Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I was absent during the time of votes due to travel and weather delays. Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 84, H.R. 517, Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act; and YEA on Roll Call No. 85, H.R. 997, National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025.

Mr. Speaker, I rise as this week on March 14 in my hometown of St. Louis we are celebrating 314 Day.

This day is much more than just our area code or an excuse to celebrate our hometown sports teams: the Cardinals, the Blues, St. Louis City Soccer Club, the Battlehawks. I am also going to acknowledge Mathews-Dickey and a huge shout-out to the St. Louis Stars, our Negro league baseball team back in the day, and St. Louis' own James ``Cool Papa'' Bell. God rest his soul.

It is not just about what high school you attended, which is also a St. Louis thing, or it is not just about the beer, which we are known to make a lot of. It is not about the gooey butter cakes. It is not just about Imo's Pizza, Vess soda, and Ted Drewes. God rest his soul. It is not about the fact that many St. Louisans sincerely believe that our Chinese food is better than Chinese food in China.

I won't even quiz you on what a chicken St. Paul with cheese is, which is also a St. Louis thing.

It is about recognizing and renewing the powerful bonds and resilience that define our community.

St. Louis is a city of complexity, a rich history, and deep contrasts. From neighborhoods in Webster Groves, Normandy, and the 24-1 communities to historic neighborhoods in North City and Ferguson and Florissant, from Saint Ann to Soulard and South City, our city encapsulates both the beauty and the struggle of America.

We have faced challenges, economic inequality, racial injustice, and public health crises, but we have never backed down from confronting hard truths or demanding necessary change.

That is why 314 Day matters. In a country that feels deeply divided, days like today remind us of the power of community. Families in Tower Grove Park, the immigrant communities of the Hill and our Bosnian brothers and sisters in South City and South County, businesses thriving in the Central West End in Clayton all remind us of the collective strength we gain from unity and cooperation.

St. Louisans know what it means not to fall in the shadow of hateful rhetoric, but instead to rise in the face of adversity. Whether it is organizing for justice, rebuilding neighborhoods, or simply coming together to support each other through difficult times, our community exemplifies resilience and compassion every day.

On 314 Day, let's not just celebrate our history, our food, and our iconic art. Let's celebrate our city's extraordinary spirit, the unwavering belief that our greatest challenges can become opportunities for growth, justice, and meaningful change.

Today, we recommit to that ideal because St. Louis deserves nothing else.

On a solemn note, rest in peace Berkeley, Missouri, Mayor Babatunde Deinbo and his fierce passion for his community.

I wish a happy birthday to Jordan Sanders and to Justin Tatum, a former St. Louis University basketball star and father of St. Louis- born and bred NBA champion Jason Tatum. Boston, you are welcome.

Finally, I wish a very special--and I won't say the number because I don't think she wants me to--but a very special birthday to my mother, Sharon Gardner, our matriarch, the primary reason that I rise in these Halls so that I could rise before you today.

Happy birthday to my mom.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to remember our colleague, Representative Sylvester Turner. My colleague previously discussed his policy accomplishments, but I will take this from a different angle.

If I had to rank my freshmen colleagues, respectfully, by kindness and decency, Sylvester Turner would have won in a landslide. He had a warmth about him, whether you were a constituent, a colleague, or just someone passing by. He didn't serve for recognition. He did it because he wanted to make people's lives better.

Representative Turner made this a better place, through his work and through the way he treated people. Before Congress, he served as the mayor of Houston, leading with the same heart and dedication that defined his life.

Losing him reminds us to appreciate the people around us. Today, let's take a moment to reflect, to check in on one another, and in this House and in houses across this Nation, let's carry forward the kindness and service that define Sylvester's life.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor the life and legacy of Carol Clay, a remarkable woman whose impact on St. Louis and our Nation will never be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, it saddens me that my first opportunity to honor the Clay family comes at such a difficult time as we mourn an extraordinary woman.

Carol Clay was a pillar of strength, grace, and conviction. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She stood shoulder to shoulder with her husband, former Congressman Bill Clay, in the fight for justice.

Her legacy lives on in the young people who were uplifted through the CBC Spouses Scholarship Fund, the community she strengthened, and the family she nurtured.

My deepest condolences to Congressman Clay, Sr.; to Lacy; and the entire Clay family. May Carol Clay rest in peace, and may her memory continue to guide us toward a more just and compassionate world.

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to say happy birthday to my father, John Bell; happy heavenly birthday to my stepfather, Larry Greer; and happy Founder's Day to the national AME Church and, at home in St. Louis, St. Paul AME Church led by Pastor Spencer Booker.

I rise today humbled and with deep gratitude to deliver my first speech here in these Halls, this living testament to both the promise and the challenges of American governance.

I stand not merely as a Representative in Congress but as a proud son of St. Louis, one who believes in the power of bringing every voice into our shared conversation. It is my mission to ensure that every single person in my district feels seen, heard, and valued.

My first foray into public service was as a city councilman elected in 2015 in a place called Ferguson. In 2018, I was the first African American elected to serve as St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, working with community partners to create the first of its kind diversion advisory committee and connecting nonviolent offenders to substance abuse, opioid, and mental health treatment to address underlying root causes of crime. We also created the first conviction incident review unit in St. Louis County, investigating credible claims of wrongful conviction and police misconduct.

Here I stand, elected to this great House, at a time when the current administration has actively intended to make diversity into scarlet letters and is attempting to rebrand the three letters ``DEI'' into a four-letter curse word.

As we celebrate the lunar new year, we will not forget the contributions of our AANHPI brothers and sisters in atomic science, medicine, and engineering, to name a few.

We will not forget the contributions of our Hispanic and Latino ``brothers and sisters,'' ``hermanos y hermanas,'' in science, music, medicine, and biochemistry, to name a few.

We will not forget our Muslim brothers' and sisters' contributions in education, science, and medicine, to name a few.

Moreover, we will not forget our Jewish brothers' and sisters' many contributions, but more personally to me, the contributions in the civil rights movement from those who bled and died during the Freedom Rides. Rabbis were locked in arms and risked their lives, marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with Dr. King and others, like the late John Lewis, who also graced these very same Halls.

As we celebrate Black History Month, I would be remiss if I did not also mention the tremendous contributions of Black folks in building this Nation.

To the current administration, I rise to say directly that Black history is American history; diversity is this Nation's superpower; equity is about fairness and fair play, which all Americans believe in; and inclusion literally refers to all of us.

From slavery to Jim Crow to being denied basic civil rights but still fighting for and believing in the promise of this promised land, it is this land that, despite that history, we still love.

This is evidenced by a song you may hear a lot during this month and in June. It is a song dubbed the Black national anthem. As my esteemed colleague Congressman Clyburn accurately remarked, it is a song everyone can identify with. It is a song not about retribution, as it could have been. It is a song not about hopelessness, as it could be. On the contrary, it is a song about hope, faith, and freedom.

It is a song that does not direct some voices to be lifted, but directs us instead to:

Lift every voice and sing,

Till Earth and Heaven ring;

Ring with the harmonies of liberty;

Let our rejoicing rise

High as the listening skies,

Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,

Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;

Facing the rising Sun of our new day begun,

Let us march on till victory is won.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 36.