Mark DeSaulnier

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Chair, I regret that I was unable to vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted NO on Roll Call No. 326, Moore of Alabama Amendment No. 129. Personal Explanation

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I regret that I was unable to vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 283, on ordering the previous question for H. Res. 1316.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Eric Volta as he retires from his role as Superintendent of the Liberty Union High School District. Eric grew up in the Santa Clara Valley and graduated from Santa Clara High School. He went on to attend Stanford University, playing on Stanford's football team all four years of university and graduating with his BA in history. Throughout his career, Eric has worked tirelessly to support students and expand educational opportunities throughout the Bay Area. He worked in the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) teaching 9th through 12th graders and went on to serve as Vice Principal of Santa Clara High School. Eric and his family moved to Brentwood, California in 2000 and Eric joined the Liberty Union High School District (LUHSD). During his time with LUHSD, Eric served as assistant principal, high school principal, and Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources. He was promoted to Superintendent in 2011 where he has worked to support students and families. Eric has received a number of accolades for his work as an educator, receiving the ACSA's Superintendent of the Year for Region VI Award, the California Interscholastic Federation Distinguished Services Award, and the California Department of Education's Principal Award. Additionally, he served on the California School Boards Association Superintendents Advisory Council and is a current board member of the California High School Coalition. Eric is retiring from his position as superintendent after 13 years of dedicated service. Please join me in thanking Eric for his many contributions to the Liberty Union High School District and wishing him well as he begins his new role as superintendent of the Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, on May 22, the community I am fortunate to represent in the San Francisco Bay area lost a community leader and a giant for justice, equity, and inclusion and a good friend, Willie Mims. Throughout his life, Willie demonstrated his passion for his community, working tirelessly to empower and serve Contra Costa County and the Bay Area. A teacher by training, he spent more than 25 years in the classroom supporting and inspiring young minds and advocating on behalf of Contra Costa parents and students. As a civil rights leader, Willie was an original member of the Pittsburg, California, Black Political Association and executive board member of the East County Branch of the NAACP and was instrumental in the creation of the Antioch, California, School District's African- American Male Initiative, which sought to address racial disparities between Black students and their peers. For his tireless work, Willie received the Dr. Martin Luther King Freedom Fighter Award in 2008 and was the Contra Costa County 2024 Humanitarian of the Year. It was an honor and a pleasure, and I am filled with gratitude, to have known Willie and to have been his friend over the years. He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and the community.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today along with my colleague, Representative John Garamendi, to recognize the life and service of Willie Mims. Throughout his life, Willie demonstrated his passion for his community, working tirelessly to empower and serve East County residents. He grew up in what is now Bay Point, California and graduated from Pacific High School in 1963. Willie first became interested in politics in 1964, advocating for the Rumsford Fair Housing Act which aimed to combat racial discrimination in housing. Willie was committed to educating and uplifting our county's youth and advancing equity throughout Contra Costa. He earned his Associate Arts Degree from Diablo Valley College and his Bachelor of Arts and M.A. in English & Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. Willie obtained his teaching credentials in 1978 and went on to have a long career in teaching with the Vallejo City Unified School District. Willie worked as a teacher at John Finney High School, formerly known as Peoples High School, for over 25 years. After retiring in 2009, Willie continued to attend school board meetings to advocate on behalf of Contra Costa parents and students. Additionally, Willie was a former mentor of Safe in My Brother's Arms (S.I.M.B.A.), a youth program for boys 8-16; former board member of the East County Boy's and Girl's Club; an original member of Pittsburg's Black Political Association; and was part of the Executive Committee of the East County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), serving as its Education Chair. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Antioch School District's African American Male Initiative, which sought to address racial disparities between Black students and their peers. In addition, Willie also volunteered with Greater Faith Food Pantry, helping to feed underserved Pittsburg residents, and served as a volunteer historian for the Parents Connected Organization. Willie was recognized for his efforts to promote racial justice and equity, receiving the Dr. Martin Luther King Freedom Fighter Award in 2008, being named Contra Costa County's 2024 Humanitarian of the Year, and being given the key to the city of Antioch in February 2024. Willie was a devoted civil rights activist and community leader who always spoke truth to power. Sadly, Willie passed away on May 22, 2024. He is survived by his children, Dana and Marcus (Cassandra) Mims, his sisters Hilda Murdoch, Nancy Mims-Burt, Ruth Mims-Jemerson, and Melodye Montgomery, his brother-in-law Larry Harold, six grandchildren, and other family members. Willie will be remembered for his indelible impact on our community and his steadfast dedication to promoting justice and equality. Please join me and Representative Garamendi in recognizing Willie for his many years of devoted service.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Roman Kualapai's service to our Nation. Roman was born on June 4, 2001 in Antioch, California. He graduated from Pittsburg High School in 2019 and enlisted in the United States Navy following his graduation. Roman attended boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois then went to ``A'' school for his rate as Aviation Ordinance (AO) in Pensacola, Florida. For the past five years, Roman has served our nation in the Indo- Pacific region where he was attached to the USS Ronald Reagan and was also with Squadron VFA 102 Diamondbacks. He achieved the rank of Aviation Ordinance 3rd class Petty Officer, Aviation Welfare. In recognition of his superior performance, Roman received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal in April 2023. He was honorably discharged on May 14, 2024. As Roman returns home to California, he plans to join Plumbers and Pipefitters UA Local 342, carrying on his family's tradition as a third generation 342 member. Please join me in welcoming Roman home and honoring him for his invaluable service to our Nation.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and service of Fred R. Doster. Born on June 7, 1937, Fred was a real estate broker who formed his own business, Contra Costa Properties, in 1965. He remained involved with the business until his passing. Fred served in the United States Marine Corps and served his local community as Planning Commissioner for the City of Concord. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Concord Jazz Festival, which evolved into what we now know as the Concord Pavilion. Prior to his successful real estate business, Fred constructed boats, one of which was a wooden ski boat he built in 1958 and which is still owned by his family. In line with his passion for dirt bike racing, he also started Motorsport, a chain of motorcycle parts and accessory stores. Throughout his life Fred enjoyed water skiing, snow skiing, dirt bike racing, and recreational sailing and racing. He also enjoyed traveling in general. Fred and his wife Carol spent many years together traveling by air, land, and sea. Fred's many passions made for a dynamic and fulfilling life. Sadly, Fred passed away on April 28, 2024 at the age of 87. He is survived by his loving wife Carol; his devoted children: Bradley Doster, Greg Doster, Julie Opp (Doug), Karen Harless (Roger, predeceased); grandchildren Bethany Doster, Allison Doster; Rebecca Stuart-Doster, Hailey Doster, Jeremy Opp, Joshua Opp (Jen), Danae Boyle (Matt); Jessica Brook, Martin Harless, Kelsie Navarro (Felix), and great grandchildren, Caden, Calvin, and Zoe Opp, Oliver, Amelia and Finn Boyle; and Sophia and Claire Brook. He is also survived by his stepchildren. Donald Babcock, Michelle Wheeler, and Susan Bennett, and their children and grandchildren. He will be remembered for his devotion to his family, love of travel, and insightful guidance Please join me in honoring Fred R. Doster for his many contributions to the East Bay.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and welcome the leadership of the East Bay Park District to this Chamber and to celebrate its 90th anniversary. The park district has grown to encompass 73 regional parks, spanning 126,000 acres of parklands and over 1,300 miles of trails across the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. Even in its creation during the Great Depression, residents recognized the importance of what the park district would provide. A ballot measure to establish the park district and subsequent tax for land preservation received an overwhelming 71 percent of the vote in 1934. The park district's commitment to providing positive experiences in nature is truly inspiring. I am very proud and grateful that the constituents that I represent can benefit from the largest regional park district in the United States. Please join me in congratulating and celebrating the East Bay Park District for nine decades of commitment to preserving open space, providing safe and welcoming parks, and enhancing the quality of life across the San Francisco Bay Area and the East Bay, in particular.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my wonderful colleague from Vermont for yielding and for convening this important conversation. This discussion could not be more timely, Mr. Speaker. Rates of mental health conditions for America's children have been rising for years, and now they are rising exponentially. In 2019, one in three high school students reported persistent feelings of hopelessness and depression, representing a 40-percent increase over 10 years. Social media has had a profoundly negative impact on mental health, with adolescents who spend more than 3 hours per day on social media facing twice the risk of developing symptoms of depression and anxiety. The youth mental health epidemic in America has also caught the attention of our top public health authorities. Over the last several years, the Surgeon General has issued advisories about youth mental health and the harm caused by social media. Included in the advisories is guidance on how young people, their families, educators, health professionals, tech companies, and other stakeholders can address these challenges by encouraging healthy relationships, modeling good behavior, improving data privacy for children on social media, and more. The CDC has also been involved, including through research about the COVID pandemic's negative impact on youth mental health, the isolation. The agency found that during the pandemic, youth experienced a very low rate of social connectiveness, understandably. A sense of being cared for, supported, and belonging at school, and that lack of feeling connected to school, was associated with a nearly 20 percentage point increase in persistent feelings of hopelessness and depression amongst American young people. These statistics, obviously, are deeply troubling and a warning sign to us here in Congress and to America. We have a responsibility to the future of this country in Congress to support children and families who are struggling. I am proud to have led legislation like the Early Childhood Mental Health Support Act, which would provide Head Start and Early Head Start programs with funding to conduct behavioral health interventions for young American children. I am proud to say that this bill passed the House last Congress with bipartisan support in my broader Mental Health Matters Act. We have to keep pressing on until this bill and other legislation to protect the mental health of young Americans get across the finish line, signed, and implemented. We know that failure to address mental health disorders and adverse childhood experiences early on can lead to a lifetime of bigger issues and serious outcomes for the individual and for our country and communities. As we continue our work in Congress to address children's mental health, we must ensure that our efforts meet the critical needs of this moment. Mr. Speaker, I again thank the gentlewoman for convening this and for leading the effort to raise the consciousness of this epidemic in America.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I am grateful for the leadership of Chairmen Graves and Graves and Ranking Members Larsen and Cohen. I am very happy that many of the priorities that I have worked for over the last few years made it into this reauthorization, including several provisions from our Safe Landings Act, like addressing near misses and expanding airport surface surveillance and safety systems. I am also excited to see the creation of the Task Force on Human Factors in Aviation Safety, an effort that I have worked on since the near miss of what could have been the largest aviation disaster in the history of the country at San Francisco International in 2017. We learned a lot from that experience, and this piece of legislation helps correct some of the things that almost created that disaster. This task force will help to keep our aviation system safe by better understanding the ways pilots operate and make decisions and help to improve training and outcomes. I appreciate the Senate working with us to ensure that important provisions for safety, supporting the workforce and protections for every passenger are included.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and service of Ronald J. de Golia. Ron was born in San Francisco, California on August 15, 1937 to parents John and Eva de Golia. He graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a BS in business administration in 1959. Ron also served thirty-seven years in the United States Air Force and Reserves, starting his military career during his senior year of high school and exiting in 1992 with the rank of Colonel. Ron worked in information technology for thirty-eight years with Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical, Stauffer Chemical Company, and more. In retirement, Ron remained active in his community and enjoying his passions such as traveling, volunteering, bocce, pool, and exploring new foods and wines with his family and friends. Ron was an avid traveler, visiting over forty countries and every one of the states in the U.S. Ron was deeply passionate about giving back to his community, volunteering with the Walnut Creek Police Department, Center for Human Development, Contra Costa Civil Grand Jury, Crisis Hotline, and the Kennedy- King Memorial College Scholarship Fund, Ltd. Board. Additionally, Ron was a member of SIRS #146 and served as the club's treasurer. Sadly, Ronald passed away on December 6, 2023 at the age of 86. He is survived by his children and step-daughter, Stephen (Wendy), Karen Meehan (Mark) Susan Hadfield, and Meredith Longshore (Gary Rowan), wife, Diane Longshore, his brother Jack de Golia (Brenda Buck), sisters-in-law, Lisa Nelson (Brad) and Erin Von Fempe (Gregg), brothers-in-law, Robert Tadlock (Kathy) and John Tadlock (Chantal), and his grandchildren, Kristen, Bryan, Katie, Kelly Anna, Roarke, Regan, and Riley. He will be remembered for his devotion to his family, hardworking nature, and commitment to his community. Please join me in honoring Ronald Jose de Golia for his many contributions to the East Bay.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time and for hosting this discussion tonight. Mr. Speaker, when we talk about gun violence and all its horror, the images that often come to mind are mass shootings, assaults, and murders. These tragedies are an important part of the conversation, and, unfortunately, too much discussion in American everyday life, but do not represent how most Americans will encounter gun violence. Every day in America, up to two-thirds of the gun deaths come about because of gun suicides, which account, again, for a disproportionate amount of gun deaths in the United States every day. This wasn't about self-defense, this was about Americans taking their own lives. Mr. Speaker, 35 years ago, on April 20, I lost my own father to gun suicide. I was the last of my four siblings to talk to him, and he gave no indication, from 3,000 miles away from where I lived at the time, that he was considering suicide. Mr. Speaker, 35 years later, we have not done enough to address this epidemic of suicide. For far too many people, they continue to lose loved ones the same way I did. What is most troubling, gun deaths amongst children and teens rose 50 percent in just 2 years, between 2019 and 2021, and firearm suicides amongst those ages 10 to 24 is at its highest rate in more than 20 years. Mr. Speaker, 10- to 24-year-olds in the United States are experiencing an uber epidemic of gun suicides. These statistics are sobering, and we need to take action now. Fortunately, research has shown that there are solutions that we can do to help stop this. Gun suicide rates in States with the strongest gun safety laws, like California, have actually decreased over the past two decades. Meanwhile, in States with the weakest gun safety laws, gun suicide rates have increased by almost 40 percent. They have gone down in States with constitutionally, legal, evidence-based research gun violence protection laws, but they have gone up by 40 percent in those States with the weakest. If all U.S. States had experienced the same trend in their gun suicide rate as the eight States with the strongest gun safety laws, approximately 72,000 fewer people would have died from gun suicides. The gun lobbyists often counter this evidence in the debate to say: Oh, well these people would just have tried something else. Not surprisingly, they are lying. They are lying about people taking their own lives with their product. Research has repeatedly shown that States that have experienced a decline in gun suicides, have not seen a corresponding increase in suicides using other methods. The other methods most commonly used for suicide are actually vastly slower, research tells us, than by the availability of guns and the use of guns. Mr. Speaker, to honor those who have lost their lives by taking their lives and to protect the most vulnerable, we need to follow the evidence and enact national commonsense, proven reforms because where you live should not determine the probability of losing a loved one to gun suicide.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my friend and an esteemed leader in Contra Costa County, John Coleman, as he retires from the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Board of Directors after 33 years of dedicated service and is honored as the Lafayette Citizen of the Year. Throughout his career, John has been instrumental in shaping vital water policy in our state, forging increased collaboration between a variety of California water agencies, working to protect the East Bay's water supply, and guiding the agency through multiple state-wide droughts. John was first elected to EBMUD's board in 1990 representing the communities of Alamo, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Danville, Pleasant Hill, and San Ramon. John played a key role in the founding of the Freeport Regional Water Authority (FRWA), an agency tasked with guiding the financing, ownership, construction, and operations of the Freeport Regional Water Project. John is also the longest-serving board member in EBMUD's history. Prior to his work with EBMUD, John served as President of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA). He also was President of the Lafayette Chamber Board and spearheaded the creation of the annual Lafayette Reservoir Run for Education. John has been a strong supporter of youth in our community, having served as Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 243 in Lafayette for more than 20 years and later going on to serve as an Eagle Advisor. We are grateful for John's continued dedication to our community and wish him luck at his new post in the Calaveras County Water District. Please join me in honoring and congratulating John Coleman as he retires after more than three decades of devoted service with EBMUD.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service of Jim Kennedy as we celebrate the dedication of the Jim Kennedy Village Green at the Contra Costa Centre--Pleasant Hill BART Transit Village. Jim was born in Montana and grew up in North Dakota before moving to Davis, CA in the 1960s. He received his bachelor's and a master's degree in Economics/Environmental Economics from San Diego State University. Jim served as Contra Costa County's Redevelopment Director for 35 years where he spearheaded efforts to improve traffic congestion and quality of life throughout the region until his retirement in 2011. Jim has worked tirelessly to implement transit-oriented development at the Pleasant Hill BART Station Area. Jim led efforts to develop office spaces, high density residential spaces, and initiate improvements to greenspaces and trails. This effort supports many quality jobs and features affordable housing units and convenient retail shops along the 680 Corridor. The high-quality housing in proximity to recreation and transit also attracts workers from San Francisco and other job centers along the BART line. Jim played a vital role in overseeing this project and helping to achieve this goal. Jim is an active member of the community, having formerly served as President, Executive Director, and Board Member of the California Redevelopment Association. He also served on the board of the Kennedy- King Memorial Scholarship Fund from 1987 to 2023 and currently serves on the Eden Housing Board of Directors (2013-Present). He is also a founding Co-Executive Director of the Pleasant Hill BART Leasing Authority. The Village Green--the connection between the Iron Horse Trail and the Town Square/Fare gates of the BART station--will be named the ``Jim Kennedy Village Green'' in honor of Jim's critical work. This is a fitting tribute to his vision and hard work. Please join me in recognizing Jim for his many contributions to our community and devoted service to Contra Costa County.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, some people on the other side accuse us of socialism. The gentlewoman and I learned our rosary in our Catholic and Christian upbringing. It was about the social contract of St. Matthew, and in the Bible it says: To those who much is given, much is expected.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this Special Order.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, 6 years ago, I held a Special Order on a subject matter that I think is extremely important to this country and the developed world, the issue of growing inequality. It has been 4 years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and it is more relevant now than ever because, unfortunately, it has gotten worse. The concentration of wealth in the United States of America is not fair, it is not American, and it is driving multiple social and behavioral health issues that more and more research points to and verifies. The pandemic has laid bare the deep disparities that exist in the United States and worsened the gap between the richest and poorest Americans, and it has helped eviscerate in many ways the American middle class. The President has tried his very best and, in the 2 years that Democrats had control of both Houses and the President was in the White House, we did much to begin to change this rising tide of inequality. Rising inequality incurs costs that harm us all, but not just those at the bottom of the income distribution; it hurts America. Next to me is a statistical diagram of the Gini quotient that is accepted by economists around the world as the best statistical measurement for inequality. As you can see, just since 1993, it has steadily gone up with the pandemic at the end. I am pleased to have a couple of my colleagues and friends to be here to speak on this. I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) to make a few comments.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I will now yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), who was someone who spoke at my first effort at this, the very esteemed ranking member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. You can have individual responsibility in this country, and you can have social responsibility. That is when we have been the most successful. When Eisenhower was President, when the middle class was strong and the union movement was strong, people got the GI Bill, and he implemented in his own way what Franklin Roosevelt put together. That is when this economy was the best. It was growing at over 6 percent GDP year over year, and it was benefiting everybody. I tell you, one of the things that brought me to this was when I was a Republican restaurant owner, you would read in the trade journals about disposable income. This is our friend Bob Reich's argument and Stiglitz' argument: If you don't have disposable income, it hurts everybody. Unfortunately, now people in places like the Roosevelt Institute, our friends, say that, no, more and more the top 1 percent is just selling to themselves and gaining themselves off. As Thomas Piketty has said, the inevitability in Western history, when you get to this level of inequality, is social disruption and civil distress. If we don't fix it here, we will have more of what happened a few years ago outside this Chamber.

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I am going to go through my presentation, but I do want to thank my two colleagues. There may be one or two others on the way. I will start by talking about poverty in America. I am going to date myself again. Michael Harrington, ``The Other America,'' talked about poverty over 50 years ago about how people in rural America were suffering, but we had the optics of how well people were doing in places where we are fortunate enough where many of us live, but it was rural America that Michael Harrington talked about. Again, he was talking about the social contract in the Gospel of Matthew. Nearly 40 million people, or 11 percent of the U.S. population, lived in poverty in 2021. One in three Americans live in a household making $55,000 or less, and while many of them are technically above the official poverty line, they are still struggling to make ends meet, that $400 in unexpected expense. In 2019, the U.S. child poverty rate was double that of our peer nations including Germany, Canada, and South Korea. The relief we delivered to families during the pandemic made a massive impact on people's lives, including the leadership of Ms. DeLauro. The expanded child tax credit, which she mentioned, robust unemployment insurance, and emergency rental assistance all helped to keep families afloat during unprecedented economic hardship in an international pandemic. Now we are coming out of it, and those funds are going away. They did their intended purpose, but now we are at a tipping point. The expanded child tax credit alone led to a stunning reduction in child poverty. This effort, spearheaded by my good friend Ms. DeLauro, kept 5.3 million people above the poverty line. Between 2020 and 2021, the child poverty rate plunged to 4.5 percentage points. As Ms. DeLauro said, they weren't spending this on anything but trying to survive-- provide shelter, transportation, and get to work--for their family and their kids. After House Republicans allowed the child tax credit to expire, the poverty rate for children more than doubled, from the historic low of 5.2 percent in 2021 to 12.4 percent the next year. If the child tax credit had been sustained at the levels from the pandemic, 3 million additional American children would have been kept out of poverty. I wonder what they are doing this evening. According to the analysis of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, with the child tax credit in 2021, in 6 months we reduced child poverty by almost half. Mr. Speaker, we know how to do this. We know what works. We just have to invest and prioritize, lifting up the most vulnerable people amongst us. What will they do? The vast majority will work and be honorable and take that money for a very high return on investment for all of us. Wealth distribution. As you can see in this chart, data from the Congressional Budget Office shows that from 1989 to 2019, the total wealth held by families in the top 10 percent increased by 240 percent, from about $24 trillion to $82 trillion, while the wealth held by families in other percentiles increased far more slowly or even remained flat. Wealth is skewed to the top of the wealth distribution in the United States of America. Families in the top 10 percent of distribution have held more than two-thirds of all wealth, and families in the bottom half of the distribution held only 2 percent of total wealth. I, like most Americans, want people to be compensated for their creativity, for their innovation and hard work, but this distribution punishes 90 percent of the American public and even higher when you get deeper into the numbers. The total wealth held by American families tripled from 1989 to 2019, but the growth was far from uniform for everyone. Over those three decades, 30 years, families in the top 10 percent saw their share of wealth increase by around 30 percent. For families in the bottom half of the wealth distribution, their share declined from 4 percent to just 2 percent. Even before the pandemic started, which we know has worsened this, the concentration of wealth among those at the very top has gotten significantly worse. This is not about class warfare. This is about fighting for all of us. This has been true in our history. When we went through the gilded age, a similar thing happened. We had the Depression and two World Wars. Who fought those wars? Who fought to try to get back so that they could take care of their families? Not the wealthiest, but most Americans who are going out and working hard to get a paycheck. As Ms. DeLauro said, unfortunately, history is repeating itself, and my fear is coming out of the pandemic, even with our growth, even with what the President has done, with unemployment at historic lows and wages coming up, it is not enough. We have to change this, and it should be on a bipartisan, analytical basis in this House and in this Congress. What we have done has had real impacts on those who were left out. It is not just that those at the top are better off than everyone else, as the richest among us are able to concentrate their wealth. They lock away their money in investments that research shows never gets spent in the economy. Middle-income people spend their money. They consume. They go to restaurants. That is better for everybody. With wealthier people, as researched by Stiglitz and others, that wealth is generally retained in that group of people, and it is even more so. It is becoming more concentrated as they spend money amongst themselves and leave everyone else out. As inequality increases, it becomes more difficult for those not born into privilege to climb the ladder and build a better life, further enriching and growing inequality. This country is supposed to be merit and hard work and equality of opportunity. We are doing the opposite right now in this country, and it is because of policies here. Let's talk about worker compensation. This is not worker compensation as when you get injured, although that should be better, this is wages versus capital. In Lincoln's first address to Congress before the Civil War when he was trying to hold the country together, he famously said: Wages--labor, in his word--and capital must always be equal and balanced in the United States for if capital ever becomes dominant, we have lost democracy. Despite working harder, despite being more educated, despite being more productive, the wages of most American workers have grown exceptionally slowly compared to the growth in productivity compared to the CEO compensation. For the last 40 years, the gap between productivity and worker compensation--wages--has increased significantly. Americans are working in a more productive fashion. They are working more productively versus their international competitors, but they are not seeing their wages go up, and their disposable income sacrifice is even more. A typical worker's wage growth has lagged far behind gains in productivity over that time. The idea that if you worked harder and were more productive, individual merit and responsibility is not borne out in the research and the numbers. If we look at this graph, we can see productivity has grown by nearly 62 percent over the last 40 years, but the average hourly pay of the typical worker grew by only 17 percent. This gap makes the difference between people being compensated fairly in their wages versus people who have the good fortune to be able to invest in capital, and this is what Lincoln was talking about. Put simply, workers are more productive than ever before but are not properly compensated for it. Until the late 1970s, workers' compensation--wages--climbed together with productivity, but then it began to change and diverge. It diverges when we abandon the policies that prioritize spreading the benefits of growth to workers, to all Americans, wealthy and middle-income, instead of what we are doing now. It benefited from a strong labor movement. President Eisenhower once famously said: Only a fool would try to keep an American worker from joining a labor union. President Eisenhower said that. CEO pay: Another contributor to rising inequality is rising CEO pay. This is an ongoing issue, but it is something we have really seen balloon over the last 3 years. While so many hardworking Americans have struggled to make ends meet during the pandemic, some CEOs are making more money than ever. The average top CEO compensation in 2022 was $25.2 million, and it continues to increase even as low-income Americans and middle-income Americans are forced to make do with wages that, year after year, afford them less in terms of purchasing power. In 2022, CEOs were paid 344 times as much as a typical worker. The ratio of CEO to typical compensation was 344 to 1. In 1989, that ratio was 59 to 1. In the fifties and sixties, it was even lower. In 1965, it was 21 to 1. I have introduced the CEO Accountability and Responsibility Act, which would increase corporate taxes on companies with extreme disparities between their CEO and their workers' pay. We need bold proposals like this one to help put an end to runaway corporate greed and restore the balance of power back to workers--a balance, as Lincoln said. Stock buybacks: Over the last 40 years, tax laws, regulatory changes, court decisions, and new corporate behaviors have led to shareholder- first corporations--that is the corporate veil they hide behind--where CEOs and managers focus on share price and investors, directing corporate funds to shareholder payouts. Corporate profits or even corporate debt may have once funded innovative new projects in research and development, new hires, worker wages, or, like the Germans do, reinvested in continuous training back in the community colleges and apprenticeship programs for a lifetime of learning for workers and craftsmen. In the 1960s and 1970s, 40 cents was invested for every dollar a company earned or borrowed. Since the 1980s, less than 10 cents of each borrowed dollar is invested that way. Instead, executives are using the profits to pay themselves and their wealthy shareholders. Over the past 30 years, payouts to wealthy shareholders have averaged 90 percent of all corporate profits. We need Robin Hood. This has led to skyrocketing use of stock buybacks, when companies purchase back their own stock from shareholders in an open market and reabsorb the ownership that was previously sold to other investors. The use of stock buybacks was essentially banned except under rare circumstances until Ronald Reagan and his Securities and Exchange Commission in 1982, a strategy for companies to artificially raise their open market stock prices and boost earnings per share. In 1982, during the Reagan administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission passed a rule that deregulated buybacks, allowing companies to buy their own stock without being charged with stock manipulation, and incentivizing them, as Ms. DeLauro said, to avoid taxes. Where did those taxes go? Not to all of us but back to the top 1 percent and their investors. Again, Lincoln: Wages and capital should be balanced. The increased stock prices do not reflect an actual improvement in the processes of the company and may serve as a cover for financial difficulties in the long run. This is why I think Republicans and Democrats should be concerned-- perhaps for different reasons and motivations--but the underlying rot in our economy is a problem, as exemplified by Thomas Piketty and as he illustrated in his detailed history of other economies when this happened around the world. Stock buybacks are just an excuse for companies to reward stockholders and increase dividends while avoiding employee wages and compensation and investments back into their companies. In an investigation of 449 companies listed on the S&P from 2003 to 2012, companies used 54 percent of earnings to buy back their own stock and 37 percent on dividends of those earnings. The increased use of stock buybacks by corporations is a way that companies pad their profits and their mediocre corporate management and support their executives at the expense of all of us and their workers. Over the last 5 years, the top 20 S&P 500 companies spent a staggering $1.24 trillion buying back their own shares. Last year, Chevron, which is headquartered in my district, said it would triple its budget for stock buybacks from $75 billion, and Meta, the parent of Facebook, which is near my district in the bay area, unveiled a $40 billion buyback. The Brookings Institute looked at the actions of 22 iconic American corporations that alone employ over 7 million frontline workers, including the world's most popular brands in retail, delivery, and entertainment sectors like Amazon, Disney, FedEx, Home Depot, and Hilton. In the first 2 years of the pandemic, they earned even more. In that time period, company shareholders at these companies grew $1.5 trillion richer while workers got less than 2 percent of the benefit. $1.5 trillion and 2 percent of the benefit for their workforce doesn't sound like what Lincoln wanted. They spent nearly 40 percent of their profit on stock buybacks. Rising shareholder payouts are linked with declining employee compensation and increased income inequality. Gains of stock buybacks are also concentrated amongst the already uber-wealthy. Around 58 percent of American households own stock. That is good. About 93 percent of households' stock market wealth is held by the top 10 percent. While our investment in good, strong pensions and retirement--I am proud to be the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions of the Education and the Workforce Committee. Those investments in everybody's pensions are good. They benefit everybody. The problem is, most of those investments are going to the wealthiest among us, and it creates risk for all of us when this stops and is not handled appropriately for everyone's benefit. An analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies showed that the richest 10 percent of U.S. households own roughly $42.7 trillion in stock market wealth, and the richest 1 percent own $25 trillion. The bottom half of households own less than half a trillion dollars. The top 1 percent owns $25 trillion in the stock market, just 1 percent of stock market wealth. Sad. Corporations are spending more and more of their net incomes on buybacks rather than innovation and capital improvements and compensating their workers well for more productivity and, ultimately, more innovation and more disposable income for people like myself when I was in the restaurant business to go out and support those other jobs. Corporations are spending more and more of their net income for buybacks in recent years to enrich their executives and their shareholders. It comes at a real cost for their employees who have decidedly not seen the same kind of increases in their take-home pay, their disposable income, or their ability to go out and consume and take care of their kids. Labor unions and strikes: Workers across industries are fed up with lagging wages and the benefits that are disproportionately given to the top 1 percent. This year, more workers are recognizing their collective bargaining power and are walking off the job or threatening to do so to fight for their rights. In Hollywood, in auto factories, in food service across the country, workers are fighting for fair compensation, safe workplaces, and job security. Public approval for labor unions in this country has skyrocketed to over 60 percent. Americans are waking up to these disparities, the unfairness, and the lack of us supporting the American Dream for everybody and rewarding hard work and responsibility. There is outside influence of the uber-wealthy in elections right here in this House. It has been a big issue in the United States and has drastically expanded since the 5-4 Supreme Court decision on Citizens United, allowing for independent expenditures. The Citizens United decision enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections. It opened the door to unlimited donations to super-PACs, which function as a surrogate to campaigns despite being banned from coordinating directly with them. These numbers have skyrocketed. The impacts have been far-reaching and continue to get worse every election cycle. Billionaires alone provided 15 percent of all Federal midterm election financing in 2022, according to a Brennan Center analysis. Just 21 of the biggest donor families, 21 families, each spent at least $15 million in one election cycle, or a total of $783 million in that cycle. Do you see the connection between our policy and how people get here and stay here? The effective deregulation of campaign money and the expansion of dark money groups that don't have to disclose their donors are destructive to democracy, clearly. Citizens United has helped reinforce the view that our government primarily serves the interests of the rich, all of our government, all three branches all too often, and that there is no need for most citizens to participate in democracy. Those are the economic and social concerns that I have and what we are under. It doesn't sound good. Now, there is more and more research on the connection to you as individuals in this country, to the people who despair, the so-called diseases and deaths of despair that are all too frequent in rural areas in the Midwest and the South regionally, but they are all across the country, including in the bay area, which I represent. Behavioral health, substance abuse, and opioid addictions have been well recorded by research and writing. This, to me, is where the tragedy of tragedies is far beyond policy. It is the reality of how Americans have to live, that $400, the despair, the anxiety, and the distrust in this institution. As my friend and colleague Elijah Cummings used to say all the time, we are better than this, Republicans and Democrats. Let's talk about health consequences of inequality. It is important to look at the effect it has on health, physically and mentally, and on the fabric of our society. Economic inequality is a cause of poor health. As one English researcher said 20 years ago, inequality in a society is in lockstep with individual suffering. As the gap between the richest and the poorest Americans gets larger, the health discrepancies between these groups increase as well, and they are getting exponentially worse. As health declines, it has adverse effects on quality of life, our economy, our workforce productivity, and our healthcare costs. Life expectancy in the United States has been declining for decades. A lot of this is directly attributable to these diseases of despair. It has only worsened since the beginning of the pandemic. I thought we would come together, but instead, it has gotten worse. There are stark differences in the average life expectancies of Americans at the bottom of the income distribution and those at the top. The health of the wealthiest Americans has remained relatively stagnant, while that of the poorest Americans has fallen significantly. In spite of the ACA, we are still spending the most as a percentage of GDP on quality healthcare. Unfortunately, if you are wealthy, even with the ACA, you are going to get better healthcare in a caste system of healthcare, which will cause your own life expectancy to go down. This is a regional problem, and there are differences in regional problems as exemplified in an extensive study by the Kaiser Foundation. There is a strong relationship to the level of income inequality and the percentage of population that suffers from mental health issues, so it is physical health and mental health. The prevalence of anxiety disorders, impulse control disorders, and even severe mental health illnesses are correlated to inequality. Chronic stress or lack of social support increases the risk of ill health, both physical and mental. The CDC has recently highlighted the concerning trend--not concerning trend, the outrage of the mental health of high school students, our kids, which was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, more than 4 in 10 students felt persistently sad or hopeless and depressed. More than 1 in 5 seriously considered attempting suicide, particularly for young women, as the CDC and the Surgeon General has pointed out to us. This is a crisis, Mr. Speaker. For all of us who are fortunate to have kids, we should be extremely sensitive to what we are giving as a legacy and the tragedy that we are committing to the future of this country and young people, irrespective of where they live or which party their families and parents are registered to. We should be doing a lot more to support mental health and behavioral health in this country, and that includes making mental health care more affordable and more accessible. Since the ACA imparity, there has been a 300 percent increase in people seeking out behavioral health. There has been a similar decrease in the number of young people going into the field because of the exorbitant cost of getting a degree. Talk about supply and demand. Social support and social networks are important for psychological well-being. Both are individuals in this country, and there is a very tied connection. These are important determinants of population health, and they deteriorate in unequal societies. Aggressively targeting income inequality will lead to better health outcomes for more Americans. The same research by English experts years ago said that, again, there was a correlation between both, but they also said the remedy was not just more services. The biggest, most effective remedy is dealing with the societal tax and regulatory impact of this concentration of wealth and continuing to reward it. So let's talk about global income inequality, because America, as bad as we are, and we have led on this unfortunately, it is an economic toll across the country and the developed world. The rest of the developed world, as you have heard me say, creates more safety nets, but it is still a problem in a global economy. The economic toll of the pandemic has been highly unequal. A report from March of 2020 to the end of 2020, global billionaire wealth-- global, not the U.S., the previous numbers were in the U.S.--has increased by almost $4 trillion. By contrast, global workers combined earnings fell by $3.7 trillion. Individuals owning more than 100,000 in assets make up 13 percent of the global population, but they own 85.2 percent of the global wealth. Globalism did not raise all boats, as we were promised. Our rising tide, as Jack Kennedy said many years ago, in this economy globally and in the United States, turns out has only raised those with the very biggest yachts. Having said all that, wealth concentration in the U.S. is worse. Statistics show the top 1 percent of the United States holds 40 percent of the national wealth, a far greater share than in other developed countries. In other industrialized nations, the richest 1 percent own 27 percent. Pretty bad, but not as bad as 40 percent. U.S. median wealth is lower than in many other countries. The United States has more wealth than any other nation. The wealthiest country in the history of the world, but the top-heavy distribution of wealth leaves typical American adults with far less wealth than their counterparts in other individual countries. Changes to tax policy that benefit the rich and large corporations are the key driver, as Ms. DeLauro said, in rising inequality. Our actions here, particularly under the last administration, not only increased the deficit dramatically but they increased the lopsidedness of fairness in the American economy and politics. According to the Institute for Policy Studies analysis by data collected by a known, wonderful economist, Emmanuel Saez, a neighbor who teaches at the University of California at Stanford, the share of U.S. taxes paid by the top 1 percent was just slightly higher in 2018 than in 1962, despite the more than tripling of their share of the Nation's wealth. By contrast, the bottom 50 percent saw their share of U.S. wealth drop by more than half during this period. The top marginal rate in 1962 was 91 percent compared to 37 percent in 2018. Our policies have made things worse. I have always believed that that expression in the Bible, to those who are given much, much is expected, that used to be what the Greatest Generation and their CEOs believed; great companies like Motorola, General Motors, and Ford. In those days, as Ford said when they founded the Model T, he wanted his workers to be able to afford his car. That was the magic of an America that was a free market/mixed-market economy that benefited everybody, and the wealthy lived, appropriately, very well, but not with obscene concentrations of wealth. I often think that you can't take it with you. What are you going to take with you? Hopefully, a guilty conscience when you realize that when this country needed you, what did you do? You just kept making more and more for yourself but not realizing how important it was for the rest of the country and what would happen to future generations. Mr. Speaker, I will close with a quote by Louis Brandeis. Lincoln spoke in 1841, at the beginning of what would become the Civil War. Brandeis was a brilliant jurist who said--and similarly when we were struggling with disparities of wealth and making sure every American felt that they were part of this, they were part of something, even if it was a simple thing; a Frank Capra, a simple thing, that you are part of something bigger than yourself. That you are a Harry Bailey being responsible for the homeowners who came in and borrowed money from your savings and loan. Louis Brandeis said: ``We can have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of the few, but we can't have both.'' It is our decision, Members of Congress, if at this moment, Republicans and Democrats could start looking at this and realizing, as I did when I was a small successful restaurant owner in the Bay area, I looked every day at those journals for point-of-sale retailers, and I realized that the working people who came into my restaurant couldn't go out to eat. It is one of the first things people stop when they can't afford extras, when they have to worry about paying their mortgage, or paying for their car, or getting their kids to childcare, if they can afford that. Those are the moments that we are confronting. Jack Kennedy said at his first inaugural speech out here on the east steps in his ``Ask Not'' speech--one of my favorite quotes--he said: Few generations get to defend freedom at its ultimate moment of threat. He said: I don't despair of this, I don't shrink from this, I embrace it. He said: The fight we put to this--I am paraphrasing--will bring light to the world. That is the challenge we have, whether you are a conservative Republican who believes in the Chicago School of thought, which I believe caused all these problems, trickle down doesn't work. It works sometimes but sometimes it doesn't work. We have a problem with the American economy. It is affecting our physical health, our life expectancy, and our mental health. To paraphrase Brandeis, we can have a democracy or we can have opportunity; opportunity that is rich for anybody. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and say hello to the Chairwoman. When workers come together to bargain collectively for better wages, hours, and working conditions, workers, families, and our entire economy succeeds. However, they can only negotiate for these things if, in keeping with the principles of the National Labor Relations Act, all parties with power to control their employment are required to be at the table. The Biden administration's joint employer rule makes sure that that is possible, and we should be supporting it, not trying to undo it. If someone is hired by a subcontractor and that subcontractor has no ability to change the pay and hours of its employees because they are predetermined by the prime contractor, it might understandably refuse to bargain over those issues. Without the prime contractor at the table, these workers are denied their right to negotiate over these fundamental parts of their jobs. The Trump-era joint employer rule allowed companies to control the workplace like an employer but dodge the legal responsibilities of one. The Biden administration's updated rule will set the law back on track, ensuring that if a company controls a worker's essential terms and conditions of employment they are accountable to answering to those workers directly. As a former union member and the current ranking Democrat on the House Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee of the Education and the Workforce Committee and a member of the Labor Caucus, I have seen firsthand that labor unions can be key to improving working conditions, pay, and a worker's voice. When workers succeed, America succeeds. I am also a former small business owner, and I appreciate that, as part of its due diligence when putting this updated rule together, the NLRB did an analysis and concluded that it would not have an undue economic impact on small businesses. I encourage my colleagues to vote against this resolution which would harm workers by overturning the Biden administration's joint employer rule.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, this pointless resolution would not only harm the advancement of EVs in the United States, but it would also allow more work to be offshored to other countries. I strongly oppose this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Among its many historic firsts, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invested $7.5 billion in EV charging infrastructure through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program. I am proud of the work that we did on this landmark funding that stems from a bill that I introduced, the Clean Corridors Act, that was incorporated into the infrastructure bill. It is already helping create a network of EV chargers to help with the implementation of alternative fuels and the dynamic investment in electric vehicles and hydrogen-fueled cars. On a side note, one of the grants was included in the district I represent between the local library district and the Federal Government to install chargers at public libraries. Unfortunately, the resolution we are considering today would remove certainty from EV charger construction and put good-paying jobs here in the U.S. at risk in the long-term and in the short-term. The lack of certainty would also further delay construction deployment and hinder consumers' use of EVs. With the transportation sector making up almost 30 percent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions, we must continue to do everything we can to transition to cleaner fuels and provide certainty for the industry to help combat climate change. We need available, reliable EV chargers to make that a reality considering the global implications. I strongly oppose this bill and the partisan efforts to thwart EV deployment.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. I rise today along with my colleagues, John Garamendi and Josh Harder, to recognize Tim Leong as he retires from the Contra Costa Community College District (4CD) after 15 years of dedicated service. Throughout his career, Tim has devoted himself to advancing quality, affordable higher education and serving students throughout California. He joined 4CD in 2008 as Director of Communications and Community Relations, bringing decades of communications and government relations experience to the district. Through this role, he helped expand the district's outreach. Prior to joining 4CD, Tim was a reporter and producer for KRON-TV and KCRA-TV, helping to provide critical news coverage to community members. He was also the first Asian American spokesperson with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), leading the company's grassroots advocacy and charitable efforts. After leaving PG&E, Tim became the President and Executive Director of the Asian and Pacific Islander Scholarship Fund, providing consulting services to nonprofits and Fortune 500 companies. Tim has been a longtime advocate of public higher education, speaking at many national conferences and staying engaged with the California Community College system. Additionally, he is the former president of the Community College Public Relations Organization and is a current member of the Strategic Enrollment Management Academy's Core Leadership Team. We and our staffs have enjoyed working with him to help arrange trips for him and 4CD students to come to DC. Please join me and Representatives Garamendi and Harder in congratulating Tim Leong on his well-earned retirement from the Contra Costa Community College District.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today along with my colleagues, Representatives John Garamendi and Josh Harder, to recognize the contributions of the Contra Costa Community College District (4CD) on its 75th anniversary. For 75 years, 4CD has been a vital part of Contra Costa County. Founded on December 14, 1948 by a countywide vote, 4CD was the first countywide junior college district in California. Since its inception, 4CD has committed itself to providing quality and affordable higher education to students of all backgrounds. Serving over 45,000 students each year at their campuses in San Pablo, Pleasant Hill, Pittsburg, San Ramon, and Brentwood, 4CD creates an academic environment that promotes cultural competency, diversity, and community engagement. The district offers a wide range of courses allowing students to purse an associate degree, transfer to a four-year university, or hone in on their professional skills through specialized vocational and technical trainings. 4CD also offers a number of courses that use open educational resources, helping to cut costs on textbooks. 4CD's more than 3,600 employees are devoted to empowering all students to fulfill their educational and career aspirations by providing accessible, equitable, innovative, and outstanding higher education learning opportunities and support services. Please join me and Representatives John Garamendi and Josh Harder in recognizing the Contra Costa Community College District for their many contributions to our community and in congratulating them on their 75th anniversary.

Mr. DeSAULNIER

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I regret that I was unable to vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 705, passage of H.J. Res. 88, and ``present'' on rollcall No. 706, adoption of H. Res. 914. personal explanation