Suzanne Bonamici

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining on both sides.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, just another reminder that this bill is a blanket ban that treats every age student in every sport the same. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Quigley).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-Cortez).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Landsman).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jacobs).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Salinas).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Dexter).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Randall).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Vermont (Ms. Balint).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, may I please inquire as to the time remaining.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hoyle).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost).

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I also include in the Record a letter from Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which reads in part: ``On behalf of the 1.8 million members of the AFT, I write to urge you to oppose H.R. 28, the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, and to reject its attacks on our students.''

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter led by the National Women's Law Center and the Women's Sports Foundation from 33 national and 34 State and local women's and girls' rights organizations to voice our vehement opposition to H.R. 28. January 13, 2025. Dear Member of Congress, The National Women's Law Center and Women's Sports Foundation, joined by the undersigned women's and girls' rights organizations, write to voice our vehement opposition to H.R. 28 and S. 9, ``The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025.'' As organizations deeply committed to fulfilling the promise of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 of equal educational opportunity for all women and girls, including in school sports, we have advocated for gender equity in schools for decades. Far from promoting sex equality in sports, H.R. 28 and S. 9 are discriminatory attempts to cause harm to and exclude transgender, intersex, and nonbinary students from school sports and would not promote fairness or safety in school sports for women and girls. We thus urge you to reject this effort to enshrine sex discrimination and oppose H.R. 28 and

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, Congress has the power and the responsibility to make a real difference for Americans. Yet, we are starting this Congress with a bill that dangerously picks on an extremely small number of children and young adults but putting all children and young adults at risk. These attacks are fueled by discrimination and not facts. A poll from 2022 found that two-thirds of LGBTQI+ youth report that recent debates about State laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively affected their mental health. Today, my colleagues are furthering this hate. America already has a youth mental health crisis, and my colleagues are exacerbating it by promoting these hateful policies, and that is unacceptable. Let's talk about ways to champion opportunities in sports for all women and girls. We celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX 2 years ago, which protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities. Under Title IX, we have seen a considerable increase in the number of female students participating in sports, but college women still have nearly 60,000 fewer athletic opportunities than men, and high school girls have about 1 million fewer opportunities to play sports than high school boys. Do my colleagues only care about women's sports when it benefits partisan talking points? Apparently so because preventing transgender women and girls, who make up only a tiny fraction of a percent of college athletes, from participating in sports seems to be more important to my colleagues than starting this 119th Congress with legislation that would protect female athletes from assault or harassment. Mr. Speaker, we should focus our work on promoting policies that make sports safe, accessible, and fair for everyone. This bill does not do that. I emphasize that my colleagues still have not explained how enforcement is going to happen without serious and risky invasions of privacy and the inquiry of intensely personal information. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to show some compassion, show some humanity, and please reject this partisan bill that will harm our Nation's youth. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the second letter I referenced during general debate on H.R. 28, a letter led by the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights with signatories from 117 national and 289 regional, state, and local civil rights organizations rejecting ``the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, because it would harm women and girls and undermine civil rights for all students.'' The Leadership Conference, January 13, 2025. Oppose H.R. 28 to Protect Civil Rights Dear Member of Congress, On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, and the 414 undersigned organizations, we call for the full inclusion, protection, and celebration of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth, including access to extracurricular activities such as athletics, and to school facilities, safe and inclusive school environments, and accurate and inclusive curriculum. We reject H.R. 28, the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, because it would harm women and girls and undermine civil rights for all students. This discriminatory proposal seeks to exclude transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people from athletics programs in schools. Although the authors of the legislation represent themselves as serving the interests of cisgender girls and women, this legislation does not address the longstanding barriers all girls and women have faced in their pursuit of athletics. Instead of providing for equal facilities, equipment, and travel, or any other strategy that women athletes have been pushing for for decades, the bill cynically veils an attack on transgender people as a question of athletics policy. Youth sports often play a significant role in children's lives and development, helping them to develop critical life skills like communication, teamwork, and leadership. Sports spaces are imperative for all young people, no matter their gender. Transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth want to participate in team sports for the same reasons as their cisgender peers: to be part of a team, learn sportsmanship, and challenge themselves. School athletics are very often the centerpiece of communities across the country, and denying transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth the chance to participate only serves to deny them an opportunity to be part of that community, further isolating and stigmatizing these youth. The civil and human rights community is no stranger to the proffering of a bigoted agenda as if it were about equal opportunity. We know about wolves in sheep's clothing. We know that when affirmative action policies created to level the playing field in higher education admissions are attacked by opponents of voting rights (as was true in the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard College/University of North Carolina cases), that their agenda is not about the rights of people of color. We know that when companies profit from poverty wages for disabled people, especially in segregated work sites (as is the case for sheltered workshops that pay subminimum wages to disabled workers), that their agenda is not about independence and self-determination for workers. And we know that when opponents of Title IX, including those who have sought for decades to weaken its protections and undermine its enforcement, now present themselves as the law's champions, that their agenda is not about the rights of women and girls. Targeting and excluding transgender, nonbinary, and intersex students from participation in school programming, including athletics programs, alongside their cisgender peers is harmful to all students and undermines the learning environment for everyone. If schools mark some students effectively as outcasts, they foster an environment where no student is included and safe. H.R. 28's vague language and intrusive focus on scrutiny of students' bodies will effectively exclude cisgender girls and women with intersex variations from participation, will invite scrutiny and harassment of any other student perceived by anyone as not conforming to sex stereotypes, and will likely be disproportionately used to target all girls and women of color. We support the full inclusion and protection of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth. We are fortunate that transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people are present in our community, and we fully embrace them as members of our community. As organizations that care deeply about ending sex-based discrimination and ensuring equal educational opportunities, we support laws and policies that protect transgender people from discrimination, including full and equal participation in sports, access to gender-affirming care, access to school facilities, and access to inclusive curriculum. We firmly believe that an attack on transgender youth is an attack on civil rights. We ask all members of Congress to strongly oppose H.R. 28 and to reject attacks on transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth; to commit themselves to meaningfully advancing policies that support equal opportunity; and to reassure all students in the nation's classrooms that they will have the chance to learn, grow, and thrive. If you have any questions, please reach out to Liz King, senior program director at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, at king@civilrights.org. Sincerely, National (121) The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Advocates for Trans Equality, Advocates for Youth, AFT; American Association of University Women (AAUW), American Atheists; American Civil Liberties Union; American Federation of State; County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); American Humanist Association; Amnesty International USA; Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network; Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice; Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; Bend the Arc: Jewish Action; CenterLink: The Community of LGBTQ Centers; Chrysalis; Clearinghouse on Women's Issues; COLAGE; Collective Power for Reproductive Justice; Council for Global Equality; EdTrust; Education Law Center; Educators for Excellence; Elevated Access; Empowering Pacific Islander Communities; Equal Justice Society; Equal Rights Advocates; Equality Federation; Equity Forward. Family Equality, Feminist Majority Foundation, FORGE, Inc., Gender Justice League, GLAAD, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality, GLSEN, HAIR HAS NO GENDER NFP, Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights First, Ibis Reproductive Health, Impact Fund, Indivisible, interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, Interfaith Alliance, Japanese American Citizens League, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Justice and Joy National Collaborative, Keshet, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Lambda Legal, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Lavender Rights Project, Liberation is Lit, LPAC, Matthew Shepard Foundation, Movement Advancement Project, MPact Global, NAACP, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Nathaniel R. Jones Foundation, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), National Association of Social Workers, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Council of Jewish Women, National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), National Education Association, National Hispanic Media Coalition, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, National LGBTQI+ Cancer Network, National Network of Abortion Funds, National Organization for Women. National Partnership for Women & Families, National Urban League, National Women's Law Center, Nclusion Plus, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Our Schools USA, Out in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, Inc., Patchwork Transgender Peer Services, People For the American Way, PFLAG National, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Point of Pride, Popular Democracy, Positive Women's Network-USA, Pride At Work, AFL-CIO, Public Justice, Reproaction, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America), Safe Schools Action Network, Sam & Devorah Foundation for Trans Youth, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), State Innovation Exchange (SiX) Action, Tbuddy, The Advocacy Institute, The Advocates for Human Rights, The Autistic People of Color Fund, The Global Trans Equity Project, The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United), The TransLatin@ Coalition, Trans in Color, Transathlete, Transcending Adolescence, TransFamily Support Services, Transgender Law Center, TransParent, T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, UFCW OUTreach, Union for Reform Judaism, United Church of Christ, URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, Voices for Progress, Voters of Tomorrow, Western States Center, Whitman-Walker Institute, Youth MOVE National, Youth Seen, YWCA USA. regional/state/local (294) African American Office of Gay Concerns, Aces NYC, Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance, Advocates for Children of New York, AJL Community Health, Alliance For Full Acceptance SC, American Federation of Teachers--Oregon, Arkansas Black Gay Men's Forum, Association of Latinos/as/xs Motivating Action, Azalea Coffee Bar, Bans Off Miami, Basic Rights Oregon, Battle Born Progress, Bolingbrook Pride, Brenham PFLAG, Brooklyn Community Pride Center, CA LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network, CalPride, CAMP Rehoboth, Campaign for Southern Equality, Carolina Abortion Fund, Casa Freehold, Cascade AIDS Project, Central Coast Coalition for Inclusive Schools, Charlotte Trans Health, Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective, Chicago Teachers Union LGBTQ+ Committee, Chicago Therapy Collective, City of West Hollywood, Courage California, Crescent Care, Deerfield IL Chapter of PFLAG, Delmarva Pride Center, Denver Health and Hospital Authority, Detroit Area Youth Uniting Michigan (DAYUM), Disability Law Center, Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Oregon. East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, Eastern PA Trans Equity Project, Education Law Center Pennsylvania, entre hermanos, Envision: You, Equality California, Equality Community Center, Equality Florida, Equality Illinois, Equality Maine, Equality Michigan, Equality New Mexico, Equality NY--Buffalo Chapter, Equality Ohio, Equality South Dakota, Equality Texas, Equitas Health, Fair Wisconsin, Fairness Campaign, Family Forward Oregon, Famous Adventures Summer Camp, Fenway Health, FL National Organization for Women, Florida Council of Churches, Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center, Freedom Oklahoma, Garden State Equality, Gender Alchemy, Gender Justice, Gender Justice LA, GenderNexus, Georgia Equality, GLSEN Arizona, GLYS Western New York Inc., GRACE/End Child Poverty California, Grand Rapids Trans Foundation, GSAFE, Harriet Hancock Center Foundation, Hawai`i `Ohana Support Network, Health Equity Alliance for LGBTQ+ New Mexicans, Howard Brown Health, Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation, Hyacinth Foundation. Illinois Migrant Council, Inland Empire Prism Collective, Inland Oasis, Jewish Community Relations Council of Broward County, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix, Just Us at Oasis Center, Kol Ami, Latino Equality Alliance, Latino Network, Lavender Phoenix, Levine Center To End Hate/Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester, LGBT Center of Raleigh, LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin, LGBT Community Network, LGBTQ Center OC, LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, LGBTQ+ Center Lake County, LGBTQ+ Community Center of Darke County, LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Life is Work, Los Angeles LGBT Center, Louisiana Trans Advocates, Louisville Youth Group, Loving Beyond Understanding, Lyon Martin Community Health, LYRIC, Mabel Wadsworth Center, MaineTransNet, Make it Better for Youth, Make the Road Nevada, Mama Bears Playgroup, Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, MassEquality, Metro Trans Umbrella Group, Michigan Alliance for Special Education, Michigan Education Justice Coalition, Michigan Student Power Alliance, Monica Roberts Resource Center, Montgomery Pride United/ Bayard Rustin Community Center, Muncie OUTreach LGBTQ+ Center. Naper Pride, Nevada Chapter of the National Organization for Women, New Alternatives For Homeless LGBT Youth, New Haven Pride Center, New Jersey Safe Schools Coalition, New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, Next Up Action Fund, North County LGBTQ Resource Center, North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, North Shore Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (NAGLY), NoVA Prism Center, Oasis Legal Services, Office of Strategic Partnerships, California Department of Health Care Services, One Colorado, one-n-ten, OUT Maine, OutCenter Southwest Michigan, OutFront Minnesota, OUTMemphis, OutNebraska, OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center, PAVE, Peoria Proud, PFLAG Aiken (South Carolina), PFLAG Akron, PFLAG Angleton- Lake Jackson, PFLAG Athens Area, Georgia, PFLAG Cape Cod, PFLAG Chicago Metro, PFLAG Clayton-Concord, PFLAG Collingswood, PFLAG Columbus, Ohio, PFLAG Council of Northern Illinois, PFLAG Danville/ Central Susquehanna Valley, PFLAG DanvilleKY, PFLAG Dayton, PFLAG Decatur, PFLAG Deerfield IL, PFLAG Delaware, PFLAG Detroit, PFLAG DuPage, PFLAG Edwardsville, PFLAG Flat Rock/Hendersonville, NC. PFLAG Fort Collins / Northern Colorado, PFLAG Fort Wayne, PFLAG Fort Worth, PFLAG Frederick, PFLAG Geneva/Tri-Cities, PFLAG Grayslake/Round Lake, PFLAG Greater Boston, PFLAG Greater St. Louis, PFLAG GREENSBURG, PFLAG Hartford, PFLAG Homewood-Flossmoor, PFLAG HuntsvilleTX, PFLAG Illinois, PFLAG Ithaca-Cortland, PFLAG Lafayette/Tippecanoe County Indiana, PFLAG Lamorinda, PFLAG Los Angeles, PFLAG Madison WI, PFLAG meto chapter, PFLAG NYC, PFLAG O'ahu, PFLAG Oakland-East Bay, PFLAG Peoria, PFLAG Plymouth-Canton, PFLAG Port Charlotte Chapter, PFLAG Sacramento, PFLAG Salisbury, PFLAG San Diego County, PFLAG San Francisco, PFLAG San Jose/Peninsula, PFLAG Sandy Springs, PFLAG Seattle, PFLAG Sonoma County, PFLAG Southern Maryland, PFLAG Springfield/SWMO, PFLAG Tinley Park, PFLAG Tri-Valley, PFLAG Valparaiso, PFLAG West Chester/ Chester County, PFLAG Youngstown, Philadelphia Asian and Queer, Pride Action Tank/AIDS Foundation Chicago, Pride at Work--Hawai'i. Pride Center of Terre Haute Inc., Pride Community Center, Inc (Bryan/College Station, Texas), Pride in Action, Southern IL, Pride Lafayette (Indiana), Princess Janae Place, PRISM FL, Prism United, Pro-Choice North Carolina, PROMO Missouri, Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago, QT Summer Camp, Queer City Therapy, Queer Keys, Queer Trans Black Indigenous People of Color Agency, Queermunity Collaborative, Rabbi Joseph H. Gumbiner Community Action Project at Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, Rad Family, a project of North Jersey Pride, Rainbow Collective of WNY, Rainbow Families Bay Area Community Group, Rainbow Labs, Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance, Reproductive Justice Action Collective, Resource Center, Rising Voices, Rochester Rainbow Union, Rockland County Pride Center, Rocky Mountain Equality, Rogue Action Center, Sacramento LGBT Community Center, Salisbury Pride, San Joaquin Delta College, San Joaquin Pride Center, INC., Save Our Sisters United, Serving at-risk families everywhere, Inc., Sexual Assault Services Organization, Silver State Equality-Nevada, Sioux Falls Pride, SMYAL, SOJOURN: Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity, Solano Pride Center, Somos Familia Valle, Soul 2 Soul Sisters, South Carolina Equality. Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, Southwest Women's Law Center, Spencer Pride, Inc., St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Support FHPS Action, TaskForce Prevention and Community Services, Tennessee Equality Project, The Center Project, The Cherry Fund, The DC LGBTQ+ Community Center, The GLO Center, The Human Rights Alliance, The Lavender Room, The LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada, The LIAM Foundation, The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center, The Mahogany Project, The Pinta Pride Project and Buffalo Grove Pride, The Pride Center at Equality Park, The San Diego LGBT Community Center, The Sports Bra, The Transformation Project South Dakota, Towards an Anti-Racist North Kingstown (TANK), TRACTION, Trans Maryland, Trans-E-Motion, Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois, Transgender Michigan, Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico, Transgender Resource, Advocacy and Network Service, TransOhio, T-time Transgender Support, Uniting Pride of Champaign County, Upstate NY Black & Latino Pride, Inc., Viet Rainbow of Orange County, Waves Ahead Corp, We Are Family, Wild West Access Fund of Nevada, WNY Man Made Men, Women's Rights and Empowerment Network, Youth Leadership Institute, Youth Outlook, Youth OUTright, Zebra Youth.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, for many people across the country, their first introduction to Portland, Oregon, was the sketch comedy show ``Portlandia.'' Like any parody, it exaggerates reality. Contrary to popular belief, most Portlanders don't spend their time asking about a chicken's backstory at a farm-to-table restaurant and sorting their recycling into 50 bins. Mr. Speaker, I can tell you firsthand that the City of Roses is a place where people care about the environment, where their food comes from, sustainable transportation, and inclusive communities. There is no better advocate and no truer representative of Portland than my good friend, colleague, and mentor, Congressman Earl Blumenauer. Earl has been in public service for more than 50 years, 28 years here in Congress and 25 years in State and local government. He has devoted his career to making Oregon and the country more livable so individuals and families can be safe, healthy, and economically secure. As he has said, it is in his DNA to care about the community and to bring people together to accomplish a goal. Earl came to Congress after a special election in April 1996 when Ron Wyden moved to the Senate in one of five special elections that year. On the Hill, people know Earl by his bow ties, bike pins, and annual comedy events, but to those of us who know him well, he is so much more. Earl has a wide breadth of knowledge and extensive expertise gathered through his years in State and local government and now in Congress. When I went on a tour of the Library of Congress several years ago, I noticed how quiet and empty it was. When I asked if any Members of Congress actually use the Library, my tour guide asked: Do you know Earl Blumenauer? That is Earl. As former Congressman Peter DeFazio remarked, Earl goes to people with facts, and he goes back to them with facts, and he tries to wear them down. Earl can be very convincing. He is a long-term thinker, a skill that is sometimes in short supply in the policymaking arena, and a quintessential policy wonk. Earl's vision and tireless work have made real, game-changing progress for his hometown of Portland and for our State, for the region, for the Nation, and, in fact, around the world. He has been a key part of promoting curbside recycling; investing in bike and pedestrian infrastructure; advocating for animal welfare, transit, and water infrastructure; supporting Afghan interpreters; changing the regulatory structure of cannabis; reimagining food policy; and more. Earl always seeks to share what he knows. As a Portland city commissioner, Earl wanted to provide a way for Portland residents to engage constructively with the transportation system, so he created an evening class to give people the opportunity to learn about the system and suggest changes, a program that continues to this day at Portland State University. When new Members come to Congress, Earl welcomes them with a gift, a very thorough, multipage letter sharing some of his lessons and some of the knowledge that he has absorbed throughout his service. I came back to that letter, and to Earl, for guidance as I found my way. Even Snoop Dogg asked Earl for advice on how he could help with cannabis legislation. Yes, Earl has friends everywhere, and I know many of us in Congress will miss him tremendously when he retires at the end of the 118th Congress, but for those of us who live, work, and visit Portland, Earl is not going anywhere. In his next role in Portland State's metropolitan studies program, he will continue to make things better for Oregonians with his typical thoughtful, methodical, and data- informed approach. As the incoming dean of the Oregon delegation, I acknowledge that I have big shoes to fill, but Earl has charted a good and worthy path, and I know he will be around for advice when we need his wisdom, his sense of humor, and his sincerity about creating a better future. We wish Earl Blumenauer well, and I know he will appreciate his additional time with his wife, Margaret, and his children and grandchildren. Congress will not be the same without Congressman Earl Blumenauer.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 9549, to designate the Elizabeth Furse Post Office Building in Hillsboro, Oregon. I thank all of my Oregon colleagues for their support on this bill. Elizabeth Furse served northwest Oregon in Congress for 6 years. She was the first woman elected to represent Oregon's First Congressional District which I am now honored to represent. When she was first elected, Elizabeth was only one of 48 women in the House. Today, there are 127 women, thanks in part to the courageous example set by Elizabeth and other early congresswomen. Elizabeth Furse was raised in a family that valued service and justice. Her father served in the British Navy when she was growing up in Nairobi, Kenya. Her mother launched an anti-apartheid women's group, and her grandmother was a commandant of the British Red Cross Voluntary Aid during World War II. Elizabeth knew that government has the power protect civil rights or to threaten them. Beginning at her first anti-apartheid march when she was only 15 years old, she continued her family's legacy of service by advocating for those at the margins and continuing through her work, speaking on this very floor of the House of Representatives, where she championed the issues of human rights and social justice. Elizabeth believed that Congress should look like the country it represents. Good policy comes when people of diverse backgrounds and experience shape it. We have come closer to that goal, but we have further to go. Representative Furse came to Congress to advocate for meaningful change. She fought for Tribal sovereignty, social justice, and peace. She inspired dedication to worthy causes including cofounding the Oregon Peace Institute. She embodied the traits public servants should strive to uphold. Elizabeth assisted countless people during her time in Congress and throughout her life. Her many achievements include helping the Grand Ronde, Klamath, and Coquille Tribes gain Federal recognition. That work meant a lot to her, and it certainly meant a lot to the Tribes. She increased access to public transportation in our region by extending the light rail service to Hillsboro, and she was one of the original founders of the bipartisan Congressional Diabetes Caucus. Elizabeth was a trailblazer and an inspiration to many, including me. She dedicated her life to service, bolstering the lives of people in northwest Oregon. I am privileged to have been able to call her a mentor and a friend. Elizabeth lived many places before she came to Oregon in 1978, but she made our State her home. She will always be remembered as one of the smart, courageous women who shaped Oregon today. When she faced adversity, she overcame it and opened the door for others to walk through. She pursued a nontraditional career path, and she fought tirelessly for justice. I am honored to support this legislation to recognize her contributions to northwest Oregon by naming this post office, which is close to the home where she spent her final days, in her honor so people will be inspired by her example for years to come.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I know that I will continue to draw inspiration from her legacy and her commitment to justice. On behalf of her friends, family, and former constituents, I request that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle support this important bill.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Chair, if they are seriously concerned about religious discrimination on college campuses, why diminish the Federal enforcement agency's power to prevent cases of discrimination and, importantly, take enforcement action when these cases occur? Federal anti-discrimination laws are critical tools, especially in today's political climate, to protect the civil rights of all students. I hope my colleagues will join me in voting for the motion to recommit and opposing H.R. 3724 because we don't need the End Woke Higher Education Act. Mr. Chair, I include in the Record the text of my amendment. Ms. Bonamici of Oregon moves to recommit the bill H.R. 3724 to the Committee on Education and the Workforce with instructions to report the same back to the House forthwith with the following amendment: Add at the end the following: