is not just an inconvenience, it is financially devastating to many families. When a check is stolen and cashed by criminals, victims are often left in a difficult situation.

Secondly, this bill will also strengthen law enforcement's ability to combat check fraud. Criminals have become more sophisticated in their methods, and law enforcement needs stronger tools to fight back.

Lastly, a financial system that cannot protect its users from fraud is a system in jeopardy. If consumers and businesses lose faith in their ability to

securely conduct transactions, our economy suffers as a whole. H.R. 1155 ensures confidence in our banking system by ensuring that stolen checks can be recovered and that perpetrators face real consequences.

Mr. Speaker, check fraud is a growing problem, but today, we, in a bipartisan way, in the Ways and Means Committee are finally taking commonsense, decisive action. This bill passed unanimously out of our committee, and I look forward to it passing unanimously out of this House. It is, once again, an opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to put partisanship aside and work together for the American people.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my CBC colleagues in getting into some good trouble as we voice our very strong opposition to the Republicans' voter suppression bill, the so-called SAVE Act.

As a daughter of Selma and the Representative of Alabama's civil rights district, the fight for voting rights is very personal to me. It was in Selma 60 years ago where John Lewis and hundreds of foot soldiers were bludgeoned on the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the equal right of every American to vote. The legislation before us makes a mockery of that legacy.

Since his defeat in the 2020 election, President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have pushed the big lie of a stolen election. The majority has tried to convince the American people of the lie that noncitizens are a threat to our elections and are using that lie as an excuse to pass a new law, such as the SAVE Act, which would make it harder for millions of Americans to cast their ballots.

Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear: It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in Federal elections, or in any elections. In fact, under current law, noncitizens would face up to 5 years in prison for attempting to vote in Federal elections and would even risk being deported.

In reality, this legislation would purge thousands of eligible voters from the rolls. It would create significant barriers for the 69 million women who currently are married and changed their last names so that their birth certificates do not match their marriage certificates. Thus, it would be harder for these almost 70 million women to vote.

The 140 million Americans who do not have a passport and those with military IDs and Tribal IDs, none of which would be able to prove their birth citizenship, are not included in the bill as proper forms of ID that will allow someone to show their citizenship.

Americans should see this bill for what it is: a cynical attempt to flame the fire of false voter fraud by the same extremist who brought us the January 6 insurrection.

Their objective of suppressing the vote was made even more clear last week, Mr. Speaker, when President Trump signed an executive order to erode voting rights and gave Elon Musk, an unelected, unconfirmed person, the right to access Americans' personal voter information.

Mr. Speaker, as elected officials in this House, we should be fighting to protect and expand access to the ballot box, not restrict it. As old battles have become new again, we in the Congressional Black Caucus have remained committed to ensuring and defending the sacred right to vote. This right to vote was won with blood, sweat, tears, and even deaths. We in the Congressional Black Caucus see voting rights as our North Star.

Mr. Speaker, we will not stop fighting as long as President Trump and Elon Musk and House Republicans are trying to take away our sacred right to vote.

I urge all of my colleagues to not only vote ``no'' on the SAVE Act, but to do so with vigor and with purpose.

It was John Lewis who said that ours is not the struggle of 1 day, 1 week, 1 year. Ours is a struggle of a lifetime. As long as the Congressional Black Caucus, 63 Members strong, is in this Congress, we will stand up and protect the right of every American to vote, and we will stop efforts like the SAVE Act.

The SAVE Act is not there to save election integrity. The SAVE Act is all about saving Republican seats and Republican elected officials. We will be voting ``no'' on that bill when it comes to the floor, and we urge our other colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan) for leading this Special Order hour. We in the Congressional Black Caucus stand on the shoulders of giants. It is now time for us to get off of their shoulders and to do our own work, and our own work, we will do in defeating the SAVE Act and for standing up for the legacy of John Lewis and those foot soldiers who marched on a bridge in my hometown for the equal right of every American to vote. As long as we have a voice, the CBC will be standing up for voting rights.

Mr. Speaker, with the eyes of the Nation on Alabama and Auburn men's basketball as they compete in the NCAA March Madness championship tournament, I would like to also shed a light on the outstanding high school basketball players in Alabama's Seventh Congressional District who led their teams to championship victories this season.

That includes the girls' 7A champions at Hoover High School, who dominated their competition and brought home the gold at the end of their 29-3 season. Way to go, ladies.

Likewise, Hoover High School's boys were also crowned 7A champions at the end of their undefeated season. Go, Hoover Buccaneers.

In Tuscaloosa, we recognize the boys of Paul W. Bryant High School, who took home the Division 6A Championship title following their 27-7 season.

In Clarke County, we congratulate the Jackson Academy boys, who finished their 21-4 season when they won the Division 4A championship.

Last, but certainly not least, I congratulate Uniontown's own R.C. Hatch boys' basketball team. In February, the Bobcats set a new record for boys' basketball in the State of Alabama when they took home their 11th State title as Division 1A champions.

As the proud daughter of the late Coach Andrew A. Sewell, who coached the Selma High School Saints for over 30 years, including in numerous State tournament games, I know firsthand the amount of dedication, talent, and teamwork that goes into earning a State championship title.

On behalf of Alabama's Seventh Congressional District, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating our outstanding high school basketball champions. I am confident that these young student athletes have bright futures ahead of them.

This weekend, the city of Birmingham will host the NCAA women's basketball Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in the Magic City. We welcome all of the teams to Birmingham, Alabama, and wish them much success.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Jefferson County Schools superintendent Dr. Walter Gonsoulin, who was just named the 2025 National Superintendent of the Year.

Superintendent Gonsoulin was celebrated at the AASA's National Conference on Education for his leadership within Alabama's Jefferson County School system.

He helped to create over 20 signature academies in the school district that exposed students to potential careers, all while increasing the district's college readiness rates and dual enrollment participation.

He is the first Alabama educator to win this national title.

As the daughter of two educators, I am forever grateful for Superintendent Gonsoulin's efforts and all of the teachers, administrators, and parents who share his mission to provide the best education possible to our next generation of leaders.

On behalf of Alabama's Seventh Congressional District, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin. We are all so proud of him, and we are grateful for the work that he does each and every day to create opportunities for our students to thrive.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill. This partisan-charged bill targets innocent workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic, received unemployment benefits, spent them in good faith to pay for necessities, and had no idea that their States made mistakes in paying their benefits.

Sadly, my Republican colleagues are using this bill to throw millions of Americans' lives and livelihoods into instability.

This financial attack on my constituents required them to then reimburse the Federal Government for a mistake that they did not make, upending their ability to pay their rent, leaving families homeless, upending their ability to purchase school supplies or make a car payment resulting in the loss of transportation that gets them to their jobs.

For people living on the margins of poverty, they don't have a financial cushion to fall back on when a surprise bill like this one is thrown into their family. It will cause major disarray.

This bill is not about addressing fraud. Republicans are simply using this opportunity to wage war on individuals themselves who did no wrong.

I encourage my colleagues to vote against this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Brenda Lovelady Spahn, the founder of The Lovelady Center in Birmingham, Alabama, who passed away on December 18, 2024, at the age of 75.

Miss Brenda founded The Lovelady Center in 2004 to rehabilitate women involved in the criminal justice system. Beginning with just seven inmates, the program rapidly grew into what is now the only State- supervised reentry program in Alabama and the largest faith-based recovery facility for women and children in the Nation.

Through the work of The Lovelady Center, Miss Brenda has touched the lives of more than 20,000 women and children, helping them to walk forward with faith-driven hope for the future. Guided by her abiding faith in God and her steadfast belief in the value of human life, Miss Brenda made it her mission to spread empowerment, hope, and redemption among the women she served.

Throughout her extraordinary life, she has received numerous awards and honors, including an honorary degree in humanitarian studies from Tennessee Temple University in 2012.

On a personal note, I am forever grateful for the opportunity I had to partner with Miss Brenda on behalf of the women and children of Jefferson County, Alabama, including the $2 million investment that we secured for The Lovelady Center in the fiscal year 2023 from the Federal budget.

I will always remember the warm, selfless, and kindhearted nature of Miss Brenda, and above all, her devotion to serving the most vulnerable members of our community.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the extraordinary life and legacy of Miss Brenda Lovelady Spahn. May her legacy live on in the many lives that she touched.

Celebrating the Retirement of Dr. Charles Steele, Jr.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary career and achievements of Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., as he celebrates his retirement after 17 years as the president and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

A true trailblazer, Dr. Steele has an accomplished career in both public service and civil rights advocacy. A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, he was elected to the Tuscaloosa City Council in 1985, a position he held for 2 years before being elected to the Alabama State Senate in 1994.

After serving three terms, Dr. Steele stepped down in 2004 to take over as the head of the SCLC. As the organization's president and CEO, Dr. Steele raised over $10 million and oversaw the groundbreaking of SCLC's new international headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Steele's reputation has always been one of great purpose and great passion. He is an honorable man, guided by an abiding faith in God and a love of country.

While his retirement will allow him some well-earned rest and time with loved ones, I know that his commitment to service will continue for years to come.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of a grateful Nation, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the retirement of Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., after 17 years as president and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

First, let me just say that we know that Barbara Lee speaks for all of us. When I first came to Washington, Barbara, you were a great mentor and friend.

Having studied about Shirley Chisholm, the stories that you told about her were so important. My favorite quote of hers is that: ``Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this Earth.'' Well, Barbara, you have actually burned a mortgage. You have done so much great work over your time in Washington and in Congress.

Your legacy will loom large over this place. I thank you for guiding so many of us through the appropriations process. I still want a tutorial before you go.

But, when I think about being effective, Barbara Lee's record is, bar none, one of the most important congressional records that we have.

Your track record on funding, whether that was all of the wonderful stuff you did for AIDS--and I could go on and on and on about how you have truly changed the world.

You have earned the right to retire, but we know that there is no such thing as retiring, that you go from project to project, and you excel in all.

Do know that this place will not be the same without you here.

I am sorry I am just running in, but I could not miss the opportunity to tell you how important you have been to me and to my office, and I thank you. Saying ``thank you'' doesn't seem adequate enough but do know that your legacy will live on through so many of the people that you touched. I am just grateful that I was one of the ones that you mentored, so thank you so much.

We love you, Barbara Lee.

And there was never a time that you didn't come with John to Selma. How many times did you make that pilgrimage on faith and politics? I just want to say thank you. Not only did you bring it, but you brought children from your Martin Luther King Center in Oakland.

And you also started a program with the children from my district.

And they got a chance to come to Oakland on the tour.

We do. We do.

Well, it is important because of you. We are absolutely following in your footsteps, and you leave huge steps for us to follow. Thank you, and I love you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the legacy of an American heroine, Mrs. Rosa Parks, as we observe the 69th anniversary of her historic arrest in Montgomery, Alabama.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks took a bold stand against segregation by refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. Her quiet, dignified courage sparked the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and galvanized a movement that changed the very fabric of this Nation.

Beginning on December 5, and continuing for the next 13 months, African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, brought the city's bus system to a screeching halt. Their efforts were successful, resulting in the November 1956 Supreme Court decision outlawing racial segregation on public buses.

The changemakers who staged the Montgomery Bus Boycott are a testament to the will of a disenfranchised people to take control of their own destiny, and their success quickly became the global model for nonviolent human rights advocacy.

Mr. Speaker, 69 years later, as the benefactors of their sacrifices, we remain indebted to them for laying the foundation of the continued struggle

for liberty and justice for all. That is why today, I am proud to be leading the effort in Congress to designate December 1 as Rosa Parks Day to commemorate her historic arrest.

H.R. 308, the Rosa Parks Day Act, was the very first bill that I introduced in the 118th Congress, along with my colleagues, Chairman of the CBC, Steven Horsford of Nevada, and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty of Ohio.

It will help ensure that Rosa Parks' brave sacrifice is never forgotten, and it will remind us of the power of ordinary Americans to achieve extraordinary social change.

Moreover, it will become the first Federal holiday in our Nation's history to honor a Black woman. Rosa Parks is a true American hero. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996, the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, and even became the first woman to ever lie in state at the U.S. Capitol rotunda.

Her lifelong work in the fight for equality and justice still resonates today. There is no more befitting figure in our Nation's history to honor with a new Federal holiday.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 308, the Rosa Parks Day Act.