Sheila Jackson Lee

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life of Dr. Mattelia Bennett Grays. I wear white today, having just come from Houston and celebrating her life as the International 18th president of Alpha Kappa Alpha and a major leader in The Links organization; what a remarkable woman, a woman of her era, 91 years old; graduated from Dillard, the University of Michigan, and Pacific University with a doctorate degree, a strong and vivacious woman, elegant but, as well, determined to teach children a better way. A pioneering civil rights leader who, in fact, provided Alpha Kappa Alpha chartered groups on schools that were majority not integrated but majority Anglo, if you will, institutions that were not historically Black colleges. But she was strong and wanted to present a wonderful opportunity for young women, wanted them to have the same kind of leadership that she did. She was the daughter of a preacher and a wonderful mother that invested in her the love of faith in God; and she was a person who benefited so many young people in her era and in her time. Yes, this fierce lover of life, strong, determined leader, has now taken her wings, and I was pleased to be at her homegoing service to be able to honor her daughter Karen, her brother, Cornel, and Joan, her sister, grandson, Kristopher, his wife, and their children, and all her other relatives. I was delighted that the mayor of the city of Houston named this day, November 14, 2022, as Dr. Mattelia Grays Day. I am here to honor her on the floor of the House. May she rest in peace. May her spirit continue to lift us up as we celebrate our 18th international president, Dr. Grays, as she rests in peace and goes home to join her honey-do, her husband. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor and praise Dr. Mattelia Bennett Grays for a life well lived--where she was dedicated to public service through education and was a member of the renowned Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority Incorporated. Dr. Mattelia Bennett Grays was a remarkable woman, a mother, a community leader, and a woman of God who passed away this month at the age of 91. Dr. Bennett Grays was the 18th International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority Incorporated serving from 1970 to 1974. Dr. Mattelia Bennett Grays was born on July 26, 1931, in Houston, Texas, to the Reverend Abel B. Bennett and Mrs. Delcia McNeal Bennett. During her formative years, Dr. Mattelia Bennett Grays and her family attended Pleasant Hill Baptist Church until her father built from the ground up a small church, St. John Missionary Baptist Church, in Chappell Hill, Texas. Dr. Mattelia Bennett Grays attended schools in the Houston Independent School District and graduated in 1948 as salutatorian of her graduating class at Booker T. Washington High School. She was blessed to have earned and received a full-ride scholarship to attend Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she thrived and excelled in her studies. Dr, Mattelia Bennett Grays pledged and was initiated into Beta Upsilon Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She received her B.A. degree from Dillard University in 1952 and was married to Horace Wesley Grays, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated that same year. A beautiful daughter, Karen Grays-Gray was born to this wonderful couple. Dr. Mattelia Bennett Grays received her M.A. degree with honors in special education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She later received her Doctorate in educational administration from Pacific University in Sacramento, California, in 1985. She returned to Houston to teach in the Houston Independent School District. After several years with HISD, she began working summers with the University of Houston as a supervisor for laboratory experiences for teachers of culturally deprived children. Upon graduation from the University of Michigan, Dr. Grays transferred her sorority membership to Alpha Kappa Omega Chapter in Houston, where she served as chapter president and South Central Regional Director. She was the youngest person ever elected as International President of the sorority in 1968 and was installed at the sorority's biennial national convention in 1970. A little-known fact is Dr. Grays, during the Civil Rights era, was instrumental and the driving force in chartering 14 undergraduate chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated on predominantly white universities. During her term as Supreme Basileus, she chartered a total of 56 undergraduate chapters at predominantly white universities. Dr. Mattelia Bennett Grays was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Horace Grays, sisters, Barbara Jefferson, Willie Mae Sanford, and brother Randolph McBride. Dr. Mattelia Bennett Grays leaves to honor her legacy her loving daughter, Karen Grays-Gray (Benjamin Gray, son-in-law), her siblings, Cornel Joseph Jefferson, Sr., Joan Bennett McBride, a grandson, Kristopher John Howard (Jennifer Howard, granddaughter-in-law), and great-grandchildren, Karolina Austen Howard, and Kristopher John Howard, Jr., and a host of cousins, nephews, and niece and friends. Her work and deeds are most deserving of the respect, admiration, and commendation of the United States Congress.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, this morning, a resident of the State of Florida was interviewed, and he said that with Ian, his whole house was gone. Everything in his house was gone. The people of South Carolina are facing Ian now. The people of the areas of Alaska and the people in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have all faced an enormous surge and impact of hurricanes--lives lost, people still being rescued. That is why the leadership of this Congress and the Members will join together, I hope in a unified manner, to recognize what our job is. Our job is to be the umbrella on a rainy day. In this, those who will suffer in the coldness of the winter, I am reminded of the freeze in Texas. Of course, we had no electricity, but thank God for $1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Some people are saying how grateful they are. Helping FEMA to be able to be on the ground, $2 billion for helping people recover their housing and infrastructure. They are obliterated in Florida, 1 million people without lights. Of course, we know about Jackson, Mississippi, and Flint, Michigan, $20 million for water and wastewater and other crises that we have had. I want this Congress to stand up for not shutting the government down but taking its rightful responsibility and dealing with the crises of America. We have done it with the Inflation Reduction Act. We want to take people over politics. We want to make sure that we have jobs, good healthcare, low cost. We want to do something. My friend on the Committee on the Judiciary, I am always eager to work with you. We all are facing the crises that come about after the pandemic. But thank God we have legislation that deals with safer communities and restricting gun trafficking. We have one that provides us with the opportunity for those cases that have been backlogged. We have done the work as Democrats. We ask you to join us in this effort. The CR must pass. Ukraine is fighting for democracy. We are helping them. We must make a difference by keeping the government open. Madam Speaker, I ask for support for the underlying rule.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership. I am very glad to say that there is something that responsibility calls you to do: save lives. This CR indicates that we will not shut the government down in the face of disasters around the world. We will not freeze out low-income families by not providing them with the home energy assistance program. And, yes, we will ensure that agencies like housing and health and public safety, to reduce the crime across America, to respond to the needs of our police officers and victims of crime, will not shut down. But, yes, we will also recognize that we are good neighbors. In Pakistan, 33 million people have been dislocated because of catastrophic floods of Biblical proportions. Mothers are about to deliver babies, 70,000 of them, and we can help them as USAID goes and does its work internationally. I am glad that we are putting a stop sign on closing the government down. I wish our friends on the other side would join us. Finally, I want us to give more money to the hostage section of the Department of State because people like Brittney Griner are in cages in Russia, and we have to get our hostages out. Americans are looking for America to stand by their side.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman very much and again applaud her persistence in helping the American people. As I finish, on the issue of Brittney Griner, introducing this to many of our colleagues that don't know, she is a hostage in Putin's Russia. Playing basketball there was her only crime, if you will. There she is, in a cage in Russia, a hostage since February. We have a department that works on this issue inside the Department of State. I want to implore them and make sure they have the resources for the many Americans who are innocently held by countries around the world. It is a tragedy and a shame that we have a circumstance where Americans cannot travel. I am grateful for that support. I am also grateful to acknowledge, if you will, the Disaster Relief Fund for our domestic crises. As I said earlier, a man was interviewed in Florida and said: I have lost everything, my house and everything in it. There are a million people with no access to power, so this is a crucial and important CR. Puerto Rico is in need. It is a crucial and important CR. We always stand to hand out to our friends around the Nation and around the world. That is the United States of America. That is why we are passing the CR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 6833: the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government through December 16, 2022. I commend our colleagues in the Senate and the House for crafting this bipartisan, bicameral agreement that keeps the federal government fully operational without any interruption. The agreement that led to this Continuing Resolution reflects our commitment to the policies on which Americans rely. It reassures the American people that our government will continue to deliver all services while negotiations continue on funding federal agencies, programs, activities, and services for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2023. Passing this continuing resolution might appear to be a basic ministerial act; but it is actually much more than that and highly consequential. Throughout my 27 years of service in Congress, I have never lost sight of my principal responsibilities to my constituents and to the American people. Paramount among them are two priorities: to do everything we can to keep our country and our people safe, and to provide the vitally necessary services and activities that preserve and enhance quality-of- life standards for all Americans. Keeping our country safe includes protecting Americans from: domestic terrorism and violent extremism, public health pandemics, aggression from adversarial countries and non-country actors, environmental hazards to our air and water, food and drug contamination, racially based hate crimes, and gun violence, which we advanced this summer by enacting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Maintaining vital services includes providing: health care and public health programs, food stamps and SNAP funding, clean air and water standards, weather forecasting to enable resilience against natural disasters and FEMA funding to help rebuild lives and communities after they strike, child nutrition and immunizations, education programs and funding, economic and business support programs that help create jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities, workplace safety protections and safeguards for employee rights, prosecution of crimes and protections of civil rights, housing assistance and homelessness prevention assistance, broadband and other communication services, medical research and healthcare innovation, American leadership in the world community, and myriad other services and programs that are synonymous with service to all Americans, especially those who are most in need of a helping hand to uplift themselves and thrive. Both of these goals--keeping Americans safe and providing vital services--require that the federal government and all of its programs remain fully operational at all times without any interruption, especially a disruption due to political discord. It is incumbent upon Congress to pass appropriations bills that enable the federal government to fulfill its diverse mandates. With 535 members of the House and Senate, is essential that we negotiate, compromise, and reach agreements to ensure that the government will deliver for the American people on all activities that we are entrusted to perform. Failure is not an option because the consequences on peoples' lives and livelihoods would be far too great to bear. Failure would debilitate our economy, eliminate jobs, and devastate family finances. Failure would mean that: the health of Americans would suffer, more people would become homeless, production of food would be limited and its safety put at risk, public safety would be impaired, rebuilding from natural disasters would grind to a halt, veterans and Social Security recipients would not receive their checks, and the global stature of the United States would be diminished, among many other unacceptable outcomes. These are just some of the reasons why I support passage of this Continuing Resolution. It is imperative that we keep the federal government open and fully functional over the next few months as we continue to craft appropriations legislation that will fuel the federal government for the remainder of this fiscal year. During this time, we will be able to craft language to improve government operations, address urgent needs, and accelerate forward- looking initiatives that will strengthen our country, ensure equity, and enhance opportunity for all Americans. Yet, some needs are already well recognized. That is why I am particularly pleased that this bill not only continues funding for government programs and services at their current rate, but also includes funding for critically necessary activities, and extends programs that would have expired. Some of the many provisions in the bill that would achieve these aims and which I fully support are the: $1 billion in aid to Jackson Mississippi to help them resolve their water crisis, $1 billion in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program support to help low income families afford heat during the upcoming cold weather months, funding for victims of natural disasters that is needed to help them restore their homes and rebuild their lives, maintenance of social security customer service systems, $2 billion for the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program, extension of child and family services programs, extension of veterans' health care and housing supports, fortification of cybersecurity by funding the newly created Office of the National Cyber Director, enhancement of the Judiciary's court security program, extension of the national flood insurance program, funding of the FDA to continue its activities, and $12.35 billion in aid to Ukraine that will enable them to combat Russia's hegemony. Mr. Speaker, this continuing resolution is crucial for the sustenance and resilience of the American people. I urge all my colleagues to support the Continuing Resolution so that we can keep the government operating while we negotiate a comprehensive bill to maintain programs, services, and activities through the remainder of this fiscal year.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) for work that is long overdue, and the Senators in the other body, as well. I lived through 9/11, as many of us who have served in this Congress did. I lived through the terror, the horror, the horrific scenes that were unspeakable and unbelievable. I lived through them with the same sense of this could not be America. I was in this building as the planes hit the Pentagon. We did not get the direct information about the World Trade Center, but as we were screamed at to get out and flee, as we ran without knowledge, I could see the billowing smoke, as the plane had already hit the Pentagon. Never in our lives since World War II and Pearl Harbor had I seen or heard about, if you will, such atrocities and violence. Imagine those families, never being able to bury their loved ones. I went to Ground Zero by train because at that time planes were not in the air. I was insistent, as a member of the beginning of the Homeland Security Committee, to go there with a former Senator. We went to the very site. No, there was no rescuing at that time; it was recovering. We saw those fire department personnel, firemen, and law enforcement guarding this sacred place. Those firepersons would get a whistle blown when someone who had been digging found the remnants of a body, pieces of bones, and because they wanted to honor those families, they would blow the whistle and a gurney would come, and they would put what they found on the gurney. That is what this bill is all about. It is to be able to say that families have suffered unconscionably, and that due to their own government withholding payments due to them and only incrementally dribbling them out in small amounts over the years, the families have faced financial hardship.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, this would provide financial relief for the families of those murdered by the terrorists by helping to put more dollars in this victims' fund, more so than the Victim Compensation Fund, to provide them with catch-up payments that they did not get. That is important to do. Mr. Speaker, might I say that I visited with the Uvalde families this past Monday. Their pain is deep, and it is the same. They don't have a handle on these compensation funds. They are suffering. And as this has evidenced, that you must always ease the suffering of those who you cannot replace their loved ones, I look forward to working with the chairman on helping these Uvalde families in their suffering. I support this legislation. I thank the chairman, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 8987. Mr. Speaker, I rise to wholeheartedly and enthusiastically support H.R. 8987, the ``Fairness for 9/11 Families Act''. I commend my colleague and friend, Chairman Jerry Nadler, for introducing this bill and bringing it before the House today. This legislation provides us the opportunity to ``do right'' for the families who suffered directly from the heinous acts and carnage perpetrated on our nation on September 11th, 2001. H.R. 8987 would provide financial relief to the families of those murdered by terrorists on September 11th by providing lump sum catch-up payments to them of the funds to which they are entitled from the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. When the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund was created, it did not allow for payments to families who already received some payments from the Victims Compensation Fund, even though they were clearly within the scope of the new fund. This error was corrected later, but the families still have not received the catch-up payments to which they were entitled to provide them the financial assistance that they would have received if the initial error had not been made. This legislation would provide them with lump-sum payments to immediately correct that injustice. Needless to say, these families have suffered enough, and it unconscionable that they should be subjected to further suffering due to their own government withholding payments due to them, and only incrementally dribbling them out in small amounts over many years. The families have faced financial hardship since that day, partly due to the loss of their loved one's income, and just as directly, by the inability to focus on employment while coping with their loss of a loved one through that unspeakable national tragedy. The events of September 11th were among the most horrifying, frightening, and shocking that I have ever endured. That day, I was at the Capitol and experienced the frantic panic of being rushed off of the Capitol grounds when we feared that Flight 93 was aiming toward us. And yet, my experience that day was incidental and transitory compared to the life-altering devastation that was felt that day and every day since then by the families of those who were killed in the airplanes and in the buildings that were struck. Any time a loved one is abruptly and unforeseeably killed by violence or an accident, their surviving family members are devastated and debilitated, with a lengthy adjustment period that sometimes is never resolved. In the case of the 9/11 victims and families, the aftermath of grief, mourning, and incapacity was protracted and compounded. This was initially due to the uniquely heinous and horrible circumstances of 9/11, and thereafter due to the annual national memorials and the ubiquitous reminders of the tragedy that is embedded in the national consciousness. These families are forever intertwined with the grief, sadness, and despondency associated with those acts of warfare against the United States. Thus, it is our responsibility, as the Congress of their United States, to prioritize their needs, revitalization, and compensation since, in effect, their loved ones were lost in an act of war by enemy combatants. Although we can never sufficiently compensate the families for the loss of their loved ones, we must do all we can to support them and help them reclaim their productive lives. It is not too much to ask--indeed, it is the least we can do--to ensure that the funds allocated to them be transmitted to them immediately to ease their financial burdens and support their pursuit of fulfilling lives. The catch-up payments that were allocated to the families must be distributed to them promptly in lump sum payments for the dual sakes of fairness and solidarity with those whose sacrifice is enshrined in our national fabric.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as we begin to take our work recess and engage with constituents, families, young people--in Texas sports are sort of the heart of our State, we love our Friday night football--I want us to think of a young woman who did everything right. Brittney Griner, her father was a Vietnam vet, grew up in Houston, Texas, went to high school in my district, was quiet but an outstanding athlete. Athletes are holistic persons with many talents. She even did better than that, graduating from Baylor University and becoming a two- time Olympian. I guess the Russians realized how important a person she is. She is now in a cage in Russia, as many of our hostages are in Iran and Russia. Putin, I believe, thinks that this is his own special pawn, a 6-foot-9-inch young woman in a cage. I ask my colleagues as they go home to their families to remember to tweet out to bring Brittney Griner home and direct it to Putin to stop the cruelty. Bring Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan and all of our hostages home.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for giving me the opportunity to be able to speak this afternoon from the heart. Democrats have done great things. We have certainly appreciated the Members of the other side of the aisle who have joined us on some of those. Those things include passing a very effective CHIPS bill that I hope to bring thousands of jobs to my congressional district through the production and manufacturing, using precious metals, in particular, coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We now have families who suffer from diabetes who, shockingly, for the first time in their lives, can have insulin capped at $35. I am glad to have been a part of that. I seek, as I did before, that Medicaid recipients can also have their insulin capped. I am glad that working families, in this storm of inflation, can, through the Biden administration and Congress, have subsidies for healthcare and get cheaper healthcare. I am glad that the flooding that is so intensive in places like Houston, can, in fact, now have the bipartisan infrastructure bill; and isolated communities without transportation or transit can, in fact, now have the potential of billions of dollars coming to those rural and urban centers, inner-city centers that need an infrastructure rebuild. We need clean water, and Flint and Jackson, Mississippi, should not be the norm in the United States of America; and lead in pipes that helped destroy the cognitive genius of our children should not exist. We have done great things. And as we go to work in our districts, listen to our constituents even more than we do when we have a moment over the weekends that we go home, we go home to hold in our hands the destiny of democracy when we fight for re-election for the purpose of ensuring the value of this Nation, as I look, In God We Trust. We have done great things. Families of America should know that this leadership, under Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer, and Jim Clyburn, and the chair, Mr. Jeffries, and the vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, we should all know that there have been good things that were done. So, when I go home, I have no hesitancy to be able to go and to champion the lives we have saved; the veterans who will get answers to their questions and their health conditions; the people who suffered under the burn pit, now relief, they celebrated because of this Congress, this Democratic Congress, with our friends who wanted to do what is right. We have given hope to those burn pit victims. They can't breathe, and we have finally given relief. This body has determined that the electoral count should be accurate, with no false electors showing up, giving false representation that they represent the States. No Vice President can do anything but ministerial. There will be no doubt that if you vote in a Presidential election fairly and electors are selected to cast their vote for you--something, of course, that I think is a figment of our past and should not be in place, but let's make it perfect--you can now trust that the electors will do right, as they did in 2020; and they provided the final vote under the Vice Presidency of Mr. Pence that elected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We pray to God that we will never see January 6 again; never again; never the violence and brutality, the bloodshed of our police officers, the deaths that occurred, the innocent lives lost. We hope never again. We have done some good things. There is such a litany of them, I cannot list them all. I am delighted to have passed the Stop Human Trafficking in School Zones, the legislation that I authored; that we have fixed the Terry fix, to ensure justice for those who were not able to come appropriately under the reduction of sentencing dealing with crack and cocaine. I am glad to have been able to push the Victims of Crime Act to ensure better handling of victims of crime. At the same time, I believe that it is important to assure that the American people know that we are, in fact, working hard for them. So the many amendments to help HBCUs that I have offered; the many important elements of the appropriations, including more dollars for post-traumatic stress under the NDAA and some aspects of the appropriations, as I do every year; the helping of those suffering from triple negative breast cancer; and working to ensure that the lives of our children are better by helping to create resources for safer schools; work still unfinished to get our storage laws in place; to ban assault weapons. But we have done a great thing in passing legislation to break the cycle of violence led by Mr. Horsford; and to utilize the tools that have been given through this Congress, under the Democratic leadership, to make lives better for all Americans. We have done some good things. As we have done some good things, there is more work to be done. I want to make sure that we see the passage of the voting rights, so that oppression of voting can cease and desist. It is appalling that we go into this election, but we fought, as Democrats, to make it happen. I am so sorry the noes came from the other side of the aisle. I thank my colleagues, 217-plus, who have, in fact, supported the idea of a commission to study slavery and to look seriously and thoroughly at the question of reparation proposals. I know that we will work together going forward. It is the heart of America to cure both racism and to heal and to bring people together. I have confidence. I feel well about our opportunities. I thank the Speaker that is in the chair, to have joined me in the midst of the crisis of reproductive freedom being taken away, to support medical personnel who, right now, under the laws of the Dobbs case in America, are being arrested, could be, nurses, nurse practitioners, doctors, who are simply trying to help a desperate woman that has been raped, or a child that has been raped. I hope to pass that Protecting the Medical Personnel of America bill. I hope to pass the legislation that I introduced to stop the stalkers who would get a bounty on women by watching what they do, calling up and saying, I think she is getting an abortion. She is over at this address; and receiving $10,000. Can you believe it? The law of the land in the State of Texas. We have done some good things and we are doing good things. But if this Special Order is about one issue or item, this is what I want it to be about. I want it to be about something that our psyche is just not used to. I don't know how many times we have thought of the tens upon tens of Americans that are held hostage around the world. We learned a little bit about MIAs, people missing in action, soldiers missing in action, really, through the Vietnam War. I know they were missing in action in World War II and other wars, but in this recent generation, we learned about it because the late heroic John McCain would always remind us of the MIAs. I joined with my colleague, Ben Reyes, and put a flag out in front of the City Hall in Houston, Texas, when I was a member of the City Council; the first MIA flag, I believe, maybe, in city councils across America. I came here to the United States Congress, and outside my door is the flag of MIAs. We understand that. But do we understand about Americans who have done little, have been plucked off the streets of places that are despotic, and joined the thousands of their own citizens thrown in jail with no real justice system? So if I come to you today, I want the title of this Special Order to focus us on where we need to go. The Plight of Brittney Griner

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, when I mention Brittney Griner, I want everybody to know I am thinking of Paul Whelan, and I am thinking of the journalist in Iran, and hostages around the world, U.S. citizens. Does anybody know that we work hard on this? When I say we, the administration works hard on this every day. On the floor today, I asked for more resources for the hostage finding team--I will just call them that. But I want to take a moment to just show you Brittney Griner's life. She is a Houstonian; went to the schools, the public schools in the area; went to Nimitz High School in my congressional district. I met some of her classmates. Even the students there today want to do something to show their care and outrage about where she is today. Brittney Griner, no, she was not in the United States military. I honor them. But she wore the uniform. She was an Olympian; brought a gold medal home to the United States, I believe, two Olympics, back to back. That is USA Number 42 and Number 15, numbers worn in the Olympics. That is Brittney Griner sharing some good news, a good dunk maybe, with her teammates, and Brittney Griner, an Olympian, wearing that good-looking Gold Medal. We like that because everybody watches the Olympics. What an unbelievable basketball player--that is a shot; I could only dream about that shot--Brittney Griner, an American, African-American young woman. I know the Baylorites love the championships and the hard playing that she did for them at Baylor University. That is Brittney Griner. She had a life in front of her. Because of the very poor compensation, of sorts, compared to the NBA, many women WNBA players go off to foreign countries to play. She got drafted by Phoenix and played stupendously, so many world records in basketball as a professional. Big heart, Brittney Griner, her teammates loved her. I visited the Phoenix arena where her team plays. Of course, Brittney Griner's locker was there waiting for her to come back. This looks like an exciting time, some good-looking pictures of our fellow American. Paul Whelan, a marine, had some good days serving his country. It is just an innocent civilian, who the infractions of what she is charged with wind up suggesting and threatening and charging her as a drug trafficker, a big-time drug trafficker--no sense but nonsense. She could have been released and directed back to the United States. But no, this is what Mr. Putin wanted to do. He felt, after the Olympics of 2022, the Winter Olympics, where his teams were embarrassed because of drugs, that he would show the United States. Here she is. They put her in a cage, 6 feet 9 inches in a cage. The beauty of her size was to recognize such a talented person playing the sport, doing well, giving joy to the fans and getting Americans to cheer her on during the Olympics. This is what they wanted to show Americans: We got you now. In your eye. A young woman longs to be home, deserves to be home, with other hostages who have been brutally treated. President Biden has indicated, as Commander in Chief, that he wants all the hostages home, and he is ready to speak to Mr. Putin if he would only have a heart, if he would only recognize that there is no justice in his injustice. Ninety-nine percent of those who go to trial in Russia are convicted. They are, in fact, held hostage. This is a direct result of Putin's interest in saying to the United States, I guess: We got you. Not respecting she has family, not respecting that she has done nothing wrong. Brittney is an extension of us in Houston. She represents the quintessential American stories and qualities. She is suffering after going through a trial, the process of appeal, doing everything, offering doctors' statements as to why certain items were with her, indicating a mistake, doing everything told by her lawyers. Nothing. Denial of basic rights to Brittney Griner, because they are the rights to which we believe all people are entitled, a trial by jury of your peers and the right to be able to be proven innocent. We do not accept the dehumanization that is commonplace in Russia, and our values compel us to seek justice for Brittney's immediate release and return to her family and friends. She spoke eloquently by saying: I am sorry. It was a mistake. It seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Can it be nothing more than an attempt to humiliate her, her family, her loved ones, who cry out for the potential of what may happen? She cried out to the President of the United States: I fear that I may be here for the rest of my life. She is a young woman who gives away shoes and items to children without. Her basic rights--we as Americans cannot just go quietly. We have a lot on our plate, but the only lifeline they have is the United States of America. As a mother who has watched my children grow up, proud to see them excel, I can only imagine the gut-wrenching pain of her mother and father and her wife, and how hopeless they feel. There is no worse feeling than when someone in your family is in imminent danger and beyond your reach to help. As a Black woman, I can say there is no greater fear through the history of our time, through slavery, through discrimination, through unequal treatment that we face in a justice system, even here, to think that there is nothing we can grab at to be able to give the defense, the explanation. I want Americans to think of the pain of losing their children to something that is so foreign to us. They are alive, but they are held hostage. There is much pain in this country. I have seen it through gun violence, so I don't speak to the pain of those mothers and fathers. What I speak to is that we need to do something about it. I have gone to the Russian consulate in Houston. I have gone to the Russian Embassy. I have looked the Ambassador in the eye, at a huge, gigantic complex, and I said: Send this message to Mr. Putin. Let Brittney go. Let Paul Whelan go. Let the people of Russia, the good people who are out fighting against this vile and vicious war against Ukraine, let them go, too. But I can't leave silently to go back to Houston without coming to this floor and saying, since February, about 2 weeks after the Olympics, she has been held. She is not a soldier. She had nothing to do with any government activities. The only reason I say that is because her training does not lend her to these dastardly conditions, a cage, inhumane cage, ultimately to go to a labor camp where Trevor Reed suffered and Paul Whelan suffered. She has been denied access to consular officials, and she was dependent upon Russian lawyers who mean well but simply go into the court and watch their client be convicted. As they faked elections just the last couple of days, Brittney Griner is suffering from Putin's demonstration of power and control that stems from centuries of bigotry and hatred embodied in an autocratic leader who is the very antithesis of everything Ms. Griner represents. If you want to know why she is incarcerated and not released, it is based upon her country of origin, something she cannot help. Americans who are blessed to be born under this flag cannot help the values upon which we stand. We cannot help our Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. We cannot help our national anthem that calls for victory, ``The Star-Spangled Banner.'' We cannot help that we are called by nations to defend them. We cannot help that we have the freedom to travel and that we welcome people to this country, Russian students, Russian players, even on the space station. That is America. But now we find the dastardly acts of stealing land, calling it an election, fighting people who want to be free, Ukrainians. In the midst of this turmoil is a young woman who graduated in my district from Nimitz High School, a Baylor University graduate, a two-time Olympian, and, of course, with all her friends in Phoenix, and just a basic human being. I hope I made it clear. There are two teams in Phoenix. She is with the Phoenix Mercury, the WNBA team. I couldn't leave this day without reminding America that if in God we trust, give some hope to these people, lonely, all over the world, shocked that they were snatched off the streets or snatched from an airport, gave every explanation. They created no outrageous, vile, terroristic act. They did nothing with guns, drugs of any amount. They were no detriment to anybody in that land, and here they are. My colleagues, Congressmen Stanton and Allred, supported H. Res. 1132, led by Congressman Stanton out of Phoenix, calling for the immediate release of Brittney Griner. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an article from Sports Illustrated: ``Brittney Griner's Wife Has Troubling Update On How She's Doing.'' [From the Spun, by Sports Illustrated, Sept. 17, 2022] Brittney Griner's Wife Has Troubling Update On How She's Doing (By Andrew McCarty) Earlier this week, President Joe Biden met with Cherelle Griner, the wife of imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner. Griner has been in a Russian prison since February, when she was arrested for having cannabis oil in her bag at a Russian airport. Ever since then, the United States has been trying to get her home. A meeting between Biden and Cherelle is a big step towards that, but it also came with some troubling news. According to Cherelle, Brittney's letters to her have taken an increasingly dark tone. Cherelle offered a larger statement following her meeting with Biden. ``I've felt every minute of the grueling seven months without her,'' she said. ``I look forward to the day my wife is back home. As my family and I continue on this journey, I'd like to thank the broad coalition of friends, leaders and supporters who continue to stand with us and advocate for Brittney's swift and safe return. Let's share a unified commitment to bringing all Americans home to their families and loved ones. Together We Are BG.'' Hopefully the United States and Russia can work together to bring Griner home in the near future.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record two articles from CNN, one titled ``Biden set to meet with families of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan at the White House'' and an article written most recently about Brittney Griner's conditions that she is facing and what she thinks is going to happen to her life. [From CNN, Sept. 16, 2022] Biden Set To Meet With Families of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan at the White House President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with the families of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan at the White House on Friday, marking his first time personally meeting with them since their loved ones were detained in Russia. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that Biden will meet with Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, and Whelan's sister, Elizabeth Whelan, to assure them his administration is committed to securing the release of their loved ones and that they remain ``front of mind.'' Biden will meet with them separately, an official said. ``One of the things that the President wanted to make clear is, and one of the reasons he's meeting with the families, is that he wanted to let them know that they remain front of mind and that his team is working on this every day, on making sure that Brittney and Paul return home safely,'' Jean-Pierre said. The Biden administration has repeatedly said that working to secure Griner and Whelan's release, as well as that of Americans wrongfully detained abroad, is a top priority. In late July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the US had put forward a ``substantial proposal'' to try to secure the release of Griner and Whelan. Sources told CNN that proposal included a swap for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner was detained in February for carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. The two- time US Olympic basketball gold medalist pleaded guilty to drug charges and said she accidentally packed the drugs while in a hurry. She has been sentenced to nine years, along with a fine of about $16,400. Her legal team in Russia has appealed the sentence. Whelan has been imprisoned in Russia for more than three years after being convicted on espionage charges that he vehemently denies. He was sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years in prison in a trial US officials denounced as unfair. A senior administration official told CNN Thursday that there has been ``movement but not breakthrough'' on the efforts to secure the releases of Griner and Whelan. The official said that the US has urged Russia to put forward ``a serious counteroffer'' to the proposal on the table to secure the release of the two, but ``we've not gotten a serious response back.'' State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday that ``there have been discussions with the Russian government,'' but acknowledged the negotiations process ``certainly hasn't moved with the speed we would like.'' He said he wouldn't call the process ``stalled.'' The White House meetings come after CNN first reported earlier this week that former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and his team were in Moscow and held meetings with Russian leadership. The details around those meetings were not immediately clear. Richardson and his namesake center privately work on behalf of families of hostages and detainees. Biden administration officials have repeatedly expressed concerns that private citizens' attempts to broker deals to repatriate wrongfully detained Americans may end up hindering ongoing efforts by the US government to bring them home. Since taking office, Biden has met with the families of other Americans who have been detained abroad. The President in May met with the family of Austin Tice, an American journalist detained at a checkpoint near Damascus in August 2012. The Biden administration relayed in August that it has engaged directly with the Syrian government to try and bring Tice home. Biden also met with the family of Trevor Reed in March. Reed, an American citizen and former Marine who had been detained in Russia since 2019, was freed and repatriated to the US in April as part of a prisoner swap.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a press statement from my office. [Press Statement from Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Aug. 4, 2022] Washington, DC.--Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee condemns the Russian Court System for their egregious sentencing of Brittney Griner. Today Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian Court. This decision comes after the House passage of H. Res. 1132 ``Calling for the immediate release of Brittney Griner, a citizen of the United States, who was wrongfully detained by the Government of the Russian Federation in February 2022.'' ``If I have to beg for mercy for the release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan myself, I am prepared to do so,'' explained Rep. Jackson Lee. Brittney Griner grew up in Houston, Texas, was a collegiate All American star basketball player at Baylor University where she won a national championship, won two Olympic gold medals as the leader of the U.S. national basketball team, and is a WNBA superstar playing for the Phoenix Mercury based in Arizona. Prior to being held captive by the Russian government for several months before having charges brought against her Griner played in the Russian leagues in the United States' WNBA off season. On May 3, 2022, the United States Government declared Brittney Griner unlawfully detained and immediately moved her case to the Department of State under hostage negotiation. The U.S. Department of state is a leading Government agency which serves an integral role in foreign policy and the advancement of the American people. ``We thought there might be a glimmer of hope, but we were obviously wrong,'' Congresswoman Jackson Lee explained. While on trial Alexander Boikov, a member of Griner's legal team, requested Griner's acquittal stating that the prosecution failed to prove criminal intent. Charges brought against Griner are drug smuggling and cannabis possession, which the prosecution has categorized as a significant amount. Griner was in possession of less than one ounce of cannabis oil, which demonstrates how corrupt Russia's court system is. By padding smuggling charges, Russian courts were able to lengthen Griner's sentence when evidence only substantiated drug possession charges. While playing for the Phoenix Mercury in Arizona, Griner legally obtained and frequently used cannabis to treat chronic pain from an injury. Griner took her career in the Russian basketball league seriously and decided to travel to Russia, even amidst the political unrest, so she would not let her teammates or Russian fanbase down. The Biden administration has offered the trade of Russian illegal arms dealer Viktor Bout for the trade of both Griner and Whelan. Congresswoman Jackson Lee urges Russia to act on this deal and reassures the American people ``We are not violating our integrity as Viktor Bout has served majority of his sentence.'' Bout, nicknamed ``the merchant of death,'' was convicted on November 2, 2011, and sentenced, to twenty- five years in prison on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and officials, and conspiring to provide aid to a terrorist organization. Inversely, Griner is currently imprisoned on charges for 0.702 ounces of cannabis oil and serving a nine-year sentence. ``The American people must come together, and ensure our citizens are brought home,'' explained Rep. Jackson Lee. And so, Mr. Speaker, let me express my appreciation to my colleagues. I hope they see the pain that her family is feeling. None of us can stand in their shoes. Because none of us can stand in their shoes, we have to plead to Vladimir Putin. Let our important and crucial leaders listen to this plea. Listen to our anguish. Listen and see this picture versus the ones that I have shown, this picture. Just look at them. From Olympian to a cage. The Olympian to a cage. I am going to do everything I can. I have asked the Embassy, and I want to know what kind of shame they are experiencing, not giving Americans visas for us to go to our embassy in Moscow? What are they thinking that they can live in a world like this, locking people up so they can play gotcha and be inhumane and stick it in the eye of the American people? Well, I will tell you, as I stand here today, let me take this fist, this fist, to make the promise that all of our hostages should be free. I hope the State Department's team of hostage negotiators gets the additional funding to grow the team. But to the families of hostages who are in pain, some who don't know whether their loved one is alive, and they live with the pain every day that they have not been able to honor them if they are not. Mr. Speaker, I hope that I have said something to ignite the conscience of the American people and to ignite the conscience, if you will, of all of my colleagues. Free Brittney Griner now. Free Paul Whelan. Free Brittney Griner now. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule by which the House has passed H. Res. 1132, ``Calling for the immediate release of Brittney Griner''. A very important component of the rule currently before the House is that it: ``Provides that House Resolution 1132 is hereby adopted.'' I fought hard for passage of H. Res. 1132, introduced by Congressman Stanton, myself, and Congressman Allred, because, by raising our voices for Brittney Griner, we raise our voices for bedrock American values and priorities that are intrinsic to our national character. H. Res. 1132 calls for the release of Brittney Griner and, in so doing, puts Congress on record emphatically defending true American values such as our devotion to human rights, respect and dignity for each person, the right to due process, and justice based on truth. Each of these have been offended by Russia unjustifiably holding Griner, and by the Russian distortion of a judicial system that extends her detention, preventing her release to return home, without a factual or legal basis for doing so. Brittney Griner, who grew up in Houston, Texas, is an extension of all of us. She represents quintessential American stories and qualities. The injustices inflicted upon her by Putin and his acolytes in Russia could have been imposed on any Americans within their reach. The denial of basic rights from Brittney offends all Americans because they are rights to which we believe all people are entitled. We do not accept the dehumanization that is commonplace in Russia, and our values compel us to seek justice for Brittney, her immediate release, and her return home to her family and friends. As a mother who has raised a family, I can only imagine the gut- wrenching pain that her parents, family, and friends must be feeling right now. There is no worse feeling than when someone in your family is in imminent danger and they are beyond your reach to help them. As a Black woman, I can say there's no greater fear than having a loved one being wrongfully placed in a situation or environment over which there is no control. For any of us, if we had a loved one placed in this situation, we would be doing everything in our power to ensure their prompt and safe return. We would be calling and seeking the help of everyone possible-- including the media, the US State Department, and even allies in Russia. We would press every politician and public figure to fight against the corrupt government of Russia to ensure that our family member is guaranteed their natural born rights to due process, a fair trial, and a prompt release from detention. No American citizen should be detained in a foreign country for months, denied access to American consular officials, and, dependent upon the performance of a Russian lawyer, especially in absence of substantial evidence of a crime. Ms. Griner is suffering from Russia's heinous demonstration of power and control that stems from centuries of bigotry and hatred embodied in an autocratic leader who is the very antithesis of everything Ms. Griner represents. Ms. Griner's detention is primarily based on the country of her citizenship, in a game of political leverage. Since she was targeted because of being an American, every American should take this personally. Her detention is an offense against our country, and against our people. Griner was detained on February 17, 2022, her initial release date was set to be May 19th, it was then shifted to June 19th, and when that date approached, it was delayed to July 2nd. That is not justice--it's oppression. We call on Putin and the Russian government to comply with their international treaty obligations. By passing the rule and adopting H. Res. 1132, the House insists, alongside the Griner family, that Brittney Griner must be immediately and safely released and returned home to the US. We are unified in demanding respectful treatment and justice for her, in accordance with American values. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 4900, the ``Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Extension Act of 2022'' that reauthorizes the SBIR, STTR, and six pilot programs for three years to provide stability and certainty for small businesses that rely on their technology.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 3969, the ``Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access Program Inclusion Act'' which would remedy a specific situation to ensure that citizens who have the right to vote can do so without having to worry about barriers. Voting is a fundamental right that belongs to ALL citizens of the United States. In 2002, former President Bush signed into law the Help America Vote Act of 2002, also known as HAVA, to upgrade aspects of states' election procedures. It amended state plans and reporting, accessibility, and voting system standards. While the Help America Vote Act of 2002 intended to accomplish voter accessibility and encouraging voting across the nation by addressing the accessibility issues most United States citizens face, it failed to cover the entire population adequately. Specifically, HAVA did not address the needs of certain nonmainland territories, ultimately resulting in certain communities being unable to participate in the foundational right that our democracy is built on. The Northern Mariana Islands and American Indian Consortium have limited accessibility in voting, as they are not currently protected by the HAVA. The Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access Program Inclusion Act, also known as PAVA Inclusion Act, aims to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 by introducing the State Definition initialized in the Development Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 which allows the Help America Vote of 2002 to cover Northern Mariana Islands citizens. Additionally, this bill seeks to establish a system to serve the American Indian Consortium, granting them protection under the HAVA act in a similar manner to a State as mentioned prior. With these two communities protected by PAVA, they will now receive the much-requested grants that will enable them to meet the voting needs of their citizens. With these grants, systems will be able to overcome voter obstacles such as any language barriers. Mr. Speaker, I urge my fellow Congressmembers to vote in support of the PAVA Inclusion Act. Without the PAVA Inclusion Act, eligible voters residing on the Northern Mariana Islands and in the American Indian Consortium are faced with unsurmountable challenges in exercising their rights to vote.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from California for his enormous leadership, and I thank the sponsors of this legislation for their hard work. It is always baffling to me, as I have spoken on the floor of the House and served in this Congress, how colleagues can look a crisis in the face and run head-on as a locomotive, smashing the solution, speaking ill about those who need and are suffering, and that is what we are hearing today. I am very glad to rise in support of the Mental Health Matters Act, H.R. 7780, and I hope some of my friends on the other side of the aisle will recognize that we are the problem-solvers. We are not the bomb- throwers. We are not supposed to be looking at every solution, and because it comes from somebody of a different party, we want to fight them for it. I know what happened during the pandemic. I was out in the community doing testing and vaccinations. I talked to parents about online learning, those who didn't have access to broadband, and I knew what it did to the children. Why? Because children view schools and their daily activities as their work. Adults go to work; children go to school. It builds their confidence, their sense of esteem, their friendships, lifelong friendships. That was all undone because of the pandemic. Do you know what else we did? We saved lives. If we had continued in- school learning, we would have lost thousands of children and their families. We must repair what was broken, not because we broke it but because there was a pandemic. So, this legislation provides grants to build a pipeline of school-based mental health service providers, more nurses in the school. It directs the Department of Education to award grants to State agencies to develop more school-based mental health providers. It requires institutions of higher learning to let incoming students with existing documentation have access to disability resources and creates a grant program I am most excited about, increasing student access to treatment of evidence-based trauma. They experienced trauma. Add to that trauma the families in Uvalde that I visited on Monday who are still crying with the pain of the loss of their children. It is clearly a bill that we should accept, and it is a bill that I support enthusiastically, Mr. Chair, the Mental Health Matters Act, H.R. 7780.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the Mental Health Matters Act requiring certain federal actions to increase access to mental and behavioral health care. H.R. 7780 creates various grants to support the behavioral needs of students and youth, invest in the school-based behavioral health workforce, and ensure access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits. This includes increasing the number of mental health professionals serving in high need public schools and increasing students' access to evidence-based trauma support. For institutions of higher education, they will be required to increase transparency around the accommodations process and allow students with existing documentation of a disability to access disability accommodations. The capacity of the Department of Labor will be strengthened to ensure that private, employer-sponsored group health plans provide mental health and substance use disorder benefits. H.R. 7780 will also plan to hold employee-sponsors accountable when they are improperly denied mental health and substance use disorder benefits. The Coronavirus pandemic and opioid epidemic have only exacerbated our nation's mental health needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with mental health challenges related to the morbidity and mortality caused by the disease and the impact of stay-at-home orders. Adults reporting symptoms of anxiety disorder and depressive disorder increased considerably in the United States during April through June of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. Children are also not being spared from the mental health impacts from COVID-19. In a study of about 1,500 teenagers, 7 out of 10 kids reported that they were struggling with their mental health in some way. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration hotline for people in emotional distress registered more than a 1,000 percent increase in April 2020 compared with the same time last year. These life changing events have left our children, students, workers, and families grappling with traumas caused by factors outside of their control. Too many Americans make the perilous choice of self-medicating when they feel that they've run out of other options. We cannot protect our Nation's health or help communities recover if we do not strengthen our mental health care system. Mental illness has long received too little attention from policy makers and public health advocates who too often reflect upon and stress the importance of physical health insurance, taking little note of the importance of mental health coverage. Therefore, Congress must take the lead in reforming mental health care options as our current system abandoned too many Americans in their time of personal crisis. As a frequent cosponsor of mental health legislation and Legislator of the Year for the National Mental Health Association, I am proud to support the Mental Health Matters Act.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and sponsors of the bill for their hard work. Let me say, the reason is obvious why I rise in support of H.R. 3843, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022. Does anybody know the word ``consumers''? Do I need to spell it out on the floor of the House? Ultimately, mergers, in many instances, have a detrimental impact on consumers, either by way of cost or loss of services. Read the history books. Does anybody know that in years past there were opportunities for many, many flights across America? The aviation industry has been changed by mergers. That is a prime example. This particular legislation updates the filing fees that merging parties may pay to the Federal antitrust enforcers. It requires merging parties to disclose any subsidies from countries or entities that are strategic or economic threats to the United States. The people of the United States are consumers, Mr. and Mrs. Jones walking and working every day to make ends meet. As Democrats have done in the Inflation Reduction Act and the reduction in healthcare costs and insulin costs, we are bringing down fees. But there is something about justice that is involved in this, as well. We strongly support this. And the National Association of Attorneys General and every single State attorney general wrote a letter urging Congress to pass the bill's amendments to the multidistrict litigation statute ``as soon as possible so that our citizens benefit from more efficient, effective, and timely adjudication of antitrust actions.'' Merging fees are to provide the extra resources that are needed, and the administration feels that to vigorously enforce the antitrust laws, the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission need the resources to do their job. And, again, who do we represent but the people of the United States? Who are they? Consumers. What happens when mergers come? Lack of services, lack of opportunity, lack of a more fiscally responsible commercial scheme, if you will, so that they can get resources, goods, and services without having enormous expense. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 3843 because this helps consumers, and it brings justice to this system. This is a bill that is long overdue, and I thank those who sponsored it.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8982, which amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to suspend tariffs on the imports of formula base powders that are used to manufacture infant formula in the United States. The reason why this bill is so important can best be demonstrated by conversations that I had at the height of the baby formula shortage earlier this year. This past spring, 40 percent of baby formula stock that is normally available nationwide was not available in stores. Practically the entire country was alarmed at this because so many American families rely on baby formula, and even among those who don't, virtually every American knows some family with a young child. As the founder and Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, the needs of women, families, and children are my consistent priority, and the unavailability of baby formula amounted to a crisis. To address the shortage, in May, I hosted a baby formula give-a-way event in my TX-18th district of Houston. At the event, I witnessed first-hand the struggles faced by mothers in need. Constituents came to me with open arms and gratitude for the opportunity to receive baby formula that they couldn't find in stores. Many families described the stress and anxiety of not being able to properly nourish their infant children since baby formula was nowhere to be found locally or online. Infants are put at risk of physical and mental impairment without proper nourishment. The legislation we are voting on today will dramatically increase the availability of formula so that children are no longer at risk of these problems. By suspending tariffs on base powders for infant formula this bill would enable us to boost the domestic production that is necessary to get infant formula back on our shelves in sufficient quantity nationwide. The renewed, consistent output and distribution of baby formula would ameliorate the nationwide short supply of these essential products that was amplified by pandemic-related supply chain issues. In response to these shortages, the Food and Drug Administration exercised selective enforcement of base formula regulations to amend the importation of safe infant formula from other countries. Earlier this year, Congress passed the Formula Act, which lifted steep tariffs on baby formula until the end of this year. While this alleviated the immediate shortage and parents began to find baby formula in stores, the Formula Act only suspended tariffs on infant formula itself and not the ingredients necessary to make it, There are still high tariffs on infant formula base powders, a key foundational component necessary for making baby formula products. This is an issue that needs to be addressed now because if we do not have the key components that are needed to make infant formula, then the current tariff suspensions we have are of no use in the long run. It is imperative that we eliminate any obstacles in the way of getting formula back onto the shelves and in the hands of parents everywhere. Tariffs are set in place to protect our trade but with the health of our country's infants at risk, ensuring that baby formula is easily and consistently available in stores must always remain a priority.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for participating in the Congressional Children's Caucus hearing this past Monday on the Uvalde murder of children. I rise to join my colleagues in supporting the Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2022 and compliment Representative McCollum and others who have strongly supported this legislation over the years. It is particularly timely because I have just finished meeting with the Foreign Minister of Pakistan and was able to visit in Pakistan in early September after the catastrophic and momentous floods of biblical proportion that went on. What we saw was the potential of extreme starvation of families and children. Thirty-three million people were displaced. The families in the region had lost their wheat, their cotton, and their livestock.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, the idea of the emphasis on the issue of food security is so crucial, both in terms of the climate change such that is impacted in Eritrea and Ethiopia, and the issues of catastrophic flood conditions, so I rise to support this with the idea that we have right in our midst conditions that would suggest food insecurity. This legislation that focuses on ensuring that people of the world can eat, and the children of the world will not starve is a crucial and needed legislation, which I support, and which emphasizes, again, the important element in foreign affairs of food. Food helps save the world. I support this legislation, and I commend my colleagues to continue to work, with devastating conditions around the world, to ensure the safety and security of children and particularly food security.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I think it should be noted that this bill, H.R. 6448, the Invest to Protect Act of 2022, is bipartisan legislation that would bolster small law enforcement agencies' ability to address staffing shortages and improve community safety through de- escalation training and other resources. It was Democrats who spent 2 years negotiating and working with law enforcement to introduce and pass the comprehensive George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which recognized the necessity of balancing the needs and safety of community in which law enforcement interests engage. I worked on that. I worked on that. That is why I tried to make this bill better by adding three additional purposes for grant funding which include issues dealing with use of lethal force, excessive force, and duty of care. I am glad that they were added, and grantees who choose these activities will be required to do this under this particular provision. We can do this together. And let me be very clear: this is not a last-ditch effort by Democrats to distance ourselves from efforts to defund the police. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6448, the ``Invest to Protect Act of 2022,''--bipartisan legislation that would bolster small law enforcement agencies' ability to address staffing shortages and improve community safety through de-escalation training and other resources. First, let's be clear--This is not a last-ditch effort by Democrats to distance ourselves from efforts to defund the police. Democrats have always been supportive of law enforcement. We have been accused of spending the last two years bashing the police. Yet, it was Democrats who spent two years negotiating and working with law enforcement to introduce and pass the comprehensive ``George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021''--which recognized the necessity of balancing the needs and safety of the community with law enforcement interests. H.R. 6448 would establish a grant program within the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, program focused on improving recruitment and retention of officers and providing additional training and access to mental health resources for small law enforcement agencies. When police departments are unable to recruit, retain or provide suitable resources to qualified officers, communities suffer a clear threat to public safety. A June 2021 national survey by the Police Executive Research Forum found that, on average, police departments around the country were filling only 93 percent of their available budgeted positions. These officer staffing shortages can cause longer wait times for emergency calls, fewer crimes cleared, and more overworked officers, which can threaten both officer health and the quality of life in our communities. This bill seeks to address these challenges by providing additional federal resources to small agencies--that often have the most trouble accessing federal grant funding--to recruit and retain qualified officers as well as provide additional training and support. A 2016 study by the Department of Justice (DOJ) found that of the 12,261 local police departments in the country, 11,638 of them had less than 100 full-time sworn officers. That is 11,638 police departments that would be eligible to access much-needed funding as authorized by H.R. 6448. Importantly, H.R. 6448 includes limitations on the use of grant funds for hiring and retention to ensure that the funds are not misused, and gives preference to applicants that plan to use grant funds for certain training purposes, including: de-escalation; the use of lethal and nonlethal force; the duty of care and the duty to intervene--as well as-- victim-centered training on handling domestic violence situations; and safety training for officers responding to calls involving persons with substance use disorders, mental health needs, disabilities, and vulnerable youth. This bill would also allow departments to use funds to provide mental health services and treatment to officers and collect data on policing practices that focus on officer and community safety. In its totality, H.R. 6448 provides critical funding to law enforcement agencies that need it while encouraging improvement among their ranks. This bill makes clear that Democrats will continue to uplift and support law enforcement--as we always have--and we will do so in a manner that ensures officers are well-trained to keep themselves safe as well as the people and communities they serve.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Democrats have always been supportive of law enforcement along with our civil rights friends, and we have put in firewalls to insist that we work together with law enforcement and large and small entities and that we work with on behalf of justice for our constituents and for providing wellness to our police officers, providing intervention of violence, and as well to ensure that we assist in cases that are backlogged. Democrats have been at the forefront. I am very glad to say that we don't ask to defund the FBI, we ask to be supportive of our community.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6448, the ``Invest to Protect Act of 2022,''--bipartisan legislation that would bolster small law enforcement agencies' ability to address staffing shortages and improve community safety through de-escalation training and other resources. It was Democrats who spent two years negotiating and working with law enforcement to introduce and pass the comprehensive ``George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021''--which recognized the necessity of balancing the needs and safety of the community with law enforcement interests. That is why I tried to make this bill better by adding three additional purposes for the use of grant funding. Development and implementation of best practices and training on the use of lethal and nonlethal force; Development and implementation of best practices and training to eliminate the use of excessive force; Development and implementation of best practices and training on the duty of care and the duty to intervene. I am glad those provisions were added where grantees who choose to implement those activities will be given preference. This bill seeks to address these challenges by providing additional federal resources to small agencies--that often have the most trouble accessing federal grant funding--to recruit and retain qualified officers as well as provide additional training and support. A 2016 study by the Department of Justice (DOJ) found that of the 12,261 local police departments in the country, 11,638 of them had less than 100 full-time sworn officers. That is 11,638 police departments that would be eligible to access much-needed funding as authorized by H.R. 6448. Importantly, H.R. 6448 includes limitations on the use of grant funds for hiring and retention to ensure that the funds are not misused, and gives preference to applicants that plan to use grant funds for certain training purposes, including: de-escalation; the use of lethal and nonlethal force; the duty of care and the duty to intervene--as well as-- victim-centered training on handling domestic violence situations; and safety training for officers responding to calls involving persons with substance use disorders, mental health needs, disabilities, and vulnerable youth. This bill would also allow departments to use funds to provide mental health services and treatment to officers and collect data on policing practices that focus on officer and community safety. In its totality, H.R. 6448 provides critical funding to law enforcement agencies that need it while encouraging improvement among their ranks. This bill makes clear that Democrats will continue to uplift and support law enforcement--as we always have--and we will do so in a manner that ensures officers are well-trained to keep themselves safe as well as the people and communities they serve. Let's be clear--This is not a last-ditch effort by Democrats to distance ourselves from efforts to defund the police. Democrats have always been supportive of law enforcement.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, if you could ever be fed up--I am fed up. Fed up, and fed up with the babbling that we are hearing from Republicans on the other side. You know, the question should be: Where were you on January 6 when law enforcement were bleeding on the steps of the United States Capitol, passing out, and dying? Where were you? This is not a political circumstance. These are people who are standing here because Steve Horsford had a personal experience. The Judiciary Committee has consistently supported intervention programs dealing with countering violence. This bill, Break the Cycle of Violence Act, is needed in America. Stand up with us, Republicans. A bill that takes a vital step toward reducing community violence and improving public safety by investing in people, their communities, and establish evidence-based programs proven to help reduce violence. Our law enforcement are begging for this.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, our Nation has a crisis of violence, particularly gun violence, and it is tearing at our communities. I have a husband and a baby shot dead, the mother calling: Where is my husband and baby? The baby is found dead. The cause of gun violence, $280 billion, $700 annually for every American, $488,000 for shootings dealing with medical and criminal expenses. My brothers and sisters, where are we in standing for America and law enforcement and families and children? Support H.R. 4118 so that we can divert children away from violence and move toward opportunities. I don't know what you are saying. I am fed up. Do something about it so that we can fight for justice in this country and stand for people who want to be safe in their community. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4118, the ``Break the Cycle of Violence Act,'' a bill that takes a vital step towards reducing community violence and improving public safety by investing in people, their communities, and established, evidence-based programs proven to help reduce violence. Our nation has a crisis of violence, particularly gun violence, that is tearing our communities apart. Violent crime is not a blue or red state problem--it ravages large cities, small towns, and even rural communities. It causes unspeakable pain to its victims and their families--regardless of party affiliation. The bill would provide $1.5 billion in workforce development grants for youth in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence; and $5 billion in grants over 8 years for evidence-based, community violence intervention programs likely to succeed--to develop and support: community outreach programs, staffed by violence intervention specialists with ties to their communities; hospital-based violence intervention programs to provide intensive counseling, peer support, and social services; group violence intervention strategies that provide culturally responsive support and services; and violence interruption and crisis management initiatives that respond to and mediate potentially violent conflicts and provide support services where violence has already occurred. While the human cost of gun violence is at times overwhelming, the economic costs for communities and taxpayers is also stunning. The total cost of gun violence is $280 billion--every year--with every American bearing $700 of the cost annually as well. Because a single gun homicide costs taxpayers $448,000 in medical and criminal justice expenses and we know that community violence intervention programs have been shown to dramatically reduce rates of homicide and other gun violence by as much as 50 percent--and sometimes more--this bill will save lives and taxpayer dollars. Many violence intervention programs work side-by-side with law enforcement to stop violence before it starts and engage in targeted enforcement actions. Trained violence interrupters and crisis management specialists do the same, while also providing trauma- informed grief counseling. We know these programs work. In communities across the country, from New Jersey to Nebraska, from Massachusetts to Missouri, community violence intervention programs have reduced incidences of homicide and other gun violence by as much as 50 percent, sometimes more. Recognizing the critical role that education, training, and viable employment play in unlocking economic mobility, long-term stability, thereby preventing violence, H.R. 4118 would divert young people away from the circumstances that foster gun violence toward opportunities to gain useful skills to obtain good jobs that pay a living-wage. If we are truly going to break the cycle of violence--we must acknowledge that violence is neither red nor blue--support programs that address the root causes of violence, and give aid to those who need it most--through the community members and leaders who know them best. I commend Representative Steven Horsford for his work on this important bill and urge my colleagues to support it.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, this is a victims' act. So many of us have worked with our law enforcement and victims. The VICTIM Act would provide $100 million annually in grant funding to law enforcement agencies and prosecuting officers to bolster their ability to investigate and clear cases of homicide, rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, and nonfatal shootings. All have family members that are left wondering and in pain. This VICTIM Act, as someone who has always worked with victims, ensures that they are not left empty. Homicide clearance rates, in particular, have dropped consistently since the 1960s, leaving many unsolved cases and many victims and their families still searching. I want my colleagues to have a heart. They are still searching for justice. This legislation by Congresswoman Demings addresses the challenges our law enforcement agencies are facing in solving homicides and other violent crimes in red States and blue States. This critical funding would help agencies improve their clearance rates through various means. It helps retain detectives. It helps in training personnel.