Sydney Kamlager-Dove

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Eugene Ogasawara with the CA-37 Public Service Honor Award, a dedicated public servant whose commitment has made a significant impact on the U.S. Department of State. Eugene, a native of Los Angeles, began his career with the federal government in 2004 with the Department of State as a passport specialist at the Los Angeles passport agency. By 2008, just four years after his first day, Eugene's dedication had carried him upward--he was promoted to Supervisory Passport Specialist, marking the first of many milestones in a career defined by integrity, growth, and the respect of those around him. From 2010 to 2019 Eugene served as a passport specialization specialist in Tucson, Arizona overseeing the passport printing contract and ensuring compliance with department standards. In 2019, the road led him home to Los Angeles once again. This time, he returned as the agency's Customer Service Program Manager, a position he has now held for more than six years. In this role, Eugene serves as both guide and bridge--shaping the agency's customer service initiatives, coordinating closely with congressional offices, and bringing the Department's work directly to the community through a wide array of outreach events. Eugene's decision to pursue federal service was inspired by his father, who dedicated over 35 years to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. His legacy instilled in Eugene a deep appreciation for public service and the importance of serving the community with integrity. Each step of the way, he has continued to build on a legacy rooted in service, connection, and the belief that meaningful work touches real people. Eugene's career reflects a dedication to public service and to the people of Los Angeles. His commitment ensures that the Department of State runs efficiently. I honor Mr. Eugene Ogasawara for his exceptional service and commitment to his community and recognize the lasting impact he has made on countless individuals.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, on October 7, my constituent, Vicente Ventura Aguilar, was snatched off the street by Federal immigration agents. According to a friend who was detained alongside him, Vicente was last seen on October 8 when he suffered a medical emergency and was separated from the group to receive care. Today, he is nowhere to be found. He has been missing for 8 weeks. Homeland Security claims he was never in their custody despite multiple credible eyewitnesses who say otherwise. Mr. Speaker, Vicente has lived in the United States for 17 years. He is not a criminal. He has a family that loves him and is now desperately searching for answers about his well-being and whereabouts. We should not have to chase down Homeland Security, call hospitals, or even the morgue just to get them. This is not about immigration status. This is about humanity. The United States cannot simply disappear people. If this can happen to Vicente Ventura Aguilar, it can happen to anyone who calls this Nation home. I demand answers on Vicente's disappearance, and I will not stop until I get them.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, one in three women and girls around the world are physically and sexually assaulted each year. Of the 152 women in this body, that means 51 women. It includes your daughters, your sisters, your nieces, your mothers. With the Epstein files, we have a chance to change that. However, real talk: The administration doesn't need a discharge petition. It has not complied with the subpoena, and it has the power to release the files today. Instead, the man in the most powerful position in the world has used the full weight of the government to block, obfuscate, and deflect the full release of the files. It is the same person who intimidated female Members of Congress to withdraw their names from the petition, who responded ``Quiet, piggy'' to a female reporter who asked about the files, and who nominated an alleged sexual predator to be our AG. It is the same person whose name appears more than any other in the Epstein emails. In the pantheon of violence, a sexual predator is the worst of the worst, so why protect him? It is also curious that the Judiciary Committee is managing this debate and has not even had this come before the committee. I wonder why. Release the files now.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of Chuy Garcia and against this resolution. I am, in fact, appalled at the hubris behind all of this. If this is not a question of legality, if this is not a question of State law, then what is it a question of? I was in Chicago with Congressman Chuy Garcia when hearings were held about the inhumane and barbaric treatment of Chicagoans across his district and other districts by this administration and ICE. I saw his conviction, his commitment, his love for not just his district but the city in which he was raised and lives. This is a man who is a legend. He is a legend to his district, and he is a legend in this Congress. I don't understand why we are having to debate him. This is character assassination. My question is this: Is this the most significant subversion that has happened this year? We have an administration that is starving poor children. We have an administration that is involved in unauthorized strikes in countries around the globe. We are in the midst of fighting for survivors by getting the Epstein files released. We are in the fight of our lives to make sure that Americans can afford the healthcare that they deserve. That is what we should be debating. Those are issues that are far more pressing and critical to Americans. I was home in my district this weekend. Not one person asked me about Chuy Garcia, not one person in my district or in my State. We have to worry about our own districts. Isn't that what people say, ``What is happening in your district?'' Worry about your own district.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. I would just ask that we get back to that. I am going to have to say this Democratic intraparty fighting is not what any of us want, and it is not what the American people deserve. I would hope that we would get back to focusing on the issues that are most critical. If any of us have an issue with what is going on in somebody else's district, we should have the decency and respect to go to them and ask them about what is going on in their district before we do all of this kind of character assassination on this House floor.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, as Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, I rise today alongside my colleague and Chair, Mr. Huizenga of Michigan, to honor and congratulate the people of Kazakhstan as they mark the Republic Day of Kazakhstan, which commemorates Kazakhstan's declaration of sovereignty independent of the Soviet Union on October 25, 1990. The United States has remained committed to Kazakhstan's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. Now, as a valued strategic partner of the United States, our nations work together to advance security, peace, and prosperity. Kazakhstan inherited a massive nuclear stockpile and legacy sites for chemical and biological weapons research following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The voluntary commitment to rapidly remove these weapons from its territory and accede to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and other key arms control measures was a model for the region and the world. Kazakhstan has also made significant contributions to UN peacekeeping missions, including independent deployments of peacekeepers from 2024. These efforts support stability and security in both Central Asia and the wider world. U.S. companies remain the largest source of foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan, helping build resilient supply chains driving Kazakhstan's economic diversification, supply chain resiliency, and sustainable economic development. Last month, Wabtec Corporation and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy announced a $4.2 billion locomotive deal, reflecting deepening cooperation between Kazakhstan and American firms. We reiterate our commitment to advancing repeal of the outdated Jackson-Vanik Amendment, which will allow us to fully realize the potential of this relationship. We also applaud Kazakhstan's efforts to position itself as a key Eurasian transit hub. We believe it is in our shared interest to improve Central Asian connectivity with global markets to boost the resilience of supply chains, and will seek ways to support the realization of the Trans-Caspian ``Middle Corridor.'' In addition to continued dialogue to safeguard critical technologies and improve the investment climate, we hope that the ongoing process of constitutional and political reform in Kazakhstan initiated in 2022 will strengthen governance and human rights. On the occasion of Kazakhstan's Republic Day, we can reflect on our enduring friendship and the bright future of our strategic partnership. We look forward to continued high-level engagement with Kazakhstan, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora. In particular, we believe the anticipated [EA5] C5+1 Leaders' Summit in Washington, D.C. would be a pivotal opportunity to strengthen longstanding United States cooperation with Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Mr. Speaker, please join me and Representative Huizenga in honoring Kazakhstan's Republic Day.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 3486. Let's be clear. This bill is not about border security. It is about pouring gasoline on a prison system that is already bloated, broken, and unjust. While American families are begging us to release the Epstein files, to lower grocery prices, to keep doctors' offices open, to confront mass shootings, Republicans have chosen to waste our time and taxpayer dollars on a bill that criminalizes what is already a crime under Federal law. This legislation would impose draconian mandatory minimums, even life sentences, for nonviolent acts like returning to reunite with loved ones. That is not justice. That is cruelty. We should be investing in humane immigration policies, not building more cages. Expanding prisons has never made us safer. It rips families apart, disproportionately targeting Black and Brown communities, and it deepens cycles of poverty and punishment that we should be dismantling, not expanding. Mandatory minimums don't deter migration. They tie judges' hands, treat every case the same, and devastate communities. We don't need harsher prison sentences. We need pathways and solutions that actually work. H.R. 3486 is punitive, expensive, and unnecessary. It is waste. It is fraud. It is abuse. I urge my colleagues to stop scapegoating immigrants, stop playing politics with people's lives, and vote ``no'' on this cruel and cynical bill.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise as the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia to sound the alarm about the deterioration of our strategic partnership with India at the hands of Donald Trump. As two major democracies and economies, U.S.-India cooperation is essential to advancing our mutual interests and confronting our shared competitors. President Biden took the relationship to new heights, strengthening collaboration on defense, strategic technologies, and the Quad. In mere months, Trump's reckless foreign policy style has unraveled decades of progress, suddenly slapping India with 50 percent tariffs because his fragile ego was so triggered. Republicans have refused to go to bat for the U.S.-India relationship when it really matters, beholden to their MAGA isolationist base. This partnership is too important to be sacrificed by Trump's ego and Republican complicity. Trump must reverse course, make a deal, and fix the damage that he has caused. He needs to get his act together on behalf of this country and our relationship with India.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my illustrious colleague of the great State of New Jersey for being the lead for tonight's Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour to talk about the government, money, funding, keeping this government open, and about why we come here every single day of each week and why some of us are fighting for the American people while others of us are fighting for Donald Trump. This is a great time to share that Republicans don't care about you-- you, all of you. Trump doesn't care about you, none of you. They don't care about your safety. They don't care about your freedom. They don't care about your voice. They don't care about your vote. They don't care about your pocketbook. Why does the Congresswoman from California say this? Because I have receipts, and I am going to share them. Earlier this year, Republicans voted on a $4.5 trillion tax cut for the richest of the rich. In order to pay for that, they passed a honking series of cuts to all the services that you need to help you survive and thrive. What kinds of services? It is things like shutting down or threatening to shut down Social Security offices in high-rent districts, which would include all of Los Angeles. They are cutting funding to SNAP, which helps young mothers who are looking for baby formula for their babies and folks who need help buying food so that maybe their children's bellies aren't empty when they are going to school. Services by farmers who actually produce goods that are sold into this agricultural program would be cut. They are cutting funding to the Small Business Administration. Most people in my district are interested in their hustle, their small business that they are trying to get off the ground. I thought that was why the SBA was developed, designed, and created: to help start businesses. Now, we have a President who wants to cut that, maybe because he wants all the money. We have a President, supported by the Republican Party, who is sending in the National Guard and militarizing soldiers against citizens in those cities and States. They are right here at Union Station in Washington, D.C. The taxpayers are footing a million dollars a day for these National Guard members to pick up trash. They are doing the job that sanitation workers would be doing in the District of Columbia. We are talking about $770 billion for Medicare. I talk to young people in my district, Mr. Speaker. They say: ``I am not on Medicare.'' I say: ``That is right. Maybe you are not, but your grandmother is, your elderly aunt is, and the doctor you see is able to see you because of the reimbursement they are getting from a Medicare patient.'' With these cuts, we are hearing from community clinics. We are hearing from hospitals. We are hearing from doctors and other healthcare providers. They are trying to see if they are able to stay open to help you when you get sick, but that has been cut. In the last administration, President Biden said that he was going to forgive student loans. This President says: Oh, no. Everybody pays except me. Everybody pays but me. Not only are we doing away with that forgiveness, but we are actually capping the amount of money that you can get in student loans and in grants to maybe go to medical school because Lord knows we need more doctors, especially in rural communities, willing to help Americans as they search for healthcare. One place, though, that didn't get cut is ICE and Homeland Security because this is an administration that wants his own personal militia to go after folks who ask for the truth. These cuts also mean and include cuts to Federal jobs. California is a State with the second largest number of Federal workers. These are workers who have been answering the phones when you call, checking on your application when you submit it, and getting back to you about your benefits. Those folks are being terminated, but this is the President who is all about workers first, which is why I had to drive down to the city to the Department of Labor and see the President's face on the big, old banner. Why are we spending money on these banners but cutting money to farmers? Because dismantling USAID and cutting USAID is more than just what is happening in other countries. You are actually also cutting contracts to American farmers who produce goods and products that we then sell to other countries. This is all about hurting all of us. They are cutting funding to the National Institutes of Health. They are cutting cancer research. In my State of California, we were on the cusp of clinical trials because a cure had been found for breast cancer. We were on the cusp of clinical trials for a cure for prostate cancer. All of that has now stopped because of cuts to the National Institutes of Health. That is what we are talking about. The party in power has a responsibility to make sure that those basic services--because nothing I talked about was not basic--are not cut. I am trying to find out why we have a President who is chair of both the World Cup and the Olympics. These are events that will be happening in my district and in my State. The World Cup festivities will be happening in cities across this State. How can you have cities that are preparing for the World Cup and the Olympics when they are being attacked by the Federal Government and when we are not providing them the support that they need to get ready? Here we are on the verge of the third set of receipts, a funding shutdown, which is imminent and can be stopped by the party in power, the Republicans. The Republicans have to make a decision. Are they going to prioritize the American people, or are they going to prioritize the President of the United States? I don't know about you, but the Congresswoman from New Jersey talked about hosting townhalls in her district. I did, too. I didn't meet a constituent who said they wanted the Rose Garden paved at the White House. I haven't met a constituent who said they want to see more gold candelabras in the White House. I have met constituents who said: What is going to happen to my health insurance? When is ICE going to get out of the kindergartens in Los Angeles? I hope we don't have a government shutdown, but that would require Republicans to make some decisions about who they are going to support. On top of that, which people like to forget, the last thing we did before the beginning of August was that Republicans voted on a rescissions package, which was essentially giving the President back money that Congress had already voted to appropriate to go to the American people. Some Republicans said let's do this once a month. That is not an exercise. It is like going on a diet once a month. Let's cut more money out of the hands of the American people. It is not funny. I know people think that Congress is drama and theater, but it is not theater when you talk to a constituent who says, ``Thank God you called the agency on my behalf so I could get my benefits back.'' It is not theater when you have a constituent who is older and is going to get evicted, and they say, ``Thank God you called HUD to make sure that my grandmother doesn't get evicted from her house.'' I thought that was what the government was supposed to do. How come no one answers my calls? How come this President doesn't care about me? This is not theater. We have farmers in trouble. We have young children who are hungry. We have elders who are concerned if they are going to be able to go to the doctor when they get sick. We have young people who don't even know if it is worth going to college because they don't know if they will find a job. We have partners and friends who have opened up businesses in our cities across this country who are afraid to show up to their jobs because they don't know if they will be snatched and deported, even though they are legally allowed to be here. What is going on? We read these headlines. It does not sound like anything that should be happening in the United States of America. It is one thing to talk about policy, but it is another thing to cut the benefits of a veteran who put their life on the line to protect us. It is one thing to debate policy. It is another thing to vote to shut down a hospital. It is one thing to talk about foreign policy and where we should be and what we should be doing. It is another thing to cut jobs, folks who are building things that keep us safe. I had a gentleman come into my office a week ago. He is not even from my State. He has a business in Mississippi, and they make the thermostats that we put into refrigerators. They have investments in another country. They have American people, American workers working in Mississippi and in that country, and you know the money they make comes here. He said: I am going to have to fire all those people and shutdown because of these cuts on top of these tariffs. Now, that man didn't vote for me. That man probably didn't even vote for my candidate, but he came in my office and said: Can you help? What is going on? What is going on? My answer was: You have got some people up in here that ain't got no courage. They don't have no courage. I don't owe you nothing, you are not from my State. However, you are trying to create jobs to help American people, give young people an idea about how they can start their own business and be an entrepreneur and come up with a product they can patent that is good for business, that allows them to earn some money, save some money, start a family. All that is in jeopardy because of these cuts, because of these rescissions, and because of this potential government shutdown. I don't know about you, but when I am in trouble, I don't call somebody and say, hey, are you a Republican or a Democrat? I just call and say: Can you help me? My dad has got health issues right now. I was on the phone. I wasn't saying: Hey, who did you vote for? I said: Hey, can you help my dad? That is what Americans across this country are asking, like, are you, the people in power, the people with the gavel, are you going to help me? Make me drop my notes. I want the party in power to say: Yeah, I am going to help you. I am going to prioritize you. I am just not going to prioritize you in March of 2026 before my name is on the ballot, I am going to prioritize you right now because American companies, American students, American innovators, American researchers, American veterans, American farmers, American students deserve all of us fighting for them and not for one person who is only looking to hang more banners up and put up more gold candelabras at 1600 Pennsylvania.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the so-called CLARITY Act. Let me be clear: I support the growth of digital assets, blockchain innovation, and the promise that crypto holds for expanding financial access and economic justice, but this bill is not clarity. It is confusion cloaked in legislation. It picks winners and losers, and the biggest winner is the President of the United States. Why is that office exempt from all of the rules? It undermines the SEC's ability to protect consumers and fast-tracks deregulatory loopholes without addressing core issues like transparency, fraud prevention, or equity and access. The SEC doesn't even like this bill. We need comprehensive, thoughtful regulation, not rushed frameworks driven by the people who will gain the most who ignore the voices of everyday investors, builders, and communities left behind. Crypto deserves rules that are smart, fair, and future-facing. The CLARITY Act is none of these things because, if it was, Republicans would have had the votes much earlier. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus is often referred to as the ``conscience of the Congress,'' and Congressman John Lewis was our North Star. I never had the privilege of serving alongside Congressman Lewis, who is also my fraternity brother, but 5 years after his passing, his faith, his words, his story, and his work inform my work. I often recall his words: ``It is not about who wins. It is not even about who is right. It is about what is right. That never changes.'' Regardless of if our districts are cobalt blue or ruby red, every single Member of Congress took an oath to do right by our constituents and to fight for policies that not only help them get by but help them get ahead. However, Mr. Speaker, my Republican colleagues have just enacted the largest transfer of wealth from the working class to the top 1 percent in our Nation's history, cutting essential programs and leaving many Americans poorer, sicker, and hungrier. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, they continue to turn a blind eye to our neighbors, friends, and family members who are being torn from our communities by this administration's militarized ICE. No matter who is in power, we should all agree that it is unacceptable for infants to go without formula, for toddlers to attend school on empty bellies, and for children to be handcuffed and separated from their parents. It is wrong for children battling cancer to lose access to healthcare or to be deported to countries they have never known. Mr. Speaker, if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle cannot put politics aside to advocate for children, then who are they truly standing up for? I will let you all figure that one out. America is at a crossroads. Where we go from here as a nation depends on those courageous enough to stand for the most vulnerable among us rather than selling us out to the highest bidder. Mr. Speaker, as congressional Republicans stare down both paths, I urge them to remember the words of John Lewis, one of the greatest to have ever served: ``It is not about who wins. It is not even about who is right. It is about what is right. That never changes.'' May they find even a fraction of the courage that Congressman Lewis had and do right by their constituents.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the amendment at the desk that protects against any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in fierce opposition to this performative and misleading resolution that reads like a cheap script treatment looking for a second-rate director. H. Res. 516 is not about public safety. It is about fear, scapegoating immigrants, and gaslighting the American people into believing that Los Angeles is some so-called hellscape. If it is such a hellscape, I want to know why Republican Members of Congress have been flying into Los Angeles over the past few weeks attending fundraisers. Nobody is showing up in a hazmat suit or combat gear. If it is such a hellscape, pull back the cameras and release the drone footage so we can see what is happening across the entire city. This resolution ignores the fact that the violence didn't start in a vacuum. It was sparked by the Trump administration's provocative, aggressive immigration raids across the State. ICE agents were in neighborhoods, grocery stores, and churches. I have never seen a segment on TV about an MS-13 cartel boss in the third grade. That is what we are seeing. Of course, we came out and protested. That is what democracy looks like. Of course, our communities are terrified across Los Angeles, across the State, and across the country. Instead of listening to us, the people from L.A., the President escalated this drama, deploying the National Guard and the Marines to Los Angeles without a request from local law enforcement, the Governor, or the mayor. Why? To launch a pathetic, made-for-TV reality TV show to justify authoritarian crackdowns and to divert from the real violence, the violence of cutting $880 billion from Medicaid, the violence of kicking people off of healthcare, and the violence of tanking our economy into the gold toilet. That is what we should be talking about. That is what this President doesn't want us to talk about, so he turned the cameras and the manufactured, fabricated violence onto Los Angeles.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, this audacity in blaming local leaders is about optics, power, control, and stoking the ego of Republicans and king daddy. We are tanking the California economy, the fourth-largest economy in the world and the largest donor State. I refuse to support this resolution.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this package. It is embarrassing. It is trifling. This is a funding package that Republicans actually agreed to and voted on last Congress when they were in the majority. Republicans must be missing Biden now because they actually had more influence under him than under Trump. Now, Republicans are going back on their own agreement and giving up their own power with this package. The real question is, why show up here if you have an orange daddy doing your work for you? This vote actually puts every Republican on record as supporting Elon's attack on democracy when even Steve Bannon said that Elon and DOGE found no waste. With this package, Republicans are one step closer to a country that looks more like the adversaries we profess to oppose. Americans will be left to clean up this mess, and we will have zero standing in the international community and zero claim to global leadership while you all have killed off Elmo. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this trash. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Massachusetts for yielding to me. I rise in strong opposition to this rule and to the divisive, destructive bills that it brings to the floor, especially H.R. 2931, the so-called Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act, because, in reality, this bill doesn't save anything. It continues to eviscerate small businesses in order to benefit the greediest, biggest corporations and their CEOs, who don't even need the Small Business Administration. Do you know who does? Small businesses that just want customers, employees, and the chance that SBA affords them to attain success. This bill actually punishes small businesses and immigrant communities to score cheap political points, forcing the SBA to close or relocate offices in cities like Los Angeles, my home, simply because we refuse to bend a knee to the President and to MAGA Republicans' anti-immigrant agenda, which is about retaliation, not good governance. Immigrants start businesses, and do you know what? They hire other immigrants. Do you know who benefits? Everyone because they are paying taxes, hiring our neighbors, delivering a service, and growing our economy. L.A. is home to over 244,000 businesses. Is the goal for this administration to shut all those businesses down, the red businesses, blue businesses, and independent businesses, because there is a problem with L.A. and because the administration doesn't like immigrants? They are businesses like Dulan's, a family-owned business in my district that has been open for 30 years. After the L.A. urban fires, they fed victims. They need and deserve SBA, as do the millions of small businesses like them. This bill gives them the finger on top of the chaos of the TACO taxes. I am urging a ``no'' vote on the rule and the cruel, unnecessary legislation that it brings forward. This is an alternate reality, this floor, when I am hearing from Republican colleagues who are not talking at all about the millions of Americans who are going to be harmed by these destructive bills.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Moore), the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford), and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey) be removed as cosponsors of H.R. 3614, the Fairness, Inclusion, Rehabilitation, and Expungement for Firefighters Act.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, with this backstabbing billionaire bill, House Republicans are selling their soul and constituents to the highest bidder: Donald Trump. First, he crashed the economy with his temper taxes, driving up the cost of groceries and down our credit rating with Moody's. Now Trump and Republicans want to steal even more from hardworking Americans to provide tax breaks to those who kiss the Mar-a-Lago ring. Mr. Speaker, they are stealing your food, healthcare, and security. My district in Los Angeles has the fourth highest Medicaid enrollment in the entire Nation. Mr. Speaker, 225,000 of my constituents rely on food assistance to feed their families. Nearly 1 million people in my State live in subsidized housing. My constituents call my office asking me to protect their Medicaid. They don't ask that their lifesaving benefits be taken away and given to the top 1 percent. Daylight is the best disinfectant, which is why all their dirty deeds with this bill have been happening at night. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to listen to their constituents instead of tasing them at townhalls, and vote against this dangerous bill. Mr. Speaker, I urge America to keep the receipts on these votes.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Brown) and the Congressional Black Caucus for organizing this Special Order hour. Tonight, I, along with my colleagues, rise to talk about something that should terrify every freedom-loving American: the coordinated, relentless Republican campaign to erase Black history, erase American history, whitewash the truth, and silence our stories. Donald Trump called for patriotic education instead of honest education. This is a dangerous euphemism for censoring Black pain, Black resilience, and Black excellence from the classroom. Since then, over 1,500 books have been banned in public schools and libraries across this country. More than 40 percent of them feature Black authors or Black characters. What kinds of books, you ask? I have some for you, books like ``Their Eyes Were Watching God'' by Zora Neale Hurston, like ``Go Tell It on the Mountain'' by James Baldwin, and, oh, my God, even a children's book, ``I Am Rosa Parks.'' Why are Republicans trying to erase a book written for babies to help them learn their history? Why are they so scared of little babies and books that we have all read in school, books that we have all checked out in libraries, books we have all discussed in book clubs, books we have all shared with the little ones in our lives? Why this ban? When our history is erased, it is easier to erase our progress. Trump and his MAGA allies want our children to grow up ignorant of the truth and of who they are. They are trying to scrub Federal websites. They are scrubbing Federal websites of any mention of Black contributions to science, literature, politics, or innovation. Let me say the list is long because we have been in this thing for hundreds of years, bringing innovation and progress to this country. All I have to say to that is, wow, Mr. Speaker, just wow. Yes, they want to alter the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, a museum that millions have visited from around the globe, including students and families, to learn about our Nation's true story and all because they don't agree with how their ancestors and themselves have been portrayed. Don't be mad at me because you don't like you. Let me say that again. This President is trying to erase institutions, literally. Mr. Speaker, that is just a weak move. That is a punk, weak move. The President has said he wants to get rid of every policy, every agency, every grant, and every effort related to DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion. It sounds to me like somebody who is scared of the truth. That means rolling back protections against discrimination, removing mentorship and workforce programs aimed at closing opportunity gaps, and wiping clean any official recognition that America ever wronged Black people in the first place. Guess what? We ain't going to be that afraid. We are still here. We ain't going nowhere. This isn't just about politics. While Trump and House Republicans are busy erasing our past, they are also working overtime in the dead of night to erase and destroy our future. Mr. Speaker, we know this White House is serving the billionaires in this country. But the House, this body, is supposed to directly serve the people. Instead, the majority party has decided to serve Donald Trump, and that is the problem. How are Speaker Johnson and House Republicans serving the President? I am glad you asked that, Mr. Speaker. Even though you didn't, you know you want to. This is when I am going to pivot to the so-called big, beautiful bill, or how about the billionaires' backstabbing bill, a nearly 400- page monstrosity. Here it is again in small font, in fine print, and designed with one goal in mind, to enrich billionaires and punish working families, especially Black families. Let's start with the numbers. There are $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid, a rollback of SNAP and nutrition assistance, which hit the Black and Brown communities the hardest. In 2023, over 25 percent of Black households relied on SNAP benefits, and a whole bunch of other groups relied on SNAP benefits, too. There is no meaningful investment in housing. While over 40 percent of Black renters are cost-burdened, this bill offers nothing, nada, zip, to ease the affordable housing crisis. There is a plan to unravel Social Security as we know it, directly harming the nearly 5 million Black Americans who rely on those benefits in retirement. To top it off, there is a permanent tax break for billionaires like Elon Musk and the President. That's right, while they strip away healthcare and housing, they are cutting taxes for billionaires with private jets and yachts and $400 million planes. To be clear, less than 15 percent of constituents in every single congressional district, yo, red and blue, less than 15 percent of constituents in every single district support cuts to Medicaid. Mr. Speaker, I am sure you read this: Moody's just downgraded the U.S. credit outlook. What does that mean? Higher interest rates, more expensive loans, deeper household debt, more expensive money. This hurts families already stretched thin and it disproportionately hurts Black families who already face a median wealth that is just one-tenth that of White families according to a 2022 study. When this President and MAGA Republicans say they want to help the American family, we have to ask, which American families? The regular families I represent in south Los Angeles, Culver City, Ladera Heights, and all across the 37th Congressional District in California are not being helped by this bill. They are being targeted. Just to reiterate, I have 700,000 constituents in my district. Like every other Representative, I have 470,000 constituents that will be kicked off Medicaid if this bill is passed. My constituents are being told they don't deserve to learn their history, they don't deserve access to healthcare, they don't deserve decent housing, and they definitely don't deserve a tax system that is going to treat them fairly. Mr. Speaker, the American Dream should not be reserved for those with a trust fund or a Mar-a-Lago membership. The American story should include all of us, our ancestors, our struggles, our achievements. We cannot build a just future on a foundation of lies and fear and erasure. The real question is why are Republicans so afraid of us? People certainly try to get our hair, our men, our body types, our culture, our food. They want us as friends and validators. Quite frankly, it is exhausting having to navigate all of the insecurities of those trying to erase us. Democrats here in this Black Caucus are not going to forget but are going to fight against policies that punish the poor and reward the powerful. Democrats are going to fight for a country where Black history is American history and Black futures are American futures. As the saying goes in our country: If you don't tell your story, someone else will. You best believe they will get it wrong. We are telling our story tonight, and we are telling the real truth.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of my friend and a beloved champion for south Los Angeles, the late Carl Ballton. I met Carl through my work at Crystal Stairs where he served on the board for over 20 years, including a decade as chair. Under his leadership, Crystal Stairs grew into a respected institution serving thousands of children and families. Carl cared deeply about social justice and the Los Angeles community. That passion guided his service beyond Crystal Stairs. He led the Union Bank Foundation and served on the boards of the LA Urban League, United Negro College Fund, Habitat for Humanity, and many other organizations. Carl and his beloved wife, Lula, used their power for good, especially within the Black community. His passing is a deep loss for us all, but his legacy lives on in the countless lives he has touched and the institutions he helped build. He will be deeply missed.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to co-anchor this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour, along with my distinguished colleague from the great State of Ohio, Representative Shontel Brown, who hopefully will be joining us. Along with some of our other colleagues, she is in her committee hearing, trying to figure out if Republicans will stand up with the American people and vote down so many of the disastrous proposals that are being brought up in these various committees as it relates to the reconciliation bill. Mr. Speaker, for the next 60 minutes, members of the CBC have an opportunity to speak directly to the American people and directly to you on the Republicans' disastrous reconciliation package. This is an issue of great importance, of utmost importance, and of perilous importance, not just to the Congressional Black Caucus but to everyone. Hopefully, Republican Members, not just Democratic Members of Congress, will stand up with and for the American people and vote down some of this nonsense that is going to be coming before all of us in our committees. At the very least, let's not be silent. That is why the Congressional Black Caucus is here tonight. Mr. Speaker, House Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee just released text. This is the one big, beautiful bill. This is the 386- page manifesto that killed trees and trees. Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you that there are only two words in that phrase that are accurate. This is a bill, and it is big, but it is not beautiful. It is a backstabbing bill because all the items in the 386 pages of this bill are about how this administration is going to backstab the American people. It is not going to feel good. Unlike the O'Jays song ``Backstabbers,'' this doesn't have a good melody. This is about cutting Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and benefits for veterans. This is about killing young people, seniors, and those who are disabled. This is about cutting important critical services for the American people to give tax credits to billionaires. There are a lot of B's in this statement. None of them are very good. Let me be very clear: Republicans have barely made any attempts to support working families. Instead, they have written an economic love letter to people like Elon Musk. This is a 386-page love letter to Elon Musk. Republicans can run from the truth all they want--they have been silent--but the truth is in the eyes of this administration: Americans don't need healthcare, but this administration somehow needs a $400 million plane gifted to them from the Saudi Government. Americans don't need SNAP assistance, but this administration and all of his billionaire buddies need millions in tax writeoffs. Mr. Speaker, how are my constituents supposed to live? How are your constituents supposed to live? How are any of our constituents supposed to pull themselves up by those ridiculous bootstraps that people like to talk about? This administration and the House majority are actually not just taking away their boots but taking away the leather, the rubber, the soles, and the labor that would be used to even make these boots. We are going to be spending the next hour talking about all of that. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of Maryland (Mr. Ivey), my very good friend.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from the great State of Maryland (Mr. Ivey) for keeping it real and really underscoring the challenges that are in front of us as Americans and for really articulating why courage, backbone, and just basic common sense are so needed right now in these perilous times. Why are these times perilous? These times are perilous because in Congress we are in the process of debating and trying to pass this reconciliation bill. People might be saying: Well, what is it? It isn't actually a budget. In each of the committees, discussions are had about where to spend and where to cut. This House majority has been given marching orders, and the marching orders are to cut as much as possible and to cut until the American people bleed. The only folks who will be able to afford Band-Aids to prevent them from bleeding to death will be the richest of the rich. Everyone else, you will have to fend for yourself. In each of these committees in which we sit, on which we sit, we are debating cuts that will hurt this economy, that will hurt constituents, that will hurt American businesses, that will hurt our standing in the world. This is not a red or blue discussion. This is not even a Black Caucus or other caucus discussion. This is about what is at risk, who is at danger, who is being put at risk by this administration and, quite frankly, by the silence coming from this House majority. Tonight and later on this week, Ag, Energy and Commerce, and the Ways and Means Committees are meeting, and they have been meeting earlier today, and they are also continuing to meet right now. The challenge is meeting this late in the evening allows them to do dirty business, allows them to vote on bills and amendments that will hurt the American people without the benefit of having the news being able to report on it before people go to bed. It is almost like these dirty deeds will be happening at night when no one can see or hear what is going on. Maybe we are spending our time talking about this $400 million bribe that was just given to this administration when we should be talking about all of the cuts that are going to be coming from these committees. With reconciliation, Republicans want all the cuts, but they do not want the political consequences. That is why we are here tonight talking about what those consequences will be, talking about what is in these reconciliation bills, what is in this package, because we don't want anyone to get political amnesia. We don't want anyone to forget when they are hurting, when they are trying to pay a bill, when they are trying to get gas, when they are trying to buy eggs, when they are trying to buy a home, when they are looking for a job, when they are trying to bury a loved one, why it is so hard to do any of those things, why the costs are so high. We are going to continue to remind the American people why all of those costs are going to be so high, and it is because of the cuts that are coming in this reconciliation bill, cuts that Republicans could have stopped, but they have been too silent. Last week we were here, and we had hearings in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on Small Business, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Committee on Natural Resources, in those committees and in others. I don't know if many of these discussions or outcomes from these committees have made it into the news cycle, so folks don't know what really happened in those committees. I am going to say, in those committees we talked about cutting State Department by close to 50 percent, terminating workers in the State Department, finalizing the shuttering of USAID. People might say, well, what is USAID? Well, part of what USAID does is contract with American farmers. Farmers have contracts with USAID. USAID buys their product and then uses it. All of those contracts have stopped because Republicans are looking for ways to fill the gap, the big gap, the chasm that has been made by these tax cuts going to billionaires. They have done so much at the State Department that they have even fired the people who are responsible for purchasing the tickets to bring Americans home from all of their missions around the world. You have Americans who are stuck in countries around the world separated from their families, unable to get home because the ticket agency in the State Department has been shut down. In the Committee on the Judiciary, we talked about billions of dollars going to ICE for bonuses to buy computers and cars and deporting Americans and allowing January 6ers to be hired to work for the Federal Government, people who came in here trying to bludgeon the Capitol Police and the people who work in this very institution. In that committee, Republicans voted to allow them to work for the Federal Government and have the authority to go after other Americans. In the Committee on Natural Resources, they passed a bill that would allow us to sell Federal land, land that we all enjoy, parks, recreational services, and forests. I want the people in my life, the little people in my world to be able to go and visit a natural reserve or to go to one of our national parks and monuments and see that it is still owned by the United States, that we haven't sold it to some corporation or, God forbid, some other country, someone with the highest bid. We are selling that land, and the proceeds are going into the coffers because, remember, we have to cover the $4.5 trillion gap that House Republicans made because they want to give tax cuts to the wealthiest of the wealthy. What else does that mean? It means that Republicans plan to cut $900 billion to Medicaid, kicking 8.7 million people off of Medicaid over the next 10 years. The plan calls for new requirements for beneficiaries, for those who are on Medicaid, work requirements. Some say: Well, I don't have a problem with people going to work. They are also saying: We want seniors, we want folks who are disabled, we want the elderly, we want those folks to be schlepping down the street trying to find a job in this market, of course, when it is actually hard to find employment. They have been saying: Well, you can make these cuts because there are not even that many people on Medicaid. There are these people who are 150 years old or 130 years old or they have been dead for 4 years, and they are on Medicaid. Well, the reality is that so many of us have constituents who are dependent on Medicaid and Medicare and Social Security that are going to be devastated because of these cuts. In California, there are 470,000 people on Medicaid, and they are going to be at risk of losing their care because of what the Republican budget plans to do. This is 140,000 children under the age of 19 and 40,000 seniors over the age of 65 just in my district. I am going to say it again. My district has the 4th highest Medicaid enrollee numbers in the country. California has 7 of the 10th highest Medicaid enrollee districts. There are poor people, there are struggling people everywhere in every district in every state who need Medicaid, who need Medicare, who need Social Security. I just have to say: If Republicans are so enamored with this big, beautiful, backstabbing bill and believe it to be the manna from heaven, then they shouldn't be afraid to go into their districts and talk about the cuts, talk about cutting Medicaid. Look at the person in the wheelchair, look at the person who is dependent on Social Security benefits, look at the veteran who is receiving Social Security, and tell them that they don't matter. Tell them that their benefit is not as important as giving the money to Elon Musk and the billionaires. You tell them that. If you are not telling them to their face, you are certainly going to be telling them that when you vote for this reconciliation bill. Let's talk about education. DOGE and Musk, under the authority of this administration, have already fired half of the staff in the Department of Education. I don't know about you, but I have young people in my family who are excited about going to college, and they are also scared because they don't even know if the colleges are going to stay open. I am not just talking about elite Ivy League institutions. I am talking about community colleges; I am talking about state colleges. I am talking about legacy institutions where parents and grandparents went to, and it means something to be able to get into that school and graduate. I have talked to young people who don't know if there will be any money for them if they get in, even with the grades. I have talked to young people who are getting ready to graduate and don't know if there will be a job for them. And I have talked to young people who were excited about representing this country and helping us be more competitive and now don't even know if this country is for them. News flash, all of these young people who I have been talking to are U.S. citizens, American-born, who don't even know if there is going to be a country left, who don't even know if there will be educational institutions left because this proposal includes $330 billion in cuts that will impact Pell grants, Head Start, school lunches, and more. We are talking about a $1 billion freeze for school-based mental health. I don't know about you, but it seems like every single person in this country should be accessing mental health services right now just to make it through the day. That is what is coming out of this reconciliation package. Going back to student loan borrowers who saw a glimmer of hope last year, and now they are going to be tracked down like animals in the night when you have an administration that just accepted a $400 million bribe from another country. The math doesn't math up. Why are you asking for young people to pay their fair share when it seems like not everyone else is doing the same thing? The regional Head Start office serving my district closed, and Head Start funding at roughly $12 billion annually represents less than .2 percent of total Federal spending. Eliminating Head Start would cut childcare and supportive services for about 80,000 young children in California. Then let's talk about ag. This proposal would halt funding for the Rural Energy for America Program. Once again, cutting a billion dollars in funding for programs that help schools and feed folks through food banks. Cutting this funding would threaten the livelihood of our American farmers and also threaten the nutrition of our children. Let's talk about our veterans. Under this reconciliation package proposal, we are talking about firing 6,000 veterans. My God. My God. People who have served our country in wars, who have stood up for this country and the people in it, who have stood up for our Constitution, who came back from their service and were hired by the government will be fired, have been fired, are being fired. Not only are we talking about firing 6,000 veterans, but we are also talking about cutting their services, cutting their medical services, forcing longer wait times for them because when they call, when they go to the VA to get help, there will be fewer people there to help them. I think about the veterans in my district that I talk to, and they don't deserve to be mistreated like that. My God, they want to come back and enter into society and be part of a thriving business, to help open a business, and they still need access to their medical care. They still need access to their mental health support, and we are going to cut that. In my mind, that is just so unchristian. Then, we are talking about cutting Health and Human Services so that if we are trying to make sure that folks don't get tuberculosis, that we keep measles at bay, that we keep HIV at bay, well, if you are at risk, you are going to be in greater danger because the proposed cuts would be cutting NIH, the National Institutes of Health; CDC, the Centers for Disease Control; and FDA, the Food and Drug Administration--the people who make sure that the food we eat is safe, is not poisonous, won't kill us, and the people who make sure that we get accurate, nonpartisan, truthful information about the diseases and the ailments that are out here in this world so that we have the information that we need to keep ourselves and our children safe and healthy. We are not going to have access to that. The research that is being done to help us fight against cancer and to cure so many other diseases that are out there, those research programs are going to be compromised. The clinical trials happening are going to be compromised because we have decided this reconciliation package, which is a statement of values, is going to be deciding that those things are not important. It is not important to eat healthy food. It is not important to have access to medicine. It is not important to research, to find cures for diseases and illnesses that have plagued our grandparents, our parents. Have you gone to a children's hospital? Have you visited a child who is dying from cancer? Would you go to that child and tell them there is a higher probability that you are going to die because we are cutting the grants that would allow us to find a cure? That is what is in this reconciliation package. Then Social Security, cutting 7,000 employees, you cut so many employees in your thirsty quest to find ways to fill this hole for these tax cuts for the billionaires, but you crashed the Social Security website. You have closed offices. You have told seniors and those with disabilities to figure out a way to get themselves to one of the few offices that are still open, but you are going to have to wait in a longer line because we have fired employees and are actually ending phone services for claims. Really, it is a very sneaky, shady way of kicking people off of the services because you are constricting access. I don't know about you, but I don't want to see a bunch of seniors struggling in a car or trying to get on the bus to go to the Social Security office that now has shorter hours and longer lines because they are trying to get a claim that they have earned. Who tells a 75-year-old, a 68-year-old, an 80-year-old grandparent to go suck it--basically, figure out how you are going to survive. We are going to cut all of this from you, but I still want to visit you on Easter. I don't know what people say. I don't know how the hypocrisy formula works, but I am not down for cutting access to Social Security, cutting Social Security, and hurting our seniors because we want to give billions more, trillions more, in tax cuts to millionaires. Let's talk about the arts and cutting funding for the arts, closing down museums, grant programs, and after-school programs that teach young people how to play music, how to play an instrument, and shutting down libraries. It is so healing when we turn on the radio. We want to go to a concert. We go to an art performance because that is meaningful, regardless of your political party. Everyone deserves an opportunity to enjoy art, to be able to go to a library and have the choice of what book you want to pick out, but you have no choice when they are all shut down. That is what is in this reconciliation package. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I almost lost my train of thought, but it has come back to me because I was talking about the arts. The gentleman from Maryland was talking about our leadership as a country and how our leadership is in question. I would just like to add that not only is our leadership in question, but our attractiveness as a country is in question. Our competitive edge is in question. Our ability to be seen as forthright and a country of high integrity is in question. These cuts are hurting our children. They are hurting our grandparents. They are hurting our farmers. They are hurting our small businesses. They are hurting the infrastructure in our States. They are hurting our ports. They are hurting our hospitals. They are hurting our clinics. They are hurting our parks. Honestly, they are hurting our hearts. I think about that big red, white, and blue flag right behind the Speaker's chair and what that flag represents: opportunity, access, honesty, integrity. What we have seen last week and what we are seeing this week from the House majority when it comes to this reconciliation bill is silence. It is silent on these issues that mean so much to the people in our communities. I can't tell you how many times I have walked down the street and have had an older person grab me and say, ``What is going to happen to my Social Security?'' Coming here to vote, I had a Capitol Police officer pull me to the side and ask me what it meant for his job, if he would have a job. Going to talk to farmers, I had them tell me that they may have to fire or lay off the rest of their employees, that they would not be able to make it. Small businesses in the community that are hiring other people from the community are concerned. Everyone asks, ``What are Republicans doing? Why aren't they standing up for us, too?'' I don't have an answer to that question. I want an answer to that question because when you are silent, it means you are complicit or apathetic. I would hope that there would be no one here who would want to be complicit in the taking away of Social Security, Medicaid, or Medicare. I would hope that no one here would want to be complicit in having young children with cancer at a children's hospital die because we have cut cancer research funding. As I say this, I think about my mother, a breast cancer survivor who wonders every day if it will come back. Boy, how do you think it gets me right in the craw to have to tell her that this country doesn't care if she lives or dies because it doesn't care enough about finding a cure for cancer to continue to fund that kind of research? We just celebrated Mother's Day. I wonder if people shared with their mothers how all the support that helps mothers will now be on the chopping block. I am sharing all of this on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus because as we wait to see what comes out of the remaining committees that are meeting, just know that there is a $290 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, cutting off food assistance to thousands of families who need it. Just know that, in these committees, they will be debating raising the age for mandatory work requirements because we want people to work longer and harder and get less while somehow billionaires make more off of the backs of these working families. Just know that, in these committees, they are going to be talking about cutting access to school lunches. So many of us live in districts where the school district is actually responsible for feeding the children in the community because of the free lunch program. I know that people might be distracted by the Qatar gift, the $400 million flying palace. Let's hope there are no bugs in it. I don't know. I know people want to be distracted by all the other things that seem to be coming out of the administration, but I don't want us to be distracted by that. I want us to be talking about this reconciliation bill. I want us to remember what is going to be voted on in this package, and it is a thing. It is a thing that it is actually taking so long for this package to arrive on the floor. Do you know why it is a thing? Because we have a House majority trying to wiggle through the truth and figure out a way to spin death, destruction, and poverty. There is no way to spin kicking granny off of Social Security. There is no way to spin shutting down hospitals and clinics. We can demonize the folks who are on Medicaid and Medicare, but I want to also remind us that if there is a doctor, if there is a clinic, if there is a hospital that is receiving a reimbursement for taking care of a recipient on Medicaid, that doctor, that hospital, that community clinic is open to serve you, too, because that reimbursement allows that clinic, that doctor, that hospital to stay open to help and serve everyone else in the community. A lot of this rhetoric that you are hearing from people who don't want to talk about this reconciliation bill is trying to divide us into ``us'' and ``them'' buckets. The truth is that we are all in this together. We are all in this country together. We are all in this debate together. We are all in this fight together to make sure that the people in our districts have access to the services that they deserve. If you are not willing to stand up for Medicare--and don't sign a letter and then run and don't show up in a district. Stand up and talk about saving it, protecting it, defending it, and making it better so that it can serve more people who deserve it rather than cutting it and lying about it and running from the truth. The truth is that this reconciliation bill, this package, is going to hurt people. It is going to impoverish people. It is going to destroy businesses because the funny thing about economies is that they are circular. Nothing happens in a silo, in a vacuum. Businesses stay open because people are able to go into those businesses, and they are able to shop and buy things. When that happens, that business is able to grow, and they are able to hire more workers. Then those workers are able to do more or produce more. Mr. Speaker, that is how it works. Yet, when you cut off opportunity, access, incentive, and support, then you compromise that ecosystem. We all have those micro-ecosystems in our communities. That is what makes this country strong. That is what makes this country unique. That is what makes this country worthy of this kind of debate. Mr. Speaker, I am going to close right now because I know the witching hour is among us. I am grateful for the time that has been given to the Congressional Black Caucus. The Speaker has heard from my distinguished colleagues about this reconciliation package and about all issues of great importance to this caucus, to our constituents, to the Congress, and to all Americans tonight. This reconciliation bill is a big deal. It is important and it should be talked about and discussed. The best disinfectant is sunlight, and we have to stop allowing people to be so shady about what is happening in these committees and what is being cut. We have to turn all the lights on and talk about all of the cuts that are coming in this reconciliation package. Yes, we have to point the fingers and point the blame at the people who plan to make these cuts and kill the American people. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.