Mark DeSaulnier

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service of long-time community member Robert Hoyer as he celebrates his 100th birthday. Bob grew up in Oakland and attended the University of Nevada, Reno. During World War II, Bob took a leave from his studies and served in the United States Army in the Philippines. When he returned home, Bob graduated from the University of Nevada with a degree in mining engineering. It was also in Reno that Bob met his wife, Eldora, who had served in the United Stated Navy WAVES during WWII teaching aircraft navigation. Following college, Bob worked for the Natomas Mining Company in Nevada. When the mining industry declined after the end of the war, Bob and Eldora moved back to the Bay Area where Bob worked for Dow Chemical in Pittsburg. He then went on to work for the East Bay Regional Parks District as a construction inspector. In 1956, Bob and Eldora settled in Clayton where they advocated, along with other residents, for its incorporation. When the City of Clayton was incorporated in 1964, Bob became the first mayor and served on the City Council until 1980. One of the City Council's early accomplishments was the establishment of walking trails and preserved open space, which remain a highlight for the city today. Bob and Eldora also contributed to the creation of the Clayton Historical Society, which was chartered in 1976. Bob served as the President, helped raise money for city monuments, and participated in the establishment of the Clayton Historical Society Museum. In 1976, two historic homes were moved to Main Street and joined together to create the Museum, which stands today as a testament to Clayton's dedicated citizens. Throughout his many years in Clayton, Bob continued to be an active member of the community. He served on The Grove Park Blue Ribbon Task Force and the Keller Ranch Master Plan committee and donated the flagpoles at City Hall, the Grove Park, and the Museum. Bob is a regular in downtown Clayton and is known for his laughter and insightfulness. Please join me in congratulating Bob on his 100th birthday and his lifetime of service and leadership.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and service of Billy Alexander, a dedicated public servant who worked tirelessly on behalf of childhood education in West Contra Costa County and throughout California. Billy and his wife, Barbara, advocated for issues that affected children across our state. After Billy served in the Korean War as a member of the U.S. Army, Billy and Barbara returned to California and settled in Richmond to raise their family. Parents of eight children, the Alexanders took a direct role in the education process by first joining the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). This led to them participating in junior high and high school PTAs and School Advisory Councils, where they established themselves as a collective force for good in our community. Billy and Barbara would eventually become co- Chairs of the District Advisory Committee and spent 27 years in that role. Billy and Barbara also displayed their knowledge of and passion for childhood education on the state and national levels. They participated in developing the California Strategic Plan for Parental Involvement in Education, and Billy served on the California Committee of Practitioners, which helped develop Title I plans for the state. He was appointed to the California Department of Education's Council of Black Affairs and to the Committee to Revise Title 5. Additionally, in 1977, the Alexanders won a California court case requiring school districts to ensure federal and state funds designated for Title I were actually used for that purpose. On a national level, Billy and Barbara served on the Board of Directors for the National Coalition of Title I/Chapter I Parents and on the National Council on Educating Black Children. The Alexanders dedicated their lives to serving the needs of children in an effort to promote equitable educational opportunities. They touched the lives of countless families and created numerous programs benefiting the children and families of Richmond, including Vision of Hope--a weekend tutoring program that expanded to Summer of Hope, which operated as an alternative to summer school. They also created the Mother Hen/Chanticleer Awards to honor individuals who exceptionally served West Contra Costa Unified School District students. From helping parents become better advocates for their children to gifting books to students, the Alexanders worked diligently to create better and more equal opportunities for disadvantaged youth. Billy and Barbara were married for 44 years until Barbara passed in 2001. Sadly, Billy passed away in November of 2020. Billy was a beloved resident of Richmond and a tremendous advocate for children and he will be missed. Please join me in honoring him for his many contributions to our community.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I am a proud former member of Teamsters Local 170 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a former member of AFL-CIO Local 2 in San Francisco. From that experience, I know personally the value of being a union member. I am also a former small business person who knows the value of having good-paying jobs in a community represented by union members to small businesses. Mr. Speaker, the wealthiest Americans continue to take home a larger and larger share of America's wealth. According to Fed data, the top 1 percent of Americans have a combined net worth of $34.2 trillion, which is 15 times more wealth than the bottom 50 percent of Americans. One percent has more wealth than 160 million Americans. This is unparalleled in our existence and must be addressed if you really care about working people. This inequality has contributed to what is called diseases of despair by public health experts and has worsened the behavioral health crisis exponentially in this country. At the same time, union coverage today is half of what it was 40 years ago, and research shows deunionization accounts for up to one-third of the inequality of which I speak. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that deunionization has led to working people losing $200 billion per year, and that money goes to make inequality greater and goes into the already exceedingly disproportionate wealth by those in the 1 percent. It hurts all of us, including them. Strengthening access to unions and American workers being able to organize will help restore the balance of power between workers and employers, wages and capital. The research is clear that when workers collectively bargain and organize, their pay goes up. On average, a worker covered by a union contract earns 13 percent more than a peer in a nonunionized workplace. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman for yielding me the time, and I ask my colleagues to enthusiastically support this initiative.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, this isn't about taking away the rights of law-abiding Americans. Those claims are nonsense. This is about protecting the lives of all Americans. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague and friend on the Rules Committee that we should enforce existing laws. In States like California where we have universal background checks, we have seen that gun violence has gone down, as I said in my earlier remarks. We have also seen that 30 percent of the guns used in criminal activity are actually imported into the State from other States. To the previous comments that we need a national standard, that is why we need a national standard. It doesn't mean that States like California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts can't do these things, and it is a good laboratory, as Justice Brandeis said, that States should be the laboratory for innovation. We know these things work. So I would agree that we should enforce and get the revenue, the existing law. But clearly, eliminating the background checks loophole would help make Americans safe. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 188 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Just a brief comment. In that same decision of Justice Scalia that I mentioned earlier, he said that Second Amendment protections are not unlimited, and that is the point of this bill. They have been done. They have been done constitutionally, as I said, by 13 States. And they statistically work. I, too, have been robbed at gunpoint, but I didn't have to have a gun to survive. That was providence and the San Francisco Police Department. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, more than 90 percent of Americans support a universal background check system. Passing this legislation is simply common sense, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague. Nicely done. First, on the gun bills, of course, we are all respectful of the Speaker pro tempore's courage and the experience that she has had. For those of us who have had family members who have lost their lives because of gun violence--my dad is buried over at Arlington. He is a combat veteran from World War II who, a little over 30 years ago, took his own life. As we know, the tragedies of homicide, as the Speaker pro tempore knows personally, and losing a loved one, as I know from losing a loved one to suicide--suicide is two-thirds of the total of people who die-- both are awful. All we are trying to do, at least in my mind, is listen to the research, listen to the examples of other developed countries and other States, and implement public health policy. It informs us that if we do it, we will save lives and injuries, and we will save billions of dollars that all of us pay for. All of us respect the Constitution. We took an oath to it. All of us respect the Second Amendment. We might not have all agreed if we were there, but it is the law. The courts have allowed us to implement these laws, and they work. I really don't understand, and maybe it is because of my own personal belief and also from my experience as a city council member, a mayor, a member of the California Legislature, and now in Congress, why we don't follow the research and the evidence that it saves lives, out of respect for all those people who have lost their lives to gun violence. Then, on the PRO Act, as a former member of a Teamsters union, that job helped me to get through college when my dad had lost his job. I loaded trucks. It was that union that provided me protection and enough for myself and my coworkers. When I moved to San Francisco, I didn't have any money. I got a job in a hotel restaurant business, and I was in that local. Then, I was able to save enough money to go open my own businesses. There have been some comments that somehow this bill would hurt small businesses. The reality is that people organize in environments where their employer is not treating their employees appropriately. We know the inequality that Ms. DeLauro talked about, this historic inequality that is strangling our country and hurting so many working Americans, destroying the middle income that we have all benefited from, that opportunity to move up and to give to our kids something better than we had. That is the legacy of this country, and labor unions are a big part of that, and entrepreneurs and individual business owners are a big part of that. But it is the balance between these two. As John Kenneth Galbraith said a long time ago, and he wrote a boring book about this, but it is interesting: Wages and capital have to have countervailing institutions. They have to balance each other. As my friend from Minnesota said, it is a balance. Right now, after 50 years of attacks, starting with President Reagan, the working people in this country don't have the voice they once had. That not only hurts them and their kids; it hurts all of us. When you have a robust middle class, and you have workers represented appropriately and proportionately, the country grows; there is more money to spend in businesses like mine; and there is a camaraderie, having teamwork. A good employer knows that, whether they have a unionized workforce or a nonunionized workforce. Your employees are what make your business work. That is what gives you goodwill. That is what Americans took so much pride in, in the 1950s and 1960s, after World War II, after we had come to the great country we were after World War II, with a middle class that no one has ever seen on this planet. Since then, we have eroded that middle class. The one most important thing to improve our economy is to give working Americans a voice. Let them join together. Let it be fair. A good employer will respect that and work with that. As Eisenhower said, as I quoted in my opening, only a fool would try to keep a working American from organizing into a union. Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and the previous question.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. On the last point, I would just say that in California, in particular, in my district, having had multiple conversations with teachers, their labor representatives, and superintendents, we are getting schools back open, but we are doing it in a way to make sure that it is done efficiently and safely for everyone, the students, most particularly, their families, and their teachers. We have come so far in this country, those of us who have listened to the science and the Centers for Disease Control. We just want to make sure it is done right, in the most efficient, effective way for the kids. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I would like to point out to my friends and colleagues that, again, even Justice Scalia, in the Heller majority decision, said that local and State governments could enact reasonable gun violence protection laws. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, a correction. The bill doesn't say indefinitely for the background checks. It says 10 days with the availability of an additional 10 days for a maximum of 20 days. So it is not indefinite. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I have one comment. The idea of opinions in the interpretation of the Second Amendment, there are 13 States, as I understand it, right now, who have universal background checks. All of them are working consistent with upholding the Second Amendment. Californians who have a universal background check can go out and legally buy a gun. It just decreases the number of deaths and injuries when you have this kind of law, Madam Speaker. So I agree with the gentleman who spoke and said it shouldn't be about opinion. Neither of us decides what is constitutional in this instance. The courts do, and the courts have allowed local and State governments to implement these commonsense laws. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would just like to point out that having a gun in your home actually makes you more likely to be a victim of gun violence. Of the over 40,000 Americans who lost their lives from gun violence in 2018--the last year we have up-to-date statistics--two-thirds of those were by suicide. This is one of the big contributing factors to what are the so-called diseases of despair which happen everywhere in this country right now in these difficult times, and it has gotten worse under COVID. But the proximity to the guns actually leads to more of an opportunity for people to be the victim of gun violence. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a February 18 Washington Post editorial titled: ``Maryland just closed a gun loophole. The state is safer for it.'' [From The Washington Post, Feb. 18, 2021] Maryland Just Closed a Gun Loophole. The State is Safer for it. (By Editorial Board) Given America's lurid history of gun violence, it is confounding that buyers can purchase firearms in some places without background checks. It's even more astonishing that it remains the case in a liberal stronghold such as Maryland, which suffered its own recent trauma owing to a deranged gunman bent on mass murder. Lawmakers in Annapolis last week finally closed a loophole in state law that waived background checks for buyers who make private purchases of shotguns and rifles. Sales of handguns as well as shotguns and rifles from licensed dealers in Maryland have long been subject to mandatory checks through a federal database, but long guns were exempted when the transaction took place through private dealers, including those at gun shows. The Democratic-controlled legislature pushed through the change this month by overriding a gratuitous veto cast last year by Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, who made no public argument to defend the loophole beyond the fact that he had not proposed closing it. The change takes effect next month. Gun rights advocates and their Republican allies in the legislature characterized the legislation as an assault on rural Maryland's way of life and a burden for hunters. In fact, whatever (probably slight) inconvenience some sportsmen might undergo because of the new law is outweighed by the obstacle it may pose for buyers who have no business owning firearms. It does not take a feat of imagination to foresee an act of gun violence carried out by someone who, stymied by a background check conducted by a licensed dealer, turns to a private seller instead. Less than three years ago, a gunman nursing a grievance massacred five people and injured two others on a rampage through the newsroom of the Capital Gazette newspaper, in Annapolis. He used a shotgun. As it happens, he passed a background check when he purchased it; a previous conviction, in 2011, for criminal harassment, was a misdemeanor, not serious enough to forbid the sale. Yet even if he had been convicted of a felony, he might still have obtained a weapon easily by seeking out a private dealer-- through an online inquiry, for instance. The chances that such a gunman would now succeed are diminished in Maryland. No legislative measure is foolproof, and none will reliably defeat a determined gunman. The idea of gun control, rather, is to build a matrix of laws that deter and detect individuals who, were they to obtain a firearm, would pose a threat to themselves or others. Maryland's new law advances that cause.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record an article published in the March 3 USA Today titled: ``Congress renews gun safety push with background check bills.'' [From USA TODAY, Mar. 3, 2021] Congress Renews Gun Safety Push With Background Check Bills (By Amanda Becker) Congressional lawmakers this week revived an effort to enact significant gun safety laws for the first time in more than 25 years by introducing bills to establish a universal background check system that has broad support from the public. The bills introduced Tuesday in the House and Senate would extend current federal background check requirements to transactions conducted by unlicensed and private sellers. Legislation was reintroduced in Congress to extend background checks to transactions conducted by private and unlicensed gun sellers. The gun safety group Giffords estimates that 22% of U.S. gun owners purchased their last firearm without completing a background check. Polling shows that more than 90% of Americans support a universal background check system. The measures are what gun safety advocates predicted would be a first step in pursuing new gun laws now that Democrats control the White House and both chambers of Congress. In recent years, gun safety bills stalled even when they had bipartisan public support, in part because Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not bring them up for votes when he led the Senate from 2015 to 2021. Rep. Mike Thompson, a California Democrat who chairs a congressional gun violence prevention task force, on Tuesday reintroduced bipartisan House legislation that would require background checks for all firearm sales. The House first passed the bill in 2019, one year after a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, left 17 dead. ``Time and time again, we have seen that the American people want universal background checks, in fact public polling shows that the majority of people, Democrats, Republicans and independents, support this,'' Thompson said in a statement. The Senate is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, and the measure would have to pick up bipartisan support to pass that chamber given that most legislation must clear a 60-vote threshold. ``This Congress we will finally bring common sense gun reforms up for a vote in the House and the Senate, and the single most popular and effective proposal we can consider is universal background checks,'' Murphy said in a video about the effort. When the House passed background checks legislation in 2019, the bill ran aground in the then Republican-controlled Senate, where McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, did not bring it up for a vote. ``Now, with Senate Democrats in the Majority, we have the opportunity to act on this overwhelmingly popular, lifesaving legislation to protect American communities,'' Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement on the bill's introduction. Advocates for new gun safety laws have hoped that with President Joe Biden in the White House and Democrats controlling the House and Senate, there is an opportunity for action. The NRA is also grappling with multiple crises: New York's attorney general is investigating whether its leaders misappropriated more than $60 million for personal use, and the NRA filed for bankruptcy in January. Its remaining officials insist the organization remains solvent, and it plans to reincorporate in Texas. ``This is the moment,'' said Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots organization started in late 2012 that now has nearly 6 million supporters. ``We have a trifecta and they have a mandate to act on this. We have a grassroots army to support them and the NRA is weaker than they've ever been,'' she added. Already this week, Rep. Jim Clyburn, a key Biden ally from South Carolina, reintroduced a bill that would close the so- called ``Charleston loophole'' that allows firearm purchases to move forward after three business days, even if a background check has not been completed. It is named for the 2015 mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where nine died after the gunman was able to purchase a firearm when the three-day window expired. Last month, to mark the third anniversary of the Parkland shooting, Biden called for the passage of ``common sense'' gun safety laws. He cited a background checks bill among his top priorities. The last major law passed to curb gun violence was the Federal Assault Weapons Ban enacted by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1994. But even that had a 10-year sunset provision that has since expired. Several attempts to renew it, including by President Barack Obama in 2013 after Sandy Hook, all derailed in a Republican-controlled Senate. Groups pushing for gun safety measures told The 19th earlier this year that a background check bill would probably be the starting point early in the Biden administration because it has broader bipartisan support than other measures. President Donald Trump acknowledged in 2019 that there was a ``great appetite'' for such a proposal after mass shootings in Ohio and Texas, as did McConnell, though he did not go on to bring it up for a vote. A ``red flag'' bill giving courts the power to temporarily confiscate firearms from individuals deemed at risk or anti- gun trafficking legislation could be taken up next, the advocates said. Biden advisers Susan Rice and Cedric Richmond met last month with gun safety groups that included Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, Giffords and Brady to discuss background checks, the proliferation of so-called ``ghost'' guns (homemade firearms or those with serial numbers removed) and violence intervention programs, the White House said. Biden has also pledged to work with Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which he worked on as a senator in the 1990s. In 2019, the House approved a VAWA provision to close the so-called ``boyfriend loophole'' that allows current and former unmarried partners convicted of abuse and stalking to continue to purchase firearms. That effort also stalled in the Senate. Democratic House leaders said this week they will be taking up VAWA reauthorization later this month.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the distinguished chairwoman of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, today, the Committee on Rules met and reported House Resolution 188, providing structured rules for consideration of H.R. 842, H.R. 8, and H.R. 1446. For H.R. 842, the rule self-executes a manager's amendment by Chairman Scott, makes in order 19 amendments, and provides for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking member of the Committee on Education and Labor. For H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446, the rule makes in order eight and four amendments, respectively, and provides 1 hour of debate for each bill equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary. The rule further provides en bloc authority and a motion to recommit for each bill. The rule also adds an additional minority member to the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Finally, the rule provides for recess instructions, suspension authority, and same-day authority from March 13 through April 22, and activates the Consensus Calendar. Madam Speaker, this is the first time I have been able to be on the floor and present in almost a year. A year ago, as some of you know, I had an accident and proceeded to spend 6 weeks in the George Washington University Hospital intensive care unit, 4 of those weeks on a ventilator. My sons came from California to be told by the doctors in a windowless room at George Washington that I had about a 10 percent chance of survival. The next day, they got a phone call, expecting to hear that their dad had died. Instead, the doctor told them that I was doing better. Madam Speaker, I know that you know how grateful we are to have the wonderful gift of life, to share it with our children, and to be here in this sanctum sanctorum of American democracy. I am grateful. I am grateful to my staff, to the providence of our creator, and to my family. Madam Speaker, our Nation is struggling, and not only because of the coronavirus pandemic. Our Nation needs bold, meaningful changes to make a real difference for average Americans. That is what the three bills before us today do. Each addresses its own epidemic: gun violence; inequality; and, unfortunately, an ugly part of human nature, greed. Madam Speaker, nearly 40,000 people died from firearm injuries in the United States in 2019. History would show that enacting smart, evidence-based policies based on public health premises reduces this sad phenomenon. Madam Speaker, 22 percent of U.S. gun owners acquired their most recent firearm without a background check. That means that millions of Americans got millions of guns with no questions asked. Approximately 80 percent of all firearms acquired for criminal purposes are obtained through private party transfers, which currently do not require background checks. Ninety-six percent of the inmates surveyed, who were prohibited from possessing a firearm at the time they committed their crime, had obtained their firearm from an unlicensed private seller, avoiding the background check altogether. In California, where I am proud to live and serve, all private gun sales must be completed through a licensed firearms dealer, requiring a background check--a universal background check and a mandatory waiting period. Not coincidentally--and the public health experts will let us know through their evidence-based research--California has the ninth- lowest rate of gun violence across the United States. Gun killings in Connecticut, similarly, fell by 40 percent after it required a mandatory background check and a gun safety course before the purchase of a gun. We know what we need to do to help protect millions of Americans. Universal background checks are supported by decades of evidence. The Bipartisan Background Checks Act, H.R. 8, institutes universal background checks. Additionally, the Enhanced Background Checks Act, H.R. 1446, ends the arbitrary rule that if a background check hasn't been completed in 3 days, the gun can be sold regardless. I proudly support these bills because the evidence is clear that they will make our communities safer and save lives. Madam Speaker, next, the rule will allow us to consider the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or the PRO Act. The rise in inequality in this country has coincided with a decline in union membership. By most estimates, declining unionization accounted for about one-third of the increase in inequality--one-third--from 1980 through the 1990s through today. If you watch the data over the years, as States move as a group toward less union coverage, those same States have much worse income inequality. You cannot address inequality without increasing access for working people to representation. Unions do not only raise wages for the workers they represent, but they have also been shown to moderate the compensation of executives. On top of the obvious benefits you think of that are associated with the labor unions, like higher wages, safer workplaces, some of the others that come along with union membership also help address the inequities in our society. Union workers are more likely to receive paid leave, are up to 28 percent more likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance, and are up to 54 percent more likely to be enrolled in employer-sponsored pensions. Not only do workers have better access to pensions, but their employers contribute an average of 28 percent more toward those pensions, retirement security for Americans, than nonunion employers. As the chairman of the subcommittee of jurisdiction, I know that the PRO Act simply updates labor law to ensure that workers in today's economy are able to create and join labor unions to receive the same kinds of protections they see in other sectors. Nothing more. As President Eisenhower once said during the largest expansion of the American economy in history, when labor unions had one-third of the workforce: ``Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice.'' Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I rise today with Congressman Mike Thompson, Congressman Jerry McNerney, Congressman Eric Swalwell, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and Congressman Ro Khanna to recognize the service of an esteemed leader in Contra Costa County, Robert Doyle. Robert began his career with the East Bay Regional Park District in 1973 as a Park Ranger. Through decades of hard work and devotion to the betterment of our community, Robert rose through the ranks of the Park District until being appointed as General Manager in 2010. His numerous professional accomplishments include increasing the Park District's public lands and trails by more than 61,000 acres and obtaining over $100 million in local, state, and federal grant funding for trail and land projects. Robert also established the Resources Enhancement Mitigation Program that funded millions of dollars in restoration projects for parks and open space. Robert's work, however, went beyond the logistics of land acquisition and was focused around the idea that parks should be a haven for everyone in the community. As General Manager, Robert led efforts to diversify the Park District's user base to better embrace disadvantaged youth and other underserved populations. Civic engagement was supported by a Multicultural Advisory Committee and included programs such as the Adventure Crew/Richmond Rangers, Wellness Walks, and the school-based Kids Healthy Outdoor Challenge. Additionally, the Healthy Parks Health People initiative sought to connect the health benefits of being outdoors with individuals at high risk for chronic illness. The inclusivity of the community outreach that Robert oversaw has created new links between our natural environment and community members. This increased engagement ensures that our parks and open spaces will be taken care of and enjoyed by future generations. As a testament to his remarkable career, in March 2018, Robert received the President's Award for Advocacy and Advancing the Park Profession from the California Park and Recreation Society. In addition to his work with the Park District, Robert was a founding board member of Save Mt. Diablo, Inc. and negotiated the acquisitions of 5,000 acres for Mt. Diablo State Park. He was also a founding member of Bay Area Open Space, which advocates for environmental conservation through legislation. Robert is known by his colleagues as a dedicated and visionary leader who inspires others to also work for the betterment of our community. We have enjoyed working with Robert and the East Bay Regional Park District on many projects, including the former Concord Naval Weapons Station and Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan. We thank Robert for his service with the East Bay Regional Park District and wish him great joy in retirement. Please join me, Congressman Mike Thompson, Congressman Jerry McNerney, Congressman Eric Swalwell, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and Congressman Ro Khanna in honoring Robert for his many contributions to our community.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I rise today with Congressman Mike Thompson, Congressman Jerry McNerney, and Congressman Eric Swalwell to recognize the service of an esteemed leader in Contra Costa County, David Twa. David began his career as a public servant in Minnesota where he served as a county manager and county attorney. With significant experience under his belt, David moved to California and was appointed as the Contra Costa County Administrator in 2008. In this role, David has managed 24 departments, agencies, and special districts; over 10,000 employees; and a multibillion-dollar budget. During his tenure as County Administrator, David worked to implement the County's goals and improve the lives of its residents. One of David's many accomplishments is helping the County achieve a AAA bond rating from Standard and Poor's in 2013. David's legacy extends beyond his job description. He was dedicated to career development for County staff and worked to create leadership opportunities for employees, including helping establish the Contra Costa Local Government Leadership Academy in 2014. Throughout his many years with Contra Costa County, David has inspired his colleagues and peers to continue working to improve our community. In 2018, David won the Distinguished Service Award from the California Association of County Executives, a testament to his career and service. David is known by his colleagues as a dedicated and respected leader. Please join me and Congressman Mike Thompson, Congressman Jerry McNerney, and Congressman Eric Swalwell in thanking David for his service to our County and wishing him the best in his retirement.