Colin Allred

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Inflation Reduction Act. For too long, Congress has refused to act while seniors like my mom, who is a breast cancer survivor, endured price gouging on their medicines while on Medicare. Today, Democrats in Congress are changing that. We are going to stand up to Big Pharma and let Medicare negotiate lower prices and cap out- of-pocket costs at $2,000, as well as capping the cost of insulin. For too long, Congress has refused to address the climate crisis and invest in clean energy. Today, Democrats in Congress are changing that. Through the largest-ever investment to fight climate change, this bill will cut emissions by 40 percent by 2030. It unleashes American and, yes, Texas-made clean energy while creating 9 million jobs. Thanks to President Biden, and Democrats in Congress, this historic legislation will impact our Nation for generations to come, all while reducing the deficit without raising taxes on folks making less than $400,000 a year. It is a big deal, and I cannot wait to vote ``yes'' for it. I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. With these words, our Founders summed up the entire theory of what has become our constitutional Republic. But since the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, we have seen inalienable rights, like the right to choose how and who to form a family with, openly questioned by Justices on the Supreme Court and rightwing politicians. Mr. Speaker, love is love. It took us far too long to recognize the right for same-sex couples to marry. Within 7 years since it was, millions of Americans have come to expect that they, too, will be able to fall in love and marry the person of their choosing. What right could be more foundational? Their marriages, their family, their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is worth protecting, and that is why I will proudly vote for the Respect for Marriage Act.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of one of the most fundamental rights imaginable in a free society, the right to bodily autonomy and the freedom to choose when and how to begin a family. As I stand here today, Texas women do not have that right. In Texas right now, a woman is required, by law, to either carry to term the offspring of their rapist or their abuser or drive 5 hours or more to Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, or anywhere they can get access to abortion services. Now, some extremist Republicans in Texas want to prevent Texans from leaving the State to obtain an abortion. The same so-called conservatives who talk about Big Government want to tell Texas women where they can travel or are threatening the employers of those women who offer to pay for their travel. What is next, Madam Speaker? Will they place checkpoints on our interstate highways, or question women boarding a plane or a train about the nature of their travel? Does this sound like freedom to anyone? I will not stand for it. My colleagues and I will not stand for it. The Ensuring Access to Abortion Act ensures that all American women have the right to travel within the United States, a right that we should not have to be affirming today but one that we will.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Madam Speaker, after the mass shooting in El Paso in 2019, I received a letter from then 6-year-old Cal from Rowlett, Texas. He wrote: When kids get shot, that is less friends to play with. When I grow up I don't want to hear any more on the news about people being killed with guns. He was 6, and he had to write that to his Congressman. Today, just 3 years later, he is the same age as some of the kids murdered in Uvalde. I refuse to accept that there is nothing that we can do, and I refuse to say there is nothing we can do to protect kids like Cal or my sons in their schools. We have to act by passing commonsense measures, like raising the age to 21 to buy an assault-style weapon, banning high-capacity magazines, and increasing safe storage. That will save lives. This legislation, the Protecting Our Kids Act, will save lives. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' to help us save lives and for the Senate to finally act and to join us in trying to end this crisis.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support this bipartisan resolution supporting the people of Ukraine. As the chairman said, I was in Ukraine just a few weeks ago, in the beautiful city of Kyiv. I met the very people who today, despite facing a ruthless enemy, are waging an inspiring campaign to save their democracy, including a young woman who told me she was going to get her white wine and Kalashnikov and defend her country. And she is. This resolution tells the world, and most importantly the Ukrainian people, that the United States Congress stands with you. President Biden has used every tool at his disposal to unite the world in punishing Vladimir Putin for his unprovoked and unjustified war, and Congress will act to provide more resources to that effort. Because our work continues to further help Ukraine defend itself and further isolate Russia. Putin has a choice: To pursue his long-term strategic goals or to continue this unnecessary and illegal war on Ukraine. He cannot do both. We are united as a country and as a Congress in standing with the people of Ukraine in their fight for their democracy. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for his words. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, before I give my speech on voting rights, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Correa). Honoring the Life and Memory of Manuel T. Padilla

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster). Brandon Road Project

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to talk about the foundation of our democracy: the right to vote and why we must protect it. I want to begin just by telling a little bit about me. My story is somewhat unique. I didn't take the traditional path to Congress. Before I got here, I played in the NFL for 5 years as a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans. After hurting my neck, I decided to pursue my other dream, which was to become a voting rights attorney, a civil rights attorney. While I was in law school, I decided to focus on voting rights because of what I saw happening in my home State of Texas where it was becoming harder to vote as the State was becoming more and more diverse. After I came back to Texas, I worked doing voter protection in 2014, setting up poll watcher programs across the State of Texas, trying to help voters deal with the new voter ID law that had just been put in place and that I knew was going to deeply impact so many Texans. Then I became a voting rights litigator suing States like Ohio and Wisconsin for the laws that they passed making it harder for the people in their States to vote. Then I was lucky enough to rejoin the Obama administration and finish out that administration. I decided to come home and run for Congress in my hometown and my home district where I was born and raised. In 2018, I ran against an opponent who had been unopposed in 2016. I won, and I am now proud to be representing the 32nd Congressional District in Congress. In that campaign in 2018, I had the distinct honor of having Congressman John Lewis come join me in Dallas. Mr. Lewis is my hero, and to have him with me talking to voters and campaigning with me was, to say the least, surreal. We went on to become colleagues, and I considered him to be a friend and a mentor. I know that without John Lewis, I would not be here today. There would be no Congressional Black Caucus. So many of us would not be here today were it not for him, the other civil rights leaders, and the foot soldiers who fought for the right to vote. That is why we named this critical piece of legislation after him, the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act. Now, this piece of legislation is not coming out of thin air. It is not a Federal takeover. Many of the reforms are intended to address long-held problems with access to the ballot box for many Americans. It is also meant to address the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court in 2013, and the 440 voting restriction bills across 49 States that have been introduced in recent years. Many of those bills to restrict the right to vote have become law in States like my own, in Texas, in Georgia, and so many other States. While other pieces address the direct and more recent threat to our democracy, including the counting of votes and the safety and security of election officials, this legislation is necessary for us to save our democracy. Yes, we have had setbacks in this fight. Yesterday was another one. Not enough of our Republican colleagues in the Senate were brave enough to stand up to President Trump's lies and to vote for the same Voting Rights Act that the Senate had unanimously reauthorized in 2006 that my constituent, a Republican, President George W. Bush, signed in 2006. We were just shy of having enough Democrats in the Senate with enough courage to change the rules so that we could protect our democracy. But I am here to say today, to all of my constituents and to anyone across the country who is worried about our democracy, that we can't lose hope. We have had setbacks before, just as Mr. Lewis did, and we have come back from them. The American people have sent us a clear message. In 2020, 155 million Americans voted in a pandemic. They risked their lives to vote. That is how important it was to them. Campaign finance reform; ending partisan gerrymandering; and expanding access to the ballot by creating national standards around voter registration, early voting, and vote by mail are all necessary for us in our democracy, and they are commonsense ideas that are contained in the Freedom to Vote Act. They will fortify and protect this sacred right. But let's talk about what is happening in the country because I hear all the time from folks that voting is not difficult; that there has not been a rash of voter suppression laws passed across the country; that this is a Democratic story that is being told. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, between January 1 and September 27 at least 19 States enacted 33 laws to make it harder for Americans to vote. Restrictive laws in four States: Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, and Texas, imposed new or more stringent criminal penalties on election officials or other individuals for helping their fellow citizens vote. These new criminal laws would deter election officials and others who assist voters from engaging in ordinary, lawful, and often essential tasks. People in Georgia can now be charged with a crime for handing out water and snacks to voters waiting in line to vote; lines that were created intentionally by restricting other ways to vote. Montana eliminated election day voter registration, making it harder for new voters or folks who have moved to vote in that State. Arizona temporarily restricted the powers of their secretary of State to represent them in lawsuits. And the reason? Because that position is held currently by a Democrat. Other States have shortened the window to apply or the deadline to deliver a mail-in ballot or have eliminated ballot drop boxes and reduced polling places, and the list goes on and on and on. Mr. Speaker, 155 million Americans voted in 2020, the highest turnout since the 1900 election. The Trump administration itself called it the most secure in American history. Yet, the lies about the election and the attacks on the right to vote have just continued and continued, and that is why I am standing here today. Because of this new lie, these new laws have been passed, and we are seeing voter suppression taking place in real time in my home State in Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to just talk about my home State for a little bit because I hear from a lot of Texans who wonder why voting rights experts like myself say that it is one of the most difficult States in the country to vote. I want to walk you through just how difficult it is to cast your ballot in my home State. First, the State of Texas makes it incredibly difficult to register to vote. In order for me to register my neighbors in Dallas County, I need to go to the Dallas County elections department, take a short course, and become deputized as a volunteer deputy registrar. That is just to register my neighbors. After that, I am able to register voters only in Dallas County, and I am only able to do that for 2 years because it is going to expire, and then I have to go back and get it reauthorized. After I registered that voter which I have done hundreds of times, I have 5 days to deliver the completed form that I filled out with them, or I face criminal penalties; 5 days. So if I lose it, something happens, I will be held criminally liable. If I would like to register voters in both of the counties in my congressional district, Collin County and Dallas County, I would have to go to Collin County and get deputized separately there. If I meet a voter who lives in the city of Dallas but doesn't know what county they live in, because four counties touch the city of Dallas, I would not be able to register them unless I know that I am deputized in their county, whether it be Denton County, Kaufman County, Collin County, Dallas County. I have to figure it out. That is just to register my neighbors as a lawyer, as a voting rights lawyer, for me to help my neighbor get registered. If a voter would like to participate in the next election, they have to register at least 30 days before that election day. So if, like many young people, you decide that a week out from an election you are fired up, you are ready to go, you want to vote in that election, guess what? You can't. Because you didn't get registered in time. Unlike many other States where they have same-day voter registration, in Texas you have to have decided 30 days out from the election that you were going to get registered and, hopefully, get through all of those other hoops. Right now, as we speak, the secretary of State's office is citing a paper shortage as the reason why they can't print out enough voter registration forms, despite dragging their feet for years in expanding online voter registration for Texans. That is all just to get registered, Mr. Speaker. We are not even talking about casting your ballot yet. So after you have gone through those hoops, after you have gotten registered, you have to then survive the purges of the voter rolls that are going on right now, such as in 2019, when Texas attempted to kick 100,000 Texans--incorrectly--off the voter rolls claiming that they were noncitizens. It was such a disaster the secretary of State had to resign. Now, if you survived that, if you have gotten registered and you have not been purged from the voter rolls to actually cast your ballot, you have to jump through more hoops because Texas has the strictest voter ID law in the country. In order for me to vote in the State of Texas, I need to possess one of seven acceptable forms of ID which does include a Texas handgun license but does not include a student ID like my constituents at SMU, or UTD, or any school in Dallas might be issued. A Texas district court found in 2014 that 600,000 registered Texans or 4.5 percent of those registered at that time lacked one of these qualifying IDs. Now, thanks to a court ruling, you can sign a declaration stating that you don't possess that required form of ID. But that is not often communicated at the polling place. I know because I have trained poll watchers to try and watch for this. When voters present themselves and they don't have the required ID, they are often turned away. If you have a disability or if you are out of town, or you just have difficulty coming to a polling place, you can't vote by mail very easily either. To vote by mail in the State of Texas you have to be 65 years or older, you have to be sick or disabled, or you have to be out of the county where your election is being held on election day and throughout the entire early voting period. Recently, thanks to the State's voter suppression law, S.B. 1, this has become even more difficult. As reports from counties from across the State have shown, mail-in ballot applications are being rejected at an alarming rate. That is because this new law requires that people provide either a partial Social Security number or a driver's license number on their application for a mail-in ballot, and that number has to match the identification on their voter registration. This makes it extremely difficult for voters to remember which ID they used when they registered, perhaps decades ago. In Dallas and Tarrant Counties right now, 40 percent, Mr. Speaker, of the applications have been rejected. In Bexar County where San Antonio is located, it is almost 50 percent. If these rejection rates hold, tens of thousands of mail-in ballots and possibly more will be rejected. It is now a crime, Mr. Speaker, for county officials to encourage folks to vote by mail, meaning that if you are in a household and you are married and if a spouse requests a mail-in ballot, the county official cannot inform you that your spouse can also request a mail-in ballot if they are eligible or they face criminal penalties. And that doesn't even scratch the surface of dealing with voters whose names have changed because of marriage or divorce, or a change in gender identity, or whose names no longer match the names on the voter roll. If you possess one of these IDs and if you are aware of your rights, you may still struggle to find a polling place. According to a report from the Leadership Conference Education Fund, 750 polling places have been closed in Texas since 2012. This has disproportionately happened in counties with large Black and Latino populations. The law also curbed other initiatives by counties to make voting easier. That happened during the pandemic, including limiting ballot drop boxes, banning counties from drive-through voting, and opening 24- hour voting locations as they did in Harris County where Houston is. They even tried to ban Sunday morning early voting to stop souls to the polls until they had too much outrage and they had to back off. Texans in minority communities disproportionately face long lines when they get to the polling place in order to vote. This includes one Black man in Houston who waited 6 hours to cast his ballot in 2020. If you make it through all of those hurdles: register to vote, cast your ballot by mail or in person via early voting or on election day, your vote will then be diluted through aggressive partisan gerrymandering at the State house, State senate, and congressional level. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, Texas Democrats would have to win 58 percent of the vote to be favored to carry more than 37 percent of the State's congressional seats. That is a State where Joe Biden earned 46.5 percent of the vote. According to this analysis, Texas would have to vote very heavily for Democrats in order to barely break the gerrymandering, and it would still likely leave Republicans with a 2-to-1 seat advantage. This is all due to partisan gerrymandering, which allows politicians to choose their voters instead of the other way around. Gerrymandering doesn't just silence communities, though. It also suppresses the vote. It is well known that competitive elections drive higher turnout, which is why the recent State and congressional maps in Texas sought to limit the number of competitive elections as much as possible. For the Texas voter that has found a way to register and cast their ballot, and has ignored the impacts of gerrymandering, their vote is still under attack, even after they have cast it. Currently, right now, as we are 2 months out from the primary election for our next election, our State's leaders are conducting a so-called audit of the 2020 election results in our largest counties at the request of the former President of the United States, trying to prop up the lie that the last election was stolen from him--in a State that he won. All of these hurdles, combined with the potential discriminatory penalties, are making it difficult for the average Texan to feel that they can engage in an election freely. Even worse, States across the country are following Texas' lead. That is why we need to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. The Freedom to Vote Act, just very quickly, for folks who are wondering, because there is a lot of discussion about this, this is what it actually does: It establishes automatic, online, and same-day voter registration, which would solve our voter registration problems in the State of Texas. It makes election day a Federal holiday, something that should happen. It sets national standards for early voting and vote by mail, requiring 2 weeks of early voting, including 2 weekends, and allowing any American who wants to, to vote by mail. It bans partisan gerrymandering and establishes clear, neutral standards and rules as well as increasing transparency and enhanced judicial review. This would address Texas' extremely gerrymandered maps. It creates a uniform standard for what forms of ID are acceptable for voting. It prevents States from subverting their own elections and protects election records, legislation that I introduced here in the House that I am glad to see included in this final bill. Of course, the Voting Rights Act needs to be restored. We need to make sure that we have preclearance again. We need to have a national standard. That is what the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act does. This is a bill that passed the Senate 98 to nothing in 2006. It passed the House overwhelmingly. It was signed into law by my constituent, again, George W. Bush, a Republican. Now, not a single Republican in the Senate or in the House will vote for it. This brings me to my final thoughts. On January 6, I was just a few rows back from where I am standing now. The doors to my right were barricaded with furniture like this, which we use to hold paper, as a mob tried to break in and prevent us from ratifying the results of an American Presidential election. I along with my colleagues like Mr. Jones, who is here with me, were prepared for the worst. These doors were locked. We didn't know if there would be a way out. But we were determined to do our job. I think the most important thing that happened on January 6, the thing I hope that people remember that happened, isn't that we had to evacuate the House floor. I hope they remember that we came back. We came back while there was still blood on the walls, while there was still broken glass on the floor, while we ourselves were dealing with our own emotional response to what had happened. While we ourselves were shaken, we came back and we voted--yes, in a bipartisan way--to affirm an American Presidential election. Our democracy held, just barely. Since then, we have seen a more clever, slower attempt to accomplish the same thing that those rioters tried to do on January 6, which is to subvert the will of the American people. We have seen it in State after State. We have seen the worst rash of voter suppression laws that we have had in this country since the days of Jim Crow. In many ways, it is worse because it is not 1965, Mr. Speaker. It is 2022, and we should have made more progress by now. We shouldn't be having this conversation about whether or not certain Americans should be able to vote in our elections. We have had this problem since the passage of the 15th Amendment, the idea that certain votes matter more than others, or that votes of certain people who live in certain places are inherently fraudulent, or that they don't know enough to be involved in an election. I tell you what, I believe in the American people. I believe that they know that our democracy is what makes our country great. Our democracy is what allows us to have this thriving economy. People are trying everything they can to get into this country still. They are not trying to join some of our autocratic opponents. They are not trying to break into Russia or China. They want to come to the United States. We are still a beacon of hope for the world. When strongmen and autocrats worry about the United States, it is not just our military they worry about. It is our ideas. It is the idea of the United States. While that idea is under attack, I believe it is going to stand strong. I want to say, Mr. Speaker, to all of my constituents, to anyone who may be listening to this, the fight to protect the right to vote is far from over. The Senate may not have done its job yesterday, but I and my colleagues will not give up that fight. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jones).

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, this should be a bipartisan vote. The right to vote has been reauthorized, and the Voting Rights Act has been reauthorized overwhelmingly by bipartisan majorities in this House, and unanimously in the Senate. My constituent, George W. Bush, signed the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. But now it is time for us to not just restore the Voting Rights Act, but to make sure that we expand voting rights across the country, to give us a sword and a shield; the shield of the Voting Rights Act to protect the right to vote, to protect changes; and the sword of the Freedom to Vote Act and the expansions that it will provide, to vote by mail, voter registration, and allow every single American to make their voice heard in our elections.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Madam Speaker, our Nation's future depends on protecting our wireless networks from vulnerabilities and untrusted vendors like Chinese-backed companies. That is why today I rise in support of my bipartisan bill, the Open RAN Outreach Act. This bill encourages the administration to provide outreach and technical assistance to small communications network providers regarding how to use Open Radio Access Networks, or Open RAN technologies, including those produced in my district in north Texas. Many carriers use a closed or proprietary network, meaning that they need to use one vendor or manufacturer. This can place a substantial cost burden on smaller carriers to reduce costs, potentially by using cheaper, Chinese-owned alternatives like Huawei. Open RAN allows different components to be produced by different companies, leading to a more diverse and competitive supply chain. My legislation ensures smaller carriers have the tools they need to deploy Open RAN if desired, helping secure our wireless networks. Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' in support of this bill.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bipartisan bill, the fiscal year 2021 Major Medical Facility Authorization Act. As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq come to an end, as a Nation, we are reminded of our profound and sacred commitment to ensure that each and every one of our veterans gets the support, services, and care they need when they return home. We owe this commitment to every generation of veterans who have served. I know this from when I visited Afghanistan in 2019 as a member of this committee. Whether it is exposure to toxic air, coping with the stress and mental toll of their service, or trying to find a good job as they transition back to civilian life, we must do all we can to support our veterans who have served us so well. That is why I was proud to lead this bipartisan bill in the House. This bill would create jobs by authorizing the construction of several major VA medical facilities across the country, including a spinal cord injury center in Dallas, my hometown and just outside of my district. The Dallas project, currently underway, will construct a 30-bed, long-term care spinal cord injury center with the capacity to expand to 60 beds. These funds will ensure this center has all the tools it needs to best serve veterans in its care, including a warehouse administration building, parking garage, and central plant improvements. In addition to providing long-term care for the medical complications of spinal cord injuries and disorders, the center will provide a residential setting in which highly dependent or medically complex veterans could live on a long-term basis, receiving the specialized environment, staff skills, and equipment that they require. In 2020, I worked with folks in both parties to help secure a new VA hospital in Garland, in my district. This was a vacant hospital that we were able to get donated to the VA system. It took months and months of meetings and calls, but we were able to get it done. It has now been up and running for over a year, and the folks there are doing extraordinary work. It proves that when we provide the VA with the resources it needs, the hardworking folks there will go above and beyond to serve our veterans. The facility is expected to eventually create 5,000 jobs and is helping us to better serve 174,000 veterans in north Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am so honored to keep building on this work with the passage of this bill because, like our veterans' service and sacrifice, our commitment to them must be sacred. I thank my House cosponsors, Representatives Derek Kilmer, Kim Schrier, and Mike Levin. I also thank Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Bost for their leadership on this bill. I thank the Senate leads, Senator Jon Tester, chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and Senator Jerry Moran as well. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this measure.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Madam Speaker, I am honored to congratulate the Baylor University men's basketball team for their historic achievement in winning the 2021 NCAA national championship. This marks the very first men's basketball championship in the history of the school, and it caps off an incredible season in which the team held a 28-2 record and were the Big 12 regular season champions. I played college football at Baylor; and I know that it is a place filled with committed, student-athletes who work together to achieve great things. It takes a tremendous amount of hard work, practice, and teamwork to reach this level of success, and those qualities abound in this team. In a basketball season like no other, this accomplishment was hard- fought, and it reflects the dedication of each and every player, the leadership of Coach Scott Drew and the team's entire coaching and support staff as well as all their families and friends. An achievement such as this does not happen without the support of an entire community. It is such a privilege to recognize this outstanding group for their dedication, perseverance, and ultimately success in bringing a championship home to Baylor. As a former Bear, I could not be prouder. Sic 'em.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1, the For the People Act. As a former voting rights attorney, I have seen firsthand the devastation on the faces of Americans when they are denied their ability to make their voice heard in our elections because they missed an arbitrary deadline or have shown up to their old polling place. It is heartbreaking, and it is not who we are as a nation. With today's vote on the For the People Act, we, as a Congress, have an opportunity to affirmatively expand access to voting. This bill would do so by allowing for automatic and same-day voter registration and establishing a national early voting period, while also enacting key reforms that will make our elections more secure and that will ensure Americans and only Americans take part in them. I am proud that two bills that I introduced, the Know Your Polling Place Act and the Shell Company Abuse Act, which would make our democracy more accessible and more secure, are included in today's bill. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to return political power to everyday Americans and to vote for this legislation.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, I hereby remove my name as cosponsor of H.R. 804, which I was inadvertently put on.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Madam Speaker, I am honored to congratulate Eric Hale for becoming the first black man to be named Texas Teacher of the Year. On September 30, 2020, the Texas Association of School Administrators named Mr. Hale the Texas Teacher of the Year for 2021. He is now a finalist for the National Teacher of the Year. Mr. Hale is a kindergarten and first-grade teacher at David G. Burnet Elementary School in Dallas ISD. Throughout his career, he has gone above and beyond and has been recognized for excellence in teaching. Earlier this year, he appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show and shared how he uses encouragement and positivity to motivate his students. He takes them outside for math and science lessons in the real world. He uses music to keep his students engaged. Everyone needs a teacher who goes the extra mile, and for many students at David G. Burnett, that teacher is Mr. Hale. Mr. Hale, an advocate for his students, and through his commitment and dedication, he also teaches them to become their own advocates. I was raised by a single mom who was a public school teacher and I went to Dallas public schools all my life. I benefited from teachers like Mr. Hale growing up and I am proud that this generation of students has Mr. Hale as their teacher. It is a privilege to recognize Mr. Hale for being the 2021 Texas Teacher of the Year and for becoming the first black man to receive this important and prestigious honor.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, I want to speak to the people of north Texas, many of whom are under Stay Home, Stay Safe orders from smart leaders like Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. I know many of you are frightened. I have heard from many of you who are worried about your family's health, your job, and your business. I want you to know that we are on your side. We are with you. We will not let this great country fail. We will defeat this virus in a way that leaves no one behind. We should follow the examples of our brave first responders. Every American owes them a debt of gratitude. But we can best honor their service by staying home, if you can, and following the orders that have been issued.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Madam Speaker, I was absent from the House Chamber. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 81, and YEA on Roll Call No. 82.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, as I was absent from the House chamber, I submit the following vote explanation. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 79 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 80.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor survivors during National Gun Violence Survivors Week. Tragically, this week, sisters Deja and Abbaney Matts of Garland were killed, and Abbaney's toddler was injured at a shooting at Texas A&M- Commerce University. The shooter was believed to be her ex-boyfriend, who was recently charged with aggravated assault for attacking Abbaney. I send my deepest condolences to the Matts family. To honor the Matts and to underscore the need for action, I want to share a letter 6-year-old Cal Bingham of Rowlett sent me after the mass shootings in El Paso at Midland. He wrote: ``When kids get shot, that's less friends to play with. When I grow up, I don't want to hear about anymore on the news about people being killed with guns. What are you going to do to help make us safer?'' I want my son, Jordan, and kids like Cal to grow up without fear of gun violence. I call on the Senate to act and pass the bipartisan bills that we have passed in this House, including background checks and the Violence Against Women Act. Our children are watching.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Madam Speaker, I rise to applaud the work of my colleagues in both parties on reaching a bipartisan consensus on a trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. I know that this was no easy task, and today we are poised to pass this historic agreement. This was a priority for me, and I worked tirelessly to ensure that the administration, my colleagues, and House leaders knew how important this was for Texas. For Texans, trade with Mexico and Canada isn't just a textbook exercise or abstract policy issue; it is real jobs for more than 36,000 Texans in my district. Businesses across north Texas rely on supply chains between our three nations to manufacture, distribute, and sell goods and services. We must give them certainty and stability. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.'' This job- creating agreement will shift the trade paradigm and create a new standard for trade that will protect workers and the environment both here at home and across the North American continent. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Neal and the working group and Ambassador Lighthizer for their work on getting this across the line.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Madam Speaker, as I was back home in Dallas, Texas in light of the tornado and storm, I submit the following vote explanation. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 571, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 572.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Madam Speaker, as I am back home in Dallas, Texas in light of the tornado and storm, I submit the following vote explanation. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 568, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 569, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 570.

Mr. ALLRED

Mr. ALLRED. Madam Speaker, I congratulate the people of Garland on the re-opening of the Carver Senior Center. This building has been a pillar of the community for decades, and I commend the City of Garland and Carver Alumni Programs and Services for investing in this facility and keeping its legacy alive. This building holds historical significance for the City of Garland, as it previously served African-American students as the George Washington Carver School for Negroes before Garland schools desegregated. Throughout that time, the building also served as a cultural center for Garland's African American community. I commend the alumni of the Carver School, the City of Garland, and community leaders who, through a partnership with the Council of Governments, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, were able to secure federal funds to renovate the facility and fight to keep the center open for the seniors that needed it. The center will now be able to provide recreation, wellness check- ups, nutrition programs, and companionship for low-income senior citizens in Garland. l thank everyone who came together to ensure this building could continue to serve our community. They represent the best of Texas.