Karen Bass

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2742, the Modernizing the Interstate Placement of Children in Foster Care Act. Children who cannot be safely returned home deserve to be placed in the best setting possible for them, regardless of the State where the setting is located; and no child should have to wait to move to that best setting because it is across the State line. Separation from a parent or long-term caregiver is always traumatic for a child. Even if relatives come forward right away, it may take months to get licensed, months in which the child may bond with the foster family. When the relative lives in another State, the licensing process can often take as long as 6 months, so that might mean 6 months in foster care. Sometimes our well-intentioned efforts to protect children actually do them more harm. H.R. 2742 provides States with resources to automate this process so that social workers no longer have to photocopy documents and submit them on paper through a succession of offices. Last year, the National Foster Youth Institute organized a listening tour in Representative Vicky Hartzler's district; and during a meeting with child welfare professionals, they described the challenges they face when relatives are identified in different States and they are unable to quickly place the child with family and must keep the child in foster care. The judges, social workers, and families specifically requested Members of Congress to change the law and asked the National Foster Youth Institute to please advocate for change. I look forward to communicating with Representative Hartzler and her constituents about this legislation. I ask my colleagues to support the legislation sponsored by Representatives Walorski and Davis, H.R. 2742.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2834, the Partnership Grants to Strengthen Families Affected by Parental Substance Abuse Act. This piece of legislation is responsive to countless pleas of youth and families seeking necessary assistance and support without fracturing critical family bonds and relationships. The majority of children who are removed from home are actually removed for neglect and not physical or sexual abuse. Over 60 percent of children are removed for neglect, and neglect is secondary to substance abuse, mental health issues, and abject poverty. In the 1990s, when the crack cocaine epidemic hit, we didn't understand much about addiction, and so we were angry. We punished the mothers. We imprisoned the mothers. We took the children away, and we didn't realize that actually not addressing the underlying substance abuse issue would really be more harmful to the children than removing them and putting them into foster care. Now that we are experiencing another epidemic related to drugs, both with meth and with heroin, at least our knowledge base has grown a lot. We have drug courts. We have evidence-based treatments. We have a lot of ways that we can address families. One of the things that we have learned is that, if you can put the entire family in treatment, then, that way, one, the parents are not separated from their children, the children can get help, and the parents can get help as well. What often happens if you remove the child from the parent is that you set the parent up to relapse or to never actually go into treatment because they will cycle into depression, and they will continue their cycle of addiction. We have had many children who actually wound up growing up in foster care because their parents were removed ask us, why didn't we help the family, why didn't we help their parents. Sadly, what has happened to many of these children, when they grow up, they continue the same cycle of going into depression, winding up in addiction. Over the years, the National Foster Youth Institute in conjunction with the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth have organized many different delegations and trips around the country looking at the different foster care systems. Our very first listening tour was in Los Angeles, and we visited a program called SHIELDS for Families. SHIELDS for Families is a very large drug treatment program that has functioned for over 20 years by keeping the entire family together, and some of these families can remain in residential care for as long as a year. They have been able to reduce the number of children who were removed and go into the foster care system because they provide treatment for the family as a whole. This bill would modify the award criteria for Health and Human Services to consider whether a partnership has a track record of selective collaboration among child welfare, substance abuse disorder treatment, and mental health agencies. Simply put, this bill is designed to keep families together. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2834.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2857, to support foster care maintenance payments for children with parents in a licensed residential facility. Last month, when the National Foster Youth Institute sponsored Foster Youth Shadow Day, several of the youth, in a townhall meeting that we had, described their parents' challenges with substance abuse. One young lady said that both of her parents were addicted to heroin, and that she was taken into court and, in front of her, the judge said to her parents: ``If you don't clean up, we're going to take your children away.'' After she left court, she was taken away. She was removed from her parents. Ultimately, her parents continued to use, and, sadly, both of them died. This young woman grew up feeling guilty and feeling that part of the reason why her parents passed away was because she was used as leverage, and that if her parents had been kept together in drug treatment along with her maybe she wouldn't be an orphan today and her parents would have lived and she wouldn't have had to grow up in foster care. H.R. 2857 will allow programs like SHIELDS for Families that does address parental substance abuse and keeps families together to have the resources to expand their programs. Today, we heard five bills that addressed challenges in the child welfare system. We know that there is a lot more that needs to be done, but today we passed bills addressing substance abuse, relative caregivers, we identified and addressed barriers to placement, and I am hoping that one next step we could take would be to extend the kinship navigator programs so that organizations like Community Coalition can continue to provide support to relatives and expand their Kinship in Action program. As we improve various parts of the system, at some point we need to address the structural problem with how the system is financed. Right now, we have to remove a child and break up a family in order to have the resources to help the child. We know much more now. We know what leads a parent to neglect the child: substance abuse, mental health issues, poverty. We need to continue to reform the system and provide the resources to prevent a crisis. When problems are identified, why should we wait for the neglect to occur? Once again, I want to thank Chairman Brady, Ranking Member Neal, and all of the sponsors of the legislation today, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2857.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, May is the month when people come together across the country to acknowledge the half million young people in the Nation's child welfare system. This is National Foster Youth Month. The child welfare system is designed to protect children whose parents or caretakers have abused or neglected them. I am proud to say that Members of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth are hosting over 100 young adults from 98 different congressional districts from the National Foster Youth Institute. I thank all of the Members of Congress who are allowing a young adult to shadow them this morning. They are here today on the Hill shadowing Members of Congress to share their stories, their challenges, their successes, and to help us understand how to improve the child welfare system. On Monday evening, the National Foster Youth Institute had a forum in which we were able to hear from many of the youth. They raised several issues. The young adults have already accomplished a lot in their life, and many are here to learn about the Capitol, their Members of Congress, the legislative process, but also to teach us. Here are several of the issues that the young folks raised on Monday: One individual raised the challenge of being raised in the system and being separated from his siblings. He said that he had six siblings, and even had a twin. It was very sad and upsetting to him when his twin was sent to one city and he had to live in another city. It took him many months to reestablish a relationship with his siblings. Another individual told us about her parents having a drug problem. She didn't understand why she was removed and why her parents weren't helped. In fact, she felt as though the court system used her as leverage over her parents in a way, to tell her parents that they should sober up if they wanted to retain custody. She then told us that the result was both of her parents passed away. She believed that they passed away from their addiction, and that one of the things that made their addiction worse was the fact that she had to be removed from the parents. Another individual raised the issue of sex trafficking. We have been discussing legislation in the House. We have passed several bills related to sex trafficking. But one of the things that many Members of Congress have grown to be aware of over the last few years is that a large percentage of underage girls, and some boys, who get caught up in sex trafficking are actually foster youth that have fallen through the cracks. Any time a foster youth falls through the cracks, the government is responsible. When we remove children from their parents, we, meaning the government, become the parents and we are responsible for them. So we are working on legislation to improve that. Another individual raised the issue that she was adopted, but the adoption didn't work out. She asked: Why don't social workers follow up after a child has been adopted, just to make sure that everything is okay? That adoption didn't work out, and she had a lot of challenges afterwards. Another individual told us, in no uncertain terms, that, although many young people come to the Capitol and volunteer in internships, foster youth would love to be here and participate in internships as well, but when foster youth turn 18 and become an adult, we-- essentially meaning the government again--wash our hands of them and put them out on the street. How can a young person volunteer? They need to be paid. She raised the issue that we should have interns at the Capitol, but they should be paid. Those were very important issues and they all raise areas of policy that need to be addressed. I am very honored and fortunate to have three outstanding young individuals with me. I want to tell you about them. Doniesha Thomas is from Los Angeles. She was in foster care for 20 years. She aged out of the system, but during the time she was in foster care, she was moved seven different times. She grew up in Los Angeles. She was in a foster home with her sister and brother. She was fortunate that her siblings were able to be kept together. She described her experience in the foster home wasn't the best. She said that, sadly, her foster mother was abusive mentally, physically, and emotionally. She eventually left the home and then had to move from place to place, but she persevered and is currently a college student at Los Angeles Trade Tech. She is majoring in the administration of justice and minoring in paralegal studies. It is her dream to be a probation officer for juveniles. She also hopes to one day open up a group home so that, growing up in the system and knowing what the problems are, she can start a program where she addresses those problems. The second individual, Leonardo Jimenez, is 21 years old. He is also from Los Angeles. He was recently aged out of foster care. He decided to participate in the program because, as he gets older, he wants to learn to be a part in helping foster youth in his community. The last individual is Michael Rogalski. He is from Ohio. He was in foster care for 5 years and had 13 different placements, but he is succeeding in Ohio, working in the area of child support. Mr. Speaker, I hope that we remember the foster youth in our country this month.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2473, the Put Trafficking Victims First Act of 2017. I thank Ranking Member Jackson Lee, Chairman Goodlatte, and also Representative Ann Wagner of Missouri for her leadership in combating trafficking in America. The importance of a bipartisan approach cannot be overstated or diminished. Over the years, we have made tremendous progress, but the work is far from over. The Put Trafficking Victims First Act is a great first step forward in addressing the perilous deficiencies in sex trafficking policies and services in America. As an original cosponsor of this bill, I am grateful for the inclusion of my amendments that serve to further support and strengthen this important legislation by providing necessary language and focus on young victims in the child welfare system. In drafting legislation that calls for data collection assessments to help identify and implement effective and responsive models of justice and relief services, we must always be cognizant of the need to draw awareness and find solutions to eradicate the devastating epidemic of young children who are in the U.S. child welfare system from becoming victims of sex trafficking. In particular, it is imperative that we better identify and screen the characteristics of children and youth involved in the child welfare and justice systems and that we provide greater access to appropriate housing and services from trained trauma-informed care service providers. Far too often, we hear stories about victims who cannot access housing, shelter, or mental healthcare and are unable to expunge or seal their criminal records and are treated like criminals rather than victims. As the cofounder of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I am particularly concerned about what we are doing to combat the devastating epidemic of young girls in the foster care system falling prey to child exploitation and sex trafficking. I hear horrific stories of foster girls who have been trafficked far too often, and I hear that the average age of a girl being involved in trafficking is 12 years old. Mr. Speaker, this week we have over 100 youth here from 98 different congressional districts who will be shadowing their Members of Congress tomorrow. We met with the youth yesterday, and a number of them stepped forward and talked about being involved in the trafficking system and how they fell through the cracks in child welfare. It is important that we remember that the purpose of the child welfare system is to protect children who are abused or neglected. When we take custody of these children, then we--meaning the local, State, or Federal Government--in effect become their parents. So if your own child showed up missing and you don't do anything about it, then obviously you are considered responsible. This is exactly what is happening with child sex trafficking in the United States. H.R. 2473 further encourages States to implement screening mechanisms for all children entering the child welfare system and criminal and juvenile justice systems to better identify child trafficking and connect them with appropriate services. I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 2473.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi), my fellow colleague on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), my good friend and colleague and the chair of the Nigeria Caucus.

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for H. Res. 187, Relating to Efforts to Respond to the Famine in South Sudan, as amended, which passed out of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and has received bipartisan support. As always, Mr. Speaker, I thank and appreciate the leadership of Chairman Royce, Chairman Smith, and Ranking Member Engel. The United Nations has declared what is going on now in four countries as potentially the worse humanitarian crisis since the U.N. was formed in 1945. Famine has been declared in one country, and three others are at risk of famine. Famine might be averted in Somalia if the rains come. In Nigeria and Yemen, famine might be averted if the world acts in time. But South Sudan, which is the world's newest nation, is currently experiencing famine. The United Nations defines famine as meaning over 20 percent of the population has access to only 2,100 calories per day. Thirty percent of children are malnourished. And 2 to 4 people die per day because of lack of food. Tragically, South Sudan meets all three conditions. Over the years, the U.S. has played a leadership role in the region. The U.S. has helped South Sudan throughout their struggle for independence, and has tried to help the world's newest nation over the last several years before and during the conflict. The tragedy is the people of South Sudan are in the midst of a famine, not because of a drought or other natural disaster, but because of ongoing conflict. There is heavy responsibility on all sides of the fighting. There is no innocent party here. In South Sudan, the U.N. has reported roughly 5 million people who are in urgent need of food and nutritional assistance. There are almost 2 million internally displaced persons in camps in South Sudan, and 2,400 South Sudanese refugees arrive in Uganda every single day. If the world does not act, 5 million people will be at risk for starvation by mid-2017. Without urging humanitarian intervention, more civilians will continue to die from acute malnutrition, and millions more will remain at risk. If we fail to act prior to the upcoming rainy season, which is May to August, this will create additional problems that will further impede humanitarian efforts. Unfortunately, the areas where famine has been declared have also seen some of the most intense fighting. The amendment to H. Res. 187 calls for USAID to continue providing desperately needed and locally appropriate food aid through the Food for Peace and Emergency Food Security Programs, and calls on the Government of South Sudan to declare and observe a cessation of hostilities to allow food and essential supplies to reach affected civilians. The resolution urges the Government of South Sudan to allow immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access to the southern unity region, where the famine is currently underway. The amendment also condemns all threats and violence against civilian populations and aid workers, including over 70 humanitarian aid workers that have been killed since the conflict began. The resolution condemns the brutal attack by the South Sudanese military on humanitarian aid workers, including Americans at the Terrain Camp in July of last year. The resolution condemns the multiple instances in which security forces have looted humanitarian assistance destined for civilians in need, and supports the effort of the U.S. Government working with partners in the international community, including the U.N., the African Union, and the European Union, to facilitate humanitarian access to affected areas, and encourages greater diplomatic pressure on the parties to return to the negotiation table to stop the violence and to allow full humanitarian access. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), my good friend and Democratic Caucus chairman.

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers. I propose to close. Mr. Speaker, this crisis can be stopped in its tracks. There is no need for millions to die. The world needs to step up as it did in the Ebola crisis. The U.S. needs to continue to lead. Our contribution is vital and is based on the size of our economy and the fact that other countries who are not as fortunate contribute in different ways. But the entire world should and does participate. In 2011, 200,000 people had to die in Somalia before the world took notice and acted. This should never happen again. Mr. Speaker, I ask for an ``aye'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of the U.S. Wants to Compete for a World Expo Act. Let me thank our chairman, Ed Royce, for his leadership of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. I also want to thank my colleagues from Minnesota, Ms. McCollum and Mr. Emmer, for their hard work on this measure. World Fairs and World Expos explore and bring millions of people together from around the globe. They drive billions of dollars of investment to host cities, and they provide a forum for working toward new and creative solutions to serious problems. Across more than a century, these Expos have given us some of the world's most iconic architecture: the Golden Gate Bridge, the Space Needle, and the Eiffel Tower. They have brought together world leaders and experts to discuss topics ranging from nutrition to the future of energy. The last Expo held in the United States was in 1984, and Minnesota is a potential candidate to host the 2023 World Expo. This Expo could bring in about 12 million visitors and $4 billion of revenue to Minnesota and connect the public and private sector to discuss Wellness and Well-Being for All. Mr. Speaker, we are at a grave disadvantage in competing for this event. In 2001, at the direction of Congress, the State Department withdrew from numerous international associations, including the Bureau of International Expositions, or BIE. Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell warned that this action could force the U.S. to pay a higher fee for participation and decrease the chance of an American city being selected as a host city. We are currently facing these consequences. As a nonmember of the BIE, the United States faces significantly higher costs to participate in expositions and will also face substantial barriers in hosting since preference is given to member nations. Mr. Speaker, the remedy is simple. We must rejoin the BIE. Private sector companies have shown interest in paying membership dues, so rejoining the BIE would not be an additional burden to taxpayers. Hosting the World Expo would increase revenue and tourism to Minnesota and the U.S. generally, put us at the forefront of international discussion on health, and increase our chances to hold specialized and World Expos in the future. I am proud of the hard work that has gone into this by my colleagues. I am glad once again that we are working in a bipartisan manner to pass legislation that advances our interests. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. I thank the gentleman, Mr. Veasey, and also Mrs. Demings for their leadership in this hour. I know that our theme is ``What Do We Have to Lose''? That is something that the President, during his campaign, asked the African- American community: What do you have to lose? Why don't you think about voting Republican this time? So I was a part of the group that Mr. Clyburn referred to that went and met with the President last week. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus Executive Committee met with the President. We went over to the White House to answer the question: What do we have to lose? As my colleagues who have spoken before me mentioned, we believe that we have a lot to lose. I think that the budget is a reflection of all that we have to lose. As my colleague, Val Demings, said, a budget is a reflection of your values. It is a reflection of where you think taxpayers' money should be spent. So, in the opportunity that I had to speak with the President, I mentioned to him that I was sure that he was aware that, in the United States, over 2 million people are incarcerated. In fact, we incarcerate more people in the United States than any other country on the planet. What I told him that he probably wasn't aware of was that this was an issue--a bipartisan, bicameral issue--that Members of Congress in both Houses were looking at because we recognized, over the years, that incarceration is not the solution to communities that are experiencing crime. We told him that there was a trend in Congress to actually reconsider policies that led to overincarceration. We told him that the Congressional Black Caucus was concerned about messages that we heard from him: one that is reflected in his budget; two, that was reflected in his new deal for Black America where the focus was on law and order. We told him that we were concerned about his proposals to address problems in poor communities, and our chair, Cedric Richmond, specifically pointed out that he was concerned about the way African- American communities were consistently described as riddled by violence and as almost uninhabitable. We told him that we thought he probably wasn't aware that 95 percent of prisoners return to communities and that maybe he was not aware that many of these inmates return to certain ZIP Codes. If you have a community in certain ZIP Codes where a number of people have been released from prison without any services, then, naturally, you are going to have a problem with recidivism. We have people coming out of prison who then find out that they are prohibited from working and that they are ineligible for public benefits, including even a driver's license. In the State of California, we had a program in State prisons where we trained you to be a barber, but then we didn't allow you to have a license if you had been a prisoner. So we had to change State law to change that. We told him that, if we don't find ways to reintegrate people into society, he needed to understand that that was actually a contributing factor to crime and violence in many communities. When we went to the White House, we didn't just go to point out problems, but we also went to talk about solutions. Here is the concern when it comes to the budget. The budget that the President delivered to Congress so far is so general that we don't know whether or not some of the cuts to discretionary spending would include programs like the Second Chance Act. The Second Chance Act is a program that provides funding to States to address and reduce recidivism. The Second Chance Act has programs that work with inmates before they are released to address the root causes of why they offended in the first place. Many people in prison--a large percentage--did not graduate high school. So services that are provided by the Second Chance Act include employment services, mental health, substance abuse, housing, education, and family reunification. As we talked about a budget being a reflection of values, for the values to me that will help the African-American community, we need to make sure that the Second Chance Act is fully funded. We won't know what is fully funded in the President's budget until he sends us more details in the month of May. But it is my hope that he listened to the presentations that members of the Congressional Black Caucus made when we had a meeting with him last week and that, when the budget comes out in May, we will see that the Second Chance Act is fully funded.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, since January I have received hundreds of messages from constituents who are panicked that they will lose healthcare coverage with the Republican plan, where people will pay more for less. Although the talking points of the Republican plan references access to health care, care will only be accessible for people with enough money to pay. A message I received from Vera Caldas: My husband has leukemia, and if it wasn't for the ACA, he would be dead by now. I am living in fear that if he loses ObamaCare, that will mean his death sentence since he won't be able to afford insurance to continue his treatment. A message from Lee Portillo: The ACA allowed my wife to start her Silicon Valley beach business in Venice, California and still have access to health care. The ACA is pro small entrepreneur and gives us the freedom to work on our own and still have insurance. My constituents, like millions across the Nation, are afraid they might be one of the 14 million people who will lose coverage if the Republican plan is passed.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, last month, the U.N. declared a famine in parts of South Sudan. As I rise today, more than 100,000 men, women, and children there are facing immediate starvation. Arguably, this was an avoidable crisis. Internal conflicts have worsened the dire living conditions for the people of South Sudan, and the government of the Republic of South Sudan must live up to its promise and ensure access to the most vulnerable communities by humanitarian organizations. According to recent estimates, without immediate action, an additional 5.5 million people living in South Sudan will experience famine. Although we haven't yet seen the President's budget, it is reported that there is a 37 percent decrease in foreign aid. This could include severe cuts to humanitarian funding. In this regard, I introduced H. Res. 187 in support of the efforts by USAID and other providers of humanitarian assistance in the international community. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bipartisan resolution, and, by doing so, begin an end to this crisis.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, in order to attend a previously scheduled event I had to return to California; however, if I had been present today, I would have continued to voice my strenuous objects to the use of the Congressional Review Act to invalidate a seemingly endless number of agency rules. Today, I would express my opposition to and voted against H.J. Res. 43 and H.J. Res. 69. Use of the Congressional Review Act in the month of February to eliminate agency regulations thereby barring their return in substantially the same form as in some instances negated years of work on the part of agency officials, stakeholders, advocates, and the public. H.J. Res. 43 represents another vehicle to prevent families from having legitimate access in every state to the Title X program, which has been in effect for over 40 years. Title X of the Public Health Services Act is the only dedicated source of federal funding for family planning. It provides grants to both nonprofit and public entities that, in turn, provide a wide range of both preventative and family planning services. These clinics have provided service to over 4 million men, women and children. The services include preconception health services, contraceptive care as well as breast and cervical cancer screenings and prevention. H.J. Res. 43 would prevent the implementation of a final rule by the Department of Health and Human Services that would have ensured that these patients continued to have access to all qualified Title X providers. At a time when there has been a call to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which will result in 20 million Americans losing insurance, and negatively impact the benefits currently received by those with insurance and no viable replacement option being put forward. Our efforts should be spent addressing this issue. Instead, we are voting on a measure that will only serve to decrease access to health services that impact the long term health needs of families. As for H.J. Res. 69, it represents yet another effort to use the Congressional Review Act to undermine the efforts of stakeholders, advocates, and agencies to address an issue. The promulgation of the rule by the Fish and Wild Life Services addresses Non-Subsistence Take of Wildlife, and Public Participation and Closure Procedures. In effect the rule is designed to limit state sponsored and recreational killing of species like grizzly bears and gray wolves unless there is full compliance with existing federal law as well as compliance with the purposes of the refuge. At this time those who have opposed this rule have not provided a scientific bases or sound science as a basis for opposing the final rule issued by the Department of the Interior. For these reasons and more, I would have opposed H.J. Res. 43 and H.J. Res. 69.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the life and memory of California Appeals Court Justice Vaino Hassan Spencer. A month after Vaino was born in 1920, women gained the right to vote. She grew up during the Great Depression, started her professional career as a real estate broker, and married fellow broker Lorenzo Spencer in the late 1940s. She embarked on a legal career after graduating from Southwestern Law School in 1952, and practiced for nine years before then-governor Pat Brown appointed her to the Municipal Court bench in 1961, the first African American woman to hold a judgeship in California. She was elevated to the Superior Court in 1976 by then-Governor Jerry Brown, who went on to name her as presiding justice of Division One of the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal in 1980, making her the first Black woman to sit on a California appeals court. Justice Spencer believed in the concept of ``lift as you climb'' and worked to create opportunities for women and people of color, especially in the legal profession. She founded the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles in 1974 to provide support to those already in the profession, and to assist others with scholarships, mentoring and guidance. The very next year, she joined with another Appeals Court Justice to coordinate efforts in support of women nominated to federal and state supreme courts. That collaboration grew into the National Association of Women Judges, which aimed to increase the number of women in the judiciary and to address the gender bias problems experienced by the few women who were on the bench. President Jimmy Carter met with NAWJ in 1980, having appointed nearly four times the women to the federal bench (38) than had ever been appointed by all of his predecessors. In remarks later, she said: ``We have been warmly greeted [everywhere], and we've gotten tremendous support, even from local judges who were openly resentful of our organizing initially. They have come around to be quite supportive. . . .'' She served one of the longest tenures on the bench in California history, retiring in 2007. I salute the life and legacy of Justice Spencer, a legacy of service to the legal profession, to the state of California and to the nation.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the life and memory of my friend and mentor, Oneil Marion Cannon, who passed away on January 20, days before his 100th birthday. Oneil was born in Louisiana on January 28, 1917. He began early to fight against injustice. As a young insurance agent in New Orleans, he joined an office workers union, and he defied miscegenation laws to associate with white students at Tulane and Dillard Universities. He served honorably in the Pacific Theatre during World War II and settled with his wife and children in Los Angeles after his discharge. There he learned the printing trade on the GI Bill. He believed all his life in collective action, and fought to become the first African American member of the Printer's Union in Los Angeles. Union membership, however, did not guarantee him work in that segregated industry, so he started his own print shop in the basement of the progressive Black newspaper The Eagle. Fidelity Educational Press became known as the ``union printer to the left,'' producing leaflets, journals, and brochures for community groups, activists and churches. Oneil taught the printing trade to generations of printers in South Los Angeles. His passion for education further led him to fight for ``Negro History Week'' in L.A. schools, and to take an active part in the multi-year struggle for a junior college in South L.A. That battle culminated in the opening of L.A. Southwest College in 1967. In 1985 he co-founded the Paul Robeson Center, which quickly became a community hub. For years it pursued its mission of seeking interracial and intercultural understanding. Oneil was instrumental in supporting my own work as a community organizer early in my life, and without his help my life would have taken a very different path. Deeply involved in politics, Oneil belonged to the Independent Progressive Party and campaigned to put Henry Wallace on the ballot in the late 1940s. As part of the IPP, he used economic power to force employers to hire Black and Mexican American workers, using the slogan ``don't bank or buy where you can't work.'' He worked for decades to elect representatives of color to office, including Tom Bradley, Ed Roybal, and even campaigning at age 90 for Barack Obama. I would like to salute Oneil Cannon for his longstanding commitment to serving and uplifting others, and for a century of fighting to make the world a better place.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Chief William ``Bill'' Scott on his swearing in as San Francisco Chief of Police on January 17, 2017. Chief Scott spent much of his career in law enforcement in the Los Angeles Police Department. He was first appointed to the Department in 1989, and has worked assignments across the spectrum of police work, from patrol to detective to gang intervention. He has served LAPD in the Operations West Bureau, Internal Affairs, Professional Standards Bureau, the Office of Operations, and as Patrol Commanding Officer and Area Commanding Officer. He was promoted to the rank of Commander in 2012, and was assigned as the Assistant Commanding Officer, Operations in the West Bureau. Prior to his selection as San Francisco Chief of Police, Chief Scott served as the Assistant Commanding Officer for Operations in the South Bureau, which covers much of my district. He brings a wealth of experience to his new role, including his service during periods when the LAPD was under significant public scrutiny. Chief Scott is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute of Policing (SMIP), and has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. I appreciate Chief Scott's commitment to public service and his focus on community. As he embarks on a new phase of service to the City of San Francisco, I would like to thank him for his work here and wish him all the best as he undertakes his new responsibilities.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership tonight, and also Representative Plaskett. Let me share with you, especially Representative Plaskett, that on my first day here 7 years ago, one of the first things that happened was a motion on the floor to further deny the right to vote for Representatives from the territories. And I have to tell you that I think, for myself, as well as the majority of people in our country, we don't realize that you only have democracy 50 percent. So I am glad that you raised it tonight, and I think it is very important that we continue to fight so that people from the territories will have the full representation of their country. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the travesty that is taking place in our country, a travesty that has resulted in innocent people, students, grandparents, mothers, fathers, and children being unable to travel and enter the United States. People are caught in a web of suspicion and hatred as a result of the recent executive order which is nothing less than a religious ban. So today, I speak for the Africans that are caught in that ban. Let me give you an example of who has been caught up by the Muslim ban--a brilliant Stanford student, Ms. Nisrin Omer, studying anthropology. She is a graduate of Harvard who is from Sudan and has lived in this country since 1993. She has a green card and is a legal resident who was returning to the U.S. from research in Sudan. She was detained for 5 hours and handcuffed, simply because she is from Sudan, the very same country that President Obama worked long and hard to improve relations and to move the country and the region forward. Another example, a Somali woman and her two children detained at Dulles Airport for 18-plus hours as a result of the Muslim ban. According to reports, the children have U.S. passports, and their father was allowed to stay in the U.S., but his Somali wife would have been deported were it not for the emergency stay granted by the New York Federal judge. Then there are refugees, mostly Somali, stuck in Kenya following the cancellation of their flight as a result of the executive order. These stranded travelers had been waiting, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, 10 to 15 years to resettle. And I speak of seven people who are reportedly being detained at the airport in my city, Los Angeles airport. All of these situations are a result of the President's executive order which, despite the protestations from the administration, is nothing less than a Muslim ban. I also speak of persons fleeing for their lives from Libya, who are now stigmatized worldwide because of this ban. Day 10 of the Trump Presidency. Heaven help us.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5537, the Digital Global Access Policy Act or the Digital GAP Act. I commend Chairman Royce's timely piece of legislation, which aims to facilitate greater coordination between the U.S. and foreign governments, international organizations, regional economic communities, businesses, and civil society regarding the promotion of information technology and cybersecurity in developing economies. The focus of the critical IT sector, particularly in developing countries, is the goal of not only Chairman Royce's Digital GAP bill but also of a possible companion bill in the Senate sponsored last year by Senator Markey. I understand that Senator Markey plans to reintroduce his bill in the Senate, and it is my hope that we can work with the Senate in support of this legislation. Both bills address the critical issue of the U.S. working with developing economies on the core issue of information technology and cybersecurity. In many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the information technology sector has literally taken off and enabled young, innovative, and talented entrepreneurs to develop IT-related solutions to everyday problems. Last summer, I traveled with Senator Markey and Representative Maloney to Nigeria and Senegal where we met with a number of local IT experts. What was clear from our in-depth discussions is that Internet access has quickly become a critical component of economies and economic growth throughout the developing world. Many developing economies, which have traditionally had to navigate institutional or infrastructural impediments, are able to utilize information technology to resolve everyday problems. Case in point, telephone land lines in some developing economies are often in need of constant repair and maintenance. As a result, over the years, land lines became the preserve of the middle class and affluent sectors of capital cities. This is no longer the case because astute entrepreneurs have found a way to circumvent this impediment by buying and/or renting out cell phones for public use. Today, in just about any country you visit in Sub-Saharan Africa, you will see countless men, women, and children using cell phones.

Ms. BASS. On our codel, our visit to Senegal included a meeting with the CEO of Wari, an 8-year-old company providing an innovative platform offering convenient service and an aggregation of products and services of various partners. Wari has over 220 million users of the platform throughout 40 countries. We also met with the director of Millennium Connect Africa. Formerly with Hughes Satellite Systems, Mr. Diop was educated at Wharton and UCLA and worked in the U.S. for 20 years. His company is a subsidiary of Wari. In Kenya, IT entrepreneurs have excelled in the development of a host of innovative apps. For example, a young Kenyan innovator developed an app called iCow to better enable dairy farmers to keep current with market prices. Throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, there are many examples of IT expertise. The importance of an IT-literate population complements the ongoing push for capability training. To the degree the U.S. Government can actively participate in this important process is to the mutual benefit of this country and a spectrum of developing countries worldwide.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, today I congratulate the Culver City High School Girls Varsity Volleyball Team. Under the leadership of Coach Tanner Siegal and Assistant Coach Eriko Gambol, for the first time in Culver City High School (CCHS) history, the Girls Varsity Volleyball team, the Lady Centaurs, has won the 2016 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division 5 Championship. I salute the team members for the enthusiasm and competitive play that won the team and the school this distinction: Octavia Mott- Collins, Megan Shimoda, Alyssa Hernandez, Katrina McCoy, Jessica Stewart, Carmen Reyna, Destiny Padilla, Jayli Nealy, Haien Anderson, Sonya Allen, Sarah Miller, Neusha Parsa, McKenna Stevens, Lena Johnson, Layla Grant Lauren Tishkoff, Krista Hernandez. I would also like to recognize the many people who dedicated time and energy to the team's success: first and foremost, the team members' parents and guardians; Dr. Joshua Arnold, Culver City Superintendent of Education; Dr. Lisa Cooper, CCHS Principal; DuBois McMillan, Assistant Principal for Athletics; Tom Salter, Athletic Director; and last but not least, the Culver City High School Band and Cheerleaders, who participated in both home and away games. No team reaches the top of its division without a passion for improving both individual skills and its strengths as a team. Becoming Division 5 Champions required that the Lady Centaurs give their best effort at every practice, demonstrate good sportsmanship, and build their teamwork from one game to the next. I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting the Culver City High School Girls Varsity Volleyball team for its outstanding achievement in winning the 2016 CIF Division 5 Championship.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the National Human Trafficking Hotline. I also want to join with my colleagues in wishing well Judge Poe, and wishing him a speedy recovery. He has been a leader on this issue for many, many years, and the hotline is a critical feature of how we can address human trafficking in our country. I also support the resources being managed under Health and Human Services. I believe it reflects the current awareness and knowledge that this really shouldn't be managed by law enforcement. We have all heard the stories of women and children who have been taken from location to location and forced to have sex against their will. Currently, there are more cases of human trafficking reported in California than in any other State. This hotline has served as a lifeline/vital resource to human trafficking victims and their advocates. In California alone this year, there have been over 3,000 calls received on the hotline, resulting in over 1,000 human trafficking cases being reported, nearly a third of which are minors. Unfortunately, there is a growing body of evidence that youth who fall through the cracks in the foster care system end up trafficked. As of 2012 in California, 50 to 80 percent of the commercially exploited children had been involved in the child welfare system. Fifty-eight percent of sexually trafficked girls in the Los Angeles County STAR Court in 2012 were under age and were connected to the foster care system. In Los Angeles, we are fortunate to have a STAR Court, but the purpose of this court is to deal with underage children who have been trafficked. I recently hosted an event in my district in order to train faith leaders in my community to identify and direct resources to women and girls who had been victims of trafficking. Often, it is members of our communities who are the first line of defense for these girls.