Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to join the families of the Morningside community and the City of Milford in marking the 100th Anniversary of the establishment of the Morningside Association--a very special milestone for this unique organization. Chartered by the Connecticut state legislature in 1921, the Morningside Association created a tight-knit, welcoming community where families have flourished for generations. Nestled along the shores of Long Island Sound, the Morningside property has had a rich history. The parcel was included in the original land purchase from the Paugusset Tribe and for the first several hundred years was known as ``Merwin's Farm'' at Pond Point and was both a working farm and home to sixteen generations of the Merwin family. In the mid-1860's, the land was purchased by New England industrialist Henry G. Thompson. Mr. Thompson built a manor house of twenty-two rooms, surrounded by wide expanses of lawn, rare, beautiful trees and elaborate flower gardens. The ``Morningside'' moniker was quickly given to his new home by Mr. Thompson because it faced the rising sun. In 1912 the property was offered for sale. Specialists in developing small residential communities, the owners of the Yale Land Company, Milton T. Yale and two sons, Fred and Will, recognized an ideal opportunity for a shorefront development. After dividing the land into building lots, they laid out and constructed Morningside Drive on the shore front and Ridgewood Drive bordering the woodland, with nine roads running due west to connect these drives and provide settings for homes. By 1921 the majority of the lots had been sold and the Yale Land Company had gradually withdrawn its policy of active maintenance. It was then that the Morningside property owners decided to form an association and seek a charter from the state which would enable them to preserve the unique character of the Morningside neighborhood. They successfully lobbied the state legislature for the charter, designating the community as an improvement district. Over the course of the last century the Morningside Association has guided the community through a multitude of challenges including the transition from a summer to year- round residential community, the installation of a private storm drain and sewer line system, and the expansion of the community's borders. The Association has also worked closely with the City of Milford, particularly with the installation and maintenance of the Morningside revetment--a granite wall made necessary due to the damage and erosion caused by hurricanes that hit the area in the early half of the 20th century. Beyond the physical maintenance of the property, the Association is also responsible for the special sense of community that is Morningside. From the annual July 4th celebration to the shared enjoyment of the water and nature, the Association makes every effort to ensure that the families who call Morningside home are proud to do so. I am honored to have this opportunity to extend my thanks and appreciation to the members of the Morningside Association, past and present, who have and continue to work so diligently to create and enrich such a vibrant community. My heartfelt congratulations to them as they mark their centennial anniversary. As we say in Italian--C'ent Anni--to another hundred years.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it is an honor and pleasure to extend my congratulations to Cynthia Pearson, a leader of the women's health movement for many decades, on her exceptional service to the women of the United States and on her well-earned retirement. Cynthia has served as Executive Director of the National Women's Health Network (NWHN) for more than 24 years, and prior to that led the organization's program and policy work. In that time she established an exemplary record as an effective and influential advocate, leading campaigns to protect women from risky drugs and devices; require the government to research conditions that affect women; ensure that women have access to full information about medical products and clinical trials; expand women's access to comprehensive reproductive health care services; and protect women against coercion and abuse in health care. I would like to highlight just a few of the accomplishments of her leadership at the NWHN and the contributions it made to advancing research for women's health and increasing access to health care. In 1987, Cynthia and the National Women's Health Network led a grassroots campaign that convinced the National Cancer Institute to fund the first breast cancer prevention trial that examined the effects of a low-fat diet on breast cancer. And Cynthia helped the NWHN to produce the first-ever fact sheets on breast cancer and African American, Latina, Native American and Asian American women, highlighting the disparities in survival experienced by women of color and building momentum for targeted outreach programs. Her work on breast cancer also included advocacy that prompted the U.S. Congress to investigate the lack of informed consent in trials of a breast cancer treatment drug that was being given to healthy women. As a result of that investigation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) revised their informed consent rules for government-funded clinical trials, ensuring that future volunteers would be given complete information about serious and potentially fatal risks associated with study drugs. With Cynthia's leadership, the NWHN became one of the first and most prescient critics of the unproven, yet widespread, use of menopause hormone therapy to prevent heart disease in women. In 1990, Cynthia testified at the Food and Drug Administration, persuading the agency not to approve preventive use of the drugs without first requiring the sponsors to provide the same standard of evidence from placebo controlled trials that it had required for all drugs approved for heart disease prevention in men. A year later, she spearheaded the NWHN's successful advocacy to persuade the NIH to fund and launch the largest ever study of the health of older women, the Women's Health Initiative, which enrolled more than 27,000 women in clinical trials of menopause hormone therapy. In 2002, Cynthia's skepticism about menopause hormone therapy was proven well-founded when the Women's Health Initiative showed that hormone therapy does not prevent heart disease and, in fact, increases the risk of stroke and in some cases, breast cancer. Cynthia and the NWHN educated women about the results of those trials, so that they could make more informed decisions about whether to use menopause hormone therapy. This led to the largest-ever drop in breast cancer rates. In one decade, more than 160,000 women did not get breast cancer because the NWHN helped them avoid exposure to the drugs that would have caused it. In 2012, Cynthia received the Grassroots Activism Award from the National Breast Cancer Coalition in recognition of this lifesaving work. Cynthia also successfully advocated for the NIH to fund the only multi-ethnic long-term study of the menopause transition in healthy women. The study enrolled more than 3,000 women and has resulted in nearly 500 publications, providing essential information that enables women to understand what is normal in menopause, and how that's different across race and ethnicity. Starting in 2007, as a co-founder of Raising Women's Voices for the Health Care We Need, a national collaborative initiative that supports quality affordable health care for all, Cynthia helped build the grassroots support that was integral to the successful enactment of the Affordable Care Act, which extended health insurance coverage to tens of thousands of women. The coverage made possible by the Affordable Care Act has provided women with access to lifesaving health care, including no co-pay coverage for preventive care such as cervical cancer screening and contraceptive care. In recent years, Cynthia worked within the Raising Women's Voices collaborative to help defeat multiple attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and has been instrumental in bringing the voices of women, people of color, and LGBTQ people to the national health care debate. In the reproductive health arena, working in partnership with the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, Cynthia and the NWHN created a statement of principles to guide the provision of long-acting reversible contraceptives. The statement was signed by over a hundred organizations and has helped keep patient autonomy front and center, protecting patients from coercive practices while expanding access to contraception. Finally, in addition to being an effective educator of consumers and a persuasive advocate in her attempts to influence government policy, Cynthia has been an essential ally and partner to policymakers working within the federal government. In 2018, she helped organize a lightning-speed advocacy campaign that in just one week saved the Food and Drug Administration Office of Women's Health from an attempt to defund it and prevent its staff from doing the work the office was established to do. I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our sincerest appreciation to Cynthia Pearson for her vital contributions to the health of women and girls.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that I have introduced in every Congress since 1997. Since then, we have pushed and battled to strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963. We launched, side by side, into the fray to elevate pay discrimination, to emphasize how central its impact is to working families. I cannot tell you how difficult it has been to break through on something so simple; so simple. Men and women in the same job deserve the same pay. It is a principle that we adhere to in this Congress, and I don't believe anyone would challenge it. The same is true of the U.S. military. Last month, we recognized Equal Pay Day on March 24, which is the day into the current year that women must work to meet the wages earned by men in the previous year. The National Committee on Pay Equity tells us, at its lowest point in 1973, full-time, working women earned a median of 56.6 cents to every dollar that full-time working men earned. Today, women who work full- time, year-round are paid, on average, only 82 cents for every dollar paid to men. The gap exists in every State, regardless of geography, occupation, education, or work patterns. And it is worse for women of color. Latinas are typically paid 55 cents; Native American women 60 cents; Black women 63 cents; Asian American and Pacific Islander women are paid as little as 52 cents. This wage disparity costs the average American woman and her family an estimated $400,000 to $2 million, impacting Social Security benefits and pensions. Today, the issue and the environment have collided. This pandemic has brought out the depth of our problem, exposed existing inequalities, and threatened women's economic security at a disproportionate rate. Women have lost more than five million jobs; and as we seek to rebuild our economy, let us remember that the pay gap hurts not only women, but also the families who depend on them. The Paycheck Fairness Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation, which has the support of every member of the Democratic Caucus, as well as three Republicans. It would toughen the remedies in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to give America's working women the opportunity to fight wage discrimination and receive the paycheck they have rightfully earned. It would require employers to prove that pay disparities exist for legitimate, job-related reasons; ban retaliation against workers who discuss their wages; it facilitates a wronged worker's participation in a class action suit; and it prohibits employers from seeking the salary history of prospective employees. And by now, we are all familiar with the case of Lilly Ledbetter. Her bosses said: ``Their plant did not need women; that women did not help, and, in fact, they caused problems.'' Well, a jury found that, yes, Lilly Ledbetter had been discriminated against, and awarded her $3.8 million in back pay and damages, which the Supreme Court eliminated. She received nothing, as it closed the courtroom door to all women. We, the Congress, reopened that door with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It reversed the Supreme Court's decision. It was a court access case, but it did not address the underlying issue of pay discrimination. President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, in his State of the Union address, said: ``Legislation to apply the principle of equal pay for equal work without discrimination because of sex is a matter of simple justice. I earnestly urge the Congress to move swiftly to implement these needed labor measures.'' When President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law nearly 58 years ago, he said: ``It is a first step. It affirms our determination that when women enter the labor force, they will find equality in their pay envelopes.'' The Paycheck Fairness Act is the next step. It simply brings the Equal Pay Act into line with the remedies already available for those who are subject to other forms of employment discrimination. That is it, pure and simple. We have passed paycheck fairness through this House in 2008, 2009, 2019. But, now, in the 117th Congress in which we welcomed the most women in our history, we must get it into law. We have the opportunity to make good on that promise that Presidents of both parties have made. We need to seize that moment. It is time for us to say that the work that women do in our society today is valued and respected, and the contribution that we make, if it is good enough for the women in the House of Representatives, then it is good enough for women all over the United States. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter supporting the Paycheck Fairness Act by a broad coalition of organizations that promote economic opportunity for women. February 3, 2021. Co-Sponsor and Support Swift Passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act Dear Member of Congress: As members of a broad coalition of organizations that promote economic opportunity for women and vigorous enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, we strongly urge you to co-sponsor and push for swift passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act as a top priority of the 117th Congress. Despite federal and state equal pay laws, gender pay gaps persist, and earnings lost to these gaps are exacerbating the financial effects of COVID-19, falling particularly heavily on women of color and the families who depend on their income. This legislation offers a much needed update to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by providing new tools to battle pervasive pay gaps and to challenge discrimination. The COVID-19 pandemic and systemic racism have exposed how the work performed primarily by women, and particularly Black and brown women, has long been and continues to be undervalued and underpaid, even as the rest of the country is newly recognizing the essential nature of this work. Black women, Latinas, and other women of color are especially likely to be on the front lines of the crisis, risking their lives in jobs in health care, child care, and grocery stores; they are also being paid less than their male counterparts. At the same time, women in this country lost more than 5 million jobs in 2020; indeed, women accounted for 100% of the jobs lost in December 2020. The unemployment rate for Black women and Latinas remains exceptionally high. These high jobless numbers threaten to exacerbate gender wage gaps when women regain employment. We cannot build back an economy that works for everyone without ensuring that all women can work with equality, safety, and dignity, starting with pay equity. There is no more fitting way to begin this session than by making real, concrete progress in ensuring all women receive fair pay. The Paycheck Fairness Act updates and strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to ensure that it provides robust protection against sex-based pay discrimination. Among other provisions, this comprehensive bill bars retaliation against workers who voluntarily discuss or disclose their wages. It closes loopholes that have allowed employers to pay women less than men for the same work without any important business justification related to the job. It ensures women can receive the same robust remedies for sex-based pay discrimination that are currently available to those subjected to discrimination based on race and ethnicity. It prohibits employers from relying on salary history in determining future pay, so that pay discrimination does not follow women from job to job. And it also provides much needed training and technical assistance, as well as data collection and research. Women are increasingly the primary or co-breadwinner in their families and cannot afford to be shortchanged any longer. Women working full-time, year-round are typically paid only 82 cents for every dollar paid to men. But for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts, Black women only make 63 cents, Native women only 60 cents, and Latinas only 55 cents. While Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women make 87 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, women in many AAPI communities experience drastically wider pay gaps. Furthermore, moms are paid less than dads. And even when controlling for factors, such as education and experience, the pay gaps persist and start early in women's careers and contribute to a wealth gap that follows them throughout their lifetimes. These pay gaps can be addressed only if workers have the legal tools necessary to challenge discrimination and employers are provided with effective incentives and technical assistance to comply with the law. We recently commemorated the twelfth anniversary of the enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. That vital law rectified the Supreme Court's harmful decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. The law helps to ensure that individuals subjected to unlawful compensation discrimination are able to have their day in court and effectively assert their rights under federal antidiscrimination laws. But the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, critical as it is, is only one step on the path to ensuring women receive equal pay for equal work. It's time to take the next step toward achieving equal pay. We urge you to prioritize the Paycheck Fairness Act in the 117th Congress by co-sponsoring and urging swift passage of this legislation, taking up the cause of Lilly Ledbetter and all those who have fought for equal pay. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Kate Nielson, Director of Public Policy & Legal Advocacy at the American Association of University Women or Emily Martin, Vice President for Education & Workplace Justice at the National Women's Law Center. Sincerely, 9to5; A Better Balance; AFCPE (Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education); All-Options; American Association of University Women (AAUW): AAUW of Alabama, AAUW of Alaska (AAUW Fairbanks (AK) Branch), AAUW of Arizona, AAUW of Arkansas, AAUW of California, AAUW of Colorado, AAUW of Connecticut, AAUW of Delaware, AAUW of District of Columbia (AAUW Washington (DC) Branch, AAUW Capitol Hill (DC) Branch), AAUW of Florida, AAUW of Georgia, AAUW of Hawaii, AAUW of Idaho, AAUW of Illinois, AAUW of Indiana, AAUW of Iowa, AAUW of Kansas, AAUW of Kentucky, AAUW of Louisiana, AAUW of Maine, AAUW of Maryland, AAUW of Massachusetts, AAUW of Michigan, AAUW of Minnesota, AAUW of Mississippi, AAUW of Missouri, AAUW of Montana, AAUW of Nebraska, AAUW of Nevada, AAUW of New Hampshire, AAUW of New Jersey, AAUW of New Mexico, AAUW of New York, AAUW of North Carolina, AAUW of North Dakota, AAUW of Ohio, AAUW of Oklahoma, AAUW of Oregon, AAUW of Pennsylvania, AAUW of Puerto Rico, AAUW of Rhode Island, AAUW of South Carolina, AAUW of South Dakota, AAUW of Tennessee, AAUW of Texas, AAUW of Utah, AAUW of Vermont, AAUW of Virginia, AAUW of Washington, AAUW of West Virginia, AAUW of Wisconsin, AAUW of Wyoming. American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Unions (AFL-CIO); American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; American Federation of Teachers; AnitaB.org; Association of Flight Attendants-CWA; Bend the Arc Jewish Action; California Women's Law Center; Catalyst; Center for American Progress; Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research; Clearinghouse on Women's Issues; Coalition of Labor Union Women: Philadelphia Coalition of Labor Union Women; Community Health Councils; Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces; Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF); Disciples Center for Public Witness. Equal Pay Today; Equal Rights Advocates; Every Texan; Family Forward Oregon; Family Values@ Work; Feminist Majority Foundation; Futures Without Violence; Gender Justice; Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC; In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda; Indiana Institute for Working Families; Institute for Women's Policy Research; Justice for Migrant Women; KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change; Labor Council for Latin American Advancement; Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; League of Women Voters of the United States; Legal Aid at Work; Legal Momentum, The Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund; Legal Voice; MANA, A National Latina Organization; Methodist Federation for Social Action; Mi Familila Vota. Michigan League for Public Policy; MomsRising; NAACP; National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd; National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF); National Association of Social Workers; National Center for Law and Economic Justice; National Committee on Pay Equity; National Council of Jewish Women; National Domestic Violence Hotline; National Education Association; National Employment Law Project: National Employment Lawyers Association National Employment Lawyers Association--Eastern Pennsylvania, National Employment Lawyers Association--Georgia; National Network to End Domestic Violence; National Organization for Women: Florida NOW, Illinois NOW, Indiana NOW, Jacksonville NOW, Kanawha Valley NOW, Maryland NOW, Monroe County NOW, Montana NOW, Northwest Indiana NOW, South Jersey NOW-Alice Paul chapter. National Partnership for Women & Families; National WIC Association; National Women's Law Center; National Women's Political Caucus; Native Women Lead; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; New Jersey Citizen Action; NewsGuild-CWA; New York Women's Foundation; North Carolina Justice Center; People For the American Way; PowHer New York; Prosperity Now; Reinventure Capital; Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United; Service Employees International Union; Shriver Center on Poverty Law; TIME'S UP Now; U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce; Union for Reform Judaism; United State of Women; WNY Women's Foundation; Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania; Women Employed; Women of Reform Judaism; Women's Fund of Rhode Island; Women's Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Women's Law Project; Women's Media Center; Women's Rights and Empowerment Network; YWCA USA: YWCA Allentown, YWCA Arizona Metropolitan Phoenix, YWCA Billings, YWCA Butler, YWCA Central Alabama, YWCA Central Indiana, YWCA Central Maine, YWCA Central Virginia, YWCA Dayton, YWCA Duluth, YWCA Elgin, YWCA Genesee County, YWCA Greater Austin, YWCA Greater Baton Rouge, YWCA Greater Cincinnati, YWCA Greater Cleveland, YWCA Greater Portland, YWCA Greenwich, YWCA Hartford Region, YWCA Kalamazoo, YWCA Kauai, YWCA Kitsap County, YWCA Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley, YWCA Lower Cape Fear, YWCA McLean County, YWCA Metro Detroit--Interim House, YWCA National Capital Area, YWCA New Hampshire, YWCA North Central Indiana, YWCA Northern New Jersey, YWCA Oahu, YWCA Pierce County, YWCA Princeton, YWCA QUINCY, YWCA Sauk Valley, YWCA Seattle king Snohomish, YWCA South Hampton Roads, YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts, YWCA Southern Arizona, YWCA University of Illinois, YWCA Utah, YWCA Western New York, YWCA Wheeling, YWCA Yakima; Zonta USA Caucus.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, the gender pay gap is a pervasive problem that demands thoughtful, multipronged solutions. The Paycheck Fairness Act represents a comprehensive response to the shortcomings of existing law and addresses the holes that have emerged over time. Representative Stefanik's substitute, the Wage Equity Act, is exactly what the Paycheck Fairness Act has been fighting over the years. It purports to offer protections, but, in reality, it creates loopholes that give a wink and a nod to discrimination. Not only would it offer empty protections, it would erode existing protections already in place. The substitute includes inadequate protections for workers who discuss or disclose wages. While ostensibly protecting employees who disclose or discuss that pay, it allows employers to place limitations on when, where, and how employees may do so, negating the point of the provision. Madam Speaker, you cannot remedy pay discrimination if you have no idea that you are making less than the man across the hall. When workers fear retaliation for talking about their pay, any wage gap they face is likely to continue to grow undiscovered in the shadows. More egregiously, there is no mechanism for enforcement, as it would allow employers who conduct self-designed pay audits to escape accountability for unlawful pay disparities and deny a worker a remedy. I think it bears repeating that corporations do not feel free to sell us spoiled meat, lock our daughters up in ninth-floor sweatshops with no fire escapes, employ our underage sons in coal mines, force us to work 13-hour shifts without overtime or a break because corporations experienced a moment of Zen and decided to evolve. No. They were forced into greater accountability and social concern by the legitimate actions of a democratic government. In other words, if we depend on goodwill or a self-audit, then we are all screwed. This amendment seeks to destroy the entire purpose of the bill and allows companies to evade accountability for violating the law. Madam Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment and a ``yes'' vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, for nearly 50 years, our country has strived to make equal rights for women a foundational value in the United States Constitution through the equal rights amendment. Women deserve nothing less than equal treatment, whether it be equal pay for equal work, freedom from discrimination, freedom from sexual assault, or freedom from domestic violence. The equal rights amendment will help to fill those gaps. We now have enough States for that to become the law of the land. This resolution will help clear the path for this much-needed change, and I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution so that every woman and every girl can have equal justice under the law. I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: What are you afraid of? Why? Why can you not affirm equal rights for women in the United States of America? It is not a hard mountain to climb. But it says every woman and every girl can have equal justice under the law.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, after a year of battling this pandemic, our communities are on the edge, and the American Rescue Plan is here. To the American public, help is on the way. It will put money directly into people's pockets. The $1,400 per person payment, the expansion of unemployment benefits will help people deal with increasing debt, paying rent, buying food, and paying healthcare bills. State and local funding is necessary to prevent our State and local governments from relying on tax increases to stay afloat; to keep first responders, frontline health workers, and other providers of vital services on the job. One of the provisions included in the American Rescue Plan that I am particularly proud of, that I have championed for nearly two decades, is the expansion and the improvement of the child tax credit. In this plan, the credit increases from $2,000 to $3,000 for children 6-17, with an additional $600 each for children under 6. Think of that. It is a new lifeline to the middle class, and it cuts child poverty nearly in half. Franklin Roosevelt lifted seniors out of poverty--90 percent of them--with Social Security. And with the stroke of a pen, President Biden is going to lift millions and millions of children out of poverty in this country. As families struggle to stay in their home, feed their families, purchase necessities, this plan provides for hardworking Americans. It includes $12 billion in emergency food assistance, including an extension of increased food stamps. The relief also provides $45 billion for rental and mortgage assistance. It is time to make a bold investment in the health and the security of the American people. This is a watershed moment, an historic piece of legislation. We will vote for the American Rescue Plan with the determination to adequately meet the moment with strength, with action, and with hope.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I am so glad he is back. Madam Speaker, I rise to speak in support of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or the PRO Act. I am the daughter of a garment worker. So the fight for workers' rights has always had a special place in my heart. My mother toiled and worked every single day in the sweatshops in New Haven, Connecticut, sewing shirt collars and dresses. She was piecework, which meant she got pennies on the dollar. As chair of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, I work every day to ensure that her early struggles were not in vain. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the PRO Act, introduced by the chair of the Committee, Congressman Bobby Scott. It strengthens the right of working people to come together in unions to secure better wages and better working conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the single biggest economic challenge of our times, which is that people's pay does not keep up with the rising costs of healthcare, education, and childcare. And from 1980 to 2017, average incomes for the bottom 90 percent of households stagnated to a 1.1 percent increase, while skyrocketing more than 180 percent for the wealthiest 1 percent in this country. It is no coincidence that at the same time, union membership fell for a record low to 10 percent. Economists at Princeton found that the alarming rise of income inequality since the 1970s can be at least partially attributed to the decline in union membership. The PRO Act is about leveling the playing field for working people. It would directly address the issues facing workers across the entire economy and give equal access to the collective bargaining process. In sum, it would ensure workers' rights keep pace with the new economy. As Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has said: ``Inequality is not inevitable. It is about the public policy choices we make, not globalization, not technology.'' Madam Speaker, we have the opportunity today to choose a public policy that, in fact, will defend and protect working people in this country. Pass the PRO Act.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, February is Black History month. This month, and every month, let us celebrate the Black Americans who built this nation, amplify the voices of those who continue to fight for a more just society, and recommit to taking real action. We must remember that Black History is American History as we reflect on the people who have strengthened our nation. This past year, the fight for racial justice was especially important in wake of unspeakable tragedies like the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. People of all ages protested from coast to coast, calling for justice, saying enough is enough, and demanding change. I was particularly inspired by a group of young students led by Social Studies Teacher Nicole Clark, English Language Arts Teacher Monica Powell, and Inclusion Specialist Courtney Legg at Two Rivers Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.--where my granddaughter Sadie Delicath attends. During their recent school showcase they presented their ``resistance poems'' which I have shared with my colleagues in an e-booklet and posted to my website at: https://delauro.house.gov/sites/delauro.house.gov/files/documents/ TwoRiversPoems.pdf. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ``our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.'' During these unprecedented times, where we are also struggling to combat a pandemic that is disproportionately affecting communities of color, we must have the courage to make meaningful change. It is clear that the young authors of these poems certainly have that courage. I was particularly inspired by their words, and I am confident that my colleagues in the Congress were as well. It is through their dedication and commitment of young people--and that of so many others before them--we are able to continue this fight for equality, justice and opportunity today and for many years to come. I would like to share the poem written by my granddaughter Sadie. I am inspired by her every day: Change Needs To Come (By Sadie Delicath) Do you know what it's like to be a Black person in America? 'Cause I don't. I don't look at the tv and see another brother, mother, daughter, or father hanging from a tree or getting shot in her sleep wondering if next time it will be me. Do you know what it's like to be a white person in America? 'Cause I do. When I see a cop car there are no butterflies dancing in my stomach or the sinking feeling something bad is going to happen. Is that how everyone feels, or just me? Do you know what it's like to be a white person in America? 'Cause I do. Having privilege because of the color of my skin, being protected by something I'm born in. History is a broken record, skips a couple of times, but always repeats itself. Our laws and our norms always find a way to keep racism around. Slavery led to Jim Crow and Jim Crow to police brutality We have the power to put an end to this pain, but Black people are silenced as if by thunderous rain. Denouncing racism is not enough, a black square is not enough, do you really care or is it just a bluff? Black Lives Matter is not a trend, we have to put racism to an end.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, February is Black History month. This month, and every month, let us celebrate the Black Americans who built this nation, amplify the voices of those who continue to fight for a more just society, and recommit to taking real action. We must remember that Black History is American History as we reflect on the people who have strengthened our nation. This past year, the fight for racial justice was especially important in wake of unspeakable tragedies like the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. People of all ages protested from coast to coast, calling for justice, saying enough is enough, and demanding change. I was particularly inspired by a group of young students led by Social Studies Teacher Nicole Clark, English Language Arts Teacher Monica Powell, and Inclusion Specialist Courtney Legg at Two Rivers Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. During their recent school showcase they presented their ``resistance poems'' which I have shared with my colleagues in an e-booklet and posted to my website at: https:// delauro.house.gov/sites/delauro.house.gov/files/documents/ TwoRiversPoems.pdf. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ``our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.'' During these unprecedented times, where we are also struggling to combat a pandemic that is disproportionately affecting communities of color, we must have the courage to make meaningful change. It is clear that the young authors of these poems certainly have that courage. I was particularly inspired by their words, and I am confident that my colleagues in the Congress were as well. It is through their dedication and commitment of young people--and that of so many others before them--we are able to continue this fight for equality, justice and opportunity today and for many years to come.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, one year later and we are still in the biggest economic and health crisis the country has ever faced. It warrants the biggest governmental response the country has ever seen. To rescue our people, our economy and our health care system, we need a comprehensive, lasting rescue plan immediately. The American people cannot afford any more delays. After a disastrous mishandling by the former administration the United States remains the epicenter of a global pandemic. Cases of the coronavirus are still high. Schools remain closed, businesses shuttered, unemployment is rising. It is harrowing. The hour is dark. But today, Congress is ready to help get families, workers, and the country to the dawn of the recovery. This crisis is not over so our work is not done. Let us secure a pathway for the American Rescue Plan and start to build back better.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. On November 3, the American people voted overwhelmingly for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to serve as President and Vice President of the United States. The country was about to enter a new era, with great hope for change. Yet, with a decisive mandate and majority, the President used untruthful claims to end the completion of a constitutional process of collecting the electoral votes making Joe Biden President of the United States. Not accepting the will of the American people, the President unleashed the most horrific violence that overwhelmed the security forces at this Capitol, which was overrun for the first time since 1812, putting the lives of so many at risk--indeed, a day of infamy. This impeachment will be viewed as a transcendent vote, where all will be judged. Vote to impeach the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend and labor leader, Bernard ``Bernie'' McKinnon, who we recently lost unexpectedly. Bernie was a wonderful friend, colleague, and mentor to many, and he will be deeply missed by all of those fortunate enough to have known him. Bernie grew up in Caribou, Maine, along with his five siblings, before the family moved to Connecticut. Upon his graduation from high school, he joined his parents, as well as the United Autoworkers of America, when he began working at Fafnir Bearing. From the very beginning, Bernie was a dedicated member of UAW, and it was his passion for fairness and justice that led to his eventual career with the labor organization. He worked his way through the ranks of his local union, eventually becoming a long-time Local 133 President. He was later elected UAW Region 9A CAP President and then CAP Director, where he took on the responsibility of ensuring that the voices of UAW members were heard throughout the hall of state legislatures throughout New England. Bernie was also a mentor to many in Connecticut's labor movement, often sought after for advice and guidance in navigating the nuances of the state's General Assembly and the best ways in which to ensure that their legislative agendas were heard. He was also at the forefront of mobilizing UAW political activity in local, state, and federal elections, organizing volunteers and the activities in which they would participate. It was in 1991 that Bernie was recruited to work as a legislative activist for the UAW in Washington, D.C. and that was where I had the opportunity to really get to know Bernie. I can distinctly remember the first part of our exchange when he visited the office. I would say ``how are you doing Bernie'' and his reply, without fail, was ``terrible, Rosa . . . just terrible''--but his slight smile gave him away every time. In the near decade that he spent on the Hill, Bernie earned the respect of Members from both sides of the aisle, because he was straight-forward and genuine--when he spoke, he just gave you the plain truth about how an issue would impact working people. Bernie's contributions also extended far beyond his work on behalf of the UAW and its members. In his lifetime, he was a cub scout master, a Southington Band Backer, a trustee for the Southington Elks, a member of the Southington Democratic Town Committee, and a board member of several organizations including Catholic Family Services, the United Labor Agency, and the New Britain United Way. In his retirement, he served as President of the UAW Local 133 retiree chapter as well as an active member of the Connecticut Alliance of Retired Americans. He helped to establish the Connecticut Citizens Action Group and served on its Board of Directors for many years. His good work and compassion touched countless lives and his commitment to community and service should serve as a model for us all. I, like so many others, consider myself fortunate to not only have known Bernard ``Bernie'' McKinnon, but to have called him my friend. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Judie; his children, Ken, Lisa, and Jill; his grandchildren, and great-granddaughter as well as his many family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time. Though he was taken suddenly and much too soon, his is a life and legacy that will most certainly serve as an inspiration to many.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York, and I hope to fill her shoes in what she has done to promote the welfare of the lives of the people of this country. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this bill. We are at a critical moment. We are not just living through a public health crisis, but an economic one; two crises, which have magnified existing inequalities. Tens of millions of workers are unemployed. Millions of families are facing hunger, many for the first time in their lives. Small businesses are going under, and over 300,000 Americans have lost their lives. The COVID relief package that we are voting on today is a start, and I thank my colleagues in the House of Representatives for elevating it to provide important relief. It brings back the enhanced Federal unemployment insurance, direct payments, a second round of PPP loans, $13 billion in emergency food assistance, and a temporary boost to the monthly food stamp program. And, critically, it includes my Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes Act. Despite strong Republican opposition, it provides nearly $2 billion to maintain the paid leave option. I will fight for paid sick days and paid family and medical leave in the new year so that no worker is left behind. In the Labor-HHS provisions, we were able to secure $155 billion in life-or-death funding: $73 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services and $82 billion for the Department of Education. However, it is only a start, and we must do so much more. We need aid to cities and States. We need a child tax credit and much more money for childcare. Let us act and get the people the help they need.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I know the majority leader has left the floor, but I thank him for his congratulations and his warm words. I look forward to working in conjunction with him as we move to pass 12 bills by June. I want to particularly say how pleased I am to be able to work with the ranking member, my colleague from Texas. We have worked on issues in the past, never at this level, but I am looking forward to a really close and wonderful relationship as we try to do the Nation's business. Thank you so very much. Mr. Speaker, with an additional week to negotiate, I am optimistic that we can fund the government for this year and we can deliver coronavirus relief for the American people who are desperate and looking to us for hope. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this extension of funding so we can complete our work. It is not about us. We have the responsibility, but it is about the people outside of this Chamber who are relying on us. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill, H.R. 8900, currently under consideration.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8900) making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2021, and for other purposes.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as we speak, the Appropriations Committees are hard at work negotiating fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills. There are many serious issues facing our Nation, and Federal funding plays a critical role in supporting families and communities as they go about their day- to-day lives as they try to survive during this health and economic crisis. Mr. Speaker, Americans deserve the certainty of a full-year funding, and the Congress has a responsibility to the Nation to do its job and pass all 12 funding bills before we adjourn. The continuing resolution we consider today will keep the government up and running to bring spending talks to a successful conclusion. These are serious issues that touch every aspect of people's lives, like their education, transportation systems, national security, public health infrastructure, and our environment. In addition to an omnibus appropriations bill, it is my hope that this additional week will allow negotiators the time to assemble an emergency coronavirus relief package. To take advantage of this window of opportunity, Leader McConnell must finally sit down with Democrats to find a bipartisan solution. Coupled with a full year of government funding, an interim coronavirus relief package is critical. It is a lifeline for working families. If we do not act, 12 million Americans could lose unemployment aid just after Christmas, and millions could lose access to paid sick leave and protections against evictions. This will put working families over the edge and our economy closer to the financial cliff. I urge my colleagues to join me in adopting this continuing resolution. Let us support the ongoing negotiations. People are desperate. They are counting on us. We need to provide relief to working families, to our schools, to our children, to small businesses, and to communities across the Nation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding to me this evening and being here with other colleagues because we know, and we have said over and over again, that we face public health and economic crises unlike any that our country has seen in a generation. More than 245,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. Tens of millions are out of work. And we know how communities of color have suffered acutely and disproportionately. While we have known about some of these issues in the past, about the inequities in our healthcare system, in our economy, this virus has exposed and shone a light on the depths of the injustices and inequities that exist for communities of color. While we need to fight the virus, we need to fight the virus of injustice. In my home State of Connecticut, as of last Thursday, Black people accounted for more than 14.5 percent of Connecticut's COVID-related deaths when they are just 12 percent of the population. Mr. Speaker, 18 percent of COVID cases are Hispanic, outpacing the 17 percent they make up of our State's population. Yet, this data is not perfect, which is why I have been so proud to work with my friend and my colleague, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, to require the Health and Human Services agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide Congress with the data on which communities are bearing the worst impacts so that we can make sure that testing--once we have an administration that takes testing strategy seriously--is focused on those communities and that they get the resources they need going forward. My colleague from California, Congresswoman Lee, has been indefatigable in questioning the issue of the data that we have on communities of color, and she did this long before we probably could spell ``coronavirus.'' To be frank, it is frustrating that we even had to put this requirement into law. The CDC is complying with the reporting, but we keep a vigilant eye on that information. We have more work to do to ensure that we have complete data. Through November 12, 47 percent of cases had unknown race and ethnicity in the CDC's surveillance system. That is just not good enough. This moment demands the boldest possible efforts to secure affordable healthcare, to address the deep racial disparities exposed by this virus, to help families. I am proud to chair this subcommittee, which has been central to our response to this pandemic and the disparities that it has exposed. Together, my colleagues on the committee and on this subcommittee, we have appropriated $280 billion in emergency funding for education, for health, for working people throughout the pandemic. Through the good offices of my colleagues, Congresswoman Lee and Congresswoman Bass, we inserted language that would focus on the issue of disparities and how we address them. We could add $400 million in the latest iteration of The Heroes Act. Yet the United States Senate has refused to do anything to help struggling Americans and get us to a place where we can test everyone, that we can do contact tracing, and that we can provide treatment. We know more is needed. So, as I mentioned, the House has passed two additional relief packages, and we looked at boosting SNAP benefits by 15 percent; expanding access to paid leave and paid sick days; and expanding and improving the child tax credit for one-third of our children, which includes half of Black and Hispanic children, who are currently left behind because their families earn too little. If we do not address the virus, we will not be able to do anything about turning our economy around. Let me say a thank-you to Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been a tireless champion for communities of color, for organizing this Special Order. She and I, along with others, are committed to bringing to bear the full weight of the Federal Government for the communities of color, not only in my district, but around the country, because together we can and we must do better. People's lives are depending on it. We know what we need to do to save lives. It is incomprehensible that we can't get to a protocol which allows us to save people's lives and those in communities of color, which are affected the most.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I am honored to rise today to join the Amistad Committee, the City of New Haven, and all of those gathered today in paying tribute to a pioneering African American who quite literally changed the landscape of the City of New Haven, William Lanson, and who ultimately faced defamation and destitution from a white Majority that used its levers of state power to put him into ruin. But, today, we return him to his rightful and honorable place in the history of our town as a bronze statue is dedicated in his honor. According to a Hartford Courant piece in 2001, quote, ``William Lanson was an extraordinary figure in early 19th-century New Haven. Almost certainly an escaped slave, Lanson overcame incredible odds to become a highly successful businessman, one of the earliest black entrepreneurs in Connecticut.'' William Lanson was a man ahead of his time in many ways, none more so than in the innovative engineering concepts that he brought to his successful projects in the City of New Haven. Though little is known about his earliest years, we do know that Lanson and his family moved to New Haven around 1803 and within just seven years he became the city's principal wharf builder. In 1810, he was the only contractor able to complete the complicated 1,350-foot extension to the city's Long Wharf, enabling larger boats to dock in the city's port and allowing the city to compete with nearby ports including New York. The extension was only possible because he employed specially designed scows, carefully designed by Lanson himself, capable of carrying twenty-five tons of stone at a time. The stone was quarried by him and his laborers, from nearby East Rock, floated on the scows to the harbor where they were installed to stabilize the pilings for the wharf's extension. Following his success at Long Wharf, Lanson was contracted to build the retaining wall for the newly planned Farmington Canal where it flowed into the harbor basin. These two projects changed the very character of New Haven Harbor and the City itself, further allowing both to thrive and prosper--a feat which would have not been accomplished without William Lanson's invaluable contributions. It was more than the architecture of the city to which he contributed. It was its business landscape, its civic culture, and its moral fiber, as an African American leader who fought their disenfranchisement. He was a successful businessman, operating a hotel, grocery, and livery service, as well as a founding member of the Temple Street Church, which later became the Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church of Christ. He was a fierce abolitionist and advocate for voting rights. According to research by Yale, in 1811, the Reverend Timothy Dwight, President of Yale College, praised William Lanson, as quote, ``honourable proof of the character which they sustain, both for capacity, and integrity, in the view of respectable men.'' But, as the Yale research said, quote, ``By the end of the 1820s such praise had all but vanished . . . . and Lanson found himself beset financially and attacked and ridiculed.'' According to Amy L. Trout, curator at the New Haven Colony Historical Society, quote, ``he was constantly harassed by the police. The minute he was released from the police station and got home, he would be arrested for something else.'' Late in life, Lanson wrote that he was jailed five times in six years for a total of 450 days, for selling liquor at his hotel, the Liberian, a very common practice. The pressure continued until he died forgotten, defamed, and destitute. So, we right that wrong. And, we must. Lanson was an unbelievably important and impressive man, an African American who reshaped, reformed, and re-invigorated. Doing so as an African American in the 19th century. He was a force. William Lanson left an indelible mark on the City of New Haven and I am glad to be able to witness our community coming together to recognize, celebrate, and preserve his story. My deepest thanks to the dedicated members of the Amistad Committee and the City of New Haven who have ensured that William Lanson's contributions to our community will always be remembered.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, the people of Connecticut and of the United States deserve no less than the full support of the Federal Government to get them to the dawn of a recovery. While the House passed a comprehensive bill for the American people back in May, the Senate has failed to act. So we advanced this $2.2 trillion package that includes $2.7 billion for Connecticut to protect lives, livelihoods, and the life of our democracy. As chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, I am proud of the investments here for patients, working people, children, seniors, and public education. For health, we provide $75 billion for coronavirus testing, contact tracing, and isolation measures, and $28 billion for a safe and effective vaccine. For working people, we must save jobs, protect workers and their families, so we strengthen, expand, and protect emergency paid leave. We restore the expanded $600 unemployment benefit through the end of January. And we continue to support work share programs. For children and families, we must not allow a generation to be lost or to let their bright futures darken. We provide $182 billion for K-12 education, nearly $39 billion for post-secondary; along with the Child Care Is Essential Act, which I introduced with Chairman Bobby Scott, for $15 billion to save the childcare industry; and then my legislation to make the child tax credit fully refundable, to make it accessible to all, including the one-third previously excluded, including half of Black and Latinx children. I am proud of the provisions to increase the maximum SNAP benefit by 15 percent, to aid nutrition programs, food banks, farmers and producers, as well as small businesses and restaurants. Mr. Speaker, let us put politics second and let us put people first. Let us vote ``yes'' on this relief bill for the people of this country, for the seniors, for the children, and those who every day are looking toward the Federal Government because they are in desperate shape and they need our help. They need this legislation.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it is with the heaviest of hearts that I rise today to pay tribute to Tony Corbo, one of the original founders of Food and Water Watch. Tony was one of the fiercest consumer advocates I have ever had the good fortune to have known and his loss will be deeply felt by all of those who had the opportunity to know and work with him. ``Fight Like You Live Here'' was a motto that drove Tony's passionate advocacy in food safety. He described himself as a ``watchdog of big Ag'' and it was profession to which he dedicated himself for more than twenty years. He held a particular focus on food safety, consumer safety, and worker health which led to his ardent efforts to both better protect our food supply as well as food processing workers. During my tenure in Congress, l worked closely with Tony on critical issues--from Chinese chicken and linespeeds in slaughterhouses to worker safety issues and advancing trade policies that protect consumers. His passion led to an expertise and keen understanding of food safety and consumer issues that was second to none. Outside of his professional contributions, Tony was also a dedicated member of the Washington, D.C. community. An avid Nationals fan and season ticket holder, he enjoyed attending the games and rooting for his team. He was also an enthusiastic gardener and bee keeper and in what free time he had, Tony could also be found volunteering at the local garden shop. He had an engaging personality with a contagious laugh, the combination of which could draw anyone in. Tony was a special soul and that larger than life spirit will be missed by many. Tony was a fervent ally who provided myself and my staff with invaluable counsel over the years. He was not one to take no for an answer or shy away from a fight which is why we worked so well together. Over the years, Tony and I developed a friendship for which I will always be grateful. Though taken from us much too soon, I am honored to have this opportunity to stand and recognize Tony Corbo for the indelible mark that he left on all those who knew him. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Elizabeth, as well as his brother, Joe, and sister, Cathy. His is a legacy that will continue to inspire those who knew him.