Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, good evening. I am Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 119th session of Congress, and proud Representative of New York's Ninth Congressional District, located in central and southwest Brooklyn.

I thank my colleagues, Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina and Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, for co-anchoring this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour.

I rise tonight with my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus and the House Democratic Caucus to reflect on the solemn anniversary of the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.

The deadly insurrection of January 6, 2021, was not merely an attack on a building, but a direct and violent assault on Members of Congress, law enforcement, staff, and the very foundations of our democracy.

Today, this evening, we honor the extraordinary bravery of the United States Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers who protected our democracy and ensured that the attempt to overturn the 2020 election results failed.

Five years later, it is not lost on members of our Caucus that efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, through false claims of illegitimate voting, occurred during a year when we saw historic participation of Black voters. That participation resulted in Democratic victories up and down the ballot, as well as the election of the first Black woman Vice President.

Today, we cannot ignore the reality that efforts to disenfranchise Black communities are still ongoing. Soon, in the Louisiana v. Callais case, the Supreme Court will decide whether section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which outlaws racial discrimination in our electoral system, still allows Black and minority voters to challenge racially discriminatory voting maps in court, making clear that the fight to protect our democracy is far from over.

We will never forget the horrors of January 6, nor will we turn a blind eye to the efforts that continue to threaten the promise of equal participation in our democracy and undermine the very foundations on which this Nation and its governance has been built.

The January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and the occupants of the Capitol complex is a day that will live in infamy.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 333, and NAY on Roll Call No. 334.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for her hard work and dedication in anchoring the Special Order hour of the Congressional Black Caucus for 3 consecutive weeks, as she has rightly stated. We are so proud of the work she is doing to uplift the stories of people across this Nation who are standing on the edge of what could be catastrophic in terms of healthcare.

Mr. Speaker, good evening, I am Representative Yvette D. Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, proudly representing New York's Ninth Congressional District, which is located in central and southwest Brooklyn.

I thank my colleague once again, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, for anchoring this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour.

I rise tonight, Mr. Speaker, with my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus to bring awareness to the fast approaching ACA tax credit funding deadline and to give voice to everyday Americans who will be harmed by the Republican-led healthcare crisis. The enhanced ACA tax credits are set to expire on December 31 unless congressional Republicans join Democrats to extend them.

In a few short weeks, millions of Americans will be forced to pay astronomical prices for their health insurance. Many will lose coverage altogether because they will not be able to afford it.

I want to share the story of a constituent who lives in my district in Brooklyn, a woman who wants to work, who does work, and who contributes to her community every single day.

Denise, of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, is self-employed. She is a graphic designer. She also lives with lupus, a serious autoimmune condition that requires consistent care and access to specialists. The only reason she has been able to stay in the workforce is because of the Affordable Care Act, and specifically the enhanced premium tax credits that have made quality health insurance something she could actually afford.

Those credits lowered her monthly premium enough so that she could manage her health, pay her rent, and keep her small business going. However, now she is being told that if these enhanced credits expire, her premium could double.

When she found out that her healthcare costs could become unaffordable, she said: ``The only reason I can work at all is because I can manage my lupus with regular care. I can't pay New York City rent, pay those premiums, and keep my business going. It feels like Congress is telling disabled people, don't work, go back on full benefits.''

Mr. Speaker, doubling someone's premium doesn't just strain a budget, it changes a life. It forces people to give up work. It pushes people with disabilities out of the workforce. It tells them that independence is a luxury that they can't afford.

My constituent does not want to stop working. She does not want to give up, but if Congress allows these credits to expire, we are effectively telling her and millions like her that staying insured and staying employed are no longer compatible choices. That is wrong. It is within our power to prevent it.

All 214 Democrats have signed a discharge petition that will extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for 3 years. All we need are four Republicans who are willing to join us in protecting our Nation's healthcare.

Allowing these tax credits to expire is, indeed, a choice, and it is the wrong choice. Our communities are counting on us to do the right thing and to put their needs over politics. It is people over politics.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Ramirez for yielding, and I appreciate her leadership in this moment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on this day in opposition to the vicious, violent, unconstitutional, and illegal war Donald Trump and his administration continue to wage against our immigrant neighbors.

On the President's orders, the Department of Homeland Security and its agents of hatred have taken unprecedented, unthinkable, and abusive control over the lives of immigrant Americans. His goon squad has broken up families, torn apart communities, and committed atrocities equal only to the worst sins in the history of our Nation, with extra sins to spare.

Refugees, asylum seekers, and countless other people desperately seeking any semblance of safety beyond our shores have only found more pain here in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Even our neighbors with citizenship have been targeted in this campaign of hatred. In fact, more than 170 U.S. citizens have already been wrongfully detained under this administration, some held for days, many subjected to brutality just for brutality's sake.

It pains me to know and to say that four of these citizens were arrested during ICE's crackdown on New York City's Canal Street. It is disgusting, unconstitutional, and uncivilized.

No matter how desperately he wishes it weren't, I have news for the President: New York City will always be a sanctuary to the oppressed and the powerless, as will other communities like ours across this Nation. Our doors will always be open to those seeking refuge and safety.

No matter how deeply they try to dehumanize immigrant Americans, the people of this country know full well where the inhumanity lies. The President and his masked agents of violence and hatred have seen to that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Delia Ramirez so much for your leadership, for your truth telling, and for your standing up.

Mr. Speaker, to all of my colleagues on the Progressive Caucus, we are on the right side of history. This history that we are experiencing right now, this era, will go down in infamy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for her steadfast leadership and for hosting our Special Order hour this evening.

Mr. Speaker, good evening. I am Representative Yvette D. Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, proudly representing New York's Ninth Congressional District, located in Brooklyn, New York.

I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, for anchoring this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour.

I rise tonight with my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus to bring awareness to the fast-approaching ACA tax credit funding deadline, 30 days to go, and to give voice to everyday Americans who will be harmed by the Republican-led healthcare crisis.

The enhanced ACA tax credits are set to expire on December 31 unless congressional Republicans join Democrats to extend them.

Without an extension of the ACA tax credits, tens of millions of individuals and families can expect to pay significantly higher health insurance premiums for marketplace plans.

Without these tax credits, Americans will see their healthcare costs skyrocket, increase by hundreds if not thousands of dollars per month, which will force families who are already struggling with the cost of living to face unaffordable premium spikes or lose coverage altogether.

The ACA tax credits have ensured that families, seniors, young adults, and workers in every CBC district could afford quality healthcare.

In our districts, we have heard from countless constituents who receive their healthcare on the ACA marketplace who are now worried about the cost of their healthcare going up.

One of my constituents, Lilah Wilson, a small business owner who depends on the ACA marketplace said: ``My heart dropped when I got an email earlier this month stating that I might lose my insurance benefits. I already struggle to afford the city that I have grown up in and contributed to as a small business owner.''

She continued: ``Shopping for health insurance through the marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act was the first time that I had assurance of affordable, good insurance. We must protect this program. It is a matter of survival.''

At every turn, Republicans have turned their backs on the American people. President Trump and congressional Republicans promised the American people that they would take swift action on day one to address our Nation's affordability crisis by lowering the high cost of living.

Well, instead, they unleashed the most aggressive assault on our Nation's healthcare in history, and the damage has been devastating.

Across the country, we are already seeing hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics that serve our communities closing their doors, and now Republicans' refusal to extend ACA premium tax credits is driving up costs and pushing coverage out of reach for many in our communities.

The CBC and House Democrats stood united for more than 40 days to prevent exactly this outcome while Republicans refused to negotiate and left working families to bear the consequences.

We are calling on our Republican colleagues to join us in putting the well-being of the American people above partisanship, to put people over politics.

This is not an abstract policy debate. It is about real lives. It is about parents deciding whether to fill a prescription or pay the rent. It is about seniors choosing between a doctor's visit and groceries. It is about young adults, gig workers, caregivers, and small business owners who depend on the ACA marketplace for the coverage that keeps them healthy and financially secure.

Let me be clear: Allowing these tax credits to expire is a choice. It is a choice of greed. It is a choice of cruelty. It is the wrong choice.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, the conscience of the Congress, in strong opposition to this resolution. This resolution is a blatantly partisan, shameless attack.

As we sit here today, Donald Trump is still the single person in this country with the authority and the ability to deliver justice to survivors and truth to the American people by just releasing the files. So instead of answering why Donald Trump chooses every single day not to release the Epstein files, they are pointing fingers at this side of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, unlike the President, Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett has committed no crime, violated no rule, and broken no promises.

There has been no investigation, no due process, no inquiry into whether the Congresswoman had any connection whatsoever to Epstein's despicable and disgusting criminal conduct.

This resolution would have us remove a capable and hardworking member of one of the most serious working committees in this body on the basis of a conversation from more than 6 years ago, which broke no rules, broke no laws, and has no connection to any criminal activity.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this partisan resolution, this sham.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I rise to give notice of my intent to raise a question of the privileges of the House.

The form of the resolution is as follows:

Censuring Representative Cory Mills.

Whereas Representative Cory Mills has on several occasions conducted himself in a manner that reflects discredit upon the House of Representatives;

Whereas on February 19, 2025, Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to resolve a private matter at Representative Cory Mills' residence, where officers were called to the 1300 block of Maryland Avenue, Southwest around 1:15 p.m. for the report of an assault;

Whereas police reports obtained by NBC4 Washington confirmed that the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department was investigating Representative Cory Mills for an alleged assault of a 27-year old woman that took place on February 19, 2025, at the residence of Representative Cory Mills;

Whereas the first police report, provided to NBC4 Washington by a source and confirmed by a second source familiar with the investigation, said that the 27-year-old woman accused her significant other for over a year of having grabbed her, shoved her, and pushed her out of the door, and also said that the woman involved showed the officer ``bruises on her arm which appeared fresh'';

Whereas NBC4 Washington also reported that the Metropolitan Police Department identified Representative Cory Mills as the significant other of the alleged victim of assault--which alleged victim was a 27- year-old woman who was not the wife of Representative Cory Mills--and that the alleged victim ``let officers hear Subject 1 [now identified by MPD as Mills] instruct her to lie about the origin of her bruises . . . Eventually, Subject 1 made contact with police and admitted that the situation escalated from verbal to physical, but it was severe enough to create bruising'';

Whereas on February 21, 2025, the Washington post also confirmed two DC police officials said that the alleged victim of assault initially told a 911 operator and police that she had been assaulted and that officers said she also had what seemed to be visible injuries, and that while a supervisor initially classified the offense internally as a family disturbance, police commanders later learned of the incident, reviewed the reports and body camera footage from the responding officers, and reclassified the case as a domestic violence assault;

Whereas on February 21, 2025, NBC4 Washington also reported that the Metropolitan Police Department determined that probable cause to arrest Representative Cory Mills for misdemeanor assault existed and sent an arrest warrant for Representative Cory Mills to the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia; however, then-Acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin refused to sign the arrest warrant for Representative Cory Mills and instead returned the case to the Metropolitan Police Department for further investigation;

Whereas on July 14, 2025, a different former romantic partner of Representative Cory Mills, who was apparently in a relationship with Representative Mills from November 2021 to February 2025, reported to authorities in Florida that Representative Mills threatened to release nude images and other intimate videos of her and threatened to harm her future romantic partners in retaliation for her decision to end a relationship with Representative Mills after seeing the public reports described above concerning the alleged February 2025 physical assault;

Whereas on October 14, 2025, the Circuit Court of the Third Judicial Circuit in Columbia County, Florida, issued a Final Judgment of Injunction for Protection Against Dating Violence against Representative Cory Mills, based on a finding that his former romantic partner was a victim of dating violence or had reasonable cause to believe she was in imminent danger of becoming a victim of an act of dating violence;

Whereas in August 2024, the Office of Congressional Conduct adopted and transmitted to the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives a report indicating that there was substantial reason to believe that Representative Cory Mills may have omitted or misrepresented required information in his financial disclosure statements, accepted excessive contributions to his campaign committee in the form of personal loans and contributions that may not have derived from Representative Cory Mills' personal funds, entered into, held, or enjoyed contracts with federal agencies while he was a Member of Congress, and may have accepted through his campaign committee in- kind contributions or other contributions not lawfully made;

Whereas individuals who served with Representative Cory Mills have called into question the veracity of the account of events which formed the basis of a recommendation that Representative Cory Mills receive an award of a Bronze Star, bestowed in 2021, for his service under enemy fire in Iraq in 2003;

Whereas in August 2024, Representative Cory Mills provided the Daytona Beach News with documents purporting to prove that he earned a Bronze Star with heroism, including a Department of the Army Form 638 recommending Representative Cory Mills for a Bronze Star which includes a signature from then-Army Brigade Commander Arnold N. Gordon-Bray; however, Retired Brigadier General Bray told the Daytona Beach News- Journal in August 2024 that he did not sign a Bronze Star recommendation for Representative Cory Mills;

Whereas five people who served with Representative Cory Mills, including two men who were reported as having been personally saved by Representative Cory Mills at great risk to his own life as a basis for the recommendation for his Bronze Star in the Department of the Army Form 638, disputed that Representative Cory Mills was involved in their rescue or provided life-saving care;

Whereas one Private First Class cited as having been involved in one of the listed achievements on Representative Cory Mills's Army Form 638 recommending him for a Bronze Star denied that Representative Cory Mills provided him any aid and also denied that his injuries were life threatening;

Whereas one Sergeant cited as having been involved in one of the listed achievements on Representative Cory Mills's Army Form 638 recommending him for a Bronze Star called the account a ``fabrication'' and claimed that he ``was not involved in any claims that Cory Mills makes about me''; and

Whereas despite the numerous available contradictions of the accounts forming the basis of the recommendation for his Bronze Star, Representative Cory Mills described the legitimate factual disputes raised by individuals he purportedly served with and rescued as ``slander and defamation'' in a statement to the Daytona Beach News Journal: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That--

(1) Representative Cory Mills be censured;

(2) Representative Cory Mills forthwith present himself in the well of the House of Representatives for the pronouncement of censure;

(3) Representative Cory Mills be censured with the public reading of this resolution by the Speaker; and

(4) Representative Cory Mills is hereby removed from the following standing committee of the House of Representatives: the Committee on Armed Services.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for anchoring us in the Congressional Black Caucus' Special Order hour, ``Stories from Home: The human costs of expiring healthcare tax credits.''

Tonight, we have already heard from my colleagues, and we speak for everyday Americans, families, seniors, young adults, and workers who now face the devastating reality that their healthcare premiums are about to double--in some cases, triple and quadruple--when critical tax credits expire at year's end.

In New York's Ninth Congressional District, this crisis is not theoretical. It is happening to the single mother in Flatbush, Brooklyn, who finally had been able to afford her son's asthma medication. It is happening to the retired home health aide in Brownsville stretching every dollar just to stay covered.

It is happening to the young entrepreneur in Crown Heights who took a chance on starting a business because these credits made health insurance reachable and reliable.

For years, these tax credits which were extended during the pandemic have been a stabilizing force for families across Brooklyn, New York. They helped to protect our communities, kept our small businesses afloat, and ensured that our neighbors could see a doctor without sacrificing their rent payments, groceries, or the lifesaving medications that many, many rely on.

Yet, because of a prolonged and entirely avoidable Trump-Republican government shutdown and because Republicans refused to negotiate, the expiration of these credits will hit working families the hardest. In a city where the cost of living is already sky high, premium spikes will push many in New York's Ninth District to the brink of losing coverage altogether.

House Democrats stood united for more than 40 days to prevent this outcome. We fought to shield families from exactly this kind of financial ruin and healthcare shock. Once again, our Republican colleagues across the aisle chose politics over people, and Brooklyn, New York, like other districts across the Nation, will feel that pain most acutely.

Mr. Speaker, tonight, the Congressional Black Caucus has done what it has always done: We center the people. We will bring forward the stories from home, stories from New York's Ninth District and every district represented by the CBC. We will make sure that this Chamber hears their names, sees and feels their struggle, and understands the real-world consequences of inaction, because this is not just a policy.

This is about whether families in Brooklyn, New York, can afford their medications; whether seniors can age with dignity; whether our healthcare infrastructure can withstand the shock of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, using the emergency room as primary care; and whether our children can grow up healthy and secure.

The CBC is leading the fight for the extension of these critical tax credits and for the health, well-being, and humanity of every person who we represent.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that these stories this evening drive it home.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I rise to give notice of my intention to raise a question of the privileges of the House in the form of a resolution, as follows:

Whereas, Representative Cory Mills has on several occasions conducted himself in a manner that reflects discredit upon the House of Representatives;

Whereas, on February 19, 2025, Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to resolve a private matter at Representative Cory Mills' residence, where officers were called to the 1300 block of Maryland Avenue, Southwest, around 1:15 p.m. for the report of an assault;

Whereas, police reports obtained by NBC4 Washington confirmed that the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department was investigating Representative Cory Mills for an alleged assault of a 27-year-old woman that took place on February 19, 2025, at the residence of Representative Cory Mills;

Whereas, the first police report provided to NBC4 Washington by a source and confirmed by a second source familiar with the investigation said that the 27-year-old woman accused her significant other for over a year of having grabbed her, shoved her, and pushed her out of the door, and also said that the woman involved showed the officer ``bruises on her arm which appeared fresh'';

Whereas, NBC4 Washington also reported that the Metropolitan Police Department identified Representative Cory Mills as the significant other of the alleged victim of assault, which alleged victim was a 27- year-old woman who was not the wife of Representative Cory Mills, and that the alleged victim ``let officers hear Subject 1, [now identified by MPD as Mills] instruct her to lie about the origin of her bruises. . . . Eventually, Subject 1 made contact with police and admitted that the situation escalated from verbal to physical, but it was severe enough to create bruising'';

Whereas, on February 21, 2025, The Washington Post also confirmed two D.C. police officials said that the alleged victim of assault initially told a 911 operator and police that she had been assaulted and that officers said she also had what seemed to be visible injuries, and that while a supervisor initially classified the offense internally as a family disturbance, police commanders later learned of the incident, reviewed the reports and body-cam footage from the responding officers, and reclassified the case as a domestic violence assault;

Whereas, on February 21, 2025, NBC4 Washington also reported that the Metropolitan Police Department determined that probable cause to arrest Representative Cory Mills for misdemeanor assault existed and sent an arrest warrant for Representative Cory Mills to the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. However, then-acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin refused to sign the arrest warrant for Representative Cory Mills and instead returned the case to the Metropolitan Police Department for further investigation;

Whereas, on July 14, 2025, a different former romantic partner of Representative Cory Mills, who was apparently in a relationship with Representative Mills from November 2021 to February of 2025, reported to authorities in Florida that Representative Mills threatened to release nude images and other intimate videos of her and threatened to harm her future romantic partners in retaliation for her decision to end the relationship with Representative Mills after seeing the public records described above concerning the alleged February 2025 physical assault;

Whereas, in August 2024, the Office of Congressional Conduct adopted and transmitted to the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives a report indicating that there was substantial reason to believe that Representative Cory Mills may have omitted or misrepresented required information in his financial disclosure statements, accepted excessive contributions to his campaign committee in the form of personal loans and contributions that may not have derived from Representative Cory Mills' personal funds, entered into, held, or enjoyed contracts with Federal agencies while he was a Member of Congress, and may have accepted through his campaign committee in- kind contributions or other contributions not lawfully made;

Whereas, individuals who served with Representative Cory Mills have called into question the veracity of the accounts of events which formed the

basis of a recommendation that Representative Cory Mills receive an award of a Bronze Star, bestowed in 2021, for his service under enemy fire in Iraq in 2003;

Whereas, in August 2024, Representative Cory Mills provided the Daytona Beach News with documents purporting to prove that he earned a Bronze Star with heroism, including a Department of Army Form 638 recommending Representative Cory Mills for a Bronze Star which includes a signature from then-Army Brigade Commander Arnold N. Gordon-Bray; however, retired Brigadier General Bray told the Daytona Beach News- Journal in August 2024 that he did not sign a Bronze Star recommendation for Representative Cory Mills;

Whereas, five people who served with Representative Cory Mills, including two men who were reported as having been personally saved by Representative Cory Mills at great risk to his own life as a basis for the recommendation for his Bronze Star in the Department of the Army Form 638, disputed that Representative Cory Mills was involved in their rescue or providing lifesaving care;

Whereas, one private first class cited as having been involved in one of the listed achievements on Representative Cory Mills' Army Form 638 recommending him for a Bronze Star denied that Representative Cory Mills provided him any aid and also denied his injuries were life- threatening;

Whereas, one sergeant cited as having been involved in one of the listed achievements on Representative Cory Mills' Army Form 638 recommending him for a Bronze Star called the account a ``fabrication'' and claimed that he ``was not involved in any claims that Cory Mills makes about me''; and

Whereas, despite the numerous available contradictions of the accounts forming the basis of the recommendation for his Bronze Star, Representative Cory Mills described the legitimate factual disputes raised by individuals he purportedly served with and rescued as ``slander and defamation'' in a statement to the Daytona Beach News- Journal:

Now, therefore, be it resolved, that-- One, Representative Cory Mills be censured;

Two, Representative Cory Mills forthwith present himself in the well of the House of Representatives for the pronouncement of censure; and

Three, Representative Cory Mills be censured with the public reading of this resolution by the Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of the House and offer the resolution that was previously noticed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge support for a crackdown on vision benefit managers, or VBMs, and their exploitative industry that exists only to profit from the eyeglass frames and lenses they make, the labs they own and operate, and the patient data gathering and mass retail operations built around them.

VBMs not only undermine healthcare access and quality, but threaten the existence of independent eye care practices nationwide.

VBM contracting abuses are already rampant, and their control over the independent eye care practice is only growing.

We cannot turn a blind eye, pun intended, to the serious conflict of interest concerns when a plan becomes both a healthcare provider and payer.

We cannot ignore the consequences of this unacceptable status quo, which has arbitrarily limited treatment options to those which are profitable for the VBM instead of effective for the patient.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for yielding.

``Our society is not unlike the children in that house, rocked again and again by the winds of one storm or another. . . . The people of conscience never left the house.''

In his memoir in 1998, ``Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement,'' the great Congressman John Lewis recounted a childhood memory of being caught in a terrifying storm with a group of children in his Aunt Seneva's small house in Pike County, Alabama, near the town of Troy.

As the storm tried to lift the house, John and the children held hands and worked together, using their unity as their strength to stabilize the home. This was, among many things, a metaphor for how society, especially in moments of discord, upheaval, and conflict, requires people to come together, hold on, and stand firm against forces trying to tear it apart.

As it happens, Congressman Lewis' timeless words speak directly to the unique moment we find ourselves in today. With the unprecedented assaults on our voting rights and the slow erosion of our constitutional and democratic norms, the house most certainly is in danger.

Voting rights are, and have always been, the CBC's North Star, and right now, the franchise, this tool, the foundation of our democracy, is under threat. At a time when our democracy is under constant siege by the Trump administration, we must do all we can to protect it.

As we speak, extremist Republicans at the local, State, and national levels are running the table with every tactic in their arsenal to disenfranchise Black and minority communities. To date, hundreds of bills to restrict voting access have been introduced in States around the country, with the aim of closing polling locations, curbing early voting and vote by mail, and imposing stricter voting ID requirements.

These efforts are coordinated, well funded, and targeting our communities with laser-like precision.

The question now is: What are we going to do to stop it?

For generations, we have marched, fought, and even died for the right to vote. Congressman Lewis certainly knew this.

It is a shame that partisan politics have brought us to the point that we cannot agree that access to the ballot box should be a right afforded to every American.

Congressman John Lewis devoted every day of his life to fighting to make our country live up to its highest ideals and to the promise that all men, and may I add women, are created equal.

From the Edmund Pettus Bridge to the Halls of Congress, the boy from Troy never stopped making good trouble. It is in that spirit that the CBC and House Democrats will always fight back against the voter suppression that plagues our country and impedes access to the ballot box, particularly in Black communities.

It is in that spirit that we will not stop until we pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore and modernize the protections of the Voting Rights Act to prevent States from erecting new barriers to the ballot box.

As our beloved John said: The people of conscience never left the house.

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, I have a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. Speaker, why is it that the Israel-Iran war briefing we were supposed to be having today has been canceled?

Mr. Speaker, okay. Let me state it again. We were informed today--

Mr. Speaker, I am.

Mr. Speaker, my inquiry is: We were informed that we would have a briefing on the Iran-Israel war this afternoon, and it has been canceled. Why is that?

Mr. Speaker, has the Speaker been informed that today the briefing for the Iran-Israel war has been canceled, and why is that?

Mr. Speaker, why is that?

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed. It is indeed.

Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiries.

Mr. Speaker, the Constitution requires that Members of Congress be consulted in all matters and be authorized for any wars that are declared by the United States of America. We have not been briefed.

Mr. Speaker, in light of the fact that we don't have this briefing on the Iran-Israel war that will be taking place today, I move that the House adjourn until such time that we are briefed.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, for setting the tone for this evening's hour and for anchoring this evening's Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight with my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus in recognition of national independence, Juneteenth National Independence Day.

On June 19, 1865, more than 2 years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, 2,000 Union troops reached Galveston Bay, Texas, with the news of the President's decree. On that day, more than 250,000 Black Americans were officially free.

From that day on, the newly freed people of Galveston established Juneteenth as a day to celebrate the long journey to freedom, and our Nation's second Independence Day, when all citizens were finally declared free.

To this day, the impact of Juneteenth on our community remains unparalleled. On Juneteenth, we celebrate Black joy, culture, and the unbreakable spirit of our community that has overcome so much across generations. Today, we continue to uplift values of hope, determination, and the preservation of our history and our people.

We celebrate and pay homage to our history and those who have gotten us here today, figures like Texas native Opal Lee, known as the Mother of Juneteenth, who campaigned for decades to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday.

We also remember the role of the Congressional Black Caucus and how they played that role to solidify Juneteenth as a Federal holiday. In 1996, former Congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins, a CBC member, introduced one of the earliest bills in Congress to designate Juneteenth as a national holiday.

Following this effort, the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee picked up the mantle, reintroducing legislation from 1997 to the year 2000 to commemorate the holiday, pushing for broader recognition and funding for education and celebrations.

In the wake of the tragic murder of George Floyd, nationwide protests renewed national conversation around this legislation, creating a path for CBC members to, once again, call for Federal recognition.

Among other demands from the caucus during this nationwide social justice movement, the U.S. Congress passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, led in the House by Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

The Juneteenth holiday offers us not only a time for reflection but also a time to mobilize to protect our communities from the endless assaults from the Trump administration that seek to erase our history, cut off access to economic opportunity, and roll back the clock on progress in our communities.

On Juneteenth, and every day, the CBC continues our commitment to Black liberation and unity by fighting to make our communities safe, prosperous, and free.

Juneteenth as a national holiday exemplifies the values of this caucus. As the conscience of the Congress, the CBC remains steady in our goals of

centering issues of equity and justice for our communities, always remembering that freedom delayed is freedom denied.