Sheila Jackson Lee

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I am particularly delighted to begin my remarks, as I continue to weave in and out tonight, and then, with my remarks, will yield to Mr. Torres as well. This is a moment in history. Tonight, we will explore honoring our 50-year legacy, Our Power, Our Message. As I was flying up today, I was very happy to find on the movie list on an airplane ``Good Trouble,'' the movie about John Lewis, with so many Members telling their story. I think I will just simply say: Good trouble. Tonight, we hope to exemplify good trouble as we honor the 50-year legacy of the Congressional Black Caucus and emphasize Our Power, Our Message. We want to be in good trouble. I am honored in the 117th Congress to chair the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee and serve as a senior member on the Judiciary Committee, where, in addition to the powers of Congressional Black Caucus, we will seek to have justice rain down like righteous waters. We will do that, however, with the 55 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and I think our numbers are higher than that, and they are all on different committees. Amazing. They will pierce the seams of equality and justice in the 117th Congress. So we will have our past, but we will have our future. Let me briefly talk about where we were 400 years ago. Ships sailed from the west coast of Africa and in the process began one of mankind's most inhumane practices, human bondage and slavery. Approximately 4 million Africans and their descendents were enslaved in the United States and colonies, that became the United States, from 1619 to 1865. The institution of slavery was constitutionally and statutorily sanctioned by the Government of the United States from 1789 to 1865, and certainly American slavery is our original sin. But tonight you will hear woven throughout the remarks of so many of my colleagues, how out of these ashes of enslaved Africans, out of the toll of death from those held in bondage, out of the heroes that fought in the Civil War, who rose up out of the south and the north and came and bled for this Nation, out of that death toll of American fighters who happen to be present and former slaves and suffered indignities, and continue until the end of the 1800s and into Jim Crow-ism, you will find the overcomers. You will find those who have climbed and clawed their way to leadership. Of course, there will be those who say there is no need for an apology, which is part of H.R. 40, no need for a commission to pierce into these ongoing disparities because you have overcome. In fact, this caucus was founded by overcomers, an array of talented men and women who themselves are the cornerstone of democracy and legitimacy. Who would ever forget the Honorable Shirley Chisholm, the first woman to run for the Presidency, an African-American woman, Black woman, and a woman to run for the Presidency, never to be daunted, never to be rejected, never to be denied? Or William L. Clay, Sr., who chaired the Education and Labor Committee, the first Black man, or the second, to do so. George W. Collins, a pioneer and powerhouse out of Chicago, Illinois. John Conyers, the dean of the United States Congress, and the first Member of Congress to hire Rosa Parks, and a Member of Congress--I think it is his distinction alone--to have Dr. Martin Luther King endorse him. Ron Dellums, he was a man that was told: You sit in the chair with Pat Schroeder, in the Armed Services Committee. We are not interested in you being here in the first place. And Ron Dellums rose to be chair of the Armed Services Committee. And how much of an overcomer they are: Charles Diggs, the leading man on Africa. Augustus Hawkins, the leading man on the empowerment of working families. Again, Ralph Metcalfe, one of the early pioneers of elected Black Members of Congress, again, out of Chicago. Parren Mitchell, the father of affirmative action. Robert C. Nix, a pioneer out of Pennsylvania. Charles B. Rangel, who worked his way up from the streets of Harlem to the U.S. Attorney's Office to then be chair of the Ways and Means Committee. Lou Stokes, a major force on the Appropriations Committee and healthcare in America. And, of course, delegate Walter E. Fauntroy, who I met in South Carolina with a commitment to defeat a segregationist who chaired the District of Columbia Committee. Overcomers, but each of them will say that this definition of who we are should not be on the few, it should be on the many. That means that, we, as members of the Congressional Black Caucus, stand here today to be able to call as our mandate, our challenge, our power, our message, is to be able to lift the opportunities of all African Americans and Black people, and people of color, as we work to ensure that anyone who is denied equality has us, we, the collective body politics, as their champion. That is what tonight is about. You will hear a number of descriptions of many persons, and you will hear the words of many of us from different parts of the country. Madam Speaker, I am delighted to kick-off this series of CBC Special Order Hours for the 117th Congress with my colleague Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) who will serve as co-Anchor. Tonight, we will explore Honoring our 50 Year legacy Our Power, Our Message. As chair of the Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security and a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and a member of the House Budget Committee, I clearly understand the importance of history and why we should take time to appreciate the path that has led us to this moment. Four hundred years ago, ships set sail from the west coast of Africa and, in the process, began one of mankind's most inhumane practices: human bondage and slavery. For two centuries, human beings--full of hopes and fears, dreams and concerns, ambition, and anguish--were transported onto ships like chattel, and the lives of many were forever changed. The reverberations from this horrific series of acts--a transatlantic slave trade that touched the shores of a colony that came to be known as America, and later a democratic republic known as the United States of America--are unknown and worthy of exploration. Approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 1865. The institution of slavery was constitutionally and statutorily sanctioned by the Government of the United States from 1789 through 1865. American Slavery is our country's Original Sin and its existence at the birth of our nation is a permanent scar on our country's founding documents, and on the venerated authors of those documents, and it is a legacy that continued well into the last century. The framework for our country and the document to which we all take an oath describes African Americans as three-fifths a person. The infamous Dred Scott decision of the United States Supreme Court, issued just a few decades later, described slaves as private property, unworthy of citizenship. And, a civil war that produced the largest death toll of American fighters in any conflict in our history could not prevent the indignities of Jim Crow, the fire hose at lunch counters, and the systemic and institutional discrimination that would follow for a century after the end of the Civil War. The mythology built around the Civil War has obscured our discussions of the impact of chattel slavery and made it difficult to have a national dialogue on how to fully account for its place in American history and public policy. While it is nearly impossible to determine how the lives touched by slavery could have flourished in the absence of bondage, we have certain datum that permits us to examine how a subset of Americans-- African Americans--have been affected by the callousness of involuntary servitude. We know that in almost every segment of society--education, healthcare, jobs, and wealth--the inequities that persist in America are more acutely and disproportionately felt in Black America. This historic discrimination continues: African-Americans continue to suffer debilitating economic, educational, and health hardships including but not limited to having nearly 1,000,000 black people incarcerated; an unemployment rate more than twice the current white unemployment rate; and an average of less than 1/16 of the wealth of white families, a disparity which has worsened, not improved over time. These conditions gave rise to a strong believe by Congressman Charlie Diggs that black members of Congress needed a way to make a difference by working together. The idea for an organization of black elected Members of Congress came from Representative Charles Diggs (D-Mich.) who created the Democracy Select Committee (DSC) in an effort to bring black members of Congress together. Diggs noticed that he and other African American members of Congress often felt isolated because there were very few of them in Congress, and he wanted to create a forum where they could discuss common political challenges and interests. Diggs believed that ``The sooner we get organized for group action, the more effective we can become.'' The DSC was an informal group that held irregular meetings and had no independent staff or budget, but that changed a few years later. As a result of court-ordered redistricting, one of several victories of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act joined by the force of the Civil Rights Movement, the number of African-American Members of Congress rose from nine to 13, the largest number since the end of the Civil War brought reconstruction that paved the way for voting rights for former slaves. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) was established in 1971 by the following 13 founding members: 1. Rep. Shirley A. Chisholm (D-N.Y.); 2. Rep. William L. Clay, Sr. (D-Mo.); 3. Rep. George W. Collins (D-Ill.); 4. Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.); 5. Rep. Ronald V. Dellums (D-Calif.); 6. Rep. Charles C. Diggs, Jr. (D-Mich.); 7. Rep. Augustus F. Hawkins (D-Calif.); 8. Rep. Ralph H. Metcalfe (D-Ill.); 9. Rep. Parren J. Mitchell (D-Md.); 10. Rep. Robert N.C. Nix, Sr. (D-Pa.); 11. Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.); 12. Rep. Louis Stokes (D-Ohio); and 13. Del. Walter E. Fauntroy (D-D.C.). Few recall that before these storied luminaries were elected to Congress, there were other African American Members of Congress immediately following the end of the Civil War who also served in this august body. 1. Robert Brown ELLIOTT 42nd (1871-73), 43rd (1873-75) 2. Jefferson Franklin LONG, 41st (1869-71) 3. Joseph Hayne RAINEY, 41st (1869-71), 42nd (1871-73), 43rd (1873- 75), 44th (1875-77), 45th (1877-79) 4. Hiram Rhodes REVELS, 41st (1869-1871) 5. Robert Carlos DE LARGE 42nd (1871-1873) 6. Robert Brown ELLIOTT, 42nd (1871-73), 43rd (1873-75) 7. Benjamin Sterling TURNER, 42nd (1871-1873) 8. Josiah Thomas WALLS, 42nd (1871-73), 43rd (1873-75), 44th(1875-77) 9. Richard Harvey CAIN, 43rd (1873-75), 45th (1877-79) 10. John Roy LYNCH, 43rd (1873-75), 44th (1875-77), 47th (1881-83) 11. Alonzo Jacob RANSIER, 43rd (1873-75) 12. James Thomas RAPIER, 43rd (1873-75) 13. Blanche Kelso BRUCE, 44th (1875-77), 45th (1877-79), 46th (1879- 81) 14. Jeremiah HARALSON, 44th (1875-77) 15. HYMAN, John Adams 44th (1875-77) 16. Charles Edmund NASH, 44th (1875-77) At the end of reconstruction, many of these Black members of Congress lost their office and many others who sought elected office or attempted to vote in public elections lost their lives. It would take nearly another hundred years until a sufficient number of Federally elected black candidates would return to Congress. But as too many African Americans know, in some ways, the civil war has never truly ended. On January 6, 2021, we saw the raw, savage face of the lingering confederacy attempt to put a dagger into the heart of our democracy. On that day, every belief expressed by this preamble to the Constitution of the United States was at risk of being lost to the hands of a wellcoordinated attack hidden within the ranks of a riotous, murderous mob that invaded and laid siege to U.S. Capitol during the constitutionally required but ministerial act of counting the ballots submitted by the presidential electors of each state and declaring publicly the persons who were by their ballots elected President and Vice-President of the United States. We all knew the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election long before January 6, 2021 because of the transparency of each state's election administration and that the Joint Meeting of Congress would simply confirm that Joe Biden had won more than a majority of the electoral votes, along with winning the national popular vote by more than 7 million votes. The riot came immediately after then-President Trump promoted a march on the Capitol and called his supporters to `stop the steal,' `never give up, never concede,' and to `fight like hell' during a speech that day, asserting that they would not `have a country anymore' if they did not act. During the breach, Members of Congress were voting to certify then- President-elect Joe Biden's election victory, and many participants in the attack intended to thwart this effort. Violent participants, incited by the former President's rhetoric, injured scores of D.C. Police and U.S. Capitol Police officers--killing one, while four civilians also died. The level of violence and passions demonstrated are out of character for a nation that is accustomed to the peaceful transfer of power, especially when the results were so clear--the President had been soundly defeated for reelection. We did not appreciate how powerful a lie could be in the domain of social media where people can wall themselves off from alternative views and news. A nation accustomed to the peaceful transfer of power from one presidency to another was unprepared for the enemy within; from a Chief Executive who would attempt to strike at the heart of lawful authority to destroy the union so that he could remain in office. The underlying currents that led to the siege of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 began with the Compromise of 1876, which ended Reconstruction. We must have an account of the crimes committed and the exacting of justice to those whose violent acts of rebellion against the authority of the United States resulted in the deaths of six Americans and the desecration and defilement of the Citadel of Democracy. The injury done to the nation by white supremacists on January 6, 2021, can be linked to the harm they have done to this nation for well over 100 years beginning with the end of Reconstruction. The withdrawal of Union troops from the defeated and seditious southern states in 1877 effectively put an end to Reconstruction and ushered in the era deconstruction of any efforts to normalize equal rights under law to former slaves. This period of American history is obscured by time and characterized by a willful ignorance by governments, media, and academia, of the scale of murder mania that gripped the South during the period before Jim Crow de jure segregation, when the lines were being drawn in the blood of black people that outlined what black people would and would never be allowed to do in American society. Before they were written into law, the `Black Codes' were shaped by a series of violent acts that occurred in communities large and small throughout the South, leading to tens of thousands of murders and attacks that maimed many because of arbitrary rules of social conduct such as a black man did not tip his hat, get off the sidewalk, spoke to a white person without first being spoken to, or other perceived slights. The reign of terror visited upon former slaves and their communities began near the end of Reconstruction and resulted in a secret history of the United States that almost erased the gains made by former slaves during the period 1865-1876 that included over 1,500 elected offices held throughout the South. There were former slaves elected to serve in the 41st and 42nd Congresses of the United States, most of whom were denied reelection to office once Jim Crow laws limited access to voting for former slaves. It was unnatural for black communities to have gone silent in the body politic after the strides made by newly freed slaves in engaging in political discourse but that silence was caused by the tens of thousands of singular and mass murders and lynchings that occurred after the end of Reconstruction and continued well into the 20th Century. The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre that killed hundreds of blacks is another example of what a mob stirred by racial amanous can do to African Americans who only crime was living a prosperous and economically independent American Dream. African American history has a long, painful and bloody path that clearly exhibits how violent the Confederacy was, and we have fought a cold civil war for over 156 years, which today is on the verge of turning hot. Evidence of the desperation of black people to escape the drudgery of the south is evident by the greatest self migration of people within the United States known as the Great Migration, which saw the relocation of more than 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North, Midwest and West from about 1916 to 1970. The push to leave family and communities in the south was motivated by a deep desire to escape the yoke of the cold civil war; and the pull to go to other parts of the nation was a chance to live free of fear, which translated into black people who were allowed to pursue the American Dream. This is why for millions of Americans it was shameful, painful and a disgrace that the Confederate battle flag was paraded in the Capitol of the United States by Trump's motley band of disloyalists, something that hundreds of thousands of true patriots gave the last full measure of devotion to prevent in the crucible years of the civil war from 1861 to 1865. The lynchings, beatings, rapes, burnings, joined with roadblocks to advancements that would afford African American people basic human rights such as fair wages, food, shelter, education, economic opportunity, healthcare, due process and equal treatment under the law, were denied for much of our history. The goals of this cold civil war were simple: it was to end or frustrate any effort by society to create a world where black people are free and have full rights as citizens of the United States. The threat of a hot civil war comes from the majority of Americans accepting that African Americans have a place in America, and a right to pursue the American Dream. The shift in American values and views regarding race have come very slowly with advances and setbacks until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 created space and time to reestablish voting rights for black voters that continues to be under threat. In this latter respect, the Insurrection of January 6 sought to duplicate the Compromise of 1876 because in both cases adherents of white supremacy sought to retain and monopolize political power by disenfranchising and disempowering millions of black Americans, throughout the South in 1876 and in the urban centers of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia in 2020. The threat of a hot civil war stems from the fear of white supremacists that a growing majority of Americans accept that African Americans have an equal right and entitlement to the blessings of liberty because they are full members of the American political community. January 6, 2021, was not the first time that white supremacists attacked to overthrow duly elected white and black public officials. In 1898, in Wilmington, North Carolina and again in Colfax, Louisiana in 1873, the election of diverse slates of statewide candidates to public office triggered violent white mobs to attack and murder newly elected officials. The Colfax Massacre, sometimes referred to euphemistically as the Colfax Riot, occurred on Easter Sunday, April 13, 1873, in Colfax, Louisiana, the seat of Grant Parish, where between 62 and 153 black men were murdered by racist white vigilantes calling themselves a militia. Three white men also died in the confrontation, with at least one said to have been shot by his own ally. In the wake of the contested 1872 election for governor of Louisiana and local offices, a group of white Democrats armed with rifles and a small cannon, overpowered Republican freedmen and black state militia occupying the Grant Parish courthouse in Colfax. Most of the freedmen were murdered after they surrendered; nearly 50 were killed later that night after being held prisoners for several hours. Estimates of the number of dead have varied, ranging from 62 to 153. The exact number of black victims was difficult to determine because many bodies were thrown into the Red River or mass gravesites. Reconstruction ended in 1877 and by 1898 the protection afforded newly freed slaves to participate as equal citizens in casting ballots in public elections that allowed for the election of black and white candidates ceased to exist. White supremacists who ran as candidates in 1898, but lost their elections used mob violence to take the offices from the duly elected officials, sparking the Wilmington insurrection, also known as the Wilmington Massacre of 1898 or the Wilmington Coup of 1898. The similarities between what happened on January 6, and the events of 1898 are striking in that both featured a mass riot and insurrection carried out by white supremacists. The mass riot carried out by white supremacists on January 6, 2021, sought to overturn an election where black voters played a significant role in electing Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice President of the United States. Furthermore, to add injury to their racist sensibilities, the preceding day, January 5, 2021, the state of Georgia elected its first African American and Jewish U.S. Senators during a special election. Today, we see the potential for the 1898 level of violence against the entire Congress, which has become the most diverse deliberative body in our nation's history. Since the attack, the FBI has identified more than 400 individuals out of an estimated 800 who illegally entered the Capitol on January 6, 2021. As of January 27, 2021, the FBI's Washington Field Office has confirmed that more than 150 criminal cases against those individuals have been filed. Although some reporting initially contradicted Justice Department officials' public statements regarding aggressive efforts to charge all those involved in the criminal activity, acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin reaffirmed the Department's commitment on January 26, 2021, stating ``[r]egardless of the level of criminal conduct, we're not selectively targeting or just trying to charge the most significant crime . . . [i]f a crime was committed we are charging you, whether you were outside or inside the Capitol.'' The long and blood history of white supremacy requires an approach that holds individuals accountable for their actions as a means of ending the lure of the mob as a tool of violence against targets of interest. Reports that cite that over a hundred current or former members of the military were involved in the riot at the Capitol are shocking to some. Unfortunately, this aspect of white supremacist violence was evident by violence committed by Proud Boys and Boogaloo adherents made clear their objectives. My efforts to focus the attention of the military on this link was evident in an amendment I offered to the NDAA for FY2021 that was adopted. This Jackson Lee Amendment included in the House version of the NOAA directed the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress the extent, if any, of the threat to national security posed by domestic terrorist groups and organizations motivated by a belief system of white supremacy, such as the Boogaloo and Proud Boys extremists is reflected in the Conference bill. The NDAA conference identified that the FBI is under statutory obligation, established by Section 5602 of the NDAA FY 2020 (Public Law 116-92), to complete a report that would better characterize the domestic terrorist threat by requiring the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security in consultation with the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), to produce a set of comprehensive reports over 5 years. The report is to include: a strategic intelligence threat internal to the United States; metrics on the number and type of incidents, coupled with resulting investigations, arrests, prosecutions and analytic products, copies of the execution of domestic terrorism investigations; detailed explanations of how the FBI, DHS and NCTC prioritize the domestic terrorism threats and incident; and descriptions regarding the type and regularity of training provided by the FBI, DHS, or NCTC to other Federal, State and local law enforcement. The conferees noted that the report has not been delivered to the appropriate committees, and they urged the FBI Director to deliver the report without delay. The Jackson Lee Amendment to the NDAA FY 2021 sought the same information that is required under the NDAA FY 2020 because of the threat posed by accelerationists and militia extremists who comprise a range of violent anti-government actors, movements and organizations, some of which branch out of decades-old ideologies and others of which are relatively new has led to violent engagement of law enforcement. My concern is that in the aftermath of a historic national election, the activity of violence influencers like Boogaloo Boys or Proud Boys will increase and lead to attacks becoming more frequent. In 2018, we saw too many instances of violent extremists searching for opportunities to sow violence and disrupt democratic processes. Boogaloo and Proud Boys are targeting constitutionally protected activity for cooption or to provide cover for attacks. honoring our 50-year legacy: our power, our message List of Unfinished Business in the 117th Congress: The work of the 117th Congress is just begun, but the list of unfinished business is long: Ending the COVID-19 by Ending Healthcare Disparities; Passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act; Criminal Justice Reform; Funding to complete the restoration of a safe drinking water system for Flint, Michigan; Enactment of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act; Immigration Reform. The United States is a work in progress, as stated in the preamble to the Constitution: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States. African Americans have fought in every war this nation has faced knowing that they were not afforded the same rights and freedoms of white Americans. We comprise thirteen percent of the population of the United States, and yet experience a higher rate of incarceration, health disparities, more vulnerable to economic slowdowns, and even more likely to get COVID-19 and have much worse health outcomes. Disparities tell the story of living while black in America. Disparities in maternity mortality, in the care we receive from doctors when we are in pain caused by Sickle Cell anemia, or present with serious symptoms like Ebola as was the case with Thomas Eric Duncan who went to a Dallas Area hospital for treatment. Disparities in the spread of COVID-19 are killing Black people at a much higher rate than our percentage of the population in states reporting demographic data. Since that time, we have seen a pandemic sweep the country, taking more than 500,000 souls in its wake and devastating the African American community. According to the latest estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Black people get COVID-19 at a rate nearly one and a half times higher than that of white people, are hospitalized at a rate nearly four times higher, and are three times as likely to die from the disease. Interestingly, a recent peer-reviewed study from Harvard Medical School suggests that reparations for African Americans could have cut COVID-19 transmission and infection rates both among Blacks and the population at large. Their analysis, based on Louisiana data, determined that if reparations payments had been made before the COVID-19 pandemic, narrowing the wealth gap, COVID-19 transmission rates in the state's overall population could have been reduced by anywhere from 31 percent to 68 percent. I include in the Record an article detailing the results of a Harvard Study that found that reparations for slavery could have reduced COVID- 19 infections and deaths in US from between 31-68 percent. There are disparities in every aspect of African American life and death. Between 1980 and 2015, the number of people incarcerated in America increased from roughly 500,000 to over 2.2 million. Today, the United States makes up about 5 percent of the world's population and has 21 percent of the world's prisoners. 1 in every 37 adults in the United States, or 2.7 percent of the adult population, is under some form of correctional supervision. In 2014, African Americans constituted 2.3 million, or 34 percent of the total 6.8 million correctional population. African Americans are incarcerated at more than 5 times the rate of whites. The imprisonment rate for African American women is twice that of white women. Nationwide, African American children represent 32 percent of children who are arrested, 42 percent of children who are detained, and 52 percent of children whose cases are judicially waived to criminal court. Though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately 32 percent of the US population, they comprised 56 percent of all incarcerated people in 2015. In African Americans and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same rates as whites, prison and jail populations would decline by almost 40 percent. We will have special orders throughout this Congress that can delve more deeply in the aspect of live in America through discussions on H.R. 40. In 1989, Congressman John Conyers introduced ``The Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, which later became known as H.R. 40, in remembrance of the Gen. Sherman's 1865 Special Field Order No. 15 to redistribute 400,000 acres of formerly Confederate owned coastal land in South Carolina and Florida, subdivided into 40 acre plots. In 2019, I reintroduced an updated H.R. 40 entitled ``Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act,'' noting that in the 30 years since the bill's original introduction, sufficient evidence has been assembled to not just study but also develop proposals for a remedy. H.R. 40 allows for the first constructive scholarly conversation on race that is clearly needed in the U.S. today and the ability to take a moment in 250 years for a full discussion or analysis of economic, political, psychological, scientific, and sociological effects of slavery in the U.S. It acknowledges the fundamental injustice and inhumanity of slavery in the U.S. and establishes a commission to study and consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery, its subsequent racial and economic discrimination against African Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African Americans. The Commission is also charged to make recommendations to Congress on appropriate remedies. H.R. 40 follows the successful model of the reparations campaign for Japanese-Americans interned during WWII. The campaign began with a 1980 congressional bill establishing a commission to investigate the internment, evaluate and consider the amount and form reparations would take, and make recommendations to the Congress for remedy. Based on the Commission's findings, President Reagan signed into law the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. The bill formally apologized to Japanese- Americans, authorized the payment of $20,000 to each Japanese-American detention camp survivor; instituted a trust fund to educate Americans about the suffering of the Japanese-Americans; and issued pardons to all those who resisted detention camp internment. The nation over the last twelve months has faced a crucible of suffering, death, and disease that has taken too many lives, devastated the economy, and put millions at risk of greater hardship due to the death of a loved one, unemployment, loss of health care or forgone education opportunities. Hidden in these numbers are the health disparities that have plagued African Americans for generations. Today, with a heavy heart our nation sadly marks the loss of 500,000 American lives to the coronavirus: an unimaginable human toll in our modern era of medical and technological advances. These deaths are of staggering proportions and cause incomprehensible sadness, but we cannot think of them as the end of COVID-19. As we have learned COVID- 19 can surge again claiming even more lives. This is why we cannot be complacent or accepting of so much death without continuing to fight. Every life lost is a profound tragedy and earth-shattering moment in the lives of families, neighborhoods, and communities that touch each of us in countless ways as we mourn and console our family members, coworkers, neighbors and friends. Today, I joined my colleagues of the House to observe a moment a silence on the steps of the Capitol for the 500,000 lives lost. Members of Congress joined Americans in prayer for the lives lost or devastated by this vicious virus. As we pray, we must commit ourselves, in memory of those we have lost, to wearing face coverings, observing social distance, washing of hands-and most importantly getting the vaccine when it is our time to do so as a pledge to all who have been taken from us far too soon that we will act swiftly to put an end to this pandemic and to stem the suffering felt by so many. My commitment is to save lives and also livelihoods through public and personal action. As Texans work to overcome the tragic winter disaster that befell the state last week, I wrote to President Biden asking that he grant the state's request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration, which he did and today FEMA is on the ground providing water delivery, food distribution, and other vital services to help Texans get back on their feet. I also encourage those who have lost health insurance during the economic crisis created by COVID-19 pandemic to take advantage of the extended enrollment period for getting health insurance through healthcare.gov, which is open until May 15, 2021. Currently, 36 states are using HealthCare.gov. Since President Biden announced the creation of the Special Enrollment Period for HealthCare.gov, all 14 states and D.C. that have their own state-based marketplaces have announced that they would also have Special Enrollment Periods. Questions about how justice is served to different communities in our nation came into stark focus with the horrifying killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 by a Minneapolis police officer, which shocked and awakened the moral consciousness of the nation. Untold millions have seen the terrifying last 8 minutes and 46 seconds of life drained from a black man, George Floyd, taking his last breaths face down in the street with his neck under the knee of a police officer who, along with his three cohorts, was indifferent to his cries for help and pleas that he ``can't breathe.'' In direct response, civil protests against police brutality occurred in cities large and small all across the nation. It is clear that the times that we find ourselves in demand action, and that is precisely what my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, on the House Judiciary Committee, and Congressional Democrats did by introducing H.R. 7120, the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 in the 116th Congress. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act will be reintroduced this Congress to complete the work this nation has already begun in bringing justice to the criminal justice system. And every day, we use our power and our message to lift up these important issues that are facing our nation, and we ask those who are listening and watching to make these efforts your own. Criminal Justice Reform is a pressing issue that Congress must address. As Judge Learned Hand observed, ``If we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: thou shalt not ration justice.'' Reforming the criminal justice system so that it is fairer and delivers equal justice to all persons is one of the great moral imperatives of our time. For reform to be truly meaningful, we must look at every stage at which our citizens interact with the system--from policing in our communities and the first encounter with law enforcement, to the charging and manner of attaining a conviction, from the sentence imposed to reentry and collateral consequences. House Democrats, led by House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler and myself, as Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, have accepted and embraced the challenge of reforming the criminal justice system and developed many innovative legislative remedies to correct many of the most glaring inequities and racial disparities in the most critical areas of the system. This is an important topic and one that Congress must turn its attention to with urgency and unity of effort to: address the harms caused; get an accounting of what happened; understand how the water was poisoned; make the lives of people damaged by this tragedy whole; find justice for those lives that may have been lost; and determine and provide for the long-term health needs of those impacted. Today, the water in Flint, Michigan is not safe to drink and we have no concrete answer on when it may be safe to drink in the future. Flint, Michigan like so many communities across the nation really felt the brunt of the financial crisis created by the abuse of new home lending practices and deceptive investment schemes that hid the weaknesses in the economy until the great recession spread across the nation beginning in late 2008. The financial damage done to communities like Flint in the form of steep declines in property values, which caused significant declines in property tax income. This was not just Flint's problem, but a national reality--for financially strapped cities, towns, school boards, and municipal governments who rely on Congress to fund all 12 Congressional appropriations bills to provide them with much needed revenue to meet the needs of their citizens. In the 51 years since its passage on August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act has safeguarded the right of Americans to vote and stood as an obstacle to many of the more egregious attempts by certain states and local jurisdictions to game the system by passing discriminatory changes to their election laws or administrative policies. In signing the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson said: ``The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.'' But on June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court decided Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 193 (2013), which invalidated Section 4(b) of the VRA, and paralyzed the application of the VRA's Section 5 preclearance requirements, which protect minority voting rights where voter discrimination has historically been the worst. Since 1982, Section 5 has stopped more than 1,000 discriminatory voting changes in their tracks, including 107 discriminatory changes in Texas. Although much progress has been made with regard to Civil Rights, there is still much work to be done in order to prevent systemic voter suppression and discrimination within our communities, and we must remain ever vigilant and oppose schemes that will abridge or dilute the precious right to vote. H.R. 885, `VOTING RIGHTS AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2015,' of which I am an original co-sponsor, repairs the damage done to the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court decision and is capable of winning majorities in the House and Senate and the signature of the President. This legislation replaces the old `static' coverage formula with a new dynamic coverage formula, or `rolling trigger,' which effectively gives the legislation nationwide reach because any state and any jurisdiction in any state potentially is subject to being covered if the requisite number of violations are found to have been committed. For millions of Americans, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is sacred treasure, earned by the sweat and toil and tears and blood of ordinary Americans who showed the world it was possible to accomplish extraordinary things. I want to thank my colleagues, Chairwoman Beatty of the CBC, and my co-Anchor, Representative Torres, for participating in this Special Order on these important topics. [From the Harvard Civil Rights--Civil Liberties Law Review, June 10, 2020] Why We Can't Wait (By Mo Light) In May 1920, Henry Scott, a middle-aged Negro, was working as a Pullman porter in Florida when a mob seized and lynched him because a white woman said he insulted her.[1] Scott said that she had asked for his help arranging her seat on a train while he was busy arranging another woman's seat. He asked her to wait. The white woman called the police and told them that Scott had insulted her. From there the story followed the usual lynching pattern: A deputy sheriff arrested Scott and then a white mob ``overpowered'' the deputy sheriff and took Scott from police custody. The mob then riddled Scott with ``forty or fifty bullets.''[2] The jury returned the typical verdict: not guilty.[3] Recently, another middle-aged Black man was working when he was seized and lynched. George Floyd was lynched by police officers after a store employee accused him of buying cigarettes with counterfeit money. He protested to the store employee that this was not true. But the teenage employee refused to believe him and proceeded to call the police. From there the story followed the all-too-common policing pattern: Police officers who swore an oath to serve and protect lynched a Black man while their colleagues stood by in silence. Two stories, one hundred years apart. In this time, America has shot forward scientifically and technologically. America put a man on the moon, found vaccines and cures for deadly diseases, invented the computer, and revolutionized technology. But throughout this time, America has left Black Americans behind in the shadows. For Black Americans, too little has changed in the last sixty or so years. They are still dreaming that one day they will be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin, all while living through a constant nightmare. Henry Scott is George Floyd and George Floyd is Henry Scott. And that is why we can't wait. Black Americans have been and will continue to be severely disappointed with the slow pace of change. Before the Civil War, Richard Allen, Robert Purvis, Frederick Douglass, and many other Negro abolitionists and leaders were told to wait. After Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, slaves still toiled the fields through at least 1865.[4] The government promised the Negro ``forty acres and a mule'' but instead gave the Negro ``separate but equal.''[5] The Negro knew that in 1954 the Supreme Court called for the desegregation of schools ``with all deliberate speed'' but was met with all deliberate delay.[7] The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has all but failed to live up to its potential.[7] In 2020, police officers are still disproportionality killing Black people.[8] If we respond to this oppression with the same methods we have used in the past, we will sing the same chants, march through the same streets, and demand the same justice in 20, 40, 60 years. For over 100 years we have heard ``change will come.'' Words that consistently ring hallow. The People must do everything they can to prevent another innocent person from dying at the hands of the police or white supremacists. The idea that the People must engage radical methods of change, change that accepts all action except violence as legitimate, has generated a great deal of apprehension to many Americans. But lest we forget our history, one should be reminded that America's birth and continued existence is a never-ending dance with radicalness and extremism. Ideas that were once shunned as too radical are now lauded as examples for others. Was not Patrick Henry an extremist: ``Give me liberty or give me death.''[9] Was not the Declaration of Independence radical when it stated that it is ``the Right of the People to alter or abolish'' the government if it became destructive to equality.[10] Our Founding Fathers listed in the Declaration the King of England's crimes that spurred and legitimatized the American Revolution--including the Crown's ``protect[ion] of [his soldiers], by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States.''[11] Was it not Thomas Jefferson who wrote to William Smith and said, ``what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?''[12] Was not Abraham Lincoln called radical when he said, ``I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.''[13] And was not Dr. King considered one of the most radical and most hated men in America?[14] History has been kind to these men and so, too, will history be kind to us. Black Americans and their allies can't wait for perfect adherence from their movement on how one should engage in radical change. ``No revolution is executed like a ballet[,]'' said Dr. King, ``[i]ts steps and gestures are not neatly designed and precisely performed.''[15] There will be violent elements in every revolution, but the majority of those revolting are doing so nonviolently. And more importantly, the oppressor is responsible for the violence of the oppressed. The oppressor is responsible for the American Revolution and the Civil Rights Movement. The Revolutions of 1848 were formed by ad hoc groups of the middle-class, workers, and commoners. They did not act with perfect discipline, but we nonetheless celebrate those radicals' tenacity and vision.[16] The necessity of Black Americans and their allies forming a movement for radical change is difficult for many to swallow. It is difficult because too many Americans do not understand the centrality of radical change to American history. They sit in the shade of trees they did not plant, warm themselves by fires they did not light, and drink from wells they did not dig.[17] They profit from persons they do not know, and they build upon foundations that they did not lay.[18] But Black Americans know this difficult truth: radical change is the only acceptable change. They are keenly aware that their struggle for equality and justice is a never-ending battle. Black Americans are resentful because after all these years they must constantly push for change or be pushed back into the shadows. Black Americans are the seeds that go unwatered and still rise. The soil not toiled but still fertile. You can't ask us to be patient with change anymore or to play by your rules because Black Americans have been patient from John Castor to Henry Scott to George Floyd to ---- . [1] Ralph Ginzburg, 100 Years of Lynching 130-31 (1962). [2]Id. [3]Id. [4] Shennette Garrett-Scott et al., ``When Peace Come'': Teaching the Significance of Juneteenth, 76 Black History Bulletin 1, 19-23 (2013). [5] Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, 552 (1896). [6] Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can't Wait 3 (1963). [7] See Shelby Cty., Ala. v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529 (2013). [8] See Deidre McPhillips, Deaths From Police Harm Disproportionately Affect People of Color, U.S. News & World Report (June 3, 2020) https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/ 2020-o6-o3/data-show-deaths-from-police-violence- disproportionately-affect-people-of-color. [9] William Wirt, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry 123 (1817). [10] The Declaration of Independence para. 2 (U.S. 1776). [11] Id. [12] Letter from Thomas Jefferson to William Smith (Nov. 13, 1787), in Quotes by and about Thomas Jefferson (1998). [13] Abraham Lincoln, A House Divided Speech at Springfield, Illinois (June 16, 1858). [14] Tavis Smiley, The One Single Thing Donald Trump and Martin Luther King, Jr. Have in Common, Time (Dec. 1, 2017, 11:09 AM), https://time.com/5042070/donald-trump-martin- luther-king-mlk/. [15] King, supra note 6, at 140. [16] See Melvin Kranzberg, 1848: A Turning Point? xii, xvii-xviii (1962). [17] See Deuteronomy 6:10-12 (King James) (adapted by Rev. Dr. Peter S. Raible). [18] Id.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, let me thank the gentleman very much for his powerful words and his very prominent focus on the idea that you are from the Bronx, but the spirit of the Bronx cannot be taken from you, and that your commitment and your assessment of this country will be defined in your way, not in the way of white supremacists, domestic terrorists, or insurrectionists. Madam Speaker, I think more than ever he has captured an important moment by saying he has hope, and that is what the Congressional Black Caucus represents for the millions of Americans that we represent. He is right, our constituency is multicultural, they come from many different perspectives, they are Black, they are African American--as they may be desired to be called--they are Latinx, they are Hispanic, they are Anglo, they are White, they are Southeast Asian, they are Asian Pacific, they are LGBTQ, and they are varied. That is what we are here today to stand for. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jones), a distinguished member of the Judiciary Committee, among other committees, and a scholar in his own right, a lawyer, and someone who has been able to be trained in the ways of the law, but whose heart is vested in the ways of justice. I am delighted to yield to my colleague for his time on the floor in this wonderful momentous occasion.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Jones so very much for that powerful statement. A powerful statement, obviously, a lawyer's lawyer to bring to our attention the great leadership of Justice Thurgood Marshall, civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall, from a lawyer whom we know will continue to promote justice now as a legislator. Madam Speaker, I want to take a moment to just put in the Record really the historical description of the Congressional Black Caucus. Since its establishment in 1971, the Congressional Black Caucus has been committed to using the full constitutional power, statutory authority, and financial resources of the Federal Government to ensure that Black Americans and other marginalized communities in the United States have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. As part of this commitment, the CBC has fought in the past 50 years to empower citizens and address their legislative concerns by nursing a policy agenda that is inclusive, pragmatic, effective, and resonates with the American people. Just for a moment, I would like to comment on the dangerous interrelatedness of race and the insurrectionist day of January 6. We are on the floor because we have a unique history. We are a multiranged people and a multicultural people. We are individuals whose heritage is intertwined with other backgrounds. We are African Americans. We are Caribbean Americans. And in terms of African Americans, we are Caribbean Blacks, if you will. We come from all over the world, but we come to America and we are described by a singular history. And if we have come with a singular history, I think it is important to intertwine what happened on January 6. Shockingly, Madam Speaker, those who came to object--so they say--to the duly qualified and legitimate election of President Joe Biden and, of course, Vice President Harris, they, of course, came allegedly with that proposition. But, at the same time, I am stunned by the words of a police officer by the name of Mr. Harry Dunn--courageous and brave with so many others--who indicated: The rioters called me the n-word dozens of times. So here we are 50 years celebrating the Congressional Black Caucus. Here we are defenders of democracy. Many of our Members are former members of the United States military, having gone into battle, or our family members have. Many fell in as early a war as World War I, World War II, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and other wars in between. We shed our blood for this country. And the so-called people who came and said they just wanted some democracy, they believed that their candidate won, but they took enough time to call the sons and daughters of enslaved Africans, who wear the uniform defending democracy, the n-word. They took time to carry a fake flag, calling it the Confederate flag when it is a symbol in the 1960s of the harshness and brutality of segregation and the Klan. They took time to bring that flag to the United States Congress, in the midst of the highest number of elected persons of color, persons who are descendants in many different ways of enslaved Africans. But here I wanted to mention Mr. Dunn's name. There were many others who were beaten that day. I honor them, and we will honor them as time goes. This night, tonight, we mention this gentleman who said most powerfully--Harry Dunn recalled the sickening events of January 6--when he says that the level of racist abuse he suffered caused him to break down in tears, but he was not broken. His quote was: ``Y'all failed.'' That is my message today. All of the brutality that we may have experienced, which I will talk about in a moment, all of it failed. That is why we are here today fighting in the Education and Labor Committee; fighting in the Science, Space, and Technology Committee; fighting in the Ways and Means Committee; fighting in the Energy and Commerce Committee; the Judiciary; the Interior; the Armed Services Committee; the Oversight and Reform Committee; and the Budget Committee, where you will see our presence. We are fighting for America, but we are the conscience that drives the reality that there are more people to be concerned about than those of us in this Chamber. That there are mothers and father who work every day, who don't see the fruit of their labor. There are children who clamor for education, but it is not there. There are soldiers who need to have the line of hierarchy and the route to promotion and elevation, who don't get it. There are businesspersons who have brilliant ideas, but can't access the capital. There are incarcerated persons who are not guilty, but are still incarcerated. There are doors of college institutions closed. There are people who want to do better with a new house, but still, in the 21st century, are redlined. And there are many who want to go places and cannot go, who are African American. No, we are not complaining. We are trying to explain how much has been done by people who have had this kind of history. It is important to take note of that. Madam Speaker, may I have the time remaining?

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres), if he will carry forth.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, my coanchor has very powerfully captured the many heroes in our community, historical heroes as well, and heroes who pushed against the edge, walked right up to the line, never failed to be courageous, never failed to work on behalf of people who were voiceless and powerless. Harriet Tubman was that woman. She was General Moses, and she told slaves that it was not going to be their task to stop along the railroad, they were going to get to their destination--and I guess she was a little harsh--dead or alive. That is the push of the Congressional Black Caucus. We are not violent people, so I won't say dead or alive. But we are consistently engaged in pushing the envelope, pushing the margins, and pushing the conscience of this Congress led certainly over a huge number of years by the late John Robert Lewis and John Conyers, who headed the Judiciary Committee and fought against every civil rights injustice. So many leaders. As I indicated, Shirley Chisholm, who ran for the Presidency. And Barbara Jordan, who sat on the impeachment committee as a young Member and said, We, the People. She denied any right of anyone to undermine the Constitution. Her voice was strong and powerful. I am glad to call her my mentor and my predecessor. And so I just want to give these words. I want to capture some words here on that insurrection. Everyone knew the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election long before January 6, 2021. We also knew that the States had gone to a lot of traversing, even they were sued, and they still came back as each State leader said, no fraud: This is the outcome. Because of the transparency of each State's election administration and that of the joint meeting of Congress, it would simply confirm that Joe Biden had won more than a majority of the electoral votes along with winning the national popular vote by more than seven million votes. We all know that this was a historic election; more votes than we had ever counted, I believe, in the history of the United States. There was such a sense of exhilaration because democracy was alive. There were so many young people that voted. So many people of the potpourri of America, all backgrounds. We felt so good about voting together, many of us voting the same way for the same candidate, as evidenced by his victory. States that we had lost 4 years ago, enthusiastically voting for change, for goodness, for a spirit of unity. We knew something was on the horizon. But isn't it interesting that after that election, for months, people had been told a complete lie, which allowed them to stay in places that we did not know and conspire to come and attack this place, this holy place, this place of democracy, this place that has, Madam Speaker, above you, In God We Trust. They attacked this place and the riot came immediately after then- President Trump promoted a march on the Capitol and called his supporters to stop the steal; never give up; never concede, and to fight like hell, during a speech that day, asserting that they would not have a country anymore if they did not act. I read these into our message of our power hour message, 50 years of the Congressional Black Caucus, because I think history will tell. Reading the annals of the Congressional Record, you will see that members of the Congressional Black Caucus, when they were tiny, until we have expanded, have consistently gone to the floor on questions of justice and expanding opportunity and ensuring that justice is a respecter of color or age or region. We fight for justice no matter what the color of your skin, what your background is. We are purists as it relates to justice. We love the Constitution, because--even though we were three-fifths of a person, we were not a human being when it was finalized--it was a document that grew and continues to breathe rights, from the First Amendment to the 13th Amendment, 14th Amendment, 15th Amendment, to the right for women to vote, to the amendments that deal with a right to a trial by jury, to the Fifth Amendment, due process, and the protection of your property. These are all breathing documents and words, breathing amendments that have allowed a people who were in bondage to scrap their way out of the devastation of hatred. We use this Constitution. But shamefully, that fight has to continue. And on January 6, that fight, that scab was torn off again. That rug was burning again. Those who came to say that they were fighting for Trump and fighting to overturn the election, but more importantly, they are fighting because the election was theirs, they called a Black officer the N word more times than he can remember, caused him to break down, among others. And he had the courage to say, all that they tried to do failed. Let me just show these depictions of our journey. I will start with this one. This year, 2021, is the 100th anniversary--I hate to even use that term--of the Tulsa riot. Allegedly, a young Black man in an elevator was alleged to have touched a White woman. I think when he finally got out of the elevator it was alleged rape, or it was rape, a typical story, over and over again. That is why we have such pain for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Pamela Turner, Sandra Bland, Jacob Blake, and Elijah McClain in Colorado, and names beyond, Sean Bell, Eric Garner, the mothers who have become friends, Michael Brown, that is why we have such pain. And I guess my constituent--the family that has become America's family, along with all the other mothers and fathers--George Floyd grew up in Houston, Texas, in the Cuney Homes, public housing. His mother was the queen of public housing, took in children, fed children. They felt like they were at home in the Floyd family. Big George is what he was called. Big man. Took his brothers and sisters under his wing. George Floyd played basketball--my recollection is--in China with Yao Ming when they were young players, not pros. We never know who someone is. So this is the 100th anniversary of probably some of the likes of those names that I called. Life cut down. And this depiction is Captured Negroes on way to Convention Hall during the Tulsa race riot. They were captured. There was no justice. 300 Negroes, Black Americans were buried in an unmarked grave, as we are told. This is how it was. This is how it was. This is how it was. The Congressional Black Caucus will be commemorating that this year. And I will introduce legislation with Senator Warren, on the Tulsa race riots next week. 4,000, 4,000-plus Blacks were hung. And as you can see, there were smiling faces in the crowd. It was entertainment. Come to the town square. No, this is not a depiction of some dastardly person who did violent acts and raided through the community. This could have been someone walking along a dark road. It could have been the three boys in Mississippi during the civil rights movement; they were just driving, trying to get to their destination. These folks could have been walking. We had one woman who had a dispute with a storekeeper. She was a businesswoman. She was ultimately hung; never came back home. The family was looking for where she might be. It looks like another celebratory occasion, hanging. We will hear more of this when we proceed to discuss our commission to study and develop reparation proposals. But let me--before I yield to my good friend and co-anchor, I just want you to see this one. This gentleman's name was--I am going to call him Mr. Gordon. He is a slave--was a slave, deceased. And clearly, those are markings of a very bad beating. But that is not the end of his story. This gentleman came out of slavery and fought in the Civil War on behalf of the Union. This is what we did. We always rise to the occasion. You will hear more about our story. But I wanted to make sure that we just got a sense of how we have been overcomers. But even with being overcomers, we know there is more to do. Madam Speaker, I am very delighted to be able to yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Williams), and she is, in her own right, a leader, a new member of this body, has civil rights in her blood, she is a mother, and she is here ready to fight for our children's education and she will succeed.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her words and certainly her powerful words on the importance of our Vice President, the Honorable Vice President Harris. We are grateful for her. It is my pleasure to yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres), my co-anchor.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, we are humbled by the gentleman's words. We are humbled by this moment in history. I will conclude my remarks by building on Congressman Torres', that we are humbled, but we are honored, but we are ready to work. I will leave you with these words from our colleague and others. John Lewis said we are in a very difficult time in our country. I am afraid we may wake up one day in America, and our democracy is gone. But he went on to say that when you see something that is not right, say something, do something, get into good trouble. One of our ancient fathers, Frederick Douglass, said that there is no power without struggle. Tonight, we have laid the landscape of genius, contributions, sacrifice, brilliance, and the commitment to civil rights that is the Congressional Black Caucus. Our message, our power, Our Power, Our Message. We will continue to work. We will not yield, not give in, not give out, and not give up. Madam Speaker, let me thank my colleagues for joining the CBC Special Order tonight, and I thank the Speaker. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise with great promise to support H.R. 447, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, and thank the manager. I thank the chairman for investing $3.5 billion over 5 years in expanding opportunities and access to registered apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships, and pre- apprenticeships. Let me tell you that in this time of record unemployment, 10 million jobs lost in the United States, we need the opportunity to redirect and retrain the American public. I am a strong supporter of apprenticeship programs. Colleges in my district, like HCC, have programs: independent electrical contractors, plumbers, masonry, that make a difference and have individuals making dollars that they have not made before. I include in the Record two articles. The first one is from the ``Houston Chronicle,'' and the second article is entitled: ``Houston City Leaders Honor Students in Pre-Apprenticeship Program at TRIO Electric,'' both referencing Houston Community College. [From the Houston Chronicle] Interested in a New Career? Consider an Apprenticeship Union-sponsored Programs Build Skills, Careers Houston Community College is restoring an old high school and converting it into college classrooms. And it's using some of its own apprentices to do it. San Jacinto Senior High was built in 1960, and the community college is gutting it for new academic classrooms. The project started about a year ago, and is scheduled to be completed in October. The eight apprentices--six plumbers and two pipe fitters-- are among the thousands of student workers in Houston who spend their days doing construction and their nights hitting the books. Houston's 11 union sponsored programs, including the plumbers and the pipe fitters, last for five years; other programs, such as ironworkers and glaziers, last three years. But once the newly minted journeymen and women graduate, they should have great skills and--if the economy cooperates--a great career path. Chuck Fell, president of CFI Mechanical, which is installing the plumbing, heating and air conditioning in the new community college building, gave the group of apprentices a pep talk last week at the job site. ``You are learning skills,'' Fell said to the plumbers and pipe fitters who are spending their days assembling and installing the massive piping systems and four hours a night, two nights a week in school learning their craft. Those skills can take you a long way, whether you opt to stay working in the craft or move up to foreman, superintendent or project manager, said Fell, who attributed his own success and that of nearly all of his project managers to their own apprenticeship training. In-depth learning ``You could be an owner of a company,'' said Fell, who became a plumber/pipe fitter apprentice in Orlando, Fla., after graduating from college with a degree in architecture. He went to work for a mechanical contractor who suggested that to really learn the business, Fell needed to become an apprentice. As part of that training, Fell spent two years at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center installing the mechanical and plumbing systems. ``Set your sights high,'' Doug Posey, director of apprenticeship programs for Houston Community College, told the apprentices. ``The opportunities are just incredible to excel and to do great things.'' Posey recalled how he put himself through college as a pipe fitter apprentice. He started his apprenticeship immediately after high school and eventually ended up with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston. Pleased with program While the concept of apprenticing yourself to a master craftsman and learning a trade is centuries old, it's not exactly a well-known career path today. But two apprentices who are working on the CFI Mechanical project are glad they discovered the old-fashioned way to learn a skill. Jaime Moncivais, a third-year apprentice, said he would never have heard about the program if it hadn't been for his cousin and his uncle, who are foremen at the job site. He was working for a small company for two years before he left to join the program. Moncivais is 23 and earns about $43,000 a year, plus health insurance and retirement benefits, by working full time during the day. After work two nights a week, he attends class for four hours. That costs him $88 a semester. ``I'm enjoying it,'' said Moncivais, who says he's going to get his state plumbing license before he decides what's next. So does his fellow apprentice Rudy Flores, who said he was drawn by the money. He estimates he earns about $50,000 a year. Flores, a fifth-year apprentice who has already received his state plumbing license, found out about the apprenticeship training program while working for a plumber in Houston who was also a former apprentice. He said he appreciates the intensive training of the program that sets him and the other apprentices apart. it sends a message ``We like to see institutions put their money where their mouth is,'' said Richard Shaw, secretary-treasurer of the Harris County AFL-CIO. ``It sends a message that you ought to be training our students.'' Shaw has been critical of school districts and other community colleges for not hiring their own graduates when the schools need construction work. Funding for the apprenticeship programs comes in part from the state of Texas. But the bulk of the money comes from contractors and union members. For example, members of the plumbers union as well as plumbing contractors each contribute 55 cents per work hour for the training program. HCC is the fiscal administrator of the union programs as well as the two nonunion programs that train building engineers and electrical workers. Seeing if they like it Calvin Speight, business manager of Plumbers Local Union No. 68, said he has 60 apprentices starting in the fall and another 30 the following semester. In the meantime, they're working as ``provisionals'' to see if they like the job. Apprentices must be 18 years of age and either have graduated from high school or have a general- equivalency degree. Houston City Leaders Honor Students in Pre-Apprenticeship Program at TRIO Electric City leaders in Houston recently honored students in TRIO Electric's Pre-Apprenticeship Program, with Mayor Sylvester Turner telling them ``we believe in people like you.'' In proclaiming it ``TRIO Pre-Apprenticeship Partnership Day,'' Mayor Turner recognized the company and their education partners, specifically the leadership of the Spring Branch Independent School District. Turner also encouraged the 40 students in the program to do the best for themselves and their families. Mayor Turner told students that he had once served as an electrician's apprentice where he learned skills that he uses to this day as the chief executive of the nation's fourth largest city. ``Today is a great day in the City of Houston,'' Mayor Turner said. ``Beau Pollock of TRIO Electric has the vision, dedication and commitment to provide students with job skills,'' he said. ``You are trailblazers,'' Turner told the students, ``willing to work hard and learn work skills. In Houston, we invest in human infrastructure because we believe in people like you.'' Pollock, TRIO's President, thanked the students for performing well on the job and proving the program could be a success. ``I had a good idea to train students, yet you had to perform,'' Pollock said. ``You performed and proved this was a good idea.'' TRIO started their apprenticeship program in 2013, ``to help meet a critical demand for electricians with technical and leadership skills. Nearly 200 workers have taken advantage of TAP. In 2017, TRIO started working with Spring Branch ISD and Houston Community College (HCC) to establish the TRIO Pre-Apprenticeship Program (TPAP) for high school students. By the fall 2018 semester, more than 150 high school students will be taking advantage of TPAP through Spring Branch ISD, Austin ISD and Grand Prairie ISD. TRIO Electric plans to expand TPAP to other areas of Texas and the

Ms. JACKSON LEE. We need to be able to provide opportunities for young people, giving them the direction of where they can be a success. I show these pictures of diversity in my district of individuals who are having the opportunity to be apprentices. Increasing participation in programs under the national apprenticeship program through technical assistance brings together industry sector leaders and experts, including employers. This is a new day. As my colleague said, Congressman Lynch: I started as an iron worker and now I am in the United States Congress. This opens the door of opportunity. Let's support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, on the Budget, and as a cosponsor, I rise in strong support of H.R. 447, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, which invests more than $3.5 billion over 5 years in expanding opportunities and access to Registered Apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships, and pre-apprenticeships. I thank Congressman Scott, the Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, for reintroducing this legislation which passed by a substantial margin in the 116th Congress as H.R. 8294. This important legislation has the potential to yield $10.6 billion in net benefits to U.S. taxpayers in the form of increased workers productivity and decreased spending on public-assistance programs and unemployment insurance and which bring America's investments in apprenticeship more in line with countries around the world. Mr. Speaker, the Registered Apprenticeship (RAs) system is America's most successful federally authorized workforce development program. According to the Department of Labor, 94 percent of people who complete RAs are employed upon completion, earning an average starting wage of above $70,000 annually. Yet, according to the most recent data, only 0.3 percent of the overall workforce in America have completed an apprenticeship. Mr. Speaker, this legislation could not be more timely because during a time of record unemployment, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 invests more than $3.5 billion over 5 years in expanding opportunities and access to Registered Apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships, and pre-apprenticeships. The legislation also creates an additional 1 million new apprenticeship opportunities on top of the current expected growth of the apprenticeship system, an investment that not only will pay off for workers and employers, but also benefit the taxpayers. Mr. Speaker, this legislation is critical to expanding the nation's workforce development system during our country's deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression. Specifically, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 authorizes $400 million for fiscal year (FY) 2022, increasing by $100 million annually to $800 million for FY 2026, to support the creation or expansion of registered apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships and pre- apprenticeship programs, including in nontraditional apprenticeship occupations and for nontraditional populations. This funding will also attract and encourage employer participation and recruitment for individuals with barriers to employment, including individuals impacted by the criminal justice system. Additionally, to ensure that apprenticeship agreements and program registration to ensure consistency in quality standards and worker protections, H.R. 447 codifies and streamlines standards for registered apprenticeships, youth apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs. Also codified are the existing regulations and practices to ensure that all individuals have an equal opportunity to participate in programs under the national apprenticeship system, and to increase diversity in the occupations offered and the individuals participating in programs, especially in high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industry sectors and occupations. The legislation institutionalizes, and establishes by statute, the Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Apprenticeship, and vests it with the following roles and responsibilities: 1. Increasing participation in programs under the national apprenticeship system through technical assistance and program recognition activities; 2. Bringing together industry sector leaders and experts, including employers, industry associations, joint labor-management organizations, labor organizations, education and training providers, credential providers, and apprentices to establish national frameworks to expand apprenticeships to new occupations and sectors; and 3. Improving data infrastructure to improve reporting and publicly disseminating information about apprenticeship programs. Another strong feature of this legislation is that it codifies the roles and responsibilities of the State Apprenticeship Agencies (SAAs) by: 1. Authorizing annual funding for State Apprenticeship Offices and SAAs at $75 million for fiscal year (FY) 2022, increasing by $10 million annually to reach $115 million for FY 2026, with one-third of funds equally distributed to all States and outlying areas, and two- thirds of funds distributed via formula to SAAs; and 2. Requiring SAAs to submit plans for registered apprenticeship activities, which generally mirror existing state requirements under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. My concluding reason for supporting this important legislation is that it strengthens the connections between the Department of Education and Department of Labor through an interagency agreement to support the creation and expansion of youth apprenticeships, college consortiums, and data sharing agreements. I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members to join me in voting for its passage.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, this is a daunting and overwhelming responsibility that this country has, and that is to defeat COVID-19 and to win this war against the pandemic. If you take a survey of different States, you will find that there is an uneven approach to distribution. There are mega centers; there are small centers; and there are no centers. I am reintroducing my COVID-19 Delivery Act of 2021 that sets out a protocol dealing with the nationalization or federalization of distribution so that distribution is organized to the extent that every part of America knows when their vaccines will come. We will put out a national app so that public health entities can know when their doses will come. We will find a logistical scheme so that FEMA can manage the distribution across the Nation. We will purposely design it so that hard-to-reach neighborhoods, communities of minorities, will be found and so that we begin to vaccinate people massively across the Nation. We have to save lives. 594,000 may die by May. Please cosponsor the 2021 COVID-19 Delivery Act. It is going to make a difference.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, on the Budget, and as the Member of Congress for a congressional district that has experienced the worst of COVID-19 as a public health emergency and economic catastrophe, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 11, 447, which reorders budgetary priorities to provide $1.9 trillion to allow Congress to take immediate and decisive action to crush the virus and vaccinate our people, build the economy back better, reopen schools, and provide needed support and assistance to state and local governments that have been asked to do too much with too little for far too long. Mr. Speaker, by an overwhelming margin (79 percent), the public wants and is demanding that we act to provide more economic relief to address the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe an additional relief package is necessary, while more than nine in ten (92 percent) Democrats and Democratic leaners say more coronavirus aid will be needed. Even the most conservative Republicans favor more relief by a 56 percent-44 percent margin. Nearly nine in ten of all adults (88 percent) in lower-income households say an additional package is necessary, while 81 percent of Republicans in lower-income households (81 percent) say additional aid is needed now. Let me make clear at the outset Mr. Speaker, that nothing in this resolution precludes the reaching of a bipartisan and bicameral agreement to pass and fund the President's America Rescue Plan, which in nearly all material respects mirrors the Heroes Act passed by the House Democratic majority on May 15, 2020, nearly nine months ago, only to languish on the Republican Senate Majority Leader's desk while hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans succumbed to the virus and millions of others lost their livelihoods and businesses, and everyone faced an uncertain future. It would send a powerful signal to the American people if our colleagues across the aisle would join us in this effort because nothing would better show them that their elected representatives can set partisanship aside and put America first. And that bipartisan achievement would portend success for similar initiatives in the area of infrastructure, energy, national and homeland security, and criminal justice and immigration reform, all of which I am ready and willing to reach across the aisle to find common ground. So, if our Republican colleagues are amenable to reaching an agreement on a legislative response that is commensurate to the challenge facing Americans, nothing in the legislation before us will preclude that from happening. But have no doubt, if they refuse to be part of the solution, the unified and bicameral Democratic congressional majority, in coordination with the new Democratic Administration, will take the lead and act boldly to address and overcome the present crisis. I would urge my Republican colleagues to heed the words of Republican Governor Jim Justice of West Virginia who said colorfully just a few days ago, ``At this point in time in this nation, we need to go big. We need to quit counting the egg-sucking legs on the cows and count the cows and just move. And move forward and move right now.'' The same sentiment was expressed more eloquently by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 when he memorably wrote: The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country. Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan action we took last December was a step in the right direction but only a long-delayed down payment; we cannot afford any more delays, especially since Republican stalling already caused a painful lapse in critical unemployment assistance last year, and additional unemployment assistance is set to expire on March 14, 2021. That is why this resolution, which creates a failsafe alternative so that the American Rescue Plan can be debated, voted on, and passed, is absolutely crucial and the right thing to do and to do right now. The American Rescue Plan proposed by President Biden takes a multiprong approach to tackling the public health and economic crises stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. No one is better prepared or more experienced to lead the American rescue that President Biden, who as Vice-President oversaw the implementation of the Recovery Act, which saved millions of jobs and rescued our economy from the Great Recession the Obama Administration and the nation inherited from a previous Republican administration. And let us not forget that President Obama also placed his confidence in his vice-president to oversee the rescue of the automotive industry, which he did so well that the American car industry fully recovered its status as the world leader. Mr. Speaker, to crush the virus and safely reopen schools, the American Rescue Plan will mount a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide and makes the investments necessary to safely reopen schools. It will also take complementary measures to combat the virus, including scaling up testing and tracing, addressing shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, investing in high-quality treatments, and addressing health care disparities. The American Rescue Plan delivers immediate relief to working families bearing the brunt of the crisis by providing $1,400 per person in direct cash assistance to households across America, bringing the total (including the $600 down payment enacted in December) to $2,000. Additionally, the plan will also provide direct housing and nutrition assistance to families struggling to get by, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend and expand unemployment insurance so American workers can pay their bills, and give families with children as well as childless workers a boost through enhanced tax credits. Mr. Speaker, the American Rescue Plan provides much needed support for communities struggling with the economic fallout, including hard- hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination. Finally, the plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers, and other essential workers that all Americans depend on. Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic, as did the videos of the unjustified killings of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, Ahmed Arbrey, and so many others, laid bare for the nation to see the stark racial and ethnic inequalities exacerbated by the virus. In my home state of Texas, as of the end of September 2020, there have been more than 760,000 cases of COVID-19 and 16,000 deaths. According to the Texas Department of State Health Care Services, 70 percent of the confirmed fatalities were people of color. In Texas, COVID-19 mortality rates are 30 percent higher for African Americans and 80 percent higher for Hispanics overall. The differences become much larger when accounting for age; for example, in the 25 to 44-year-old age group, African American mortality rates are more than four times higher than White rates, and the Hispanic rates are more than seven times higher. One factor in Hispanic and African American populations being more likely to contract COVID-19 is employment in occupations associated with public contact and that cannot be done remotely. The sad fact is that most workers in these occupations are less able to be absent from their job or to have paid time off. In Texas, people of color are more than 40 percent of cashiers, retail salespersons, child care workers, licensed practical nurses, more than 50 percent of bus drivers and transit workers, medical and nursing assistants, personal care aides, and home health aides, and more than 60 percent of building cleaners and housekeepers. In addition, Hispanic and African American populations in Texas are less likely to have health insurance and to have a regular health care provider, so less likely to seek or receive early care for symptoms, especially in the first months of the epidemic. And African American and Hispanic populations are also more likely to have an underlying health condition that makes them more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. To respond and mitigate the devastation wrought by COVID-19 on Americans, and especially marginal and vulnerable communities of color, I have introduced H.R. 330, the ``Delivering COVID-19 Vaccinations to All Regions and Vulnerable Communities Act'' or ``COVID-19 Delivery Act,'' which I invite all Members to join as sponsors. Under the COVID-19 Delivery Act, FEMA will be authorized and directed to lead the effort for vaccine delivery from the receipt from manufacturing facilities to delivery to designated inoculation sites (hospital, clinic, doctors' offices, school, places of worship, community centers, parks, or neighborhood gathering locations. The legislation directs FEMA to develop and deploy a fully staffed and resourced 24-7 advanced real-time tracking system that allows FEMA to monitor shipments of vaccine units that can provide end-to-end transparency on the temperature, real-time location, origin, and destination data, anticipated time of arrival, and report on changes and update recipients on the progress of their delivery and report on changes that may impact expected delivery or the viability of the vaccine while in transit. FEMA will provide an advanced communication system that allows public health departments to communicate their vaccine readiness, capability of receiving vaccines, delivery locations, details of facility capability of storing, securing, personnel authorized to receive deliveries, logistics for delivering vaccines to patients, report on vaccine receipts, condition of vaccines, patient reactions, feedback on how to improve the process. H.R. 330 authorizes FEMA to secure transportation for delivery or use of vaccines, and, when requested, security for the vaccine delivery sites or inoculation locations to ensure the life and safety of personnel and patients who seek to provide or receive vaccinations are free of interference or threat. Finally, the COVID-19 Delivery Act directs FEMA to conduct public education and patient engagement through the provision of inoculations of persons in areas and locations where vulnerable populations are under performing in getting vaccinations. Mr. Speaker, the 2021 budget resolution before us now is not a comprehensive fiscal blueprint for the next 10 years; it is designed solely to provide the option of using reconciliation to deliver critical relief and achieve the goals of the American Rescue Plan. As such, the total spending and revenue levels in the resolution simply reflect current-law projections adjusted for the estimated costs of the American Rescue Plan. Once the American Rescue Plan becomes law, Congress will begin its work on a forward-looking, comprehensive budget resolution for 2022 that will provide urgently needed economic support and address longstanding deficits in our communities and underlying inequities in our society, which have been so starkly revealed and exacerbated by COVID-19. I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members to join me in voting for its passage. [Oct. 14, 2020] Half of Texas Face Financial Hardship Because of Coronavirus Pandemic, Survey Finds (By Nataly Keomoungkhoun) According to the Episcopal Health Foundation survey, Black and Hispanic people are much more likely to be concerned about another wave of COVID-19. Half of Texans are experiencing some kind of financial hardship because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a new survey finds. The survey, conducted by the Episcopal Health Foundation, highlights how the pandemic affects people across the state with different household incomes and races, with and without health insurance, and other factors. Nearly 1,900 Texans were surveyed. ``From being uninsured to not having internet access for online school, Texans say these nonmedical factors are not only shaping how they're dealing with the pandemic; they also could be seriously affecting their future health in many different ways,'' said Elena Marks, CEO of the foundation. Roughly 22% of Texas residents are facing ``severe hardship,'' the survey found, and an additional 28% are facing ``moderate hardship.'' Those with less than $50,000 in household income were more likely to experience financial distress than those making more than $50,000, according to the survey. A third of the people surveyed said someone in their home had lost a job or business or had work hours reduced. Those deemed essential workers make up about 34% of Texans, the survey found. About 43% of essential workers are Hispanic, 38% are white and 10% are Black. According to the survey, those who hold essential jobs are more likely to receive government assistance such as food aid and Medicaid, and they are less likely to have health insurance. Medical care has been postponed or skipped altogether by 36% of people since the start of the pandemic, the survey found. Most said their mental health was good, but 46% were worried about the effects of pandemic-related stress on their health. Texas continues to have the highest rate of people in the nation without health insurance, with 29% saying they lack coverage. The survey asked whether Texans were bracing for a worsening of the COVID-19 outbreak. Overall, less than half said they were very concerned about another wave. But roughly 73% of Black Texans and 55% of Hispanic Texans said they were very concerned about another wave, compared with about 33% of white Texans. A majority did not think the federal government was very prepared for another wave of COVID-19. ``These stark differences in concerns about the future show that COVID-19 is hitting Black and Hispanic Texans harder than anyone else,'' Marks said. ``These groups are seeing more deaths and serious complications from the virus because they're more likely to already suffer chronic conditions related to where they live that make them more susceptible.'' Nearly 75% of surveyed Texans said they received financial assistance from the federal government in the form of unemployment benefits, small-business loans and direct stimulus payments. One-fourth said they also received assistance from programs such as STAR Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Most Texans who receive these benefits are Black or Hispanic, the survey found. About 18% of people said they had received help from a nonprofit organization, and 13% said they had received food from a local food bank during the pandemic. ``This kind of information is crucial to letting government and other recovery efforts know what Texans need to recover from the pandemic,'' Marks said. ``We hope it helps make good decisions about how to reach those most in need with the help they need the most.'' [From the Texas Tribune, Oct. 8, 2020] ``We Can't Do It Alone'': Texans Say Federal Leaders' Inaction on a New Corona Virus Aid Package Is Endangering Their Livelihoods (By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Trinady Joslin) Texas business owners and unemployed residents feel like federal leaders of both parties are playing political games with their financial lives in the middle of a damaging recession. Jacque Miles is three weeks away from losing everything-- her home, her utilities and even the cellphone service she relies on to apply for five to six jobs a day. The 54-year-old Myra resident was let go from her job at a merchandising agency in April and, like millions of Texans, has been watching Congress to see if it'll pass another federal relief package to help her make ends meet during the pandemic and its parallel economic recession. But federal lawmakers and President Donald Trump have failed for months during a heated election year to reach a deal on a bill that could provide millions of Texans with a second $1,200 stimulus check, additional unemployment benefits and more loans for small business owners hanging on by a thread. ``They all get to go home to their nice big house and eat their nice big meal,'' Miles said of the federal officials and lawmakers who have been working on a deal. ``And I'm eating macaroni and cheese for the 10th time this week. How can that be happening?'' It's been a dizzying few days for Texans waiting to see if more assistance will come. Trump deflated hopes that an agreement would be reached soon when he tweeted Tuesday that he'd told his negotiators to halt discussions until after the Nov. 3 election. Later that evening, he seemingly walked back that request, calling for stand-alone bills funding specific programs, which U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled she would not support. Then on Thursday, according to media reports, Trump said talks had resumed. Pelosi's deputy chief of staff said she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed the prospects of reaching an agreement on a comprehensive bill. And on Friday, it appeared that the talks for a large relief package were back on. But it is still not known if or when anything will pass, leaving struggling Texans to continue scraping by with no clear end in sight. Miles likened the ever-changing developments to an ``exhausting'' tennis match. ``I'm just so disappointed with the government in general,'' she said. ``Not any particular party, just the government in general. It's just so sad.'' As families struggle to keep their water running and business owners pull in heavy losses, Texans are ``heartbroken'' and angry with the federal government's lack of support. Workers and business owners said they feel like those in charge are playing games with their livelihoods and are out of touch with the people they represent at the same time that many of them are seeking their votes. The prospects of a deal after the expiration of the CARES Act at the end of July has been a political football for months. Democrats have proposed a $2.2 trillion dollar package, which would bring back an additional $600 in weekly unemployment payments, according to media reports. The White House has countered with a $1.6 trillion dollar plan with $400 in extra weekly unemployment, though it's unclear congressional Republicans would pass such a bill. Both sides appear to agree on sending out another round of $1,200 stimulus checks, which were first sent to people making $75,000 or less this spring. Further delay of any federal deal could also shutter more businesses, lead to evictions and cause permanent job losses for millions, according to various industry leaders. With reduced indoor capacity, economic hardships hitting their customers and colder weather soon threatening outdoor dining, no additional stimulus deal could be catastrophic for restaurants. According to Texas Restaurant Association President and CEO Emily Williams Knight, 15% of Texas' 50,000 restaurants have already closed their doors permanently. With no stimulus plan, another 10% could close before the year ends, she said. She's received countless calls from restaurant owners in tears because, after pouring years into their dream business, they had to shut down everything. ``It felt like a gut punch that the potential relief is officially done,'' said Knight. ``Eight weeks of help for a seven month problem seems incredibly unreasonable.'' ``No time to be playing political games'' J.R. Gonzales, a top executive at the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce, said the lack of federal support has hit Hispanic Texans--who have disproportionately contracted and died from the virus-- particularly hard. ``The back and forth to me is just political jockeying and a waste of time,'' he said, adding that he holds elected officials of both parties responsible for this failure, a sentiment held by most Texans who spoke to The Texas Tribune about a potential new relief package. Gonzales said the Hispanic community he represents has a large number of small business owners, some of whom are struggling to stay open. Many of their customers are out of work or risk their lives to fill essential jobs. ``This is no time to be playing political games,'' Gonzales said. ``Hispanic business owners and workers need these grants to put food on the table.'' One such business is Beijing Bistro, which Janette Martinez, 25, took over from her father, Eddie, when he had a stroke in April. With $250,000 in medical bills--Eddie does not have insurance--on top of the challenges of running the restaurant in Buda, Martinez feels like she's drinking water from a fire hose. She's never run a business before and paused her plans to return to college and study business management to schedule shifts for cooks, manage the books and keep the family business afloat. The $80,000 she received from the Paycheck Protection Program loans, which are now dwindling, allowed her to pay all her staff. Still, Martinez has no idea if she's breaking even or losing money and works every hour the restaurant is open six days a week. On her birthday next week, her biggest wish for a celebration is just to get a day off. And see her dad. ``We're all just trying to survive as best we can out here,'' she said. ``The longer they take choosing whether or not to pass the stimulus, the more dire the situation will become.'' She, too, holds both parties responsible for failing to pass a plan. Washington's inaction has made restaurant owners feel like they don't matter, Knight said. ``It was a lot of theatrics so they could go back to their constituents and demonstrate that they acted and it was someone else's fault,'' she said. Economic issues span industries Many of the issues restaurants face extend to industries across the state. Ebele Iloanye, the owner of the retail store MODChic Couture in Sugar Land, has lost 70% in revenue over the last few months of the pandemic. Though she's kept up with her rent for now, largely with the help of her $11,000 PPP loan, she's cut many of her employees. A second stimulus package would ensure she could continue to pay her rent--and bring back the workers she's been unable to pay for months. That would mean they could then pay their bills as well. ``Things are bad all around, everybody can see it and we're just trying to survive,'' Iloanye said. ``We're doing our part, and I really hope that they would now do theirs.'' Iloanye did not cast blame on Trump specifically--though his tweets were the most recent example of what many consider political posturing--but said that all Washington politicians are to blame for this failure to do the job they were elected to do. Eddie Aldrete, the national affairs committee chair of the Texas Association of Business, agreed. ``Texas businesses are doing their best to weather this pandemic and help our state and nation recover,'' he said. ``We can't do it alone, and we are hopeful that leaders in Washington can finally, for once, find common ground to provide a stimulus and relief package.'' Miles said she just wants a reprieve. While she voted for Trump in 2016, she feels like neither party is willing to bend and offer people help. After more than seven months of seeing disaster everywhere she looks, she's struggling to stay optimistic. Earlier this week, she said if the presidential vote was tomorrow, she would choose Biden. But on Thursday, after even more dizzying developments, she said if the election was tomorrow, she'd just stay home. ``It's hard to find a happy spot,'' she said. ``It gets harder every day.'' [From the Texas Tribune, Feb. 1, 2021] 10 Months Into Pandemic, Texas' Unemployment Rate Stays Near Great Recession-Level Highs (By Anna Novak and Mitchell Ferman)

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise with a somber spirit and a heavy heart to be able to celebrate the law officers, the police officers, who stood their ground on behalf of this citadel of democracy on January 6. Police officers were beaten, sprayed with mace, hit with stun guns, and beaten with the United States flag and symbols of Nazism. You could see their valiant efforts, the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police with our own Capitol Police. They stood their ground, being beat continuously by insurrectionists and, of course, domestic terrorists. Madam Speaker, I offer today my deepest appreciation for them and sympathy for their brothers who were lost in the fight to preserve democracy. Yes, it was a fight because it was an attack on the United States Capitol. We owe them a great deal of gratitude and, as well, admiration. Madam Speaker, I intend to introduce a resolution that will honor all those who stood their ground and protected this place, Members of Congress, and others, and were in the midst of a battle where so many were hurt. I express my sympathy and concern for those still hospitalized. And I do say that it is important for us to say the simple words thank you. Thank you to the men and women of the United States Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, and, of course, our National Guard, and others.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, let me thank the gentlewoman from New York, first of all, for her courage and for convening us together. And I might say to the gentlewoman that we are not doing this for ourselves. We have taken an oath of office. I have said this many times today as we debated a question of the status of a Member. We took an oath to defend this Nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And we realize that that oath is really above our own personal safety; that if we were called upon by this Nation to defend her, to defend our constituents, I would venture to say that most Members would stand by their constituents and this Nation. This should not be taken as Members fleeing out of fear. But it should be taken as an explanation and an expose' of what happened in this place; how it was desecrated, undermined, diminished; how the American people watched this precious place. For those of us who have been here, I fled this place on 9/11. We were in a meeting, and all you could hear is a lot of noise. Members continuing to meet, not wanting to be disturbed, did not move until an officer or screaming came, and we heard the noise saying, we don't know what's going on, but get out. In that instant, we fled, and all we could hear was, run as fast as you can and hit the ground way on the other side near First Street and the Supreme Court. I could see the billowing smoke and the plane that had hit the Pentagon. And so, that fleeing, of course, was because we were told to do so. But Members began to look for their staff and wanted to know what they could do. It was different from having a pandemic. It was different from the setting here, except for the fact that Members cared about what was going on with their constituency and their staff. Here, we were in the same way. Members were protecting their staff in their offices. So I want this not to be about us, but the story needs to be told. As you have already heard, there were those of us participating in this debate, some on the floor, some in the gallery. And I will tell you that the first thing I saw, Madam Speaker, because we did not know of the huge crowds down near the White House. We didn't know that there were people dancing to music inside the White House, watching activities of attack here. But we did know about the major speech that was provoking a crowd of insurrectionists that had planned to come here and kill people. But the first thing I saw was good friends here rising up out of seats and moving out quickly. And only after they began to move did we hear the words, Hurry up. Get out. Flee. Not necessarily flee, but the first words I heard was our good leadership calling for the doors to be closed. Thank them for that, our Sergeant at Arms, who are here in this place. As we fled, we could hear the attack coming from the Senate side, and then we could hear the shooting that occurred right outside in the cloakroom area. And we crouched there, and some of my good colleagues and I began to pray. I started out by saying this is not about us, but it is about truth. And as I mourned and honored Officer Sicknick, as he was honored by being in a state of honor in this House, I was reminded of the many officers, Capitol Hill and Metro Police, that are in hospitals; that are still hurting; and that are still suffering. And I said earlier this evening that I offered to them my deepest concern and sympathy and respect, and I will be introducing a resolution to honor them. But I think the importance of this reliving what we went through is, as I have heard from my colleagues, we must get to the bottom of this. We cannot let white supremacy, which is now the number one terrorist activity or terrorist group in America, more so than foreign terrorists, dominate the goodness of what this democracy and this Constitution stands for. We can't let the idea of free speech be the source of the fueling of hatred and anger that turns to violence. We can't let individuals storm this building and call for the killing of the Vice President, or the killing of the Speaker of the House, or the putting on of plastic cuffs on Members of Congress. We can't frighten Members of Congress in their offices. We cannot allow this kind of attack on voices like the gentlewoman from New York who simply wants to tell truth. She has freedom. So I am here on the floor to say that we shall not be denied. We are never going to give up our love for democracy nor its vitality; nor are we going to let this country be dominated by the insurrectionists who came to this place to do nothing but act in a bloodthirsty manner. We are not afraid of you. And yes, on behalf of all of those officers that the video showed us that were beaten by American flags, beaten with signs of Nazism, we are going to get to the bottom of this for you. We are going to find out what happened. We are going to find out why the information came from the FBI to the City of Washington, D.C., and their police, and it was evident that it was given to the brass here, but that there was no response in terms of the kind of equipment or the numbers of officers that were there, or why wasn't permission given to the mayor of the City of Washington to call up the National Guard. Why did this President deny access to the National Guard to protect, not us, but this place of democracy? I am grateful for this opportunity. We have work to do. But I think the greatest statement that we can make tonight, that we are in the light of day on this floor, as I said before, not for us, but to be able to stand in the shoes of all those heroes who fought in different ways, whether it was in the peace movement, whether it was in the civil rights movement, Black power movement, whether it was Cesar Chavez fighting for farmworkers--people who fought to make a difference for goodness. For all of those patriots, all of those fallen leaders, some assassinated like Dr. Martin Luther King, we cannot stand and allow the voices of those who provided horror to this place to suggest to the world that they have overcome us. I close by simply saying to the world that we had a day, January 6, an attack on this place, insurrectionists and domestic terrorists penetrated the United States Capitol, but they never penetrated the strength of the Constitution and our values and our commitment to protect democracy, but also to give respect and comfort to those who lost their lives on that day or thereafter, in terms of our law enforcement officers, and sadness for those unfortunately who lost their life by being misguided, but also to be able to say that this is a place that we will hold sacred. We will be victorious. White supremacy, insurrectionists, and also domestic terrorism will not prevail over us. We will win, and we will win for the many Americans who believe in the goodness of this country. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me, and I thank her so very much for her courage.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, on the Budget, and as the Member of Congress for a congressional district that has experienced the worst of COVID-19 as a public health emergency and economic catastrophe, I rise in strong support of the rule governing debate on H.R. 447, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, and H. Con. Res. 11, as well as the underlying legislation. The National Apprenticeship Act has the potential to yield $10.6 billion in net benefits to U.S. taxpayers in the form of increased workers productivity and decreased spending on public-assistance programs and unemployment insurance and which bring America's investments in apprenticeship more in line with countries around the world. Mr. Speaker, this legislation could not be more timely because during a time of record unemployment, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 creates an additional 1 million new apprenticeship opportunities and invests more than $3.5 billion over 5 years in expanding opportunities and access to Registered Apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships, and pre-apprenticeships. I also strongly support H. Con. Res. 11 because it reorders budgetary priorities to provide $1.9 trillion to allow Congress to take immediate and decisive action to crush the virus and vaccinate our people, build the economy back better, reopen schools, and provide needed support and assistance to state and local governments that have been asked to do too much with too little for far too long. Mr. Speaker, by an overwhelming margin (79 percent), the public wants and is demanding that we act to provide more economic relief to address the damage caused by the corona virus pandemic. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe an additional relief package is necessary, while more than nine in ten (92 percent) Democrats and Democratic leaners say more coronavirus aid will be needed. Even the most conservative Republicans favor more relief by a 56 percent-44 percent margin. Nearly nine-in-ten of all adults (88 percent) in lower-income households say an additional package is necessary, while 81 percent of Republicans in lower-income households (81 percent) say additional aid is needed now. Let me make clear at the outset, Mr. Speaker, that nothing in this resolution precludes the reaching of a bipartisan and bicameral agreement to pass and fund the President's America Rescue Plan, which in nearly all material respects mirrors the Heroes Act passed by the House Democratic majority on May 15, 2020, nearly nine months ago, only to languish on the Republican Senate Majority Leader's desk while hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans succumbed to the virus and millions of others lost their livelihoods and businesses, and everyone faced an uncertain future. It would send a powerful signal to the American people if our colleagues across the aisle would join us in this effort because nothing would better show them that elected representatives can put partisanship aside and put America first. And that bipartisan achievement would portend success for similar initiatives in the area of infrastructure, energy, national and homeland security, and criminal justice and immigration reform, all of which I am ready and willing to reach across the aisle to find common ground. So if our Republican colleagues are amenable to reaching an agreement on a legislative response that is commensurate to the challenge facing Americans, nothing in the legislation before will preclude that from happening. But have no doubt, if they refuse to be part of the solution, the unified and bicameral Democratic congressional majority, in coordination with the new Democratic Administration, will take the lead and act boldly to address and overcome the present crisis. I would urge my Republican colleagues to heed the words of Republican Governor of West Virginia who said colorfully just a few days ago, ``At this point in time in this nation, we need to go big. We need to quit counting the egg-sucking legs on the cows and count the cows and just move. And move forward and move right now.'' The same sentiment was expressed more eloquently by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 when he memorably wrote: ``The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.'' Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan action we took last December was a step in the right direction but only a long-delayed down payment; we cannot afford any more delays, especially since Republican stalling already caused a painful lapse in critical unemployment assistance last year, and additional unemployment assistance is set to expire in March. That why this resolution, which creates a failsafe alternative to debating, voting, and passing the American Rescue Act, is absolutely crucial and the right thing to do, right now. The American Rescue Plan proposed by President Biden takes a multiprong approach to tackling the public health and economic crises stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. To beat the virus and safely reopen schools, the plan will mount a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide and makes the investments necessary to safely reopen schools. It will also take complementary measures to combat the virus, including scaling up testing and tracing, addressing shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, investing in high-quality treatments, and addressing health care disparities. The American Rescue Plan delivers immediate relief to working families bearing the brunt of the crisis by providing $1,400 per person in direct cash assistance to households across America, bringing the total (including the $600 down payment enacted in December) to $2,000. Additionally, the plan will also provide direct housing and nutrition assistance to families struggling to get by, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend and expand unemployment insurance so American workers can pay their bills, and give families with children as well as childless workers a boost through enhanced tax credits. Mr. Speaker, the American Rescue Plan provides much needed support for communities struggling with the economic fallout, including hard- hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination. Last, the plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers, and other essential workers that all Americans depend on. The 2021 budget resolution is not a comprehensive fiscal blueprint for the next 10 years; it is designed solely to provide the option of using reconciliation to deliver critical relief and achieve the goals of the American Rescue Plan. As such, the total spending and revenue levels in the resolution simply reflect current-law projections adjusted for the estimated costs of the American Rescue Plan. Once the American Rescue Plan becomes law, Congress will begin its work on a forward-looking, comprehensive budget resolution for 2022 that will provide urgently needed economic support and address longstanding deficits in our communities and underlying inequities in our society, which have been so starkly revealed and exacerbated by COVID-19. Mr. Speaker, the Rule provides for the adoption of H. Res. 73, which authorizes and directs the Sergeant-at-Arms to fine Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner for failure to complete security screening for entrance to the House Chamber. The Sergeant-at-Arms is authorized and directed to impose a $5,000 fine against a Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner for the first offense of failing to complete security screening for entrance to the House Chamber. The fine for this major breach of security shall be doubled to $10,000 for any subsequent offense and is to be paid from the personal funds of the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commission involved; neither the Member Representational Allowance (MRA) or campaign funds may be used to satisfy any fine levied for entering the House Chamber without undergoing security screening. This is a common-sense measure to provide for the physical safety and security of Members and staff, made all the more necessary by the horrific events of January 6, 2021, when the 45th President of the United States incited an insurrection against the United States by exhorting his mob of loyalists, many of whom were armed and wearing Kevlar vests, to storm the U.S. Capitol and lay siege to this Citadel of Democracy, and in the process cause the deaths of at least six persons, one of whom was a uniformed officer to the United States Capitol Police, who was bludgeoned to death by the incited mob. I hope this is the first of many actions that must be taken by the Congress, including providing more resources and training to the United States Capitol Police, to increase the security and protect the sanctity of this sacred institution that has stood as a beacon of freedom and hope to people the world over for more than two centuries. I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members to join me in voting for its passage.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the distinguished chairman of the Budget Committee for the masterful way that he has led the Budget Committee and the masterful way that he has led this debate. In the next couple of months, close to 600,000 Americans will die; loved ones will be forbidden from going to their bedside; and some of them will find themselves lodged in refrigerator trucks. Individuals in our districts, like the woman in my district, will report that she has $8 in her bank account and the potential for being evicted. Mr. Speaker, what we are doing today is a rescue mission, like we needed to do for the fires in California, or Hurricane Harvey, or like we needed to do when I fled the United States Capitol as the planes were hitting the Pentagon in 9/11. This is a rescue mission. And I will not take a back seat all the years that I have known President Biden to ever deny his sincerity about bipartisanship. I have worked alongside of him. He is the leader who brought us out of the depths of depression with the automobile collapse. He is the one that led us in the recovery act after the debacle of the collapse of Wall Street in 2007 and 2008. I was here when the Secretary of the Treasury said, America will not be the America that it was, we are going down. And so, we need to go big. The Secretary of the Treasury says--a renowned economist--says we need to go big. This is a time for our friends to listen to Abraham Lincoln: ``The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.'' Our case is new. We are needing the $1,400. We are needing the eviction moratorium. We are needing unemployment extension. And finally, let me say, Mr. Speaker, we are needing to ensure that this work is done on behalf of the American people. We need a rescue mission and we need it now. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, on the Budget, and as the Member of Congress for a congressional district that has experienced the worst of COVID-19 as a public health emergency and economic catastrophe, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 11, which reorders budgetary priorities to provide $1.9 trillion to allow Congress to take immediate and decisive action to crush the virus and vaccinate our people, build the economy back better, reopen schools, and provide needed support and assistance to state and local governments that have been asked to do too much with too little for far too long. So if our Republican colleagues are amenable to reaching an agreement on a legislative response that is commensurate to the challenge facing Americans, nothing in the legislation before will preclude that from happening. But have no doubt, if they refuse to be part of the solution, the unified and bicameral Democratic congressional majority, in coordination with the new Democratic Administration, will take the lead and act boldly to address and overcome the present crisis. I would urge my Republican colleagues to heed the words of the Republican Governor of West Virginia who said colorfully just a few days ago, ``At this point in time in this nation, we need to go big. We need to quit counting the egg-sucking legs on the cows and count the cows and just move. And move forward and move right now.'' The same sentiment was expressed more eloquently by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 when he memorably wrote: The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan action we took last December was a step in the right direction but only a long-delayed down payment; we cannot afford any more delays, especially since Republican stalling already caused a painful lapse in critical unemployment assistance last year, and additional unemployment assistance is set to expire in March. That why this resolution, which creates a failsafe alternative to debating, voting, and passing the American Rescue Act, is absolutely crucial and the right thing to do, right now. The American Rescue Plan proposed by President Biden takes a multiprong approach to tackling the public health and economic crises stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Speaker, by an overwhelming margin (79 percent), the public wants and is demanding that we act to provide more economic relief to address the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe an additional relief package is necessary, while more than nine in ten (92 percent) Democrats and Democratic leaners say more coronavirus aid will be needed. Even the most conservative Republicans favor more relief by a 56 percent-44 percent margin. Nearly nine in ten of all adults (88 percent) in lower-income households say an additional package is necessary, while 81 percent of Republicans in lower-income households (81 percent) say additional aid is needed now. Let me make clear at the outset Mr. Speaker, that nothing in this resolution precludes the reaching of a bipartisan and bicameral agreement to pass and fund the President's America Rescue Plan, which in nearly all material respects mirrors the Heroes Act passed by the House Democratic majority on May 15, 2020, nearly nine months ago, only to languish on the Republican Senate Majority Leader's desk while hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans succumbed to the virus and millions of others lost their livelihoods and businesses, and everyone faced an uncertain future. It would send a powerful signal to the American people if our colleagues across the aisle would join us in this effort because nothing would better show them that elected representatives can put partisanship aside and put America first. And that bipartisan achievement would portend success for similar initiatives in the area of infrastructure, energy, national and homeland security, and criminal justice and immigration reform, all of which I am ready and willing to reach across the aisle to find common ground. To beat the virus and safely reopen schools, the plan will mount a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide and makes the investments necessary to safely reopen schools. It will also take complementary measures to combat the virus, including scaling up testing and tracing, addressing shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, investing in high-quality treatments, and addressing health care disparities. The American Rescue Plan delivers immediate relief to working families bearing the brunt of the crisis by providing $1,400 per person in direct cash assistance to households across America, bringing the total (including the $600 down payment enacted in December) to $2,000. Additionally, the plan will also provide direct housing and nutrition assistance to families struggling to get by, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend and expand unemployment insurance so American workers can pay their bills, and give families with children as well as childless workers a boost through enhanced tax credits. Mr. Speaker, the American Rescue Plan provides much needed support for communities struggling with the economic fallout, including hard- hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination. Finally, the plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers, and other essential workers that all Americans depend on. The 2021 budget resolution is not a comprehensive fiscal blueprint for the next 10 years; it is designed solely to provide the option of using reconciliation to deliver critical relief and achieve the goals of the American Rescue Plan. As such, the total spending and revenue levels in the resolution simply reflect current-law projections adjusted for the estimated costs of the American Rescue Plan. Once the American Rescue Plan becomes law, Congress will begin its work on a forward-looking, comprehensive budget resolution for 2022 that will provide urgently needed economic support and address longstanding deficits in our communities and underlying inequities in our society, which have been so starkly revealed and exacerbated by COVID-19. I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members to join me in voting for its passage.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, today, earlier on the floor, I made one important announcement of one important number. And I said that what we were doing with the budget reconciliation resolution was we were rescuing America. Because 594,000 Americans are expected to die from COVID-19 by May 2021. This is what is happening in Texas. Half of Texans face financial hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic. The new strain of COVID- 19 has come to Harris County. We can't do it alone. We need assistance for counties and cities. My mayor has been asking, and that is what this budget reconciliation will do. In addition, we must realize that roughly 22 percent of Texas residents are facing severe hardship. This is a catastrophe beyond our understanding. A pandemic. And my DELIVER Act is ready to provide a distribution structure so that all over America you can get vaccinated. That is why we voted on the budget reconciliation resolution; to save lives.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, on the Budget, and as the Member of Congress for a congressional district that has experienced the worst of COVID-19 as a public health emergency and economic catastrophe, I rise in strong support of the rule governing debate on H.R. 447, the National Appenticeship Act of 2121, and H. Con. Res. 11, 447, as well as the underlying legislation. The National Apprenticeship Act has the potential to yield $10.6 billion in net benefits to U.S. taxpayers in the form of increased workers productivity and decreased spending on public-assistance programs and unemployment insurance and which bring America's investments in apprenticeship more in line with countries around the world. Mr. Speaker, this legislation could not be more timely because during a time of record unemployment, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 creates an additional 1 million new apprenticeship opportunities and invests more than $3.5 billion over 5 years in expanding opportunities and access to Registered Apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships, and pre-apprenticeships. I also strongly support H. Con. Res. 11 because it reorders budgetary priorities to provide $1.9 trillion to allow Congress to take immediate and decisive action to crush the virus and vaccinate our people, build the economy back better, reopen schools, and provide needed support and assistance to state and local governments that have been asked to do too much with too little for far too long. Let me make clear at the outset Mr. Speaker, that nothing in this resolution precludes the reaching of a bipartisan and bicameral agreement to pass and fund the President's America Rescue Plan, which in nearly all material respects mirrors the Heroes Act passed by the House Democratic majority on May 15, 2020, nearly nine months ago, only to languish on the Republican Senate Majority Leader's desk while hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans succumbed to the virus and millions of others lost their livelihoods and businesses, and everyone faced an uncertain future. So if our Republican colleagues are amenable to reaching an agreement on a legislative response that is commensurate to the challenge facing Americans, nothing in the legislation before will preclude that from happening. But have no doubt, if they refuse to be part of the solution, the unified and bicameral Democratic congressional majority, in coordination with the new Democratic Administration, will take the lead and act boldly to address and overcome the present crisis. I would urge my Republican colleagues to heed the words of Republican Governor of West Virginia who said colorfully just a few days ago, ``At this point in time in this nation, we need to go big. We need to quit counting the egg-sucking legs on the cows and count the cows and just move. And move forward and move right now.'' The same sentiment was expressed more eloquently by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 when he memorably wrote: ``The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.'' Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan action we took last December was a step in the right direction but only a long-delayed down payment; we cannot afford any more delays, especially since Republican stalling already caused a painful lapse in critical unemployment assistance last year, and additional unemployment assistance is set to expire in March. That why this resolution, which creates a failsafe alternative to debating, voting, and passing the American Rescue Act, is absolutely crucial and the right thing to do, right now. The American Rescue Plan proposed by President Biden takes a multiprong approach to tackling the public health and economic crises stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. To beat the virus and safely reopen schools, the plan will mount a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide and makes the investments necessary to safely reopen schools. It will also take complementary measures to combat the virus, including scaling up testing and tracing, addressing shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, investing in high-quality treatments, and addressing health care disparities. The American Rescue Plan delivers immediate relief to working families bearing the brunt of the crisis by providing $1,400 per person in direct cash assistance to households across America, bringing the total (including the $600 down payment enacted in December) to $2,000. Additionally, the plan will also provide direct housing and nutrition assistance to families struggling to get by, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend and expand unemployment insurance so American workers can pay their bills, and give families with children as well as childless workers a boost through enhanced tax credits. Mr. Speaker, the American Rescue Plan provides much needed support for communities struggling with the economic fallout, including hard- hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination. Finally, the plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers, and other essential workers that all Americans depend on. The 2021 budget resolution is not a comprehensive fiscal blueprint for the next 10 years; it is designed solely to provide the option of using reconciliation to deliver critical relief and achieve the goals of the American Rescue Plan. As such, the total spending and revenue levels in the resolution simply reflect current-law projections adjusted for the estimated costs of the American Rescue Plan. Once the American Rescue Plan becomes law, Congress will begin its work on a forward-looking, comprehensive budget resolution for 2022 that will provide urgently needed economic support and address longstanding deficits in our communities and underlying inequities in our society, which have been so starkly revealed and exacerbated by COVID-19. I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members to join me in voting for its passage.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary and on Homeland Security, as the descendant of patriotic and heroic veterans who risked their lives to defend our nation and our freedoms, as a parent with the fervent hope and determination to pass on this great democracy to the next generation, and as a citizen of the greatest republic in world history, I rise to reflect on the state of our democracy as it is about to open a new chapter in the remarkable story of America. In 1776, the Framers declared the self-evident and later the universal truth that all persons are created equal and endowed by their Creator with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As important, the Framers declared that ``to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed.'' This genius of self-government is the Framers' gift to us and America's gift to the world, and for nearly 250 years the world has looked upon the United States with wonder, awe, and envy not just for its awesome powers and achievements, but for being the exemplar to which most freedom-loving nations aspire. But as President Lincoln reminded us at Gettysburg, the proposition that a people can govern themselves is not to be taken for granted; it is a proposition that will be tested time and again and it for us, the living, to highly resolve to commit ourselves to the great task always before us, that government of the people, by the people, and for the people not perish from the earth. As Thomas Paine said in his time, the past four years were times that tried one's soul. The nation was tested, severely so, by what can only be described as the modern-day Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: a deadly pandemic, economic devastation unseen since the Great Depression, social justice unrest, and the very real threat of authoritarianism. While the threat posed by these challenges are still with us to varying extent, we can all rejoice that the nation withstood the challenge, e pluribus unum, by standing together as ``We The People.'' President Lincoln reminded us that in times of testing and challenge that ``the fiery trial through which we pass will mark us down in honor or dishonor until the latest generation'' but that so long as the people ``retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in the short space of four years.'' And Lincoln was right, for on Election Day 2020, Americans by a substantial majority, voted to withhold consent to govern from an incumbent administration and confer it upon another. That act of self- government and sovereign expression was solemnized on January 20, 2021, at noon when Joseph R. Biden and Kamala D. Harris took the oath of office as the 46th President and 49th Vice-President of the United States. The Philadelphia Miracle of 1789 endures but only because we Americans resolve that it does and work to make it so. The President takes the oath of office pledging to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. As does every one of my congressional colleagues, I have sacredly pledged true faith and allegiance in defending the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic and to well and faithfully execute the duties of the office I hold. I do this ever mindful that the purpose of our form of government is ``to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, to insure domestic tranquility, to provide for the common defense, to promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty for posterity.'' But we all have a responsibility to preserve and strengthen this constitutional republic and pass it on to the next generation by engaging in robust, lawful, and peaceful civic activity to hold our government to account and to peaceably assemble when necessary to petition for a redress of grievances as shown by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the March on Washington, following the example of Mahatma Gandhi; by John Lewis and the Civil Rights foot soldiers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama; by Elizabeth Cady Staton and Lucretia Mott at Seneca Falls; by Cesar Chavez leading the fight for human dignity of farmworkers, and by Black Lives Matter demonstrators protesting inequalities in the criminal justice system. For the work of democracy is never complete, our union is always in the process of being made more perfect. Americans have suffered, endured, and survived much pain and heartbreak over the past four years. But Psalms 30:5 teaches that ``weeping lasteth for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.'' So, let us all be of good cheer, for tomorrow, at the end of morning, a new day dawns in America with the inauguration of President Biden and Vice- President Harris and our collective journey towards the beloved community continues inexorably forward.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I think I would like to raise the question, what would Abraham Lincoln do, a man who faced the turmoil of a divided Nation. I think he would look for an individual like General Mr. Lloyd Austin, someone who had had the balance of seeing life as a civilian but being an impeccable leader of the United States military. Mr. Speaker, before I came to this floor, I walked down Independence Avenue to greet the young men and women in the National Guard who had come here from Texas. I wanted to let them know how important it was for them to be here to defend the citadel of democracy and how grateful we were that we had a peaceful transition of power yesterday. What I see in Mr. Austin is a recognition that civilian control of the military has been a bedrock principle of our democracy since the founding of our Republic. Yet, at the same time, in the backdrop of the last 4 years, I think he is needed for two reasons. One, the military has faced an enormous amount of instability. They were called ``suckers'' and ``losers.'' Generals were criticized. So you need someone who is a military person's military person, someone they know is part of the team. Then you need someone who can build that morale. Yes, we had morale in the previous administration of President Barack Obama, having respected them. Now, I believe we must give President Joe Biden the opportunity for his Secretary of Defense. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who will support this concept, knowing that we believe that civilian control of the military is a bedrock. I do think that we cannot call this a precedent. One and two is not a precedent. I do think we can look at maybe some other definitions of what it means. But a man who is able to end a war of 150,000 soldiers coming home is a man who can lead the United States military in a spirit of lifting the morale, providing stability, and calling them the brave men and women that they are. Let's support the waiver. Vote ``yes'' on this resolution. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary and on Homeland Security, I rise in support of H.R. 335, which provides an exception to a limitation against appointment of persons as Secretary of Defense within seven years of relief from active duty as a regular commissioned officer of the Armed Forces so that President Biden can nominate retired four-star Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III to serve as the next Secretary of Defense. Gen. Austin retired from active duty in 2016, which under current law (10 U.S.C. Sec. 113(a)), makes him ineligible for appointment as Secretary of Defense. Civilian control of the military has been a bedrock principle of our democracy since the founding of the Republic. That principle has served the nation well and we should depart from it only where there is compelling reason to do so. Indeed, in the history of the Department of Defense, the only Defense Secretary ever given a waiver was then-Secretary of State, General George Marshall--who was provided an individual waiver in 1950 at the height of the Korean War in a stand-alone bill approved by the Congress. That is why I did not support granting waiver for General Mattis to be nominated as Secretary of Defense in the last administration. Even General Mattis is a great general and a great American and served well as Secretary of Defense. But the experience of the last four years leads me to a different result today. For four years, the Department of Defense has had to deal with attempts by the last President and his staff to undermine the independence and capability of the Department of Defense, going so far as to refer to the men and women who risk their lives to keep us free as ``suckers'' and ``losers'' and appointing unqualified persons as Acting Secretary of Defense and to other senior positions. The Pentagon needs--the United States needs--an experienced, Senate- confirmed Secretary of Defense to restore morale and regularity as soon as possible. I agree with President Biden that Gen. Austin's many strengths and intimate knowledge of the Department of Defense and our government are uniquely matched to the challenges and crises we face. The next Secretary of Defense will need to immediately quarterback an enormous logistics operation to help distribute COVID-19 vaccines widely and equitably. General Austin oversaw the largest logistical operation undertaken by the Army in six decades--the Iraq drawdown of 150,000 service personnel. The next Secretary of Defense will need to ensure the well-being and resilience of our servicemembers and their families, strained by almost two decades of war. General Austin knows the incredible cost of war and the hardships experienced by the families that pay it. The next Secretary of Defense will have to make sure that our armed forces reflect and promote the full diversity of our nation. General Austin is uniquely qualified to lead and oversee this effort to ensure that every member of the armed forces is treated with dignity and respect, including Black, Latino, Asian American, Native American, women, and LGBTQ+ service members. General Austin, who was born in Mobile, Alabama and raised in Thomasville, Georgia, graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1975 and rose through the Army's ranks during his distinguished and trailblazing career, becoming only the sixth African American to attain the rank of an Army four-star general, and over his nearly four-decade military career, challenged his beloved institution to grow more inclusive and more diverse at every step. General Austin was the first African American general officer to lead an Army corps in combat and the first African American to command an entire theater of war, and if confirmed, will be the first African American to helm the Defense Department, which will signal to every American and every member of the Armed Forces that the country they pledge the last full measure of devotion is one of endless possibilities. Any lingering concerns I may have about injuring the sacred principle of civilian control over the military have been laid to rest by the Armed Services Committee Chairman Smith's representations that General Austin has assured him that he understands this crucial principle and that he is completely committed to upholding it. In addition, Chairman Smith represents that General Austin has agreed to appear before the members of the House Armed Services Committee to address the issue, and he has already spoken to numerous House members and made it clear that he will ensure that civilian control of the military is maintained. Finally, President Biden has also already expressed his intent to nominate civilians with strong backgrounds and expertise to fill the roles of Deputy Secretary of Defense, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense. Mr. Speaker, we also cannot overlook the impact of January 6, 2021 on the decision we are called upon to make. On that day, the U.S. Capitol, was attacked and breached by angry mob of insurrectionists, comprised of an inordinate number of white supremacists and white nationalists, intent on preventing the Congress from carrying out its constitutionally imposed responsibility of counting electoral votes and announcing the election of the President and Vice-President. This represent a dangerous escalation in the activities of what FBI Director Wray testified to Congress is the greatest domestic terror threat facing the nation. Equally disturbing is that troubling evidence continues to emerge that the military itself has servicemembers sympathetic to extreme views and white supremacist causes. The appointment of the first African American to lead the Department of Defense in the nation's history will send a powerful signal that racism, anti-Semitism, misogyny, homophobia, and other divisive, anti- social, and anti-American attitudes and actions have no place in the Armed Forces and will not be tolerated. For all of these reasons, I urge all Members to join me in voting for H.R. 335, granting the waiver needed to pave the way for Secretary- designate Lloyd J. Austin III to serve as Secretary of Defense. [From the Hill, Jan. 19, 2021] Lloyd Austin is the Right Nominee for Defense Secretary and the Right Leader for This Moment (By Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Opinion Contributor) As a senior member of Congress and a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, I know the importance of domestic security and the defense of our nation. Retired General Austin, I believe, can bring that balance and that is why he deserves a congressional waiver to become President- elect Biden's secretary of Defense. I am going to support President-elect Joe Biden's nomination of retired General Lloyd Austin as the 28th U.S. secretary of Defense. First, let me acknowledge that I did not support giving a waiver to General James Mattis to become the secretary of Defense nominated by President Donald J. Trump in 2017. My opposition was not because I did not have respect for General Mattis who might have warranted such a waiver, but it was rather because of the view that I had of the United States military at that time. President Barack Obama handed off to the Trump administration a military that was strong in morale and a stable organization. After all, the military under his command was able to capture our greatest enemy--Osama bin Laden. His capture was an enormous boost to the Pentagon and to the overall military rank and file. Military personnel and families were treated with dignity and their needs were responded to expeditiously. Certainly, improvement could have been made, but generally the United States military was in very good shape. On the other hand, in 2020, my concern is that throughout the last four years the military has been under attack by negative comments on generals and by a succession of secretaries of Defense. There is a great need to bring in a person who can first of all boost the morale of our men and women in uniform who sacrifice their lives on behalf of the people of this nation, and their families every day. Secondarily, now we need stability and a firm hand that shows the balance between the needs of the military and guidance as a civilian leader. I believe after listening to Mr. Austin in our conversation, it is clear that his view of the role of the secretary of Defense is solidly based on the fact that the Commander in Chief is his boss and will be the guiding force on the policies and on the vision for action. This is a time for impeccable leadership to bring about a morality boost and stability to our men and women in uniform. And for that reason, I truly believe this is a distinct and different time, and that General Austin who has been a civilian for a good period of time knows the role of a civilian leader and will act accordingly. I believe more that this is the right decision at the right time. Lloyd Austin, a retired General, is an accomplished and respected trailblazer in the United States Army. He is a trusted and crisis-tested leader who has broken barriers in his historic ascent to the highest ranks of the military. With more than 40 years of service, Retired General Lloyd Austin is a deeply experienced and highly decorated commander who has served with distinction in several of the Pentagon's most crucial roles. He is a son of the South born in Mobile, Ala., and grew up in Thomasville, Ga. He graduated from West Point United States Military Academy and later earned degrees from Auburn University, Webster University, the Army Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. Mr. Lloyd Austin was promoted to Lieutenant General in 2006 and assumed command of the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg. And in 2009 he handed over his command to become the Director of the Joint Staff. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2016 as the first African American to serve as Commander of CENTCOM, the U.S. Central Command, where he oversaw America's military strategy and joint operations throughout the Middle East and in Afghanistan. He was the chief architect of the military campaign to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and became the second highest ranking commander in Iraq, taking command of the Multi-National Corps--Iraq. Mr. Lloyd Austin is highly decorated with many awards and decorations including medals for Defense Distinguished Service Medals, Army Distinguished Service Medals, a Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medals, and a Legion of Merit medal. If confirmed, Lloyd Austin will become the first African American secretary of Defense which culminates a barrier- breaking career as the first African American general officer to command an Army Division in combat, to lead a Corps in combat, to command an entire theater of war, and to serve as Commander of U.S. Central Command. Secretary-designate Austin has proven and demonstrated extraordinary leadership across a lifetime of distinguished service and is well prepared to lead our nation's military as a strong and dedicated civilian leader. The nation needs a leader over the Pentagon that respects civilian control, to build up morale of our armed forces, and bring consistency, stability, and leadership at the highest level to the Department of Defense. That is Lloyd Austin, retired General. Further, as an African American woman, I believe this historic moment will further heal and unify the nation. Secretary-designate Lloyd Austin has previously been confirmed by the Senate because of his impeccable commitment to duty and his reputation. As a proud American who loves his country just as much out of uniform as in uniform, he deserves a waiver by the Congress and deserves to be confirmed for this critical role of overseeing our military forces and protecting our great nation. Retired General Lloyd Austin is an example of why America is still that ``shining city on the hill'' and why he should be confirmed by the United States Senate for secretary of Defense. Retired General Lloyd Austin is the right person for this right and momentous time in our nation's history.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I was on that floor just 1 week ago. So, today, the insurrectionist in chief will be impeached for insurrection. It is because he failed to defend this Nation against all enemies, domestic and foreign. And he stood down near the White House and told a mob of domestic terrorists to go and show your strength, be strong, you can't gain anything because of weakness. We must hold him accountable. We can heal this Nation, but he must be impeached today. We must impeach Donald J. Trump as an insurrectionist. Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary and on Homeland Security, as the descendant of patriotic and heroic veterans who risked their lives to defend our nation and our freedoms, as a parent with the fervent hope and determination to pass on this great democracy to the next generation, and as a citizen of the greatest republic in world history, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 24, a resolution impeaching the current President of the United States for High Crimes and Misdemeanors, warranting his conviction and removal from office and, in accordance with Article I, Section 3, clause 7, disqualification from ever again holding and enjoying an Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States.'' I strongly support the impeachment and removal of this President because after the horrifying events of Wednesday last, January 6, 2021, another day that will live in infamy, the continuance in office of this President for even one moment longer represents a clear and present threat to the security of the United States, its people, institutions, and democratic form of government. To put it in the words of the Framers, the current President's conduct reflects and reveals a person ``whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.'' To put it in contemporary terms, the current President can rightly be said to be perhaps the leading cause of state-sponsored domestic terrorism. Every minute this President remains in office represents a minute of maximum peril to the American people and the American Experiment. Unrepentant after his perfidious and treacherous conduct of Wednesday last, the President just yesterday went to Alamo, Texas, without giving any advance notice or consultation to the leaders of that community. Does anyone really doubt that the President's true purpose in going to Alamo was to signal to his band of disloyalists his desire that they make a last stand and fight to the death in his name? I do not, and neither does the majority of the American people, and I suspect that in their heart of hearts, neither do our colleagues on the Republican side. Madam Speaker, three facts demonstrate why immediate action to remove the President is essential. First, the abject failure and refusal of the President to take care that the laws be faithfully executed puts lives at risk. When the U.S. Capitol was besieged last week by domestic terrorists, the President obstructed and denied the request of the Mayor of the District Columbia to call out the National Guard to protect life and property; it took the Vice-President, working with Speaker Pelosi and incoming Senate Majority Leader Schumer to prevail upon the Department of Defense to come to the defense of Capitol and the people trapped inside. Instead of acting in accordance with his sacred oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and to take care that the people and property of the United States are protected against all enemies, foreign or domestic, the President did nothing but watch the mayhem on television, ebullient at the display of support from his lawless loyalists. Second, the current President's conduct stands in stark and marked contrast to his conduct earlier this year when protests were sweeping the country in response to the murder of George Floyd, when the President dispatched law enforcement authorities to put down peaceful protests led by moms and veterans in Portland, Oregon and social justice activists in Washington, D.C. Back then, the President mobilized a heavy police presence, many on horseback and others using tear gas, to clear Lafayette Square of peaceful protesters so he could walk across the street to have himself photographed clutching a bible upside down in front of a church. Third, the President's words, actions, and conduct betray a contempt and hostility to the national value of equal justice under law, telling the domestic terrorists, nearly all of whom were white and who support him politically, who stormed the Capitol to derail Congress from completing its constitutionally required duty of counting and verifying the votes of presidential electors, that ``we love you. You're very special,'' while referring to African Americans and other persons of color protesting social injustice and inequalities in the criminal justice system as ``animals,'' ``thugs,'' and ``anarchists.'' Madam Speaker, the President's actions inciting insurrection against the United States was the proximate cause of the horrifying siege of the U.S. Capitol, the destruction and desecration of the Citadel of Democracy, and the deaths of at least six persons, one of whom was a uniformed officer to the United States Capitol Police, who was bludgeoned to death by the incited mob. Abusing the powers and resources of his high office, Donald John Trump has actively and continuously endeavored to undermine the essential institutions and foundations of a democratic system of government in the United States, engaging in a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evincing a design to make himself an authoritarian ruler unaccountable to, and independent of, the people of the United States. The utter unfitness of the President for the office he holds and his contempt for the sacred oath he took before the nation with God as his witness, was vividly on display on January 6, 2021. But signs of his calumny were on display in plain sight, reflected by his misbehavior and malfeasance from the earliest days of his administration. Abusing the powers and resources of his high office, this President has actively and continuously endeavored to undermine the essential institutions and foundations of a democratic system of government in the United States, engaging in a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evincing a design to make himself an authoritarian ruler unaccountable to, and independent of, the people of the United States by: (1) Soliciting and welcoming the assistance of a hostile foreign power to aid him in securing election in 2016 as President of the United States; (2) Refusing to acknowledge Russian interference in the internal affairs of the United States, and then opposing responses by Congress and the Executive Branch to protect the national security and interests of the United States against future Russian interference and aggression. (3) Publicly conveying his interest and willingness to accept the assistance of foreign powers in his attempt win reelection as President of the United States; (4) Refusing continuously to acknowledge to the American people that he would accept and be bound by the verdict rendered in the 2020 Presidential election, instead claiming that any outcome in which he was not declared the winner was fraudulent, rigged, and illegitimate; (5) Taking active measures to impede and undermine the ability of American citizens to convey their disapproval of his continuance in office by exercising their rights as voters, including misusing the United States Postal Service to prevent the timely delivery of mail-in ballots; (6) Instituting frivolous lawsuits to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election, falsely alleging wide-spread voting fraud but producing no evidence in support of his spurious allegations; (7) Exhorting and inciting his supporters to believe falsely that victory in the 2020 Presidential election had been stolen from him and that constitutionally required Joint Meeting of Congress for the purpose of counting the votes of electors and announcement of the result by the President of the Senate was illegitimate and intended to complete the theft of his victory; and (8) Failing to take action to protect and defend Federal officers and personnel, property, buildings, and institutions on January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol that was besieged by supporters of Donald John Trump, resulting in extensive damage to the property of the United States and the deaths of at least four persons. This is why multiple Members of Congress, introduced resolutions of articles of impeachment; joined by dozens of original cosponsors, I introduced H. Res. 26, impeaching the President for the High Crimes and Misdemeanors of (1) Abuse of Power and (2) Willful Refusal And Failure To Protect And Defend The Constitution Of The United States. Madam Speaker, Donald John Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. He must be impeached, convicted, removed from office, and disqualified from ever again holding and enjoying an Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States. My love and reverence for the Constitution compels me to vote to impeach this President and I urge all my colleagues who revere the Constitution and our democracy, which has endured for more than 240 years, to join me in voting for H. Res. 24, impeaching Donald John Trump again for High Crimes and Misdemeanors against the United States.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Contrary to my good friend's words, the President of the United States is an insurrectionist. He led an insurrection against the United States of America. Prior to the January 6 attack by violent domestic terrorists, the President spoke to the crowd for 1 hour, and these were his words. These were his words, which is that we cannot take the Nation back. We have to take the Nation back with strength, and you must go and do that. Those were the paraphrase of his words. The President provoked these domestic terrorists with words, with actions and conduct that betray a contempt and hostility to the national value of equal justice under the law, telling domestic terrorists, nearly all of them white supremacists, many of them, who support him politically, who stormed the Capitol to derail Congress from completing its constitutionally required duty of counting and verifying the vote. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary and on Homeland Security, I rise in strong support of the rule governing debate on H. Res. 24, a resolution impeaching the current President of the United States for High Crimes and Misdemeanors, warranting his conviction and removal from office and, in accordance with Article I, Section 3, clause 7, disqualification from ever again holding and enjoying an Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States.'' I strongly support the rule and the underlying resolution calling for impeachment and removal of this President because after the horrifying events of Wednesday last, January 6, 2021, another day that will live in infamy, the continuance in office of this President for even one moment longer represents a clear and present threat to the security of the United States, its people, institutions, and democratic form of government. To put it in the words of the Framers, the current President's conduct reflects and reveals a person ``whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.'' To put it in contemporary terms, the current President can rightly be said to be perhaps the leading cause of state-sponsored domestic terrorism. Every minute this President remains in office represents a minute of maximum peril to the American people and the American Experiment. Unrepentant after his perfidious and treacherous conduct of Wednesday last, the President just yesterday went to Alamo, Texas, without giving any advance notice or consultation to the leaders of that community. Does anyone really doubt that the President's true purpose in going to Alamo was to signal to his band of disloyalists his desire that they make a last stand and fight to the death in his name? I do not, and neither does the majority of the American people, and I suspect that in their heart of hearts, neither do our colleagues on the Republican side. Mr. Speaker, three facts demonstrate why immediate action to remove the President is essential. First, the abject failure and refusal of the President to take care that the laws be faithfully executed puts lives at risk. When the U.S. Capitol was besieged last week by domestic terrorists, the President obstructed and denied the request of the Mayor of the District of Columbia to call out the National Guard to protect life and property; it took the Vice-President, working with Speaker Pelosi and incoming Senate Majority Leader Schumer to prevail upon the Department of Defense to come to the defense of the Capitol and the people trapped inside. Instead of acting in accordance with his sacred oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and to take care that the people and property of the United States are protected against all enemies, foreign or domestic, the President did nothing but watch the mayhem on television, ebullient at the enthusiastic display of support from his lawless loyalists. Second, the current President's conduct stands in stark and marked contrast to his conduct earlier this year when protests were sweeping the country in response to the murder of George Floyd, when the President dispatched law enforcement authorities to put down peaceful protests led by moms and veterans in Portland, Oregon and social justice activists in Washington, D.C. Back then, the President mobilized a heavy police presence, many on horseback and others using tear gas, to clear Lafayette Square of peaceful protesters so he could walk across the street to have himself photographed clutching a bible upside down in front of a church. Third, the President's words, actions, and conduct betray a contempt and hostility to the national value of equal justice under law, telling the domestic terrorists, many of whom were white supremacists who support him politically, who stormed the Capitol to derail Congress from completing its constitutionally required duty of counting and verifying the votes of presidential electors, that ``we love you. You're very special,'' while referring to African Americans and other persons of color protesting social injustice and inequalities in the criminal justice system as ``animals,'' ``thugs,'' and ``anarchists.'' Mr. Speaker, the President's actions inciting insurrection against the United States was the proximate cause of the horrifying siege of the U.S. Capitol, the destruction and desecration of the Citadel of Democracy, and the deaths of at least six persons, one of whom was a uniformed officer to the United States Capitol Police, whom was bludgeoned to death by the incited mob. Abusing the powers and resources of his high office, Donald John Trump has actively and continuously endeavored to undermine the essential institutions and foundations of a democratic system of government in the United States, engaging in a long train of abuses and usurptions, pursuing invariably the same object, evincing a design to make himself an authoritarian ruler unaccountable to, and independent of, the people of the United States. The utter unfitness of the President for the office he holds and his contempt for the sacred oath he took before the nation with God as his witness, was vividly on display on January 6, 2021. But signs of his calumny were on display in plain sight, reflected by his misbehavior and malfeasance from the earliest days of his administration. Abusing the powers and resources of his high office, this President has actively and continuously endeavored to undermine the essential institutions and foundations of a democratic system of government in the United States, engaging in a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evincing a design to make himself an authoritarian ruler unaccountable to, and independent of, the people of the United States by: (1) Soliciting and welcoming the assistance of a hostile foreign power to aid him in securing election in 2016 as President of the United States; (2) Refusing to acknowledge Russian interference in the internal affairs of the United States, and then opposing responses by Congress and the Executive Branch to protect the national security and interests of the United States against future Russian interference and aggression; (3) Publicly conveying his interest and willingness to accept the assistance of foreign powers in his attempt win reelection as President of the United States; (4) Refusing continuously to acknowledge to the American people that he would accept and be bound by the verdict rendered in the 2020 Presidential election, instead claiming that any outcome in which he was not declared the winner was fraudulent, rigged, and illegitimate; (5) Taking active measures to impede and undermine the ability of American citizens to convey their disapproval of his continuance in office by exercising their rights as voters, including misusing the United States Postal Service to prevent the timely delivery of mail-in ballots; (6) Instituting frivolous lawsuits to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election, falsely alleging wide-spread voting fraud but producing no evidence in support of his spurious allegations; (7) Exhorting and inciting his supporters to believe falsely that victory in the 2020 Presidential election had been stolen from him and that constitutionally required Joint Meeting of Congress for the purpose of counting the votes of electors and announcement of the result by the President of the Senate was illegitimate and intended to complete the theft of his victory; and (8) Failing to take action to protect and defend Federal officers and personnel, property, buildings, and institutions on January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol that was besieged by supporters of Donald John Trump, resulting in extensive damage to the property of the United States and the deaths of at least four persons. This is why multiple Members of Congress, introduced resolutions of articles of impeachment; joined by dozens of original cosponsors, I introduced H. Res. 26, impeaching the President for the High Crimes and Misdemeanors of (1) Abuse of Power and (2) Willful Refusal And Failure To Protect And Defend The Constitution Of The United States. Mr. Speaker, Donald John Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. He must be impeached, convicted, removed from office, and disqualified from ever again holding and enjoying an Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States. My love and reverence for the Constitution compels me to vote to impeach this President and I urge all my colleagues who revere the Constitution and our democracy, which has endured for more than 240 years, to join me in voting for the rule for H. Res. 24, so we can vote to impeach Donald John Trump for High Crimes and Misdemeanors against the United States.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania for her leadership and my good friend from Oklahoma as well. My friend from Oklahoma may be, in fact, accurate to the extent that the 25th Amendment stands on its own as actions that the Vice President will take. But we are a coequal branch of government, and Mr. Raskin's resolution is an appropriate resolution because we have a responsibility to govern and to protect the American people. So this resolution is not in violation of the Constitution, because it is the Congress calling upon the Vice President to reflect on January 6, a day in infamy, to reflect the fact that there were six people who died, that we lost two precious law enforcement Capitol Hill Police, their injuries in many ways attributable to this, some in different ways than others, and we lost Americans. Clearly, it is a long chain of events that goes back to the President of the United States. The President, when a duly announced election came about on November 6, 2020, proceeded to declare that it had been stolen and continued to stoke the fires of his believers to begin to plan some kind of attack, because he kept saying, ``Come to Washington. I will see you there.'' Then, of course, as time went on, I valued the President's right to the courts, of which he went, but he did not find that to be a solution for him. So House Resolution 21 is the Congress speaking, and we have every right, as a coequal branch, to speak. Why?

Ms. JACKSON LEE. We have that right, Mr. Speaker, because the FBI has indicated that they have seen 100,000 digital media, and they will be looking for more to see those who endangered all of those who were here. My appreciation to the police and the floor staff and law enforcement, custodial staff, our staff, media, and others who were put in harm's way along with Members. So I rise to support this resolution because it does not violate the Constitution or the intent of the 25th Amendment. It provides for the Congress to speak to ask the Vice President to recognize that this President is the only one who has ever stoked this kind of action.

Ms. JACKSON LEE

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Accountability comes before healing, but healing should come. If we look at the Constitution, we will clearly see that Mr. Raskin's resolution fits the language: an inability to be able to discharge your duties, to exercise the laws carefully. Do you consider these words from the President of the United States to insurrectionists and terrorists to ``walk down to the Capitol,'' says the President, telling them: ``If you don't fight like hell, you are not going to have a country anymore.'' And that is the attack that the domestic terrorists made on this place. All we are asking of the Vice President, through this resolution, is to reflect on that and to call upon the 25th Amendment to convene the Cabinet, to begin the healing, because the President of the United States is dangerous to the American people. That is why we are on the floor today. We hope that he will have an opportunity to reflect because the Constitution says in many places that the actions of this President are dangerous. People have died. We have lost two police officers. Others are in the hospital. And yes, it was an insurrection. It is time to pass H. Res. 21. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary and on Homeland Security, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 21, a resolution calling on Vice President Michael R. Pence to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments of the Cabinet to activate Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to declare President Donald J. Trump incapable of executing the duties of his office and to immediately exercise powers as acting President. As a person who was in the House chamber, that day and witnessed the terror, mayhem, and horror unleashed by the President's incitement of insurrection and utter betrayal of his sacred oath, it is manifestly evident that the President is clearly incapable, and certainly unwilling, of exercising the duties of his office, which makes it essential for Vice-President Pence to convene the principal officers of the Executive Branch to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. Mr. Speaker, the resolution recites a tale of abdication and dereliction of duty by a President of the United States unseen in the history of our country. On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, the day prescribed by section 15 of title 3, United States Code, for the counting of electoral votes, Congress experienced a massive, violent invasion of the United States Capitol and its complex by a dangerous insurrectionary mob, which smashed windows and used violent, physical force and weapons to overpower and outmaneuver the United States Capitol Police and facilitated the illegal entry into the Capitol of hundreds, if not thousands, of unauthorized persons (all of whom entered the Capitol complex without going through metal detectors and other security screening devices). This insurrectionary mob threatened the safety and lives of the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and the President pro tempore of the Senate, the first three individuals in the line of succession to the presidency, as the rioters were recorded chanting ``Hang Mike Pence'' and ``Where's Nancy'' when President Donald J. Trump tweeted to his supporters that ``Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country.' The marauders attacked law enforcement officers, unleashed chaos and terror among Members and staffers and their families, occupied the Senate Chamber and Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office along with other leadership offices, vandalized and pilfered government property, and succeeded in causing the unprecedented disruption of the Electoral College count process for a 4-hour period in both the House and the Senate, a dangerous and destabilizing impairment of the peaceful transfer of power that these insurrectionary riots were explicitly designed to cause. At least five Americans have died as a result of injuries or traumas suffered during this violent attack on Congress, including Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, and more than 50 police officers were seriously injured, including 15 officers who had to be hospitalized by these violent assaults. There could easily have been hundreds more wounded and killed, a sentiment captured by Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the President's fiercest enablers, who observed that ``the mob could have blown the building up. They could have killed us all.'' Mr. Speaker, these insurrectionary protests were widely advertised and broadly encouraged by the current President, who repeatedly disgraced his high office by exhorting his millions of followers on Twitter and other social media outlets to come to Washington on January 6 to ``Stop the Steal'' of the 2020 Presidential election, promising that the protest on the Electoral College counting day would be ``wild.'' Although President-elect Joseph R. Biden decisively won the 2020 Presidential election with more than 81 million votes and defeated President Trump 306-232 in the Electoral College, a margin pronounced to be a ``landslide' by the current President Trump when he won by the same Electoral College numbers in 2016, the current and temporary occupant of the White House never accepted these election results as legitimate and waged a protracted campaign of propaganda and coercive pressure in the Federal and State courts, in the state legislatures, with Secretaries of State, and in Congress to nullify and overturn these results and replace them with imaginary and fabricated numbers to maintain his continuance in office. This culminated in the current President taking the stage at the insurrection rally he held on the Ellipse Grounds on January 6, 2021 to exhort the rioters and insurrectionists to ``walk down to the Capitol,'' telling them ``if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.' The President's putative lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who possesses the uncanny knack of surfacing to make things worse whenever the President is acting to undermine American democracy, warned the mob to expect ``trial by combat.'' While domestic terrorists occupied parts of the Capitol, the person currently occupying the office of President of the United States, ignored or rejected repeated real-time entreaties from the Speaker of the House and the Democratic Leader of the U.S. Senate to appeal to his followers to exit the Capitol. Mr. Speaker, photographs, cell phone videos, social media posts, and on-the-ground reporting show that numerous violent insurrectionists who invaded the Capitol were armed, carrying police grade flex cuffs to detain and handcuff people, used mace, pepper spray, and bear spray against United States Capitol Police officers, erected gallows on Capitol grounds to hang ``traitors,'' vehemently chanted ``Hang Mike Pence'' while roaming the Capitol, emphasizing that storming the Capitol was ``a revolution,'' and committed the unspeakable offense of brandishing the Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol. In all of this, Donald John Trump has demonstrated repeatedly, continuously, and spectacularly his absolute inability to discharge the most basic and fundamental powers and duties of his office, including most recently the duty to respect the legitimate results of the Presidential election and the duty to respect the peaceful transfer of democratic power under the Constitution. Mr. Speaker, Donald John Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. For the safety and security of the people of the United States and the survival of our democracy, he must be removed from office. For these reasons, I urge all Members to join me in voting for H. Res. 21, calling upon the Vice-President to convene the Cabinet and to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.