Al Green

Mr. GREEN of Texas

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. Mr. Speaker, the Brookings Institution indicates that the Black and White wealth gap reflects a society that has not and does not afford equality of opportunity to all of its citizens. This is evidenced today by the responses that we are getting. No effort to deal with the centuries of inequality. No desire to deal with invidious discrimination. Always a reason why we can't get to it right now. I have been in Congress for years--never addressing this problem. Mr. Speaker, today is a day of reckoning for all of those who have been hiding behind other issues. Today they have to confront the truth. There is invidious discrimination in America, it impacts the LGBTQ- plus, it impacts people of color, and women as well, and today we have legislation because of the Honorable Maxine Waters' efforts that can deal with these issues. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds. Mr. Speaker, people of color are clobbered every day by higher interest rates. They are clobbered every day by loans that have fees that are higher than loans for people of a different hue. These are the things that are being perpetuated when they tolerate this kind of behavior. For centuries they tolerated it. Now we have the opportunity to do something about it. Let's eliminate these costs for some people so that we can deal with the costs for everybody. Until that is done, we have to have this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 10 seconds. Mr. Speaker, we have just heard a great recitation on how to do nothing; how to maintain the status quo; how to be proud that you can stand up in the House of Representatives and defend the status quo for some 300 years. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I am prepared to close. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, it is painful to hear a Member of Congress talk about reckless spending when that spending is what was necessary during the pandemic. Is it reckless spending to allow people to receive some sort of help when they couldn't go to work, Mr. Speaker? My colleagues across the aisle would not have helped the American people who were out of work during a pandemic because it would be reckless spending. Is it reckless spending to keep people in their homes and not allow them to be foreclosed on? My colleagues across the aisle would have allowed people to be evicted and their things thrown in the streets because to them, helping people in a time of crisis is reckless spending. Is it reckless spending to put food on the table of people who can't go to work? Is it reckless spending to make sure babies and children who are going to school get proper schools that can protect them during a virus and a pandemic that was killing people worldwide? We put money into schools. We put money into police departments and fire departments. But that is reckless spending to my colleagues across the aisle. They are the best on the planet at doing nothing. Do-nothing politics is what that is all about. They find clever ways to find an opportunity to do nothing by saying things that mean nothing to the people who need help. Reckless spending. How dare they call it reckless spending when people are suffering and need help. Now, let me continue with the Brookings Institution with my final minutes. This is from the Brookings Institution: ``Efforts by Black Americans to build wealth can be traced back throughout American history. But these efforts have been impeded in a host of ways, beginning with 246 years of chattel slavery and followed by congressional mismanagement . . . `' Let me repeat that: by congressional mismanagement. `` . . . of the Freedmans Savings Bank, which left 61,144 depositors with losses of nearly $3 million in 1874, the violent massacre decimating Tulsa's Greenwood District in 1921, a population of 10,000 that thrived as the epicenter of African-American business and culture, commonly referred to as Black Wall Street, and discriminatory policies throughout the 20th century including the Jim Crow Eras `Black Codes' strictly limiting opportunity in many Southern States . . . . `' Mr. Speaker, today has been the best evidence we need of why invidious discrimination exists in this country, because there are people across the aisle who will tolerate it and who will come to this floor and talk about Americans as though you have to be White to be an American, as though people of color don't count, as though the LGBTQ- plus community doesn't count, and that women don't count. To them, Mr. Speaker, if you are a White man, you are an American. But what about the rest of the people in this country who suffer? Mr. Speaker, it is a sad day to hear my colleagues across the aisle speak of reckless spending when people were suffering. I thank God that we have the courage to help people in a time of need. If I could do it again, I would do it because I saw the suffering. Perhaps they don't see the suffering that I see. But I saw it, and I was prepared to do something about it. I believe that in the final analysis, those who refuse to tolerate the kind of invidious discrimination that we suffer each day in this country, they will be vindicated. They will be vindicated. I am grateful for the time, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 1170, I offer amendments en bloc No. 1.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the 23 amendments offered in this en bloc are a terrific example of a working legislative process, a process through which well- considered legislation is further strengthened by the intellect, experience, and values of the House Democratic Caucus. These amendments broaden this package's commitment to equity by ensuring that information is gathered regarding loans made to veterans, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ-plus community, which will help reveal unfair or discriminatory practices against these communities. We also have amendments that will ensure economic data are disaggregated within racial and ethnic groups, in recognition of the lived experiences across different communities. The package is further bolstered by timely and necessary reporting ensuring that communities of color and low-income communities have access to wealth-building opportunities, including purchasing their first home and accessing capital. Furthermore, this package includes amendments that will help us to better understand and address the country's growing affordable housing and homelessness crises that have disproportionately affected people of color. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support these amendments being considered en bloc. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have remaining?

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley).

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Brown).

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan).

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, according to a recent National Bureau of Economic Research report, the racial wealth gap is on track to grow wider in the coming decades. It is estimated that the White-to-Black wealth ratio will increase from 5.6 to 1 in 2019 to 8.4 to 1 by 2200. The time to act is now. These amendments will help ensure that everyone will have a fair chance, and in too many instances, a first chance at economic opportunity. I thank our colleagues for offering their amendments, and I urge my colleagues to vote in support of these amendments because these amendments are principally about transparency. If you have nothing to hide, you celebrate transparency. If you have something to hide, you want to eschew transparency. These amendments seek to provide transparency so that we can get a better understanding of how we can better cure the invidious discrimination that has plagued our country for centuries. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 1170, I offer amendments en bloc No. 2.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Republican amendments presented here today stand as a testament to Republican values; namely, a tolerance for wealth inequality and racial discrimination. Let's be clear. The amendment from Mr. Timmons will strike large portions of the bill and make no attempt to improve it. As for the amendment from Mr. Davis, it will strike provisions requiring the reporting of small business lending data, effectively allowing banks to continue to hide the extent to which they are denying small business owners of color access to affordable credit. According to a Fed survey, 46 percent of Black-owned firms that applied for financing received none of the financing they sought compared to just 22 percent of White-owned firms. We need more granular data on these trends to root out discrimination in lending once and for all. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, what we have been witnessing today is the behavior of persons who chose not to help the American people in a time of need. When the American people were being evicted from their homes, they chose not to help. When schools were plagued by a virus and needed funding so that they could secure our children from the virus, they chose not to help. When people were out of work and needed help to put food on the table, fuel in their cars, they chose not to help. Because they chose not to help, they have to call any help that was given reckless, and they have to call it bad policy. But the truth is, if you do nothing, you put yourself in a position such that you cannot appreciate the suffering of people who are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. They chose not to help. We choose to help, and we continue to help. Mr. Speaker, it is a sad day when people will call saving homes and keeping children safe from a virus reckless policy. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GREEN of Texas

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, and still I rise. I rise today to address the indication that what we Democrats are doing is meaningless. Meaningless to ban bump stocks. Well, tell that to the 60 people who were murdered at the Mandalay hotel where a gunman fired more than a thousand rounds in short order. Meaningless to raise the age to 21 to purchase an assault weapon. Explain that the ghosts of the 10 people who were killed at Tops grocery store. Make it clear to those 19 babies who were murdered at an elementary school in Texas. Meaningless? Tell that to the lives of those that have been lost. No, it is not meaningless. Madam Speaker, I tell my dear friends that what we are doing right now is more than common sense. It is just good sense to prevent people from killing other people.

Mr. GREEN of Texas

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, and still I rise. I rise today with a message of grave concern, especially for those who have suffered in Uvalde, Texas, with reference to the slaughter that took place there, the mass murders. But I do have something that gives me some degree of hope. I have an open letter that was published in The Dallas Morning News that I would like the share. I would like to read some excerpts from the letter. It is styled: ``An Open Letter Supporting Senator John Cornyn and Gun Safety Measures.'' It reads in part: We, the undersigned, are conservatives, mostly from Texas and our friends from other States, outdoor and gun enthusiasts. We vote for Republican Senators. We believe in the Second Amendment. It goes on to read: We are especially encouraged that Senator Cornyn is focusing on two vital ways to improve gun safety: red flag law and expanding background checks. We are also hopeful that the momentum building for those two changes may also spur consideration of raising the age to purchase a gun to 21, which we believe is another important step in curbing gun violence. They close with: There are many of us across these great United States. We are organizing. Please join us. I thank them, the conservatives, gun enthusiasts, and those who support Senators. I want to thank them for this open letter because this issue of gun violence is one that we have to have a collective response to. The politicians alone will not solve this problem. I respect my colleagues and the political order. I happen to be one of them. But I know that there has to be some input from the influentials of the world, the chambers of commerce and the businesses communities. So I encourage the business communities to do as these businesspersons have done: Take a stand, a public stand. Take a stand for justice. Take a stand for these children. Take a stand against mass murders. Please take a stand. Those who tolerate this perpetuate it.

Mr. GREEN of Texas

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, and still I rise. And I rise today to say that those who tolerate hate, perpetuate hate--it is not enough, Mr. Speaker, for us to prosecute the purveyors of the hate. Those who pull the trigger, those white supremacists, it is not enough to prosecute them individually. We have to prosecute hate itself. If we fail to do so, we fail our country. This is a country that allows us the freedom to move about, to go into stores and to other places of business. Business itself is going to suffer if we don't stop this. I beg the business community, the Chamber of Commerce: Come out of the shadows. Where is the business community? Denounce this white supremacy. Where is the clergy? Denounce this white supremacy. Join me in a moment of silent prayer for all of those who have suffered.

Mr. GREEN of Texas

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Raskin for the time, and I thank Mr. Levin for what he has done to bring this resolution to fruition. Madam Speaker, today I rise to defend the rights of our staff to organize. This really is about respect. We should respect their rights: Their right to have a decent day's pay for a hard day's work, their right to have the best healthcare that we can afford. I respect them, I support them, and I respect the right of all workers to organize. Hence, I will vote for the legislation.