Chrissy Houlahan

Ms. HOULAHAN

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1158, the Refugee Sanitation Facility Safety Act of 2021. Mr. Speaker, according to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, by the end of 2020, there were at least 26 million people worldwide living as refugees, the highest number ever recorded. As people who have been forced to flee their home countries because of persecution or because of violence, refugees are amongst the globe's most vulnerable populations. To make matters worse, these people must often settle in areas that are inadequate in terms of necessities such as access to water, shelter, and sanitation. Simply put, the conditions that refugees regularly endure are unacceptable. People should not have to surrender their access to sanitation in exchange for their own safety. That is why I support the Refugee Sanitation Facility Safety Act. This bill would ensure that refugees have safe and secure access to sanitation facilities, with a special emphasis on women, girls, and the most vulnerable populations. By providing for safe and secure sanitation facilities, this bill will not only improve the health and safety of tens of millions living in refugee settlements, but it will also allow these same people to focus more of their energy and ingenuity into rebuilding their lives. I thank my colleague from New York, Representative Grace Meng, a tireless champion for the rights of vulnerable people, women, and girls, for authoring this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 826, the Divided Families Reunification Act, introduced by my colleague, Representative Grace Meng, who has been a tireless champion of reuniting divided Korean-American families. This bill encourages the State Department to engage with the South Korean Government and Korean-American families regarding opportunities to reunite those families with their relatives in North Korea. Many Korean Americans have been unable to see or hear from their loved ones for over 70 years, a unique heartache that very few of us can really understand. Family is the bedrock of our society. Tragically, for thousands of Korean Americans, their sisters and brothers and even daughters and sons have been painfully out of reach through no fault of their own. While there have been 21 family reunions held between North and South Korea since 1985, Korean Americans with family members in North Korea have been unable to participate. As many of these Korean Americans are aging, we must advocate for humane and commonsense policy to help Korean-American families reunite with their loved ones in North Korea. We have the resources and the technology to reunite these families. What we need now is action to implement a more compassionate policy. This is an important measure. I support it, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing. Mr. Speaker, for decades Korean Americans have been unable to see or speak with their family members in North Korea, and for too many, time is running out. This heartbreaking reality has taken a huge toll, and it is time to take action. This bill, introduced by my colleague, Representative Meng, would spur the State Department into finding opportunities to reunite them with their loved ones and to address this humanitarian issue that has caused so much heartache for countless Korean Americans. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. HOULAHAN

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. 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 H. Res. 294.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 294, a resolution encouraging reunions of divided Korean-American families, introduced by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass). The Korean war claimed millions of lives and left the Korean peninsula and its people absolutely devastated. Though an armistice ended hostilities between North and South Korea nearly 70 years ago, many of the wounds inflicted by the war have never fully healed, in part because more than 10 million Koreans were separated from their family members during that conflict. Today, there are still thousands of Korean Americans who live waiting and hoping for the chance to see their relatives living in North Korea. Mr. Speaker, the pain of being separated from your family does not dull with time. This resolution would give peace of mind to many by identifying families in the United States and in North Korea who are willing and able to participate in family reunification. This resolution would also allow for organizations like the Red Cross to assist in reuniting families and working with our allies in South Korea to reunite families through video reunions. We must act now because the number of surviving relatives is declining, and time is running out to right the wrong these families have suffered. There is an urgent humanitarian need to reunite Korean Americans with their war-torn loved ones and to provide much-needed healing, closure, and restoration of bonds broken seven decades ago. By passing this humane, bipartisan resolution, this body will provide Korean Americans the precious opportunity they have been denied for too long. I thank Representative Bass for authoring this important humanitarian legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass), my great friend, who is a champion of these issues.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing. Mr. Speaker, for nearly 70 years, Korean Americans and their relatives have hoped and prayed to one day be together again. We cannot allow any further delay in reuniting these families with their loved ones. This resolution is commonsense, bipartisan legislation that is long overdue, and it will make an invaluable impact on the lives of thousands of Korean Americans and their families. I thank Representative Karen Bass for working so diligently on this essential humanitarian resolution. I ask all of my colleagues to give it their support. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2118) to authorize United States participation in the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and for other purposes.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. 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 H.R. 2118.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2118, the Securing America From Epidemics Act. I thank my colleague, Representative Ami Bera, chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation for championing this important bill that will save the lives and protect the United States from the threat of future pandemics. This bill would authorize the United States to participate in the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, a private- public partnership that helps accelerate the development of vaccines against emergent infections, including Ebola and COVID-19. The COVID-19 crisis has shown just how interconnected our world is and how important vaccines are to ending one of the greatest catastrophes of the 21st century. By developing vaccines and enabling countries to administer vaccine doses effectively, we can end pandemics. We do this by ensuring vaccines get into the arms of the most vulnerable, and by instilling confidence in people that the vaccine saves lives. Now more than ever with the rise of the deadly delta variant, and COVID-19 cases ravaging clusters across the country where vaccination rates are low, the collective resources of the private sector, multilateral organizations, national governments, civil society, and health experts are all vital to ending the pandemic. By supporting CEPI, we demonstrate the value of leveraging individual strengths towards collective action and create a leading global framework of developing an effective vaccine response to stop future pandemics. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing. Mr. Speaker, COVID-19 has demonstrated the need for collective global action to end pandemics. The Securing America From Epidemics Act authorizes the United States to galvanize that collective response by partnering in CEPI so that we may lead in building a more effective global framework. We call COVID-19 a once-in-a-century pandemic, but we all share concerns that with the world growing smaller and smaller every day that these outbreaks will only become more and more frequent and clearly more catastrophic. There is an urgent need for the public-private global action H.R. 2118 would help accelerate, not only for COVID-19, but God forbid, for any other future pandemics. I thank my colleague, Representative Ami Bera, for his leadership in championing this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. 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 H.R. 1079, as amended.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1079, the Desert Locust Control Act introduced by my colleague, Representative Chris Smith, ranking member of the Africa and Global Health and Global Human Rights Subcommittee. Starting in late 2019, swarms of locusts entered the Horn of Africa from the Gulf of Aden, multiplying and spreading throughout the region. Ever since it began, the locust outbreak has plagued the most vulnerable and threatened their ability to lead full lives, generate income, and to feed themselves and their families. Locusts are a highly mobile insect and have the capacity to consume vast amounts of crops in a very short period of time. Even a small swarm can consume food for up to 35,000 people each day. This has devastated large swaths of crops throughout East Africa, including Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, and stretching as far as Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Food security is already hanging by a thread in this region, and efforts to control the scale of destruction have been hindered by COVID restrictions, lack of reliable data, and the geographic reach of the outbreak across multiple countries. While some efforts have been successful in containing the outbreak from spreading further into West Africa, good rains this spring allowed for additional breeding, threatening future harvests in Somalia and Ethiopia. This measure would harmonize efforts across the United States Government to evaluate and respond to the locust outbreak, bringing in the support of the U.S. mission to the Food and Agricultural Organization, USAID, and others to establish a working group responding to the outbreak. We have already seen the ripple effects of COVID on poverty, food insecurity, health, education, and so much more. We must ensure that we don't let this outbreak continue to exacerbate and accelerate those already existing challenges. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass), the lead Democrat on this bill.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing. Mr. Speaker, given the incredible damage locusts can inflict in such a short time, it is critical that our ability to evaluate and respond to these outbreaks is efficient across our government, including the U.S. mission to the Food and Agriculture Organization and to the USAID. That is exactly what this bill will do to help support regions that were already struggling with food security from being further impacted by locust swarms consuming their crops. I thank the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, my colleague, Representative Smith, for introducing this important bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1036) to amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize rewards under the Department of State's rewards program relating to information regarding individuals or entities engaged in activities in contravention of United States or United Nations sanctions, and for other purposes.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. 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 H.R. 1036.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1036, the Bassam Barabandi Rewards for Justice Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by my friend, the gentleman from South Carolina, Congressman Joe Wilson, and the gentleman from Florida, Ted Deutch. Mr. Speaker, whistleblower programs have proven themselves effective over and over again. In 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice collected $3.7 billion in settlements and judgments from False Claim Act cases against companies and individuals who had defrauded the government. Of the $3.7 billion, 92 percent came from cases brought by whistleblowers. Whistleblowers have easier access to evidence of misdeeds than outside law enforcement investigators, deeper knowledge of the bad actors engaged in unlawful behavior, and greater insights into the methods through which fraud or theft is being carried out. This bipartisan bill would authorize the Department of State to offer rewards for information about the identity or location of individuals who defy sanctions imposed by the United States or by the United Nations. This legislation builds on several existing programs that provide rewards of information leading to the arrest or conviction of criminals engaging in human trafficking, smuggling, or other transnational crimes. This bill will also increase compliance with American and international sanctions programs and, therefore, serves a valuable role promoting human rights, good governance, and the rule of law around the world. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Wilson and Mr. Deutch for their diligent work on this legislation, and I encourage all Members to join me in supporting it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing. Mr. Speaker, this legislation is vital to helping the United States protect human rights and the rule of law around the world. By allowing the State Department to compensate individuals for bringing forward evidence of sanctions evasion and criminal misconduct by bad actors, America will be better equipped to punish those who flout the rule of law. I thank my colleagues, Representatives Wilson and Deutch for putting forward this key legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOULAHAN

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul for their leadership on this critical issue and for working with me on this bill to get it not only passed out of committee, but here on the floor for consideration on a suspension basis. I have had a really eclectic background before joining Congress, but most recently, I was a high school chemistry teacher in north Philadelphia, and I also ran a nonprofit focused on early childhood literacy for pre-K through fourth-grade kids. So I am particularly passionate about the issue that we are talking about today. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to rise today to ask my colleagues for their support of H.R. 1500, the Global Learning Loss Assessment Act. My bill will direct the U.S. Agency for International Development to submit a report to Congress on the impacts of COVID-19 on the Agency's basic education programs and global learning. Investing in global education is not a humanitarian issue. It is an economic and national security issue. A more educated global population paves the way for a more stable global economy, and what is clear is that COVID-19 has caused a dramatic loss in global learning. Our first step must be to clearly identify the scope of this loss so that we can begin the work of bridging that gap. The estimates are alarming. Ninety percent of students worldwide, meaning 1.6 billion youth, have had severe interruptions in their education due to COVID- 19. This gap has the potential to hinder global efforts on economic justice, lasting peace, poverty eradication, ending world hunger, gender equity, and so much more. As a steadfast advocate for women and girls around the world, I am also particularly concerned about the harrowing consequences that school-aged girls face in light of school closures, including an increased likelihood of gender-based violence. To shore up the increasing gaps in learning and to preserve massive gains the United States has made in global education rates, we have to understand the extent of damage this pandemic has caused. This bill will arm us with the data that we need to move quickly, invest effectively across our USAID programs, and make our international basic education programs more resilient to crises such as these. We cannot afford to ignore the devastating effects that COVID-19 has had on students around our globe. Education loss will continue without intentional steps on our behalf, and so that is why I am so grateful to Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Meeks, and Mr. McCaul for placing my bipartisan Global Learning Loss Assessment Act here before the Congress for a vote today. In particular, I want to thank and express my deep appreciation to Representative Fitzpatrick and Representative Quigley for working so closely with my office in introducing this legislation with me. Their steadfast education to learning and students around the world is to be commended. This is an important bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in this crucial effort to mitigate the drastic effects of such an educational gap and the effects it is already having.

Ms. HOULAHAN

Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, a lot of people in this body are talking about jobs these days, and rightfully so. Our economy is in crisis. But what I want to do is urge everyone that when we talk about rebuilding this economy, we are talking about all of the issues that make for a successful economy, and that includes childcare and attention to our children. Like many industries during this pandemic, childcare is struggling. Many facilities can't pay their bills due to reduced demand in services and increased costs to keep safe facilities for both children and staff. Many of us on both sides of the aisle have rightfully celebrated the heroes of this pandemic: healthcare workers, frontline workers, and essential workers. And these are the very people who are using childcare right now and they are the ones who cannot work from home and, therefore, need enriching and safe places for their children to go while they literally save lives and provide for the American people. So I ask every Member who has spoken so passionately about our heroes and about returning to normal life to move beyond those words and to take meaningful votes on legislation that will ensure access to equitable, high-quality childcare for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and afterschool care children alike all across this country.