Barbara Lee

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of amendments en bloc No. 1 and yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me just thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for these amendments. Now I would like to yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), our ranking member. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Spanberger).

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier).

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I reiterate my support for the amendment, and urge my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 567, I rise as the designee of the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) to offer amendments en bloc.

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel).

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jacobs).

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 567, I rise as the designee of the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) to offer amendments en bloc.

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-Cortez).

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell).

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Phillips).

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar).

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, first of all, let me just say I am very proud of the resources and programs in this bill, which provide us the unique opportunity to restore America's global leadership that has been missing in recent years. Together, we can address the greatest challenges facing the United States and provide vital support to the world's most vulnerable people. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support these amendments en bloc and the underlying bill. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I rise to voice my support for H.R 4502, a bill which provides funding for numerous critical federal programs for Fiscal Year 2022. I want to thank our Chairwoman, Rosa DeLauro for leading the appropriations process this year and ensuring that our committee marked up all twelve appropriations bills. I also thank the Speaker, Leader Hoyer, and Whip Clyburn for working to get this bill to the floor. Lastly, I want to thank Chairs Bishop, Kaptur, Pingree, Price, Quigley, and Wasserman Schultz for their leadership in crafting each of these individual bills included in this package. This bill makes critical investments to fight poverty, hunger homelessness, and housing insecurity. It funds reproductive health, education and labor programs that create opportunities for our youth. As the Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus, I am proud that this bill removes the Hyde and Weldon amendments. These provisions have long had a terrible and disproportionate impact on low-income women and women of color. Getting them off the books will be a huge step forward for reproductive and racial justice. I represent a district in the Bay Area that has some of the biggest challenges with transportation and housing affordability in the country. This bill will help 125 thousand new families get and keep a roof over their heads. And it includes six hundred million for Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS, to help people struggling with the converging pandemics of HIV and poverty to combat both in tandem. This bill comes at a time when we can no longer ignore that systemic racism is at the heart of every crisis we face today--from the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacting communities of color, to the crisis of police brutality. Crucially, this bill includes my request to require HHS to develop a comprehensive plan to develop a National Center on Antiracism and Health Equity. This new Center will be a cross-cutting effort that would address the shortage of behavioral health professionals and Black men in medicine, barriers for people living with HIV, the need for increased research for diseases such as Sickle Cell and COPD, and empowering trusted messengers of our communities. This bill also funds a pilot program under the Office of Minority Health to oversee grants to support community-based organizations working to address structural racism in public health. I would like to thank Congresswoman Pressley and Senator Warren for partnering with me in this effort. I am happy to see increased funding for lifesaving programs such as the Ryan White Program and the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative. As the Co- Chair of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, I will look forward to continuing to work with all of you to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. Finally, as the Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, I was glad to see cannabis research as a priority through various agencies. Gaining scientific data on cannabis will be valuable in further understanding its potential benefits. I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 4502.

Mr. LEE of California

Mr. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this amendment which strikes language that allows funds to go to universities researching cannabis. We should not be afraid of data and research. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, we should be encouraging expanding our knowledge--not limiting it. Politicians should not be stifling academic freedom. I am proud to represent California-13 which includes some of the best research institutes in the country, UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Labs. None of us should want to withhold funds from our institutions and constituents because a university wants to do scientific research on a plant. UC Berkeley has one of the only cannabis research centers in the country and these prohibitions just tie the hands of our professors, researchers, and students by imposing restrictions on funding and essentially silencing them. I urge my colleagues to vote no against this anti-science amendment and to vote no against academic freedom.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank my colleague and the gentleman from Colorado for his gracious comments, remarks, and leadership. And just know that we are in this together, and we have been in this together for a long, long time. And this is really working for the American people. It is in our blood. We have no option. And you certainly--in the short time you have been here--you certainly have hit the ground running and have shown who you are and whose you are. So thank you, again, so much. And to, of course, our co-chair, Mr. Lieu, let me just say thank you for your clarity of purpose and making sure that--yourself and Mr. Neguse--making sure that the truth is told. And oftentimes, we forget that the truth shall set you free. But I always marvel at you, Congressman Lieu, and Mr. Neguse, especially when you are on the media. You don't pull any punches. You tell the truth; you cut through all the noise. And I think the American people deserve that. Thank you both for that, and thank you for giving us a chance to be with you this evening. Mr. Speaker I rise also with my colleagues to highlight the fact that House Democrats have delivered for the people in the first 200 days of this Congress. House Democrats and the Biden administration have begun building back bolder. We have helped tackle this virus head on by putting shots in people's arms, and money in people's pockets. And, yes, to address the crisis of poverty in this country, the American Rescue Plan expanded and improved the child tax credit, which I had the honor of working with my colleagues, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, and our chair of the Committee on Appropriations, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, to establish the foundation for this. This benefit has made a significant impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of struggling families, especially for communities of color. In my district alone, the newly improved tax credit will directly benefit 108,600 children. That's in the Golden State of California. Child poverty is about the highest in the country. And it will lift over 10,000 children out of poverty. Now, for the people, we must make it permanent. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that Democrats, we rescued Republicans. There were zero--mind you--zero Republican votes, as my colleagues have said over and over again, for the creation, for example, of 3 million jobs, for investing $130 billion to help schools reopen safely. There were zero Republican votes for the child tax credit and for putting money into the pockets of American families who, through no fault of their own, have been living on the edge, struggling to survive, begging for help. Well guess what? Democrats delivered for everyone; everyone, regardless of their party affiliation, regardless of who they voted for, or even if they didn't vote. And, yes, some Republicans, they have the audacity to tout these benefits as if they supported them. But you know what? That is okay. That is okay. We are delivering for the people regardless. And, yes, African Americans and people of color were disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus, and we made certain that equity and funding for low-income and vulnerable communities and low-wealth populations were targeted and included. Now, last time I looked, Republicans also have many constituents who face socioeconomic and racial bias and have had a difficult time just surviving because of systemic racism and economic inequality. Republicans have constituents who have faced these adversities; we do also. But guess what? Republicans did not step up. We did. Mr. Speaker, I hope now that the public understands who is on their side. You all are making it very clear. I hope the public really understands what this is about and really who is standing with them. Mr. Speaker, we must continue to build back better and bolder, and I sincerely hope that these efforts will be bipartisan. For after all, we were elected to represent and support our constituents. Not abandon them, mind you, in the time of need. So, yes, I am proud to have helped minority leader, for instance, McCarthy's constituents. I am proud to have helped Senator McConnell's constituents. But I hope that they recognize that the benefits that extended to them during this unprecedented pandemic, I hope they will recognize and rethink the importance of working for the people. Again, I am very proud to have supported the American Rescue Plan regardless of party affiliation. And I am very pleased that we were able to take care of our colleagues' constituents when they wouldn't.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, on roll call vote 186, I was not present because I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yes'' on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 2225.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I thank Chair Lofgren for her leadership. I'd also like to thank our Speaker, our Majority Leader, our Whip, Mr. Clyburn, Chairwoman Beatty, Chairman Bennie Thompson, and Congressman Butterfield for moving this legislation forward with the urgency that it requires. I rise in strong support of H.R. 3005, which will remove shameful monuments to slavery, segregation, and white supremacy from the U.S Capitol. In 2017, in the wake of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, I introduced the Confederate Monument Removal Act to remove all statues of people who voluntarily served the Confederacy from the Capitol building, so thank you for including this in this current bill. Venerating those who took up arms against the United States to preserve slavery is an affront to the human dignity of all Americans. These painful symbols of bigotry and racism have no place in our society and certainly should not be enshrined in the U.S. Capitol. Following our historic vote on Juneteenth, it is past time for Congress to stop glorifying the men who committed treason against the United States to keep African Americans in chains. The movement to honor Confederate soldiers was a deliberate act to rewrite history and diminish the role of slavery in the outbreak of hostilities between the North and the South. The Confederacy sought to uphold the institution of slavery and maintain a racial hierarchy that brutalized and oppressed Black people. This ideology of white supremacy led to the rise of Confederate memorials in the 20th century. Most Confederate statutes were erected during periods of extreme civil rights tension, not in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Placed in public spaces, they were testaments to the enduring notion of white supremacy and used to push back against the movement for equality for African Americans. They are symbols of white supremacy and hatred, not Southern heritage. They don't belong here in the U.S. Capitol. We are in a critical moment to act. The removal of Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol is an important step in confronting our nation's painful legacy of slavery, racism, and oppression. As a descendant of enslaved Africans, I support this bill and I ask for an `aye' vote.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, let me first thank our chairman, Mr. Meeks, for moving this bill through committee. It wasn't an easy lift, and his leadership was extremely important in getting us to where we are today. I also thank Leader Hoyer, Speaker Pelosi, and let me take a minute to thank our staff: My chief of staff, Julie Nickson, who is here with us today; my legislative director, Gregory Adams; Congressman Meeks' staff; and all of the staff members who have worked for 20 years to get us to this point. I also want to thank our Democratic and Republican cosponsors and our outside broad spectrum of groups, like the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Win Without War, the American Legion, and Americans for Prosperity that have fought alongside us. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the Statement of Administration Policy and letters of support from many of these groups. Statement of Administration Policy H.R. 256--Repeal of Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002--Rep. Lee, D-CA with 134 co-sponsors The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 256, to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (``2002 AUMF''). This bipartisan legislation would terminate the October 16, 2002, statutory authorization for the use of military force against Iraq. The Administration supports the repeal of the 2002 AUMF, as the United States has no ongoing military activities that rely solely on the 2002 AUMF as a domestic legal basis, and repeal of the 2002 AUMF would likely have minimal impact on current military operations. Furthermore, the President is committed to working with the Congress to ensure that outdated authorizations for the use of military force are replaced with a narrow and specific framework appropriate to ensure that we can continue to protect Americans from terrorist threats. In working with the Congress on repealing and replacing other existing authorizations of military force, the Administration seeks to ensure that the Congress has a clear and thorough understanding of the effect of any such action and of the threats facing U.S. forces, personnel, and interests around the world. As the Administration works with the Congress to reform AUMFs, it will be critical to maintain the clear authority to address threats to the United States' national interests with appropriately decisive and effective military action.

Ms. LEE of California. Let me just take a minute to honor my dear friend, the late Congressman Walter Jones, a Republican from North Carolina who was my partner for many years to build bipartisan support to bring our troops home. I am proud to stand with everyone as we exercise our most important duty assigned by the Constitution to decide when and how America goes to war. We cannot revise history as it relates to why this authorization was put into place. Eighteen years ago, in front of the infamous ``Mission Accomplished'' banner backdrop, former President Bush told the Nation that the major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In 2011, President Obama brought our combat troops home, and yet this authority remains on the books, vulnerable to misuse because Congress has not acted to remove it. The Bush administration, yes, misled the American people by saying there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, that Iraq posed an imminent threat by drawing a false connection between the tragic events of 9/11 and Saddam Hussein. Those lies and misinformation had deadly consequences. The mistakes continue to haunt us today. Once the war started, the Out of Iraq Caucus was founded by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, me, and led by Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Over 80 Members joined. Many of us took our protests to the streets, joining hundreds of thousands protesting the unnecessary, immoral war of choice. Year after year, we worked for the safe and orderly withdrawal of our troops. I share all this history, not because of nostalgia, but we have to remember why this authorization was passed, because 87 percent of current Members of the House were not here to vote on this AUMF in 2002. The Constitution requires that we cannot appropriate funds for armies for more than 2 years, and yet for almost two decades we have failed to revisit these AUMFs. To this day, our endless wars continue, costing trillions of dollars and thousands of lives in a war that goes way beyond any scope that Congress conceived or intended. I want to salute our veterans, our young men and women in uniform. They did everything we have asked them to do. Many veterans support this repeal. The outdated 2002 AUMF bears no correlation to the threats we face today.

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, the President earlier stated his support for the bill, saying that the 2002 AUMF will not impact current military operations, but repeal can prevent our country from entering another protracted engagement under this outdated authority. We can't afford to leave this in place indefinitely. For two decades it has been in place. This is our opportunity to restore our constitutional role.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Sheila Jackson for her persistent and consistent leadership on so many issues, especially getting this bill to the floor today. As another daughter of Texas, I am deeply connected to the history of Juneteenth. My grandfather, William Calhoun Parish, who helped raise me, was born in Galveston, Texas, just 10 years after General Granger announced that enslaved Africans were freed from the brutal and barbaric legal institution of slavery. My ancestors--my great- grandmother--were enslaved in and around Galveston, Texas. Like myself, so many in the African-American community have celebrated Juneteenth as our liberation day. To us, it represents the day that enslaved African Americans were recognized as free men, women, and children. Yet, the end of slavery did not stop with the brutal treatment of African Americans in the United States. The persistence of racial disparities in housing, income, education, the wealth gap, and other areas of injustices African Americans really are experiencing today are a direct result of the racism embedded in our institutions from our founding. So, it is not purely symbolic to make Juneteenth a holiday. It is an important step toward the country reckoning the truth of its legacy of slavery in the past as manifested today.

Ms. LEE of California. It is manifested in the racial injustices which all of us must work together to end. So, yes, it is so important that we have the truth told of this legacy of slavery so that we can move forward and work together to end these racial injustices. I am reminded of Dr. Maya Angelou and what she once wrote. She said, ``I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise,'' in ``Still I Rise.'' Madam Speaker, I want to thank you today for bringing this forward, and I thank the chairwoman for yielding.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, first of all, let me thank the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for yielding but also for her tremendous leadership and for the Emancipation Trail that she so boldly led. I am just amazed at what she shared with me earlier today and just now on the floor. Because, yes, I am a daughter of Texas. My grandfather was born in 1875--10 years after. And my grandmother may have been part of the Emancipation Trail. She was born probably in--they left Galveston around 1900.