Sylvia Garcia

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to a mounting problem which is affecting every Texan: our deteriorating infrastructure. Now, I know a thing about infrastructure. When I was a county commissioner, I saw firsthand how a lack of investment directly impacted people in my area. As a State, we regularly have received scores of C and D on our infrastructure. In my own area, it was even worse because of the damage that hurricanes and flooding did on a regular basis. These deteriorating roads and bridges cost Texans over $700 a year in damages and extra vehicle maintenance. That is an entire paycheck for many of the people in my district. On top of that, Houstonians have had to deal with the twin trouble of decaying roads and rapid growth. Harris County is now home to over 700,000 more people than it had in 2010. Without significant investment, we are trying to fit more and more people onto the same deteriorating roads. Mr. Speaker, the traffic is so bad in parts of my city that I and many other Houstonians simply avoid entire neighborhoods altogether. This directly hurts small business owners who depend on infrastructure for people to reach their stores. Mr. Speaker, poor infrastructure does more than hurt families' pocketbooks, it has already cost us lives. Everyone in Texas remembers the winter storm this past February that left millions freezing in their homes without power. The extreme cold weather brought State power systems to the brink of collapse. Over 200 Texans died in this storm, many of them seniors, from cold weather exposure. It didn't have to be this way. The State government had the choice the last time this kind of storm happened in 2011 to take the advice of Federal regulators and prepare our power grid for winter emergencies. Instead, the State has done nothing and will have to bear the cost. Many Houstonians will also remember Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Rita, and Hurricane Harvey, it comes one after another. Every year, another ``storm of the century.'' These storms have caused hundreds of deaths, billions in damages, and displaced thousands from their homes in Houston. Mr. Speaker, I could go on and on, but the point is clear: my district is facing a clear and present danger from the failure to invest in reliable infrastructure. During the previous administration, we heard promise after promise from Republicans. They were going to address this with the so-called infrastructure weeks. I can't even remember how many of those we had, but it certainly stretched for 4 years. Promises made, promises broken. But I am proud that today I can go back to my district and say that these critical investments are finally--finally--on their way. Thanks to President Biden's commitment to working with Congress to get this done, Texas will receive $35 billion to rebuild our infrastructure. For all the problems I have spoken about, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has a solution. This law will invest over $26 billion in funding for better roads and bridges built to last and to handle future growth. It will also invest $3.3 billion to improve public transit options that reduce congestion and improve transportation for everyone. Texans will also benefit from a $3.5 billion program in this law that will protect power systems from weather emergencies like the winter storm. But this law doesn't just solve today's problems. It is also about preparing us for tomorrow's opportunities. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will deliver reliable internet access to rural Texas communities by investing over $100 million in expanding coverage. This will allow rural Texans to finally access jobs and commerce that were previously locked away. This bill will also prepare Texas for electric vehicles of the future by investing nearly half a billion dollars to build our charging station network. Mr. Speaker, Texas is facing serious infrastructure problems. But this law is the solution. I am proud that this money will soon flow directly to communities in my State and improve lives. Thanks to the leadership of President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, and some of our friends across the aisle, this bipartisan infrastructure bill will send help, and it is on the way.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the billions of dollars coming to Texas to provide clean water and to weatherize our power grid. In just the past year and a half, my district has faced a devastating winter storm and a massive pipe burst that put lives at risk. These two events, pictured beside me, demonstrate a simple truth. We are long past due for investments that modernize our electric grid and restore our aging water systems. That is why I am proud that the infrastructure bill will invest $3.5 billion to prepare power grids for weather emergencies and bring $2.9 billion directly to Texas for clean water. Thanks to this funding, communities like mine will benefit from clean water, reliable power, and peace of mind.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the critical investments coming to my home State of Texas. This week, the President signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This bipartisan bill is bringing over $35 billion to Texas for important projects that will rebuild our communities. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, that this is long overdue. When I was a Harris County commissioner, I built a few roads. I saw firsthand how badly our roads and bridges had deteriorated. We regularly scored Cs and Ds on infrastructure that my precinct relied on every day, creating extra costs and putting lives in danger. In fact, roads in terrible condition have forced Texas drivers to pay over $700 in extra costs each year. Since 2011, Texans have seen their commute increase to about half an hour because our roads haven't kept up with our growth. In that same time, Texans were hit with 60 extreme weather events that cost taxpayers over $200 billion. More than that, crumbling infrastructure has taken the lives of thousands in our great State. Just this February our electric grid nearly collapsed, and over 200 people--many of them seniors--froze to death in their homes. We are past due in the work to improve our State's infrastructure. That is why I am proud to have voted for this jobs bill and for all of the investments coming to Texas. The bill that we passed is over $3.5 billion to weatherize our grid and prepare it for future crises. We also invest $27 billion in our State's highways and bridges. We will also get $3 billion to bring safe, clean water to every Texan, especially in our rural communities. This is not small potatoes. We know how dangerous lead pipes are for growing children. Lead contamination can cause developmental problems, mental health issues, and serious medical emergencies. Because of this funding, we can remove lead pipes from Texas schools and ensure that every child can drink clean, safe water. Thanks to all of these investments, Texans will have safer commutes, cleaner water, and lower bills for reliable electricity. But this law does not solve just today's problems. It prepares us for tomorrow's opportunities. Thanks to this law, Texas will receive nearly half a billion dollars to expand the electric vehicle charging network. We will also receive over $1 billion to improve our State's airports which are some of the Nation's busiest. We can also expect over $100 million to bring internet access to 1 million Texans who currently lack it. This is especially important to rural Texans like my sister who has to drive all the way into town to get to the library to access the internet. Mr. Speaker, it is time to solve these problems and create jobs for our community. That is what this law is going to do. The bill will create thousands of jobs in my State from construction workers and laborers to engineers and scientists, and all of these are good-paying jobs. For every mile of road that is repaved from Houston to El Paso, we will be supporting roadway workers and construction workers. For every electrical line that is repaired to be more reliable in the cold, we will be supporting electricians and engineers. And for every lead pipe that is replaced to keep our children safe, we will be supporting plumbers, laborers, and other workers. Altogether, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is just about that: rebuilding our infrastructure, investing in the future, and bringing jobs, jobs, jobs to our communities. I am looking forward to seeing these projects come together in my home State, and I am grateful for the leadership of our President and this Congress in making sure that this can get to all communities in our country. Together we will truly build back better for Texas.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, Representative Gosar's behavior is alarming, unacceptable, and should never, ever be tolerated. The official communication accounts of a Member of the United States Congress should never in any way show or encourage violence against a colleague or threaten the President of the United States. On January 6, we personally experienced the consequences of allowing this kind of viciousness and vulgarity. Put simply, violent images in our politics encourages violence against any of us. No one, especially women and women of color, should fear coming to do the work they were elected to do for the people. We must encourage our women to lead, not silence them by tolerating threats like Congressman Gosar's. As Members of Congress, we must set an example for the entire country instead of encouraging violence against others. It is our moral imperative to be collegial to one another. It is our responsibility to hold ourselves accountable. And it is our obligation to protect the integrity and honor of the United States Congress. Madam Speaker, children are watching. The world is watching. We must do better.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, another story. Diana, age 53, was forced to take early retirement after her company downsized. She wasn't ready to quit working, but she hasn't found a job. The loaded question in the application, she says, is always: When did you graduate from high school? This question tells her age. Because of that, she has gotten no interviews. These folks are not alone. I want to read some comments from other jobseekers in their 50s about their experience job hunting: ``No jobs for older people.'' ``Jobs for seniors 60 plus who still want to work are not so plentiful in rural communities.'' ``Age discrimination is alive and well in the job market.'' ``No one hires old people.'' ``I am 63 with no job . . . still trying to find work.'' Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an article entitled: ``I'm not dead: Inside the struggle of finding work after 50 in North Texas.'' [From the Dallas Business Journal, Feb. 11, 2019] `I'm Not Dead': Inside the Struggle of Finding Work After 50 in North Texas (By Jason Wheeler) The good news first: Diana Hinton's dog Maxwell has been on a lot of walks lately. The bad news: She's had time for that. Hinton's employer of almost three decades downsized, and she had to take early retirement long before she was ready. A recent data analysis by Pro Publica and the Urban Institute found that early retirements are often not as voluntary as they sound. The analysis also found that shockingly high percentages of workers over 50 are forced out of their jobs before they can reach retirement age. On one of those frequent walks with Maxwell, Diana Hinton told us she and her dog thought their outings would be for a limited time only. ``I think the first few weeks he was looking at me like aren't you going somewhere?'' Hinton said. Those few weeks became a few years. When we talked to her in September 2018, Diana was busy going about her usual routine of filling out applications online and sending out resumes. Often, she found herself paining over that dreaded question on the application form. ``Here we go . . . `when did you graduate high school?' Which I hate because I know they start adding in their heads--she's gotta be in her 50s,'' Hinton said. She was 53 at the time. When we talked to her, we had just begun a series of reports on the middle class called ``Stuck in the Middle.'' On social media, we heard from so many people in the 50- plus age group talking about the difficulty of finding employment. A sampling of the messages: ``. . . No jobs for older people.'' ``Jobs for seniors 60+ who still want to work are not so plentiful in the rural communities.'' ``Age discrimination is alive and well in the job market.'' ``No one hires old people.'' ``I am 63 with no job . . . still trying to find work . . .'' Many respondents also bolstered another of the findings made by Pro Publica and the Urban Institute--that being derailed so close to retirement age is devastating to retirement plans. A sampling of the messages about how long people will have to work: ``I'm still working at 78.'' ``. . . gonna die working.'' ``Looks like I'm working full time until dead, and leaving nothing behind.'' ``Foreverrrrrrrrrrrrr . . .'' ``Till the end.'' ``We don't even talk about retirement age anymore,'' said Claire Turner, deputy director of the Elder Financial Safety Center at The Senior Source. ``People are wanting to work as long as they can. So they get the question in the interview where do you see yourself in five years? I see myself working.'' The Senior Source specifically helps people 50 and over to search for jobs. They offer free resume workshops, conduct mock job interviews, and teach software and social media classes, among other things. Each year, the center helps as many as 2,000 older workers, and Turner said, unequivocally, ``There is age discrimination. It is true. The average duration of unemployment nationwide is 22.7 weeks, but for older adults, it is 32 weeks.'' ``I think seniors bring a lot to the table,'' said 64-year- old Michael Dade, who took classes at The Senior Source after he had to take early retirement from an accounting job at an oil company that downsized. ``I felt like I had to be twice as good as some young person.'' Dade cautioned others in his age group who still have jobs to stay hungry. ``I have seen people who basically put it in cruise control at (age) 55,'' Dade said. ``No one has paid enough dues to have a guaranteed job now. Any day you go to work you have to think it could be your last day and plan that way.'' Dade now drives the van and coordinates volunteers at The Senior Source. He advised younger people to pay attention to the plight of older workers who lose, or are forced out of, their jobs. He warned those younger workers that they, too, will be older workers someday. He also said the older worker being forced out of a job could be their parents. Dade suggested that younger people reduce their debt load, save as much as they can, maximize contributions to their retirement plans, and learn as many marketable skills as possible. That's something he took advantage of in his former job. ``I tried to make myself learn as much as I could,'' Dade said. Hinton also told us she took every training her former company offered, and she advises others to do the same, because it beats paying for those classes on your own someday. Pro Tip: Claire Turner said it's not enough to simply acquire knowledge and skills--you have to be able to communicate those assets to potential employers, while still sounding humble. For instance, if you have always been a dependable worker, you would say something like, ``Past employers say my attendance is perfect . . . you want to say people `say' I am good at this. That's always a great way to deliver that message,'' Turner said. A bright spot: Turner said she is seeing evidence that the tight job market created by a low unemployment rate is helping older workers who are unemployed. ``Employers are very open to older workers that they may not have been before,'' Turner said. We checked back with Hinton four months after our first visit. She has seen no sign of that new openness to older workers. Hinton's situation had become more desperate. A few temporary gigs had come and gone, but she had yet to land a permanent job, despite decades of customer service experience, much of it in management. The lack of employment was impacting most aspects of her life: Housing: ``Of course, the house, we don't want to lose it. It may get to that point--not maybe soon--but maybe in the next six (months) to a year.'' Health: ``I have medication I can't afford so I don't take it.'' Retirement funds (which have depleted some): ``I don't even want to check my Fidelity account.'' We asked her how many jobs she has applied for since she lost permanent employment two years ago. ``Oh my God!'' she said. ``I would say . . . over 250. I got out of that . . . maybe 10 interviews.'' That lines up with a 2017 study done by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, in which researchers sent out tens of thousands of fictitious applications from different aged artificial applicants who had similar backgrounds. They found that younger workers were significantly more likely to get a call back from prospective employers than older workers were. ``I'm articulate,'' she said. ``I have an energy. I'm not dead. Whatever the curse is . . . whatever it is it needs to go away.'' Worried that her expansive resume might make her look overqualified (and over age), she shortened it from four pages to two. Pro Tip: Claire Turner at The Senior Source said, ``When I was looking, I had 25 resumes. Every single word was true, but I had three different careers. We see all the time people walk in with a resume that is very impressive, with all these years of experience. They present that for a customer service position and there is no correlation. The employer doesn't even understand why you applied. So it is a matter of tailoring your resume. It is definitely honest and factual; it is just showing things that are relevant. The industry standard is that people only show the last ten years.'' As we wrapped up our second visit with Hinton, she was still filling out applications. But she had also just received another rejection email. ``It says, `Dear Diana, thanks for your interest in our customer service position. Unfortunately you have not been selected to continue in our process for this position.' '' Her dog, Maxwell, rests at her feet. ``Maybe he is my calm,'' Hinton said. ``He's calming me.'' Hinton wonders if she will ever leave him again to go back to work. ``I am pretty strong, but I am almost sliding down, and I have to keep telling myself, `Come on, Diana, you can do this.' I didn't think it was going to be this hard.''

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 3992, the Protecting Older Job Applicants Act of 2021. I want to start by thanking my Republican co-lead on this bill, the dean of the House, Congressman Don Young of Alaska. I also want to thank Chairman Bobby Scott, my Democratic co-lead, for his tireless leadership to protect all workers, but especially older workers and older jobseekers. Mr. Speaker, this bill will fix a loophole in current law that fails to protect older job applicants during the hiring process. Despite what many people assume, older job applicants are not protected under the current Age Discrimination in Employment Act protections, commonly called ADEA. Mr. Speaker, my bill seeks to fix this. This bill would allow older job applicants to bring claims for disparate impact discrimination hiring against employers. While that may sound like legal technicalities and legal mumbo-jumbo to some people watching back home, Mr. Speaker, disparate impact claims are very, very important. They are important because some hiring practices might seem age-neutral on their face, but they actually impact job applicants that are older disproportionately. The bill would clarify the Age Discrimination in Employment Act to give job applicants the right to bring these claims forward. Three- fourths of workers age 45 and older blame age discrimination for their lack of confidence in finding a new job. But it is not just simple statistics. It is about real people and real stories. It is like one of my neighbors, an engineer who can't find meaningful work after losing his job. He is about 60, but he is always told he is too experienced and overqualified. But he says it is all about his age. It is about Rebecca in California, who is age 75, forced to provide her birth date on a web-based job application where the year of her birth isn't even an option on a drop-down menu for the birth year. So she can't even apply, because the options don't include the year of her birth. It is like Carolyn in Tennessee, age 52. She was let go from her job in March of last year. She has filed 65 job applications but gotten zero interviews. She has a BS in business finance and an MA in educational administration. She says people half her age are getting those jobs instead. She was told she needed more recent, relevant experience. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an article sharing Carolyn's story entitled ``Older job seekers find experience, education may not be enough in pandemic.'' [From NewsChannel5 Nashville, Jan. 12, 2021] Older Job Seekers Find Experience, Education May Not Be Enough in Pandemic (By Levi Ismail) Nashville, Tenn. (WTVF).--Older workers are having trouble making it back into the workforce and studies show it's part of a trend we haven't seen in nearly 50 years. In the first six months of the pandemic, older workers (55 and older) were 17 percent more likely to become unemployed than their slightly younger peers. Carolyn McKeown is 52 years old, but says she hasn't had much luck finding a job in the nearly one year it's been since she was let go back in March 2020. She first reached out to us in September and since then, she's filed 65 applications with zero interviews. It's just finding the right time and the right place,'' McKeown said. McKeown has a Bachelor's degree in business and finance, as well as a Master's degree in educational administration. For decades she's worked in HR, insurance, and mortgage lending, which she thought could be a valuable experience to any prospective employer. When jobs continued to turn her down, she began surveying anyone who made the time to listen. McKeown asked how these people half her age were getting jobs and many of them explained that it was simply an option right out of school. ``I feel as though we're being scrutinized more heavily and told that we need recent relevant experience, as though we've never worked before,'' McKeown said: The US Census Bureau found that for the first time in nearly 50 years, jobseekers (55 and older) are facing higher rates of unemployment than those a few years younger. They also found that older workers stayed unemployed longer. Tennessee Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development explains how it works. ``This program right here can help a senior make themselves more marketable or maybe upgrade an existing skill or teach them an entirely new skill,'' Cannon said. Cannon explains that these may not all be full-time jobs, but they are jobs capable of helping someone earn an income at a time where the money is tight. McKeown is at the point where she's barely managing to pay her bills. She's tapped out her savings and can no longer afford health insurance. Not unlike the many other older workers who now can't imagine the idea of voluntary retirement. That said, she's not looking for anything part-time or without benefits. She acknowledges that some of her qualifiers may keep her from getting certain jobs, but McKeown says she knows her worth. Under a much different time, her credentials could have landed her a high-paying job with benefits. She's not expecting the same pay as before, but McKeown says she should be afforded similar opportunities she knows are out there. For McKeown, she knows some employers think it's too expensive to train an older worker in this more virtual workforce. She says she's learning every day how to keep up, so this stigma that older workers are somehow less capable is the only thing outdated. ``How do they determine what the job applicant is lacking. A job gap doesn't mean you lack the skills. It just means you're lacking time,'' McKeown said. What is the rebound? As Middle Tennessee works to rebound from the impact of the Coronavirus, we want to help. Whether it's getting back to work, making ends meet during this uncertain time, or managing the pressure, we're committed to finding solution. In addition, we want to tell your stories of hope, inspiration, and creativity as Middle Tennessee starts to rebound.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this bill will help people trying to recover from this pandemic, including people who lost their job in the middle of their career who now fear they will never work again because of discriminatory hiring practices. This is not about trial lawyers. It is not anything about what some of my colleagues across the aisle have talked about. It is just a simple clarification bill. It clarifies that job protections for older Americans begin at the time of the application. I want to thank the AARP, the National Council on Aging, the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations, the American Federation of Government Employees, and the White House for supporting efforts and this bill.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the letters of endorsement for this bill from the AARP and the National Council on Aging that I just mentioned.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, together we can and will protect older workers during the hiring phase of employment with this bill. Everyone deserves a shot at the American Dream, regardless of their age. This is common sense. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bipartisan bill, protecting our older workers.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Pappas and Newman amendment. This amendment from my colleagues just enhances this bill. As a former administrative law judge for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the Houston region, I can tell you personally that the type of information that would be gathered by the EEOC on the number of job applicants impacted by age discrimination on the job and all the issues that they have related to their applications would be very helpful. It would not only be helpful to the administrative law judges at the EEOC; it would be helpful for judges that would finally hear the cases in court if they go to court. It would be helpful for research. It would be helpful for advocacy groups. This information would be vital, again, to help us in Congress to seek better ways to improve and work best on prevention and combating and addressing age discrimination in the hiring process. Mr. Speaker, there is some discussion on the other side of the aisle that this is a remedy for a problem that doesn't exist. Let me tell you, if you talk to advocacy groups, discrimination is alive and well. We need this legislation. We need this amendment. I urge adoption.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, before I begin, let me say again for the third time that, in fact, the committee did have a hearing on this subject. On March 18, 2021, the Subcommittees on Civil Rights and Human Services and Workforce Protections held a hearing titled ``Fighting for Fairness: Examining Legislation to Confront Workplace Discrimination.'' At that hearing, Laurie McCann, a senior attorney at AARP Foundation, testified about the erosion of protections for older workers in judicial decisions under the ADA, including specific mention in her testimony of the Seventh Circuit's Kleber decision and its harmful impact on older applicants. Mr. Speaker, this amendment prevents the legislation from going into effect unless the GAO finds that there have been negative impacts. This is simply a delay tactic with no end date in sight. The reason we are here today is precisely because we do have a problem due to the circuit court decisions which cut off access to the courts for job applicants seeking relief under the ADEA. The Supreme Court has denied cert to review this matter. We have heard from AARP, one of the Nation's preeminent authorities on age discrimination, which has advised Congress that these court decisions in the 7th and 11th Circuits are not only at odds with the intent of the ADEA, but that the courthouse doors have been unfairly slammed shut to deserving individuals seeking relief. Testimony before the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services earlier this year noted that barring older applicants from seeking relief for disparate impact discrimination is a problem, and that without clarifying the ADEA, similar plaintiffs will not be able to seek justice under the law. For example, in the 7th Circuit case, Kleber v. CareFusion Corporation, Mr. Kleber, a 58-year-old attorney with considerable corporate law experience applied for an in-house counsel position. The position required applicants to have no more than 7 years of relevant legal experience, which effectively means that it freezes out job applicants that were over age 40. Again, on its face it may look neutral, but if you say, ``no one with more than 7 years' experience,'' that cuts out a lot of people. Despite his significant prior experience in corporate law, Kleber was denied the opportunity to even interview for the job, since the experience limit was effectively a proxy for age. The 7th Circuit held that because Mr. Kleber was an outside job applicant rather than an employee seeking a new position from within the company, he was barred from bringing a disparate impact claim. This turns the entire purpose of the ADEA on its head, which is to remedy age discrimination for both jobseekers and employees. Furthermore, we know generalized age discrimination is not isolated. In 2017, researchers for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco sent 40,000 resumes of applicants of all ages to 13,000 job openings across 12 cities. They found that older workers received substantially fewer callbacks from employers for job interviews and showed particular harm for older women applicants. We do not need another study to tell us what we already know. Older job applicants are subjected to age discrimination when seeking employment and that an effective remedy is needed when that conduct lacks justification. Madam Speaker, finally, this amendment would indefinitely delay implementation of this bill because there is no deadline for GAO to conduct a study and report back to Congress. Would we even see the results of this study and when? Again, this is simply a delay tactic. We already have all the evidence we need to know that it is timely for Congress to act and to pass this legislation to protect our older job applicants. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment and ``yes'' on the underlying bill. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, Build Back Better. Three simple words, yet these words mean so much to my constituents and many Americans across the country. Building back better means that 96 percent of children in my district benefit from a permanent and expanded child tax credit. Yes, you heard right: 96 percent of the children in my district. Recently, Secretary Yellen told us that the child tax credit has already reduced poverty in our country by 25 percent, just with the first three checks. Imagine what continuation of this important program will do. This is huge for American families who are struggling to put food on the table, with Latino and Black families suffering the most. The child tax credit would help the parents of almost 8.8 million children nationwide who are going hungry during this pandemic. Madam Speaker, now is the moment. It is time to do better for our children. The Build Back Better agenda will bring universal pre-K to our kids and end childcare deserts, an issue that affects children and families in my district and across America. Without pre-K or childcare, parents are forced to choose between their family or their job. In fact, just a few months ago, I visited a childcare facility that struggled to keep up with the demand due to the lack of childcare infrastructure in Houston. We need to invest in this critical infrastructure for children, for working parents, and for care workers. Madam Speaker, care workers are essential. They care for our loved ones every day and keep this country running. We need to build back better with investments for our care workers so that their families can have better futures. We need to build back better for the almost one in two adults over 65 in Texas with multiple chronic medical conditions. Altogether, the Build Back Better agenda will make sure that millions of people in this country and in my home State of Texas gain affordable healthcare coverage. I represent a district that struggles to get vital coverage because the Republican-controlled State government has refused to accept the Federal dollars to expand Medicaid. This is how we build back better for the people who need critical care. Families deserve that. They also deserve to unlock the American Dream through affordable housing so they can live with dignity. We need investments in first-generation home buyers and affordable housing, housing vouchers, and more infrastructure so that families can say ``mi casa es su casa.'' The Build Back Better agenda will do just that, but we must work hard. We must work hard to also provide a pathway to citizenship for the hundreds and thousands of Dreamers, TPS holders, and essential workers. They have been contributing to our economy, keeping this country running, and making it prosper. The Build Back Better agenda will deliver on the American Dream promise and the values on which this Nation of immigrants was founded. It would fulfill the ``give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.'' The Build Back Better agenda is an American agenda fulfilling this promise. The Build Back Better agenda is by and for the American people that will allow our country, our families, and our women to heal from this horrible pandemic and build back better with wealthy people and corporations paying their fair share. This is why we are here in Congress, fighting for the people, fighting for our children, and building a better future so our mothers can rejoin the workforce, so our seniors can get care that will allow them to live with dignity, so our children can get the care they need without having to worry about poverty or going to school hungry, so our families can say ``mi casa es su casa'' and live with dignity in their own homes. This is how we build back better for all. Our country doesn't leave anyone behind, so this is how we honor the 329.5 million Americans: building back better for everyone. This is how we honor every single one of them. Madam Speaker, our time is now. We must get this done. So let's go and build back better now.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate and wish a happy retirement to Kathy Caldwell, CEO of Legacy Community Health Centers. Our Houston community thanks Kathy for her hard work and for her remarkable leadership at Legacy and in our community at large. Under her leadership, Legacy has expanded exponentially. What started as a small neighborhood clinic has become a large organization employing thousands of Texans serving Houston diligently. Our community will miss her. We are certainly inspired by her work and thank her for what Legacy will continue to do for Houston. This work has been particularly important for low-income communities and communities of color, including Latinos, which have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We wish her the best on her next steps. I congratulate her on her retirement and God bless.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that further proceedings on the vote by the yeas and nays on the question of adoption of a motion that the House suspend the rules offered on the legislative day of July 26, 2021, or September 29, 2021, may continue to be postponed through the legislative day of October 22, 2021.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, Congress must protect women's constitutional freedom to decide over their bodies. After the cruel Texas--my home State--abortion ban, I visited the local Planned Parenthood and heard horrific stories of women already resorting to self-help, including finding an abortion tea on the internet. We cannot go back to the dark ages of using dangerous wire hangers for self-help and other things that will actually hurt and potentially kill women. We cannot continue to go back. We must move forward and protect our rights. Madam Speaker, I urge passage of the Women's Health Protection Act.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, women's freedom to choose their reproductive care is under attack by politicians who want to control their decisions. A woman's freedom to make a decision on this very private, personal matter should be respected and should be left to her alone together with her family and her doctor and guided by her faith. Politicians and government should have no control. Yet 3 weeks ago, my home State of Texas passed one of the strictest abortion bills in the country which on its face is unconstitutional. Politicians in Texas are trying to control women's freedom to choose and the progress that we have made in the last 50 years. It also allows anyone--anyone--in the country to file a lawsuit against a provider, family, friend, clergy, Uber driver, Lyft driver, and anyone who assists a woman seeking an abortion. If successful, the plaintiffs get $10,000. In fact, just last week two individuals, not even from Texas, filed lawsuits against a doctor from San Antonio who publicly acknowledged that he had performed an abortion outside the legal limits of this Texas law. One of the plaintiffs even admitted that his reason for filing this suit was the $10,000 bounty. He needed the money. This is outrageous and must be stopped. Texas already has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. Before this law entered into effect, my home State already required women to get mandatory sonograms, and we also have a 24-hour waiting period. Now this law makes existing restrictions even worse. Texas has almost 7 million women aged 15 to 49 out of a total of 75 million in this age group in the entire country. So we make up now one in ten of the U.S. women of reproductive age. All these women all over Texas now have no choices. Now, effectively, Roe v. Wade is meaningless. Madam Speaker, women's freedom to choose what to do with their bodies is hanging by a thread, and Congress can't sit idle. Last week, I visited Planned Parenthood's headquarters in my district and heard horrific stories about how this draconian law is affecting women in my region. On September 1, the day that Texas law took effect, one Texas woman learned she was about 5 weeks pregnant--and still within the new legal limits in the Texas law to obtain an abortion in Texas. But at the same visit she also learned that she had COVID-19. By the time she would finish her quarantine period it would be too late to get an abortion in Texas and she would then have to go out of State for care. On September 2, Planned Parenthood providers saw a patient for an ultrasound that showed she was under 6 weeks and still within the new legal limits of the Texas law. When she came back the next day after the State mandated 24-hour waiting period, the second sonogram showed she had passed the new legal limit. Overnight she lost access to an abortion in Texas. Here is another story. A few days after the Texas law took effect, a woman walked into the Planned Parenthood's health center after trying to self-manage an abortion. Having no money or resources, she had turned to the internet where she found some abortion tea. She took it, and it didn't work. The ultrasound showed she was past the new legal limit, and doctors in Texas couldn't help her. She too was now forced to seek care out of State or to continue with her pregnancy. Then, Madam Speaker, I am sure you heard about tropical storm Nicholas. The storm made landfall during some patients' State mandated 24-hour waiting period. They were hunkered down. They couldn't get to the clinic, and the clinic was closed. They lost their right to an abortion during that time period. Another case I heard of was from a 44-year-old patient, already a parent, who didn't think she could have any more children but learned that she was pregnant at 7 weeks, just past the legal limits of the new Texas law. This patient was never planning to stay with her current partner and now, due to this pregnancy, feels pressured to remain in that relationship. Madam Speaker, these cases are heartbreaking, and I am sure we will hear more and worse because women's lives are at risk. And although I am encouraged to know the Justice Department is acting on this, Congress needs to act, and this is why we must pass H.R. 3755.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise to call attention to the importance of passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Every American should have equal access to the ballot box. Our democracy is stronger when everyone can participate. This should not be controversial or politicized, it is about ensuring a very basic right of every American. Sadly, in my home State of Texas, the GOP has been trying again and again and again to strip our right to vote. After three attempts to pass a dangerous anti-voting bill, the Texas GOP has made it absolutely clear that they do not really want communities of color, seniors, and Latinos to vote. The original Voting Rights Act was designed to stop this very kind of behavior. Voter suppression was wrong then and it is wrong now. Madam Speaker, I call upon my colleagues to vote for H.R. 4 so that we can strengthen our democracy and build on the Voting Rights Act. This bill will ensure that everyone has an equal right to vote.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4 and its efforts to protect access to the ballot box and advance justice and democracy for all, including Latinos, which represent 77 percent of my district. We are all equal under the law and should be treated equally at the ballot box. Recent attempts by the GOP-led legislatures in States like my home State of Texas, demonstrate how urgent it is to protect our democracy. These attempts could disenfranchise nearly 8 in every 10 of my constituents. Our country has one of the strongest democracies in the world, and it is simply un-American to disenfranchise voters. I urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 4, which would maintain elections free, fair, and accessible to all eligible voters. Let's make our democracy stronger. Si se puede. Yes, we can. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 4.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call attention to an urgent problem threatening Texas seniors' availability to vote. One in every three States in our country have passed voting restriction laws this year. This is alarming. New voting restrictions can threaten seniors, like my constituent, Earlene Sullivan, who turned 102 years old recently. Earlene is a beloved member of our community and served our county as a presiding judge. She oversaw elections and has voted all her life. Today, Earlene votes by mail with the help of her daughter, Catherine. But the GOP's false claims on ballot harvesting have already caused a rift in her family. Proposed voting restrictions in Texas, such as stricter driver's license and Social Security verification requirements, could threaten Earlene's and millions of seniors' ability to vote by mail. Madam Speaker, this is unacceptable. Congress must pass voting rights for all Americans by passing H.R. 1 and H.R. 4.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, my amendment increases the Fossil Energy and Carbon Management account by $50 million and decreases it by the same amount. I want to thank the bipartisan group of cosponsors, including Representative McCaul, Representative Jackson Lee, Representative Burgess, Representative Fletcher, Representative Cuellar, Representative Crenshaw, and Representative Brady. I offered this amendment because we must prioritize Carbon Utilization Program activities that are consistent with our existing energy statute. In and around my district in Houston, the energy capital of the world, important carbon capture research is taking place. Carbon capture utilization seeks to improve our community's air quality and maintain and provide jobs for workers, many in my district. Therefore, my amendment just clarifies that carbon capture utilization research, along with other carbon capture projects specified in the committee report, are also recognized and prioritized in this bill.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the child tax credit's checks arriving to families in my district and across the country. It has been 200 days of this Congress and 200 days of House Democrats delivering for the people. Last week, thanks to the American Rescue Plan, child tax credit monthly payments began arriving to roughly 39 million households and covering almost 90 percent of children nationwide. In my district the child tax credit will benefit almost 95 percent of our children. In Texas, the families of nearly six million children got their checks totaling $1.5 billion in aid. Unfortunately, about 46,600 children in the Houston area still have not received a check. The good news is this: Nonfilers can still apply on the IRS portal. Caregivers just need their Social Security number or their ITIN number. And it is very important to remember that these benefits will not affect SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, or any other public assistance program. Madam Speaker, I am hopeful and sincerely believe that we can build back better, and our children's future can be assured.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3985, the ALLIES Act of 2021. First, I thank the chairman for bringing this bill forward, and I thank my friend, Mr. Crow, for sponsoring this bill. Recently, I met with Combined Arms, a local organization that works with veterans and SIV recipients in Houston. They shared their harrowing stories of the sacrifices they and their families have made and of their fear that they have of being put to death. They also shared with me the times that they have been waiting to receive their SIVs. In some cases, they have waited for 10 years. This is unacceptable. I call on my colleagues to support this legislation so we can protect our allies and reform the system, but also to support the immediate evacuation of our allies in Afghanistan to U.S. soil, where we can ensure their safety. We can't wait any longer. We need to act now. We need to evacuate all 18,000 allies with pending SIV applications and their immediate families who are in danger. Mr. Speaker, I met with a young man who is now safely in Houston, but sadly, his father has already been murdered by the Taliban. At least 300, I am told, have already been murdered, just like his father, by the Taliban. The more we delay, the more we put families at risk. Mr. Speaker, we need to support this bill. We need to support an immediate evacuation. And we need to make sure that our friends who stood with us, that we now stand with them.

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in celebration of Lolita Guerrero's 80th Birthday. Lolita is a beloved friend and member of our community, my district, and my staff. She is a longtime Houston community leader, trailblazer in Latino women rights, and activist. I am proud to have Lolita on my staff because not only is she a leader in the Latino movement, but she truly knows our community, our issues, what moves us, and how to help. Her service and dedication to our community is incomparable. She is always there to lend a helping hand to my community's Latinos and seniors. She truly cares. She is an inspiring role model for many young Latinas. Ms. Guerrero has advanced the Latino community through her work with LULAC, where she was elected the first woman to serve as the Texas state director. I am grateful for the years I have shared with Lolita, always working, and committed to our community. I wish her many more years of happiness and achievements. Thank you for your commitment and service, Lolita. (Gracias por tu entrega y servicio, Lolita.) We are very fortunate to have you in our lives. (Que afortunados somos de tenerte en nuestras vidas.) Happy birthday. (eFeliz cumpleanos!)

Ms. GARCIA of Texas

Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the crisis caused by the lack of childcare in my district and across the country. Access to affordable childcare is critical for working families across the country and in my district. We all have heard of places without grocery stores referred to as food deserts. Well, half of American families live in areas lacking childcare facilities. They are living in childcare deserts. The situation is even worse in Latino communities, as 78 percent live in childcare deserts. As you can see on this chart by my side, this is my district. The orange and the dark colors represent areas that have no access to childcare. Eighty-two percent of the children in my district have no access to childcare. This is a childcare desert. This impacts disproportionately communities of color. This is unacceptable. As a Nation, we must invest in childcare. High-quality childcare improves outcomes for children, parents, and neighborhoods. We must act and we must act now.