Ted Deutch

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I arrived in this storied Chamber 12-and- a-half years ago fresh off a Florida special election to fill former Representative Robert Wexler's seat. I was the lone freshman in the middle of the 111th Congress. I was eager. I was a little uncertain. I had a bit more hair. I wanted to do right by the people who sent me here. It was during those first days that I met the late John Dingell, then the dean of the House, himself by all accounts a very important man. I don't know about you, Madam Speaker, but at that point, having secured the will of the American people to serve as their Representative in the House of Representatives, and having received my spiffy new congressional pin, I might have been feeling a little important myself, even with the novelty of my new job. But John Dingell looked me square in the eye and gave me a piece of advice that I would never forget. He said: You are not important. It is what you can do for the people who sent you here, that is what is important. If you never confuse those two, he said, you will be fine. Over the course of my time in Congress, as Mr. Dingell predicted, I have met some very important people, but those people, with all due respect to my colleagues, don't serve in this Chamber. I met Mitch Libman, the childhood friend of Private First Class Leonard Kravitz, Company M, Fifth Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. For decades, Mitch worked to find out why Private First Class Kravitz, who sacrificed himself for his platoon during the Korean war in an extraordinary act of heroism, never received the Medal of Honor he was recommended for. Mitch's efforts led to a 2002 congressional review to uncover soldiers of Jewish and Hispanic origin who were wrongfully denied the Medal of Honor due to prejudice. His tireless devotion to his late friend led me to introduce an amended version of the National Defense Authorization Act in the 113th Congress to ensure each and every soldier discovered during that review to deserve the Medal of Honor received their award. I was proud to stand before President Obama surrounded by the families of these bravest Americans when the President awarded 24 recipients, including Private First Class Kravitz posthumously, with that deserved honor. Mitch Libman and Private First Class Kravitz, and what we were able to do for them, that was important. I met Mona Reis, the founder of the Presidential Women's Center. Outraged by the prevalence of unsafe, back-alley abortions, by the injustice of women having to travel across borders to access basic reproductive healthcare that is their right, Mona lobbied for legalized abortion here in Washington. The day after Roe v. Wade was decided, she joined the first outpatient abortion clinic in Miami as a staff counselor, helping women in Florida finally access the care they needed. When she moved north to my district, she founded the Presidential Women's Center in Palm Beach County, a leading comprehensive reproductive care facility. It is because of her dedication to women's basic human rights in south Florida, and her shining example nurturing patients through the most difficult decision of their lives, that I fought hard against efforts to attack women's bodily autonomy, first in Tallahassee and then in Washington. It is why I became a task force chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus. Together with my colleagues, we passed the Women's Health Protection Act in the House to codify Roe into law and pushed for the repeal of the global gag rule. That was important, and especially in this moment, it continues to be important. I met Robert Boo and Bruce Williams, CEO and active aging manager of the Pride Center at Equality Park in Wilton Manors, Florida. Every day, they work with their team to create a welcoming, empowering home with a wealth of resources for south Florida's LGBTQ+ community and particularly LGBTQ+ seniors. From art galleries to health workshops to education to counseling, Robert and Bruce ensure that the community's needs are met. But the challenges that they face are tremendous. LGBTQ+ seniors have endured a lifetime of marginalization and discrimination, and their needs are many and unique. Their work led me to Ruthie Berman, a lifelong advocate who fought alongside her wife, Connie, for the LGBTQ+ community. Even though Connie is no longer with us, Ruthie's activism has not let up. She is still briefing congressional staff and sharing her wisdom. Ruthie and Connie, Bruce and Robert, all of their tireless efforts prompted me to introduce the Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act every Congress and to chair the Equality Caucus' Task Force on Aging. Because of them, Congress better understands the needs of this community and has the tools to take action. That is important. I met David Hogg, Matt and Ryan Deitsch, Cameron Kasky, and X Gonzalez. I met Jackie Corin, Alex Wind, and dozens of their classmates. When 17 of their friends and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas were murdered by a killer with access to an assault weapon, as our community was wracked with shock and grief, these young people refused to sit by and wait for the next school shooting. They got together. They started a national movement. They started March For Our Lives to prevent the next tragedy. Because of them, roughly half a million people showed up in Washington and 2 million in cities around the country and around the world to demand change, one of the largest protests in American history. Because of them, we had the highest ever youth turnout in the 2018 midterms, and we elected a gun safety majority to Congress, a majority that includes dedicated advocates like my dear friend Lucy McBath. I met Lori Alhadeff, Fred Guttenberg, Manny Oliver, Tony Montalto, and dozens of other family members who had their loved ones taken from them too soon and who are still pushing through their anguish to try to make our community and our country safer. Because of them, I introduced legislation to crack down on 3D-printed guns, raise the legal age for purchase, ban high-capacity magazines, and establish a Federal buyback program. Because of them, a universal background checks bill and an assault weapons ban have passed in the House, and because of them, the first major gun safety law in 30 years is now law. That was important. Because of them, I remember those they lost every day. I remember Alyssa, Scott, Martin, Nicholas, Aaron, Jaime, Chris, Luke, Cara, Gina, Joaquin, Alaina, Meadow, Helena, Alex, Carmen, and Peter. That is important. I met Christine Levinson and her children, Sarah, Doug, Stephanie, Dan, Susan, David, and Samantha, whose husband and father, Bob Levinson, was being held hostage in Iran. When I got to Washington, the Levinsons had already been searching for answers for 3 years. Bob became the longest held American hostage in history, as his family navigated a confusing and disjointed landscape of resources and information across multiple Presidential administrations. But the Levinsons did not give up. Even after we learned of Bob's likely death in captivity, the Levinsons never stopped trying to give other families facing the same terrible circumstance that they faced more resources than they had. They didn't stop trying to bring Bob and every American hostage home, and because of them, President Obama issued an executive order to better track unlawful detainment of U.S. nationals abroad and support the families of those detainees, an executive order that was codified into law by my bill, the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage- Taking Accountability Act, soon after we learned of Bob's passing. There are still hostages around the world today. Bob is still not home, but the strides we made for these families, that was important. Those of us in this Chamber and all Americans continuing to fight to bring them home and to bring closure to the Levinsons, that is important. Of course, I met people before I came to Washington, people who informed my work in Tallahassee. Their stories have continued to be important. They have continued to inspire the actions that we have taken in this Chamber. On a plane in Florida, soon after my election to the State senate, I met Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte. She told me her story and the story of her daughter, Lucy, who was living with cerebral palsy, autism, and multiple other developmental and intellectual disabilities. Berthy told me about a harmful change in language on its way through the State legislature, a change that could have had disastrous consequences for the health and quality of life for her daughter and many others with severe disabilities. She told me: If this goes through, I will have two choices. I could put Lucy into an institution or she will die. Because of her, I introduced legislation to fix it. We got that language changed. The American flag Lucy painted still hangs in my office in Washington. While Lucy passed away 2 years ago, the change she inspired, that lives on, and that was important. The people I met during my career in public service informed important work, work that we do with a lasting legacy, but so did the people that I came here with. The day I was sworn in as a Member of Congress, since it was following a special election, there was no limit on the number of tickets in the House gallery for my friends and family. I was elected on April 13, 2010, and sworn in 2 days later, which is not a whole lot of time for people to plan to come, but they dropped everything to come even on short notice, and we packed the place. So many dear friends and family were with me that day, filling up this gallery. It is hard to single any of them out. There were people who cared about every issue under the Sun, with so many different visions for what the future of our country could be. But many of the faces in the gallery that day who decided it was worth coming for that moment, many of them were people that I had gotten to know in my 25 years living in Boca Raton through our shared involvement in our local Jewish community. They are people who share my strong commitment to bettering not only the American Jewish community, not only the global Jewish community, but our Nation and our world through our community's advocacy and service. I have seen their faces every day of this journey, as I fought anti- Semitism as cofounder of the Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti- Semitism; bolstered our Nation's relationships in the international community as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee chair; strengthened the U.S.-Israel relationship as a loud, proud, and consistent advocate for Congress' bipartisan commitment to the U.S.- Israel strategic partnership, to Iron Dome funding, to bilateral cooperation between our two nations, and for calling out anti-Semitism wherever it appears on whichever side of the political aisle; and advocated for Holocaust survivors to ensure they can live out their remaining years in peace and dignity. Guess what, Madam Speaker? A lot of them are back here in the gallery tonight for the end of this ride. I lost my dad, Bernie Deutch, years ago. He couldn't be there to watch my swearing-in, but it was the conversations that I had with him years ago ringing in my ears that day. When my dad served in the Battle of the Bulge and went to Europe to defend America and to fight the Nazis, it was the opportunity to do the work on the House floor that he was fighting for, that brave Americans in uniform are fighting for as I speak. Why did he do it? Why did he remind me of those stories? Because my dad taught me, taught all of us, my brothers, Jeff, Stan, and Eddy, and my sister, Elaine, of the dual importance, the equal importance, the tremendous importance of being both a proud Jew and a proud American. One informs the other. They are inextricably linked. My colleagues and constituents know me as a proud Jewish member of the American Congress. My involvement in the community, my travel to Israel, those have been such a fundamental part of what I have done since I have been here. They are cornerstones of the legacy that those faces in the gallery that day and my dad helped me leave, and that is grounding, it is humbling, and that is important. There are eight people who were there with me that day when I was sworn in 12\1/2\ years ago that I want to single out even all these years later. All of us in this place are doing this for the world we are helping to create for our children and for their children, for all the generations to come. My kids were 15 and 12 when I got elected. Watching Gabby, Serena, and Cole grow, go through college, take on their own leadership positions on campus, in the Jewish community, and in the workforce, watching them do their part to help change the world, that has inspired me to do my part all these years. My wife, Jill, a leader in our local Jewish community with boundless passion for cultivating the next generation of Jewish leaders, all the work she does every day has been a source of strength and inspiration for me every time I come to Washington. The support from Jill, Gabby, and Serena, who are in the gallery with us today, and from Cole, who is watching in Austin, that is what brought me joy when we celebrated success, and it is what sustained me during the challenging times. Jill's mother, Sarah Gale, is watching today--I hope--and her father, Frank, who we recently lost, both of whom supported me every step of the way. My nephew, Eli, was there that day. He can't be here today because he left us when he accidentally ingested fentanyl laced into a legal supplement, and we all fight to honor his memory by bringing attention to this epidemic every day. And my mom, who stood in the corner of this Chamber, giving the royal wave to all of my new colleagues, undoubtedly the woman of the hour, even though she was not the one being sworn into the United States Congress. During my swearing-in speech, I turned to her, and I finished by saying, ``In all her 86 years, my mother, Jean Deutch, never could have imagined hearing her name in this Chamber.'' ``Mom,'' I said, ``thank you for making me believe that I could be anything I wanted to be because today,'' I said, 12\1/2\ years ago, ``I am a Member of the U.S. Congress.'' While I miss sharing the ups and downs of Congress with her, I hope that as my mom looks down on us today, she believes that the service in this Chamber lived up to the dream she had that day. This job is not easy. We all know there is plenty of progress yet to be made, that seemingly more often than we find areas of common ground, we get caught up in bitter, often vitriolic partisanship. We fight, we demonize, we create barriers to some of the change our constituents rightfully demand. Sometimes we field violent threats from the very people we are here in Washington to try to help. I was here that day in January 2021. We have no shortage of dark days in this Chamber, some very dark ones like that one. The battles here feel important and often all-consuming. The trail of stymied progress is infuriating. What this body of government is able to do for our constituency, as increasingly rare as it may feel, that is important. It is more important than me. It is more important than my successor. It is more important than any of us. I have been here long enough to see that it is worth fighting for. I have also been here long enough to have so many people fighting for me, and I want to thank my colleagues, so many of whom have become close friends. There are too many to mention, but there are a handful who have gone out of their way to fight for me and with me, who have been so supportive of my efforts to obtain leadership positions under their watch. Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, Chairman Meeks, Chairman Nadler, Chairman Jeffries, my dear friends and neighbors, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Lois Frankel, and the late Alcee Hastings: Thank you. Thank you to the back row hecklers: Scott and Ami, Pete and Derek, Stephanie and Dan and Kathleen. To Josh and Elaine, Debbie and Dean, Brad and Kathy: Thank you for always being there for all of us. The Republican colleagues who I served and fought with who helped me bridge the partisan gap: Ranking Member Wilson, my fantastic partner on the Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee; Representative Chris Smith, my partner and co-chair on the Anti- Semitism Task Force; Representative Gus Bilirakis, also from Florida, with whom I launched the Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance Caucus; and French Hill, who worked with me to launch the Congressional Task Force on American Hostages. I thank them. I thank my Republican colleagues from the Florida delegation, like Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, who has so often fought with me, and Representative Wasserman Schultz to champion human rights from Caracas to Havana to Tehran. So many former colleagues who were so instrumental during their time here, especially those who were my foreign policy mentors: Howard Berman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Eliot Engel, and Nita Lowey. The Members who served with me on the Ethics Committee, some of the most honorable public servants I have had the privilege to meet: Representatives Susan Wild, Dean Phillips, Veronica Escobar, and Mondaire Jones; Representatives Michael Guest, Dave Joyce, John Rutherford, Kelly Armstrong; my late colleague, Jackie Walorski and former Representatives Kenny Marchant, Susan Brooks, and Charlie Dent. Thank you to David Cicilline and Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon and all the Members I have been privileged to travel the world with representing the United States. Thank you to the U.S. servicemembers and employees of the State Department, USAID, and other embassy employees from Tashkent to Buenos Aires to Jerusalem, who serve our Nation, each in their own way and each magnificently. I have seen a lot of change in Congress over the last dozen years. Over 7 years and nearly four Congresses have passed since John Dingell last stood on this floor. I wonder if he would be surprised by the bitter divides that have expanded exponentially since that time. Even now, his words are worth repeating. They are as true now as they were then and will continue to be for every Member who comes after me. ``You're not important; it's what you can do for the people who sent you here that's important.'' I think we can all agree it is the people who help us do that work, our dedicated staffs, that are important, too. So this one is for Team Ted. Thanks to my D.C. staff: Josh Rogin, Case Kustin, Aviva Abusch, Sophie Mirviss, Jack Steinberg, Tiffany Mendoza-Farfan, Fabiana Corsi- Mendez, and Alex Rogoff. My ethics counsel, David Arrojo and Tom Rust, and the nonpartisan ethics staff. My district staff: Wendi Lipsich, Jayne Chapman, Theresa Brier, Alex Rocha, Jen Raducci, James DeJesus, Eric Johnson, Brandy Edelson, and Lewis Goldberg. And the longtime members of Team Ted who have moved on to other roles, but whose contributions to this work over the years are unmatched: Josh Lipman, Joel Richard, Jason Attermann, Ellen McLaren, Ashley Mushnick, Darcy Farnan, Jill Benson, and Daniel Fontana, and so many others. Thank you does not suffice. No words suffice. You, your work, your service has been so important to so many. To the staff who keep this whole Chamber running, the floor staff here, the Cloakroom staff right next door, committee staff across the Capitol complex, thank you. To the Capitol Police, who protect us every day but who deserve such enormous gratitude since the events of January 6 especially, thank you. To the entire team of experts and management over at CRS and Library and Congress, who are so critical to the legislative process, I thank you. To everyone on the facilities and food service teams, the Architect of the Capitol staff, everyone who keeps us fed, keeps our offices clean, makes sure that we get our mail, our flags, and everything else you do every day, thank you. To all who I do not have time to mention, thank you for your service to this body and to our country. As I prepare to leave this place for the last time, as I transition from this Chamber to my next chapter, I will keep John Dingell's words in mind; I hope you will, too. Those of us that serve here can do important things for the American people. The work that lies ahead for Congress on behalf of the American people, that is important for this Chamber, for our country, and for our democracy. I am not important, but I believe the people in my community in South Florida, the family who stood by me, the staff who served with me, my colleagues who fought alongside me have helped me contribute something important to our Nation on behalf of the people who sent me here. To my colleagues, the friends who have served with me, inspired me, and collaborated with me in this Chamber on both sides of the aisle, those whom I have mentioned and all those who I cannot, even on the darkest days, it has been the honor of my life to know you, to work with you, to leave something important behind for our constituents. You may not be important either, according to John Dingell, but you are still important to me. I am heartened by how many good and thoughtful people will still be serving here when I leave. After next week I will be your constituent. I hope you keep pushing to bridge the divides, keep pushing to do important work for all of us, and I have faith that if you keep doing that, despite sometimes extraordinary odds, we will be just fine. I thank you, Madam Speaker, and for the last time, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I came to Congress in April 2010 committed to standing up to Iran's malign activities, and support for Hizballah is a prime example. As I prepare to conclude my time in this Chamber, I urge my colleagues to continue to unite the world against Iran's terror proxies and to boldly take action to ensure Iran never has nuclear weapons; never forgets that the U.S. will always stand against its human rights violations, against its support for terror, against its anti-Semitism, against its call for Israel's destruction, against its unlawfully detention of Americans--Morad Tahbaz, Emad Sharghi, Siamak Namazi, Baquer Namazi, and refuses to bring closure to the family of Bob Levinson. My colleagues, we must continue to stand up to Iran's aggression. Today's vote is a vote to urge our European allies to designate all of Hizballah--what it is--an Iran-backed terror proxy. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their cooperation on this bill, and I thank them for their friendship all these many years.

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mr. Malinowski, for yielding, and for his friendship, leadership, and kind words. I thank my other friend from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for his leadership and for his kind words. I thank Ms. Manning for her leadership and kind words, as well. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 558, which urges the European Union to designate Hizballah in its entirety as a terrorist organization. Mr. Speaker, this is Hizballah. Hizballah that bombed the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, the U.S. and French Marine barracks in Beirut, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, bombed Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, and has--as Ms. Manning pointed out--over 150,000 rockets pointed at Israeli civilians. First, I thank Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul for their leadership on the Foreign Affairs Committee and for bringing this resolution to the floor today. I also want to extend my gratitude to my good friend from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) for partnering with me on this resolution, and to Ranking Member Joe Wilson for his leadership on the subcommittee and for his commitment to working with me on this and a host of so many other critical issues--issues critical to America's security. Mr. Speaker, I also take this moment on the House floor to thank my Foreign Affairs staff, Sophie Mirviss, MENA staff director; professional staff member, Jack Steinberg; and of course, Casey Kustin, our former staff director. Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago, a Hizballah suicide bomber blew up a bus in Burgas, Bulgaria. On that bus were 42 Israeli tourists, mostly young people. That day, Hizballah ended five lives and injured 32 others. In 2013, almost exactly 1 year later, the European Union took action to designate Hizballah's military wing as a terrorist organization. But the inadvertent result of this designation was that a false distinction was made: a false distinction between Hizballah's military and political wings. Let me be clear, there are no different branches of Hizballah; it is in its entirety a terrorist organization. You don't need to take my word for this. The United States Government makes no distinction between the organization's branches and includes Hizballah, in its entirety, on the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization List. But you also don't need to take our Government's word for it, or the word of Germany, Israel, Guatemala, Argentina, the United Kingdom, or the many other countries that have designated all of Hizballah, rightfully, as a terrorist organization. Take Hizballah's word for it. One of their own representatives in the Lebanese Parliament explicitly said, ``the military wing of Hizballah is inseparable from its political wing.'' It is a fact that Hizballah is one unified terrorist organization. An organization that, with support from the Iranian regime, has carried out horrific terror attacks around the globe and continues to spread violence and terror throughout the Middle East. It is an Iranian terror proxy. The same Iranian regime whose President last night on American television deemed the reality of the Holocaust--deemed it false--denied the reality of the Holocaust. It denied Israel's very right to exist. Iran-backed Hizballah consistently threatens Israel and its citizens with drones, missiles, threats of invasion, and undermines stability and economic opportunity in Lebanon. What's more, the organization supports the brutal Assad regime and is complicit in its murder of more than half a million people from the ongoing conflict in Syria. The facts are clear: Around the world, Hizballah should be designated as a terrorist organization in its entirety. That is why I stand in support of this resolution: as global partners of the United States and key players in the international rules-based order, the EU must designate all of Hizballah as a terrorist organization so we can increase global cooperation to isolate and dismantle this group. I recognize there are legal concerns from our European friends that designating all of Hizballah as a terrorist organization could prevent support for the Lebanese people, as Hizballah has infiltrated the country's political system. The EU rightful recognizes Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organization, despite that fact that Hamas operates as a political party in Gaza. This does not impact the EU's ability to support Gaza reconstruction, just as designating Hizballah as a whole would not prevent the EU from supporting the needs of the people of Lebanon, and the refugees inside Lebanon. It is time for the EU to fix this false distinction once and for all, and the global momentum is on our side. In 2016, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League both designated Hizballah as a terrorist organization with no distinction between its political and military wings, despite Lebanon being a member of the Arab League. The EU should take note of that. A full EU designation now would demonstrate Europe's commitment to cracking down on Iran's use of proxy terrorist groups, destabilizing the region, and attacking our shared national security priorities. This resolution sends an important message to our European allies. More can and must be done to counter the Iranian proxy Hizballah, which begins with calling them what they are, a terrorist organization in its entirety that is committed to the destruction of our ally, Israel, and continues to undermine the values and interests of both the United States and Europe. It is time for the EU to join us in designating Hizballah in its entirety. A nearly identical measure passed the House in 2017 by voice vote.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the designation of July 18 to July 22, 2022, as Rare Kidney Disease Week. Too often, rare kidney diseases are life-threatening, lack effective treatments, are difficult to diagnose. Many individuals who are diagnosed with a rare kidney disease--particularly communities of color, which are disproportionately burdened by disease--rapidly progress to end-stage kidney disease, kidney failure, and the need for a kidney transplant. Meanwhile, there has been little to no innovation in treatment for kidney disease patients since the 1960s--a time when the use of dialysis and immunosuppressants became commonplace. This lack of innovation makes Rare Kidney Disease Week especially crucial for spreading awareness. Increased awareness of rare kidney diseases will encourage accurate and early diagnosis, help prevent the need for dialysis and kidney transplant, and support both public and private efforts to develop effective diagnostics and cures. It is with high expectations that Rare Kidney Disease Week is observed nationally for years to come, providing hope for and shedding light upon the rare kidney disease community. Once again, I am pleased to recognize July 18 through July 22, 2022, as Rare Kidney Disease Week.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, over 6 years ago, our former colleague Carlos Curbelo and I launched the Climate Solutions Caucus to have a bipartisan effort to address climate change. We did it because where we live in south Florida, climate change is not a partisan issue. Republican and Democratic leaders alike, Republican and Democratic business leaders and elected officials, all understand that sunny-day flooding, and sea-level rise brought by climate change are happening right now, and we need to respond to it. So we launched action here to try to responsibly address climate change, just as so many are in South Florida and around the country. The 7 years that we have just endured are the 7 hottest years on record. In 2021, the U.S. endured over 20 weather disasters, costing a billion dollars or more. Hurricanes, and floods, and wildfires, all of them made worst by climate change. Last year, there were at least 688 people who died in the United States attributed to climate change: $150 billion in damage. And so where are we now? Well, our country and our world are reeling from the devastating impact of climate change. For the first time ever, temperatures in the U.K. exceeded 104 degrees; Ireland hit record highs of over 90 degrees; Portugal 117. More than 1,100 people in Spain and Portugal died in this heat wave. Wildfires are scorching Europe. More than 100 million people in the U.S. have been under a heat alert. A mega drought is gripping our West and Southwest, drying up critical sources of fresh water and addressing our demands for electrical power. And a deep drought has much of North Africa on the edge of famine. This has happened in one week. Yet, these heat waves will become more frequent and intense for decades to come. We will continue to see the intense heat waves that have been scorching Europe and the U.S. put immense pressure on our infrastructure and continue to put lives at risk. Madam Speaker, we need innovators and entrepreneurs in climate tech. We need young people to stand up and demand a world that will be safe for them. We need the Biden administration, and we need this Congress. My colleagues, we need to be bold. It is not about comfort. It is not about staying cool. For people across the globe right now, at this moment, it is and continues to be about survival. It is time for us to act on climate change. The future of our planet depends on us.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of the five outstanding students from my district in the Broward County Public School System who have been recognized with the annual ``Best in Class'' award. Each year, Broward County Public Schools recognizes high school seniors in the county who have had perfect attendance throughout their K-12 education. This impressive feat requires a continued commitment and dedication to their education. I am proud to join them in recognizing these exemplary students: Laeticia Joinville from Sheridan High School, Alain Huynh from Deerfield Beach High School, Antonio Morales from Coral Springs High School, Jet Nguyen from Everglades High School, and Chanel Seepersad from Blanche Ely High School. Once again, I give congratulations to these outstanding individuals. I wish them the best of luck with their future endeavors and continued academic success. It is with great pleasure that I honor them.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Parkland City Commissioner Bob Mayersohn, who was sworn in as the Broward League of Cities' newest President at the 65th Annual Gala on May 13, 2022. Bob moved to Florida in 1983 and immediately involved himself in community causes and activities. He has gone above and beyond to exemplify what it means to serve one's community throughout his tenure in public service. Bob was a founding member of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA). He has also served the city in multiple capacities, from his time as chair of the Education Advisory Board and Member of the City Planning and Zoning Board, to serving as City Commissioner since 2016. Noting the lack of athletic opportunities for children with disabilities, Bob was instrumental in the start of the Parkland Buddy Sports Program. So many kids and their families have had meaningful opportunities as a result of this terrific program, that Bob helped get off the ground. Bob has always had a profound impact within the community since he served and through his caring, commitment, and professionalism, our community has thrived. Throughout his time in public service, Bob has been defined by his integrity, excellence, and unending dedication to the community. The City of Parkland is fortunate to have this amazing person contributing to their community. Congratulations to Bob Mayersohn on being sworn in as the Broward County League of Cities President. We look forward to seeing his continued outstanding service throughout the county and to the 22nd Congressional District of Florida. I am pleased to honor him, and I thank him for his continued service.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, on February 14, 2018, my community hit the depths of despair when 17 innocent people were slaughtered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The families from Stoneman Douglas who lost loved ones have committed themselves in so many ways since to help get us to this moment. For them, the families of Uvalde, Buffalo, Newtown, and so many families that we all have had the opportunity to get to know, this day is about them. But I finish with this: on the day after Parkland, there was a rally in the park near the school. The field was covered with high school kids who came to express themselves. One of them came up to me, still with a look of shock in her eyes. She grabbed my arm, and she said: Congressman, my best friend bled out on me. You have to do something. Today, we do. Mr. Speaker, vote ``yes'' to support this legislation.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I am disappointed in the way that our colleagues are so cavalierly avoiding the facts. These commonsense measures, had we passed them before, could have saved over 400 people killed in mass shootings since Columbine. I am disappointed in the cavalier mischaracterization of jurisprudence. Justice Scalia said that the rights secured by the Second Amendment are not unlimited. My colleagues know that the changes in this law that we are proposing today will not undermine the Second Amendment in any way. Madam Speaker, I have two documents that inform everything I do here. One is the Constitution of the United States, and the other is this list that I wrote on February 14, 2018, of every one of the 17 members of my community slaughtered by a killer with an AR-15 in his high school. We have heard a lot about foundational rights, foundational liberties, as if the Second Amendment is the sum total of the Constitution. Madam Speaker, the First Amendment matters as well, and for these 17, they have no right to practice religion and to pray for themselves or all of those who are killed every time we offer thoughts and prayers. And for these 17 and everyone killed by gun violence, they cannot peaceably assemble as the First Amendment gives the right to all Americans. And, Madam Speaker, most of all, they cannot petition the government for redress of their grievances, not these 17, not the 19 from Uvalde, no one killed by gun violence. Today, we can help redress the grievances of all those lost to gun violence by passing this important legislation. We must, and we will.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, a recently released Violence Project study has found that more than half of all mass shootings between 1966 and 2019 occurred since 2000. There have been more and more shootings. It is getting worse and worse. Mass shootings have occurred in the workplace, on college campuses, in our houses of worship, and in our schools. We must do better. These shootings cut off young lives and devastate families. We owe it to the victims to do more to combat gun violence in our communities. We owe it to Joaquin Oliver. Joaquin was 17 years old when he was shot and killed with an assault rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. This is Joaquin. But this symbol of Joaquin is also an assault rifle. You see, this is an assault rifle that was purchased by Joaquin's dad, Manny, without a background check. Manny went to a gun show in Florida and bought a high-powered rifle without a background check. Then he went home, and he melted it down to make this statue of his son, who was killed by a similar weapon in his school on Valentine's Day. This statue of Joaquin is now a powerful reminder of our weak gun laws and the countless American lives that have been stolen, families broken by gun violence. When Manny went to a gun show, the seller pushed him to buy the rifle, to buy ammunition, to buy a high-capacity magazine, all at one time, without a background check. And Manny wondered, what's the rush? What is the rush? Why does anyone need a deadly arsenal in one afternoon, with no questions asked? We have put a lot of effort into making background checks work well for legal gun buyers. The National Instant Criminal Background System, the NICS system, returns results in as fast as 30 seconds. Every gun buyer at a gun show, every gun buyer online, every gun buyer at a licensed dealer, every gun buyer should go through that system to keep our communities safe. But they don't because of a dangerous loophole like the one that allowed Manny to buy an AR-15 at a gun show without a background check. The background check system is the foundation of gun safety in America. When that foundation is weak, like it is today, it makes all of us less safe. We need universal background checks. States with laws requiring background checks on all sales have lower gun homicide rates than States that don't. Guns from States that lack background check laws often end up recovered from crime scenes in neighboring States without those tough laws. That is why we need a uniform national requirement to end weak gun laws that contribute to trafficking. The President visited New York City recently after two police officers were fatally shot, and he urged the need for universal background checks. He rightly said our country needs a comprehensive strategy to dramatically reduce gun violence. The Attorney General of the United States has directed U.S. attorneys to confront gun trafficking across State lines and in cities. I strongly support the President's call for a comprehensive strategy. As part of that strategy, Congress should do what many States are currently working on to ban untraceable ghost guns, similar to the law that was signed in New York in October of last year. Congress can do this. Congress should also pass safe storage legislation to protect kids from being harmed by loaded weapons kept unsafely in their homes. We should ban weapons of war that don't belong in our community and are regularly used to hunt innocent people. Who needs to be able to fire off 50 or 100 rounds at a time? Congress should recognize that high-capacity magazines have no place in our communities and that their only purpose is to make it easy to cause mass casualties. These proposals have significant support. Ninety percent of Americans, including gun owners, want universal and stronger background checks. Would a stronger background check system prevent every instance of gun violence? No, of course not. Would ending large-capacity ammunition magazines prevent mass casualties caused by guns? No, but they will make us safer. They will make our communities safer. They will make our schools safer. They will make the workplace safer. They will make people feel safer as they attend religious services. They will make it easier for law enforcement to do their jobs safely every day. Continued inaction on confronting gun violence will only lead to more innocent people dying from firearms. Congress must take action to get strong gun violence prevention legislation for Joaquin and the 16 others who were taken at Stoneman Douglas, for their families, and for America.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, last year, more than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, 60 percent of them from fentanyl. These were mothers and fathers. They were relatives, neighbors, friends. One was my nephew Eli. Eli died from an unintentional fentanyl overdose, using a legal herbal supplement that had been laced with fentanyl. He would have turned 21 tomorrow. What happened to Eli is not unique. Young people on social media who think that they are buying Adderall or Xanax are being sold fentanyl- contaminated counterfeits. It is the responsibility of every Member of Congress to acknowledge that fentanyl is killing our constituents everywhere in America. We know that the chemicals to develop these drugs originate in China. They are shipped to Mexico and flood our country. We know that social platforms are capable of changing their algorithms to cut dealers' access to buyers, and we know that fentanyl test strips save lives but remain illegal in too many States. Mr. Speaker, we can address these challenges. It is how we ensure that our kids, other kids like Eli, aren't lost and don't miss the opportunity to celebrate their 21st birthday.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, as we begin to hear stories of the victims, Justin Shilling, Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, and Tate Myer, our hearts are broken for the families in Michigan. For the 17 dead and 21 wounded at a high school in Columbine 22 years ago; for the 32 dead and 17 wounded at Virginia Tech 14 years ago; for the 27 dead and two wounded at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, 3,275 days ago--9 years ago--for the 17 dead and 17 wounded at a high school in Parkland 3 years ago; and for the four dead and seven wounded at a high school in Oxford, Michigan, 2 days ago, Mr. Speaker, we know what can be done to help save lives. We know red flags laws are bipartisan and can save lives. We know that if we invest in mental health we can save lives. We know that background checks save lives. These are not partisan, and these are not controversial. How many more scenes like the one in Michigan do we need to see before this Congress, the Senate, this House, and the White House get together to stop the violence? Mr. Speaker, it is urgent. The time to act is not now, it was years ago. We must come together and help save lives.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, this resolution, which was referred to the Committee on Ethics, seeks to censure Representative Gosar and remove him from his positions on committees. We are acting on this resolution today because Representative Gosar recently used House resources to disseminate and celebrate a video that depicts the murder of a fellow colleague. I did see the video. I am sorry that the distinguished leader of the Republican side apparently chose not to or viewed it and deemed it something less than what it is, which is the horrific depiction of the murder of a fellow colleague and threats to the President of the United States. We are acting on this resolution because Republican leadership has not taken responsibility for members of its own Conference. When a fellow Member of Congress has been threatened with violence, the House cannot wait indefinitely for Republican leadership to find its collective conscience and condemn the threat. When our colleague has been victimized, as women of color so often are, the House cannot ignore that threat. The full House must roundly reject Representative Gosar's conduct and prevent the normalization of violent imagery and rhetoric directed against Members of Congress. Just 10 months ago, this very Chamber was attacked in an act of brutal, bloody savagery. All of us experienced it firsthand. Some of us were trapped in the upper gallery while an angry mob, wielding weapons, tried to beat down the Chamber doors to disrupt certification of President Biden's electoral college victory. Since January 6, death threats against Members of Congress have multiplied, and several individuals have been arrested. The threat of actual violence against Members is real, and it is growing. So this resolution is vital to protecting our Members' safety, but it is also vital to stemming the pernicious wave of political violence rising across this country, which is why Representative Gosar's video and his subsequent failure to publicly apologize or take full responsibility must be swiftly condemned. Any Member who uses his public platform to depict physical violence against another Member and the President reflects extreme discredit on this body. Such conduct violates the most basic standards of collegiality, civil discourse, and public decency. Clause 1 of our code of conduct requires Members to behave ``at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.'' If that rule is to have any meaning whatsoever, and if we are to fulfill our responsibility to uphold the reputation of the House, Representative Gosar must face consequences for his conduct. Our Republican colleagues make hollow appeals to process, claiming that this resolution wrongly bypasses the Ethics Committee. But the ultimate power to censure a Member and remove that Member from a committee rests with this House. The committee can recommend such a sanction to the full House, but nothing in our rules requires the House to wait, nor should the House wait in this instance. Not when there is a clear and present need to remove Representative Gosar from a committee on which Representative Ocasio-Cortez herself serves. There are no unresolved questions of intent. It is clear from the video, and from Representative Gosar's public comments minimizing it, that censure is appropriate and his immediate removal from the Natural Resources and Oversight and Government Reform Committees is warranted. That is why the House must take this action today and why I urge my colleagues to support the resolution. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from New York.

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-Cortez).

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 795, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 789) censuring Representative Paul Gosar, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H. Res. 789.

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier), the author of this resolution.

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the House majority whip.

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the House majority leader.

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Escobar), a member of the House Ethics Committee.

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentlewoman.

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Garcia).