Al Lawson

Mr. LAWSON of Florida

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, it is a real honor for me to be able to say a few words about Judge Hatchett. I heard my good friend and person I served with for many years, Congressman Webster, say how well he knew Judge Hatchett and the honorable man that Judge Hatchett was and all the things that he did for the State of Florida. I can tell you, instead of going back to what some of the people said, the Federal courthouse is about a block from my business office that I pass by almost every day. When this bill was defeated on the House floor, people from all over the State of Florida, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, none of them understood what really happened, as much as they loved Judge Joseph Hatchett and the things that he meant to Florida and to this country; not because of his military background or because of the way he was treated because of Jim Crow and other things, but because of his leadership and the way that he was fair and the way that he loved people and the way that we wanted to have judges like Judge Hatchett serve on the bench. When asked why my colleagues across the aisle voted against this measure, many of them were clueless. That should never happen on the floor of the House. Or rather they were ill-advised, when a 1990s ruling by Judge Hatchett began circulating which detailed opposition toward prayer at a public high school graduation, when Judge Hatchett simply followed the precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court. It is very bad here in Congress, or anyplace, for those of us who have served in public office, not only in the State, but here in Congress, for someone not to tell everybody exactly what you are talking about. Many will get confused. When I called some of my colleagues, they didn't know what I was talking about. It was embarrassing to our two Senators, Rubio and Scott. It was embarrassing to them, because it was passed unanimously out of the Senate, to be blindsided because they didn't know what had happened. We are talking about an individual that gave his career in public service to protect people's rights, to stand for those who are less fortunate, a person that cared not because of the color of an individual but because of the individual themself. Throughout the State of Florida, people constantly call and ask why would this happen to such a hero, a Florida's son, one that sacrificed his life? I cannot tell you all of the things that he had to go through. You have heard most of them. But he was an honorable man. And one great President said: People will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but they will never forget what we did here.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, they will never forget what we did here. No one in the State of Florida, whether Democrats or Republicans, will ever forget what Judge Hatchett did for the State of Florida and for this Nation.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, the Member, who is my designated proxy, did not submit my vote as instructed on September 23, 2021. Had I been present, I would have voted yea on Rollcall No. 289, En Bloc No. 3 to H.R. 4350, National Defense Authorization Act.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, the Member, who is my designated proxy, did not submit my vote as instructed on September 24, 2021. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 295, passage of H.R. 3755, the Women's Health Protection Act. Personal Explanation

Mr. LAWSON of Florida

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to highlight the impactful work that is being done at the Florida A&M University (FAMU) Bragg Memorial COVID-19 testing site in Tallahassee, Florida. Since the start of the start of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the FAMU testing site has been providing free testing for residents of Tallahassee/Leon County, and indeed all of North Florida and South Georgia for nearly 10 months. The FAMU COVID-19 testing center first opened on April 25, 2020, and has administered more than 234,000 tests. I applaud FAMU for springing into action to address the needs of North Florida residents by serving as a COVID-19 testing site. I am convinced that their efforts have helped to save lives in our community. Madam Speaker, I would especially like to thank FAMU President Larry Robinson, Tanya Tatum, FAMU Director of Student Health Services, Cynthia Harris, Ph.D., FAMU associate dean for Public Health, and all the others who saw the need and spearheaded this effort, along with the frontline heroes coordinating and administering the tests. Their efforts are working to keep us safe and save lives. They are putting their health and safety at risk for the safety of our families and to protect our community. I understand the tremendous sacrifices they are making, and I sincerely appreciate their service.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, today I rise to commemorate the 120th anniversary of ``Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing.'' This hymn was first performed this week 120 years ago by 500 school children at the segregated Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida. Today this song is widely known as the Black national anthem and is performed at churches, schools, sporting events, and meetings around the Nation. Brothers James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson wrote this song at their home in the LaVilla community of Jacksonville in the Fifth Congressional District, the district I represent. It was there that James Weldon penned the words that inspired hope, strength, and faith. It also reminded us to never forget the obstacles of the past. I am honored to represent the birthplace of this great song that will live on for generations to come.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I rise to support H.R. 3621, a bill that provides strong consumer protection for our Nation's borrowers. Often, we talk about access to capital and how many communities across this country are either underbanked or shut out of the credit market altogether. This bill goes further than any other piece of legislation we have seen in protecting our Nation's student loan borrowers, potential hires from biased credit reporting, and guaranteeing that consumers have the necessary information to make informed financial decisions. I am particularly thankful that this legislation includes my bill, H.R. 3614, that will limit the use of credit reports and credit scores to make hiring decisions. As with access to capital, there are many barriers in accessing employment opportunities, particularly for communities of color and other marginalized groups based on several factors. One of these factors includes an individual's credit history. Many people have fallen on hard times, had their identities stolen, or have become ill, which have negatively impacted their credit reports. But I ask, should that also impact their ability to become employed? Should an arbitrary number based on obscure algorithms that make up a credit score shut someone out of being employed? The answer is no. That is why this bill prohibits certain employers from using credit history to determine someone's eligibility to be employed. This bill is a much-needed solution in removing employment barriers. As we move forward, I will continue to work with stakeholders to protect job applicants while also guaranteeing that organizations and companies can vet potential applicants adequately. Mr. Chairman, I thank Congresswoman Pressley, Chairwoman Waters, and the committee staff who have worked tirelessly into the night to help draft this bill. I thank them for their advocacy on behalf of the Nation's consumers. It is about time we help people gain greater access to the job market.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not opposed to it.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. As we know, the three major credit rating agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, retain credit profile information on more than 200 million Americans. The underlying bill represents a comprehensive reform of our Nation's credit reporting system. This amendment would direct the GAO to review just how well the credit reporting agencies are complying with these new requirements and how that affects consumers. We know that the credit reporting agencies have not been complying with the law today. For example, the Fair Credit Reporting Act contains provisions requiring credit reports to be accurate, but it is estimated that more than 42 million Americans have inaccurate credit reports. The credit reporting agencies need to do better by consumers, and if they did, perhaps consumer reporting problems would not consistently rank in the top three of consumer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Mr. Chair, I support this study. If adopted, I hope that Mr. Timmons would also support the underlying bill. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chair, in closing, I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, although I am not opposed to it.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chair, I rise to support Mr. Steil's and Mr. McAdams' amendment. Mr. Chairman, this bipartisan amendment would add clarity to title VI of the bill that addresses restricting the use of credit reports in most employment decisions. As we know, in many cases, the use of credit reports unnecessarily exposes consumers' financial information and potentially puts existing employees and job applicants in an uncomfortable position of having to discuss private matters such as: divorce; domestic abuse; or health and genetic conditions in explaining their impaired credit history. While financial events that cause diverse information to land on the credit profile do not determine alone what value the person can bring to an employer, there are some circumstances where financial background is more relevant to a job. While this bill already contains exemptions that address this, such as exemptions when the credit file is needed for national security, or is otherwise required for Federal or State or local laws or regulations, we were able to draft a bipartisan compromise that adds a tailored exemption if Federal, State, or local laws or regulations require an investigation for financial information of an employee. This compromise strikes the right balance of commonsense solutions without creating loopholes that would hurt consumers. I want to thank Representative Steil and Representative McAdams for their work on this, and hope Mr. Steil will vote for the underlying bill if the amendment is adopted. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chairman, this amendment will allow for more time for private student loan borrowers in the process of rehabilitating their loans to repay their loans when also impacted by a geographical disaster or emergency. By changing the language from when a disaster or emergency is federally declared to when the actual disaster began, private student loan borrowers will have more time outside of when an emergency is officially federally declared to explain and have their situation taken into consideration for hardship. For example, it was a shame that it took President Trump more than 2 weeks to declare the major disaster declaration after Puerto Rico received a string of earthquakes beginning December 28. Consumers should not be penalized by politics when they are in dire need for help. As climate change and other disasters continue to have devastating consequences across this country, students who are demonstrating that they can rehabilitate their loans and improve their credit scores should not have to additionally suffer because extreme events like these cause hardships that would reasonably interrupt a payment. It can take years for communities to recover from natural and other disasters, and this amendment further allows victims of these disasters the time that they deserve, a fair chance to improve their credit scores and future credit opportunities. I support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time. I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. LAWSON

Mr. LAWSON. Madam Speaker, I rise to speak for HBCUs. I would like to thank my colleague, Ms. Adams, for all her input and how she has worked extremely hard to put HBCUs at the forefront. I grew up in a rural area in the country where we were let out of high school early so that we could work in the tobacco fields in Gadsden County. I had no idea what college was really like until Florida A&M gave me the opportunity to attend college there. For 132 years Florida A&M has been educating a large number of baccalaureate degree-holders in this country, as well as engineers, pharmacists, and you just name it, especially in the school of business where we had one of the greatest leaders in this country of all time to head up that school that really contributed to corporate America. Without HBCUs, I know that I wouldn't be here. A boy walking bare- footed in the countryside had the opportunity to represent HBCUs, not only in the State legislature but now in Congress. They have made a major impact on this country and on economics that many of my colleagues have talked about today. When you think about it, where would this country be without that impact? On September 30 of this year, the funding was not authorized. But that $255 million that the House unanimously passed is now sitting in the Senate. It is imperative that we encourage our Senators to approve this because many of these schools would not be able to function without that funding. I happen to represent not only Florida A&M University but Edward Waters College where it is critically needed for these schools to survive. Over the past 30 or 40 years, the issue also comes up, Madam Speaker, about where HBCUs are going. Many of today's HBCUs have taken minorities and international students from all over the country, more so than some of the majority institutions, and they have done well. In the area of STEM and technology, in science, we need more and more people in STEM around the country. Where can they come from? They come from HBCUs. When you look at the number of Ph.D. candidates and the number one to get Ph.D.s in this country, where do they come from? They come from HBCUs. I am really proud of the fact that HBCUs, especially Florida A&M University, molded me into the leader that I am today. It made me appreciate hard work. I had the opportunity to have professors that really cared about me and a goal. So for some 30-some years I have been a part of this leadership. I applaud Congresswoman Adams for all of her hard work and for bringing it to the forefront. We stand here tonight to send a message out there that we are a part of America. We are part of the American Dream, and we urge our colleagues to support it.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 2513, the Corporate Transparency Act. The bill would close loopholes that bad actors have taken advantage of in order to aid terrorist organizations, corrupt officials, and other criminal enterprises. Specifically, this bill requires that those who form corporations must disclose who the true beneficial owners are in order to thwart hidden criminal activity. Instilling these measures in place will benefit consumers and small businesses by preventing unfair contracting practices, including false billing, fraudulent certifications, and defrauding taxpayers. In addition, this bill will help to curb and prevent human trafficking, which is very prevalent now, by eliminating anonymous companies who hide the identities of criminals engaged in trafficking enterprises masked by a legitimate business structure. According to a study by the University of Texas, among over 100 countries studied, the United States ranked the easiest place for suspicious individuals to incorporate an anonymous company. Further, according to a 2017 GAO study, it found that GAO was unable to identify ownership information for about one-third of the GSA's high security leases. Mr. Speaker, the Corporate Transparency Act will fix these issues and provide much-needed transparency into the corporate governing structure. I encourage my colleagues on both sides to support this bill.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove Representative Bill Foster as a cosponsor of H.R. 1406.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Chair, I have an amendment on the desk.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Chair, I rise to support the Consumers First Act and my amendment that would provide transparency in the number of fair lending cases that are opened and closed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This Bureau was created under Dodd-Frank to provide consumer protection from unfair lending practices. These individuals include our Nation's veterans, students, those who have mortgages, and individuals with auto loans, which is very prevalent. Since the creation of the CFPB, it has helped over 31 million harmed consumers with over $12 billion in relief. That is pretty substantial. In addition, the CFPB has received and taken action on nearly 1 million complaints. Today, the CFPB's ability to continue protecting our Nation's borrowers has been severely limited by the Trump administration. The administration has weakened the supervision and enforcement of fair lending, blocked payday loan cases, dismantled protections for servicemembers, and has reduced transparency and accountability. The Consumers First Act fights back. The bill, along with the amendment, specifically requires transparency in fair lending investigations, requires interagency cooperation, and demands diversity and inclusion efforts. My home State of Florida has one of the highest rates of consumer complaints in the Nation. Some of it might be due to the elderly population that we have or the high number of just regular citizens who need protection. What would these consumers do without the CFPB? What would be their recourse for Federal action? Madam Chair, it is time that we put consumers first. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment and to support the underlying bill. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Chair, how many minutes do I have remaining?

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Chair, I would say to the distinguished member from North Carolina, who I have enjoyed working with, during my tenure in Florida, especially in the Florida legislature, one of the biggest complaints was for protection for the consumers. I spent my career there fighting on their behalf, for the voiceless who did not have a voice, and I continue with this fight here, because I know the importance of it. Madam Chair, I can tell the gentleman, if I walked out of here today and just walked down the street and asked an average person what was more important to them, they would say the consumer protection that they feel that they don't really have. This is the most important legislation that I have seen since I have been in Congress, because it goes straight to the people who need it the most, our veterans, our students, regular consumers, just the average people. Big banks and institutions have a lot of protection, but the average person does not have this protection. Madam Chair, I can guarantee my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, if they vote for this protection, it will be in the same vein of when our great President Lincoln said that: ``The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.'' Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Chair, I rise to express my support for H.R. 2157, the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2019. This $17.2 billion package is essential to providing critical relief to communities that were hit by natural disasters in 2018 and 2019, including my Congressional District, Florida's Fifth. More than seven months has passed since Hurricane Michael made landfall in Florida and citizens are still reeling from the historic Category 5 storm. Our community has a long way to go on the road to recovery, including our timber industry and forests. My support for this disaster supplemental package comes in part because of an understanding that the language within Title I of this bill grants the Secretary of Agriculture the discretion to provide assistance to producers who suffered timber loss due to Hurricanes Michael and Florence. In the 11 counties in Florida hit by Hurricane Michael, more than 16,000 forest land owners reported damage to their timber. The storm destroyed more than 72 million tons of timber, totaling over $1.3 billion in economic loss. Forest lands are essential to North Florida's economy and ecology, and we must do everything to ensure we get it back on track. I look forward to working with my colleagues in both Chambers of Congress, as well as with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, to ensure that North Florida's forestlands are supported as we recover from Hurricane Michael.

Mr. LAWSON of Florida

Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express support for a resolution I filed to honor the heroic women who have dedicated themselves to serving our country with devotion and distinction by designating March 10 through March 16 as National Women Veterans Recognition Week. This observance would celebrate the achievement of our female veterans and raise awareness to the unique challenges they face. Women are now the fastest growing segment of the veteran community. Approximately 2 million women in the United States are veterans. Florida hosts the Nation's largest segment of population of women veterans, especially in Duval County, in my district, which has the largest number of female veterans in the State. I want to take this time to recognize one of my distinguished staffers, Sherry Barfield, who was recently recognized as one of the Northeast Florida Women Veterans Center's 2019 Women Who Rock.