Lizzie Fletcher

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I, too, believe this is commonsense legislation, and I am pleased to see it brought to the floor today. I support H.R. 4719, and I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this important, bipartisan legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3362) to amend title 49, United State Code, to require small hub airports to construct areas for nursing mothers, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. 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 H.R. 3362, as amended.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill introduced by the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Miller). Few things are more sacred than the ability of parents to care for their infant children. However, mothers often face challenges, and potentially public stigma, when attempting to breastfeed, nurse, or change their children while traveling. In fact, a study of 100 airports found that, while 62 percent reported being breastfeeding friendly, only 8 percent met the minimum requirements for a breastfeeding mother: an electrical outlet, a table, and a chair. The absence of sufficient designated sanitary spaces during travel can cause unnecessary stress, wasted time, and even potential health issues for mothers who are not able to pump. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 included a requirement that medium and large hub airports maintain nursing rooms and baby changing tables for the convenience of nursing mothers and parents traveling with infants. While that was a step in the right direction, there are still a significant number of commercial service airports--72, to be exact--that the law did not cover. This bill enhances that mandate by requiring small hub airports to also maintain nursing rooms and baby changing tables in their passenger terminal buildings. Requiring small hub airports to provide private, clean, accessible, and equipped areas for parents to nurse their children will help remove some of the barriers parents face while traveling and provide critical support to families when they need it. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I, too, thank my colleague, Mrs. Miller, for introducing this bill. And I thank Chairman DeFazio and the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Larsen, for moving this bill through the process. It is important to families across America. And, once again, we are seeing bipartisan, commonsense legislation that is important to traveling families. For that reason, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, today, on Transgender Remembrance Day, I rise to remember Tracy Single, who was killed in July of this year in my district, the 15th transgender woman of color murdered this year. A music lover with an eye for fashion and an ear for music, 22-year- old Tracy moved to Houston to pursue her dream of becoming a rapper. Tension around her gender identity forced her out of her home, and she experienced a very hard time, but she was persistent and upbeat, always working to achieve her goals. Her life reminds us that creative and vibrant people can thrive even in the most difficult circumstances. And her death reminds us that transgender people are under attack and must have equal protection under the law.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Lieutenant Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal of the Harris County Sheriff's Office, who was shot and killed in the line of duty 3 weeks ago today on September 27. As the first observant Sikh to serve in the Harris County Sheriff's Office and one of the first in Texas to receive a policy accommodation to practice his religion while serving as a police officer, Deputy Dhaliwal was a role model for Americans of all faiths who want to serve others. Deputy Dhaliwal sold his successful business to join the sheriff's office out of a sense of duty and a desire to build a bridge between the department and the Houston area Sikh community. He was known for his energy, his optimism, and his giving heart, coordinating relief efforts for our community after Hurricane Harvey and traveling to Puerto Rico to do the same after Hurricane Maria. Deputy Dhaliwal's service to our community and to our country is an example to us all. The people of Houston, Harris County, the Harris County Sheriff's Office and the Sikh community across the country celebrate the life and mourn the loss of this remarkable man, a selfless hero who represented the very best of our country's ideals.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask for its consideration.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, I offer this amendment to the bill for the simple purpose of clarifying its scope and applicability. The FAIR Act prohibits the enforcement of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration provisions--forced arbitration--in contracts involving consumer, employment, antitrust, and civil rights disputes. This amendment makes clear that the FAIR Act applies to pre-dispute forced arbitration in these disputes, and not to voluntary arbitration that is agreed to by the parties in these cases after a dispute occurs. It does not apply, as some have suggested, to commercial cases between businesses; it does not eliminate arbitration altogether, and there are good reasons for this. There is certainly a role for the arbitration of disputes and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. From my own experience as a lawyer, I understand the utility arbitration can provide for businesses to resolve disputes, especially in the context of an ongoing business relationship. That is not what the FAIR Act is about. The FAIR Act is about restoring access to justice for the people. It is for consumers and workers. It is for people whose civil rights have been violated. It is for the small business people who have antitrust claims. It is for the millions of Americans who are denied their rights to seek justice and accountability today because of forced arbitration. This amendment makes clear that the act does not prohibit the option to participate in arbitration after a dispute has arisen provided that the agreement to arbitrate the dispute is voluntary and the parties actually consent. This amendment anticipates that, for reasons of their own choosing, some parties may elect to participate in arbitration after a dispute has arisen on a voluntary basis and this act does not prohibit that choice. The amendment acknowledges the right to consent, but it must be truly voluntary. When an agreement to arbitrate is a contract of adhesion, it is not voluntary. When an agreement to arbitrate is not disclosed, it is not voluntary. When an agreement to arbitrate is a condition of employment, it is not voluntary. When an agreement to arbitrate is forced, it is not voluntary. But when actual consent is given after a dispute arises, parties with full knowledge may choose to arbitrate. Fundamentally, the FAIR Act and this amendment protects the freedom to contract, the freedom of choice, and the freedoms granted in our Constitution including, importantly, its 7th Amendment. Mr. Chair, it is for these reasons that I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chair, the gentleman from North Dakota's argument makes the argument for the FAIR Act, because the essential point there is about the ability to contract with equal bargaining power. And we have heard debate this entire morning about the imbalance that exists with these contracts of adhesion, these contracts that require arbitration as a term of employment, and that there is also somebody who benefits. And I think what we have seen is exactly what the FAIR Act is designed to prevent. The idea of equal bargaining power is not something we see in these consumer cases, in these employment cases, and that is exactly what we are here to protect. However, we have also seen the argument that this is the end of arbitration, and that is simply not the case. There is a place in our system for people who elect to arbitrate, but it must be with equal bargaining power, and it must be with full information and voluntary compliance. The amendment simply makes clear that the FAIR Act does not prohibit arbitration on a voluntary basis after a dispute arises and can't be construed to do so. Mr. Chair, it is for these reasons that I urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, this week we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, the spacecraft that sent Americans to the Moon. On September 12, 1962, before a crowd of 40,000 spectators at Rice University in Houston, President John F. Kennedy announced the ambitious goal of sending Americans to the Moon before the end of the decade. On July 20, 1969, we got there. Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the surface of the Moon, and 19 minutes later Buzz Aldrin became the second. More than 600 million people around the world watched Armstrong take his first step live on television. The first words they heard on the Moon were ``Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed,'' followed by the observation, ``That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'' As a native Houstonian and the Representative of Texas' Seventh Congressional District, these historic words are seared in my mind. The Apollo 11 mission was more than just an amazing technological advancement, it brought Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs together toward a common goal and a common purpose. It made people a part of something bigger than themselves, perhaps bigger than they had ever imagined. More than 400,000 Americans worked to make the Apollo 11 mission a success, many of them based at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. From the support crew to the flight directors at mission control, to the space suit designers, to the human computers, engineers, and scientists who designed and built the hardware and software, to the custodial staff who worked in the building to make sure that they had a place to work, and to every small job in between, Apollo 11 was the result of a historic collaboration across our country. The resounding success of the Apollo program served to captivate the world's attention and cemented America's status as a leader in scientific discovery and technological innovation, and it taught us what we as Americans can do, what we can accomplish when we work together toward a common goal. What we learned from this mission is that, when we do that, even the sky is not the limit.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Chair, I urge support of my amendment to H.R. 3055 that would require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, to contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to undertake an inaugural decadal study of the terrestrial U.S. weather enterprise. This amendment would require the study be completed no later than December 15, 2020. The landscape of weather prediction and forecasting in the U.S. has changed in the last decade due to the tremendous growth of the enterprise, which is made up of public, private, and academic sectors. Despite new innovations and technologies that have been developed, the U.S. currently finds itself trailing other countries in weather modeling and forecasting capabilities when it was once the global leader. We are at a crucial juncture, and it is important to understand what the current challenges the U.S. weather enterprise faces so that we can improve U.S. weather modeling and forecasting capabilities and help the U.S. regain international leadership in this field. Although these sectors operate in complementary roles to provide accurate and timely weather forecasts to the American public to protect life and property, their individual goals don't always align in a way that provides the largest possible benefit to society. A decadal survey would provide an opportunity to define a unified vision and long-term goals for the private, academic, and government sectors of the weather enterprise. This survey would include a current assessment of all sectors of the weather enterprise, and also look back over the last five years to understand how it has performed. Policymakers would be able to use the decadal survey to prioritize and guide future investments for the next decade in science, weather modeling, forecasting, data assimilation, and observation technologies. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, each day, 100 Americans are killed by guns; 100 mothers mourn the loss of a child; 100 siblings lose a playmate; 100 friends lose a confidant; and 100 communities are left reeling--all in 1 day. These deaths are 25 times more likely in the United States than in any other high-income country, and we have seen that in the news day after day and week after week. One hundred days ago, this House passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act. One hundred deaths per 100 days--how much longer can we stand to wait? It is time for the Senate to act--not one more day, not 100 more lives.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the women of this country, for their health and for their rights. In this Congress, in this House, we have worked to ensure women's access to healthcare, to protect women and men with preexisting conditions, to lower the cost of prescription drugs, and to make healthcare more affordable and accessible. But in State houses across the country, women's access to their most basic healthcare is under attack. And it is not just their healthcare that is under attack; it is their equality. The law passed in the Alabama State House this week is the most extreme and dangerous since Roe v. Wade, banning abortion at any point in pregnancy and threatening doctors with life in prison. It is not just this Alabama law; it is laws in Georgia, Mississippi, and my home State of Texas, and the efforts of the current administration that result in a dramatic reduction in women's access to reproductive healthcare and basic family planning services and a denial of their reproductive rights. Doctors and public health leaders agree that the cost of these laws will be women's lives. We cannot let that happen. As we work to protect our care, we must support the women of this country and their right to safe, affordable, nonjudgmental reproductive healthcare. We must commit to reproductive justice.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, on Tuesday May 7, my flight was delayed due to the severe storms that hit Houston. I missed the vote series which occurred that evening. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 185; and YEA on Roll Call No. 186.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Chairwoman, I have an amendment at the desk and I ask for its consideration.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Chairwoman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chairwoman, as I stand here this morning, my district and the entire Houston region are underwater again. A severe rainstorm swept across the Houston area last night. Our bayous, creeks, and tributaries are over their banks. Rivers are cresting near record levels and may surpass them before the weekend is over. Nearly 90,000 residents have gone without power, and many are trapped by floodwaters. Parts of our area had up to 7 inches of rainfall within just a few hours last night, and it is still raining. It is the worst rainfall we have had since Hurricane Harvey. And last night, I heard from my constituents, it felt like Harvey and they were afraid. As Members of this body will recall, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and the Gulf Coast in August of 2017. It dumped nearly 60 inches of rain; it claimed 68 lives; and it caused an estimate of $125 billion in damages. It was the second most expensive hurricane in United States history. Members of this body responded to Harvey's devastation. In February of 2018, this body appropriated more than $4 billion to Texas, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds, explicitly to rebuild and mitigate against future storms, storms like the one we are having right now. But nearly a year and a half after those appropriations were made, those funds have not arrived. Why? Because the Department of Housing and Urban Development has not published the rule governing the fund's use in the Federal Register. Most recently, HUD told our State agencies that the rules were set to publish on May 1 of this year; but again, the day has come and gone, and all we have is silence. This is unconscionable. It is for this reason that I offer this amendment today. My amendment requires the publication of the rule governing the 2017 CDBG-DR fund's release within 14 days. I am joined in this amendment by my Republican colleagues as cosponsors, and I would like to thank Mr. Graves and Mr. Rouzer for cosponsoring this truly bipartisan amendment. I know they have worked tirelessly on these issues for a while, and I appreciate their partnership on this issue. I also thank my colleague and cosponsor from Houston, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Chair, I thank my cosponsors and my colleagues for their support of this amendment. I agree. The time for action is now. Madam Chair, for the reasons that we have set forth, I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask for its consideration.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chair, I yield myself 4 minutes, and I rise in support of my amendment. Innovation drives the energy industry, and it is important that we continue to follow a technology-neutral approach that allows the best science to flourish and the best technologies to emerge. When it comes to energy innovation, my home in Houston is its home. Houston, long known as the energy capital of the world, is the epicenter of our modern energy renaissance. Home to virtually every segment of the energy industry, including exploration, production, transmission, marketing, supply, and technology, we see opportunities for innovation in all sectors of the energy industry. Over the last decade in particular, energy technology has enabled us to recover resources in new areas and new ways. Advances in technology that have transformed our energy economy have substantially reduced U.S. carbon emissions. Replacing coal-fired plants with natural gas plants has led to the greatest reduction in carbon emissions in the last 30 years, and we are leading the way on new technologies critical to reaching our emissions reduction goals and combating climate change, like carbon capture technologies. Two plants are near my district in Houston. We believe in an all-of-the-above approach to energy sources that reduces costs as well as emissions, and we see that in Texas' investment in wind energy. In Texas, we have installed more wind power generation than any State, three times as much as the next leading State. Houston is home to more than 100 solar-related companies. These statistics may surprise some, but they should not because energy companies, whether renewable or hydrocarbon-based, are really technology companies that apply their technology to energy. My amendment ensures that nothing in this act will favor one fuel source or one technology over another. Climate change is a global threat. We need the input of a diverse and broad coalition of stakeholders that have the energy expertise we need to chart our path forward, and we need to encourage innovation and technology in every area. Mr. Chair, it is for these reasons that I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chair, I urge support for my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.