Ruben Gallego

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I am the proud son of immigrants. Growing up, I heard stories about parties, politicians, and Presidents invalidating elections when the people took power for themselves. That is why, when I joined the Marine Corps, the most sacred part of my oath was to protect the Constitution of the United States. I never thought I would have to do that on the floor of Congress, but here we are. The people have spoken, and the power of the people, the Constitution, will be preserved. Madam Speaker, I left my youth, I left my sanity, I left it all in Iraq for this country because there is this one precious idea that we all had, that we all believed: that this country was going to protect everyone's individual rights, that you were going to be able to vote, that you were going to be able to preserve democracy and pass it on as a legacy, as an inheritance to every American. But today--today--there was treason in this House. Today, there were traitors in this House. So I am not asking my Republican colleagues to help me and stop this objection to Arizona; I am asking you to get off all these objections. It is time for you to save your soul. It is time for you to save your country. That man at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will forget you. He will use you and he will dump you to the side, but what will be left will be the stain--the stain--on democracy that you are engaging in right now. Listen to yourselves. I consider most of you very smart, believe it or not, but the idea that we would rig an election for the President but not preserve the congressional seats for all of our friends that we just lost in the last election is absurd. The idea that we would help Vice President Biden win but wouldn't make sure that we got enough Senators in the Senate for us to pass a full agenda is absurd. The idea that there was somehow nefarious border registration in Arizona that tipped the scale when, during that same time of border registration, there were more registered voters that were Republicans than Democrats is absurd. You are better than this. Many of you did serve, many of you have never served, but there is an opportunity and a time for courage. I hope you never have to face fire or bullets or bombs for your country, but right now--right now--this country is asking you to be better. Right now, this country is asking you to show courage. That man will leave. Your soul will stay with you for the rest of your life. You owe it to democracy. You owe it to the hundreds and thousands of men and women that have sacrificed their life. You know better. You are better. Be the good American. Be the American you want. Preserve this democracy; reject this movement; and stop this terrorism that is happening from the White House.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I am grateful for my colleagues' support of my bill, H.R. 6535, the Coverage for Urban Indian Health Providers Act, when it passed this House on Thursday, December 17, 2020. Enactment of H.R. 6535 will address the lack of parity under the Federal Tort Claims Act within the Indian Health Service for urban Indian health programs, and by sending this bill to the Senate, and hopefully to the President, we arc making a necessary correction that will support delivery of health care to Native communities across the country. However, while I am proud of the passage of this measure, we must not forget that the same lack of parity under FTCA continues to persist for the Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems funded through the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act. I am therefore committed to standing with Native Hawaiians and their representatives in Congress, including Congressman Case and Senator Schatz, to ensure that Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems are not left behind, and will work with them, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the House Natural Resources Committee, and the Senate Committee for Indian Affairs to address the inequitable access to Federal Torts Claims Act coverage among Native health systems in the next Congress. Together, we will continue to fight for the trust and treaty rights and access to benefits for all of our country's Native peoples.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6535) to deem an urban Indian organization and employees thereof to be a part of the Public Health Service for the purposes of certain claims for personal injury, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GALLEGO. 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 the measure under consideration.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 6535, the Coverage for Urban Indian Health Providers Act, is a bipartisan bill authored by myself and Representative Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. This bill would uphold our trust responsibility, provide long-overdue parity to the Indian Health System by extending Federal Tort Claims Act coverage to urban Indian organizations, and direct their scarce resources to saving lives instead of bureaucratic overhead. This broadly supported policy change was also included in the President's fiscal year 2021 budget proposal. As part of our trust and treaty responsibilities, the U.S. Government has a legal responsibility to provide healthcare to Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Congress created the Indian Health System to carry out this obligation. The Indian Health System is made up of the Indian Health Service; Tribal health programs; and urban Indian organizations, known as UIOs. UIOs play a pivotal role in upholding the trust responsibility by providing culturally competent care to the over 70 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives who live in urban areas, like my district in Phoenix, Arizona. However, despite the pivotal role they play, UIOs are the only branch of the Indian Health System that are not currently eligible for liability coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act, known as FTCA. As a result, each UIO is forced to spend up to $250,000 per year on individual medical liability policies. If we pass this bill today, that quarter of a million dollars will instead be spent directly on patient care and the resources these clinics need to fight COVID-19. That is why passing H.R. 6535 is especially critical now, in the midst of a pandemic that has hit Native populations the hardest, and UIOs have been disproportionately the ones servicing them and also hit hard. This year, over 80 percent of UIOs have cut services due to the resource shortages they are experiencing, and at least three have had to shut their doors during the first wave of the pandemic. Cuts to services are devastating for the vulnerable Native communities and the UIOs that serve them. I know because I have heard from my constituents what a critical role UIOs, like Native Health of Phoenix, play in the daily lives of urban Indians. From free food deliveries during the pandemic to seniors and low- income families, to COVID testing, primary care, and social services, UIOs and their staffs are pillars of the communities they serve and they save lives. These heroic frontline staffs should not be singled out for exclusion from coverage under FTCA merely due to which part of the Indian Health System they serve in. Passing H.R. 6535 would immediately make these health providers eligible for FTCA coverage, and it would create a financial lifeline for these cash-strapped health clinics serving on the front lines of the pandemic. I urge my colleagues to support frontline health workers, support Native communities, and support upholding our trust responsibilities by voting ``yes'' on this bill. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. 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 the measure under consideration.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3250) to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the sites associated with the life and legacy of the noted American philanthropist and business executive Julius Rosenwald, with a special focus on the Rosenwald Schools, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3250, the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools Act, introduced by Representative Danny Davis. This bill directs the National Park Service to conduct a study of sites associated with the life and legacy of Julius Rosenwald. Julius Rosenwald was an American businessman and philanthropist, who is well known for his role as part owner and president of Sears, Roebuck and Company. In the early 20th century, Rosenwald used his wealth to fund Progressive Era projects and causes, particularly those with a focus on enhancing the lives of African Americans. Rosenwald was instrumental in the construction of 25 YMCAs across the country, including Chicago's historic Wabash Avenue YMCA, which provided African Americans with housing and job training during the Great Migration. Through his efforts with the YMCA, Rosenwald developed a relationship with Booker T. Washington and was invited to serve on the board of directors of the Tuskegee Institute. At Tuskegee, Rosenwald funded a pilot program that helped build six schools for African-American children in rural Alabama. This partnership ultimately sparked the creation of the Rosenwald Fund, which constructed more than 5,300 Rosenwald Schools and related buildings across the South. By 1928, one in every five rural schools in the South was a Rosenwald School, providing education to one-third of all African-American children in the South through the 1940s. Many Americans are unaware of the tremendous contributions that Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools made to our country. I would like to thank Representative Davis for this effort to elevate this incredible part of our Nation's history. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7460) to extend the authority for the establishment by the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation of a commemorative work to commemorate the mission of the Peace Corps and the ideals on which the Peace Corps was founded, and for other purposes.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7460, the Peace Corps Commemorative Work Extension Act, introduced by Representative Joe Kennedy. Representative Kennedy served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 2004 to 2006. Unfortunately, he is not able to be here for today's vote, but I know how much this means to him and the entire Returned Peace Corps Volunteers community. In 2014, the bipartisan Peace Corps Commemorative Act was signed into law to establish a commemorative work to celebrate the Peace Corps and its founding ideals. That legislation authorized the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish the memorial in Washington, D.C., but the authorization for the project is set to expire in January 2021. The Peace Corps' roots and mission date back to the 1960s. Since then, more than 240,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in 142 host countries to train local communities across the world in technologies and skills such as agricultural protection, environmental protection, and basic education. Since its establishment, the Peace Corps has helped promote world peace and friendship by improving the lives of countless individuals across the world. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Kennedy for his efforts to honor these incredible volunteers. The planned memorial will be a lasting tribute to the legacy of the Peace Corps and its mission. This bill simply provides the foundation with more time to raise money and pick an appropriate design. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis).

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, it is an honor and a privilege to be able to yield time to someone who I grew up in his district as his constituent. It is a great honor to be here and to hear more about, obviously, Sears, Roebuck and Company and an area that I grew up in and know very well. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop).

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5472) to redesignate the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site as the ``Jimmy Carter National Historical Park''.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5472, the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park Redesignation Act, introduced by Representative Sanford Bishop from Georgia. Established by Congress in 1987, the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site and Preservation District protects and shares the stories of key sites associated with the life of President Jimmy Carter. Today, the site consists of President Carter's boyhood farm; Plains High School, which the Carters attended; the Carter home and compound where the Carters currently live; and the Plains Railroad Depot, which served as Carter's campaign headquarters during the 1976 Presidential campaign. H.R. 5472 would redesignate the National Historic Site as the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park to conform with the Park Service's standard pattern of nomenclature and to help promote increased visitation to the area. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Bishop for his efforts to elevate the life of Jimmy Carter, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5852) to redesignate the Weir Farm National Historic Site in the State of Connecticut as the ``Weir Farm National Historical Park''.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 5852, the Weir Farm National Historical Park Redesignation Act, introduced by Representative Jim Himes. In 1882, American artist Julian Alden Weir traded a still life painting he had acquired in Europe for a 153-acre farm in Branchville, Connecticut. Inspired by the farm's rural setting, Weir spent the next 36 years developing a new approach to landscape painting and gained a reputation as a leader of the American Impressionists. In 1990, Congress established the Weir Farm National Historic Site to preserve the structures and rural landscape that inspired Weir's transition into American Impressionism. Today, the 68-acre site includes more than a dozen structures, as well as historic gardens, orchards, fields, and hundreds of historic painting sites. The National Historic Site also maintains a museum collection containing more than 200,000 archives and objects, including original paintings, sculptures, and prints. H.R. 5852 would redesignate the Weir Farm National Historic Site as the Weir Farm National Historical Park to conform with the National Park Service's standard pattern of nomenclature and to help promote increased visitation to the area. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes).