Andy Levin

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, this amendment undermines the core premises behind the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, which would create 1 million more registered apprenticeship, pre- apprenticeship, and youth apprenticeship opportunities over the next 5 years. Registered apprenticeships represent a proven earn-and-learn program. Ninety-four percent of those who complete their apprenticeships are employed upon completion, and they have an average starting salary of $70,000. This substitute amendment is nothing less than an attack on the successful registered apprenticeship system. It makes deep cuts to funding in H.R. 447, which will result in sparse growth in new registered apprenticeships, while diverting scarce funds to untested and unproven programs run by third parties. Instead, it gives the Secretary of Labor and State apprenticeship agencies open-ended authority to waive the quality and accountability standards in this act. Authorizing funding for a program without guardrails is not an approach Congress should be taking when working with the executive branch of either party. Allow me to address the specifics of the substitute amendment. First, it allows the Secretary of Labor to divert funds for unproven and untested programs, like the Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs, or IRAPs, created under the Trump administration. Unlike registered apprenticeships, there has been no evaluation of unregistered programs like IRAPs--none. When DOL proposed the creation of IRAPs, it received over 300,000 comments in opposition. Congress should not be opening the spigots of taxpayer money for programs that lack broad public support, especially when there is no evidence that programs that do not meet registered apprenticeship standards are effective at all. This is an irresponsible use of taxpayer money. Democrats are, in fact, leading on innovation. For example, an amendment offered by the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas), which was included in the en bloc amendments, allows the Secretary of Labor to fund innovation in apprenticeships by allowing demonstration projects in nontraditional sectors, subject to the recommendation of the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships appointed by the Secretary. These projects could even help with the COVID-19 response. Second, the substitute amendment slashes funding for apprenticeship grants from $3.5 billion to $1.1 billion over the next 5 years. It cuts State apprenticeship formula grants from $475 million to $385 million over 5 years. States have asked us for funding certainty so they can scale up their apprenticeship efforts and have been documented to be an engine of success for the growth of apprenticeships. This cut is a 77 percent reduction in total funding, resulting in only 219,000 new apprenticeship opportunities. This is an easy choice: 219,000 apprenticeship opportunities versus nearly 1 million apprenticeship opportunities that the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 provides. We all agree that apprenticeships are a pathway to the middle class, so why would we want to eliminate the rungs of opportunity for hundreds of thousands of apprentices? Third, this amendment eliminates the interagency agreement with the Department of Education to create stronger alignment between the education system and the national apprenticeship system. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle often talk about wanting to create pathways for students to pursue alternatives to a 4-year degree, but this amendment eliminates provisions of the National Apprenticeship Act that do that in a way that is sought by our institutions of higher education. As I mentioned earlier, our community colleges strongly support the act as it is. Some say we are creating a one-size-fits-all approach with this bill, but that isn't true either. We include new apprenticeship models, such as competency-based and hybrid options, and expand youth apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships, something employers have consistently requested. This amendment is a step in the wrong direction. At a time when at least 7 million people have permanently lost their jobs due to the mishandling of the pandemic, and when the economy is facing a deep recession, the underlying bill is focused on getting people back to work with the best skills possible. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I first met John Sweeney when I was 22 and his staff offered me a job helping nursing home workers organize with SEIU in my home state of Michigan. The union was hiring a novice, front-line organizer, but I was ushered into the office of the president of the national union to meet the man himself. He was modest and unassuming that day, and he never changed, even as he doubled the size of SEIU, even as he became the consensus choice to lead the only insurgent takeover of the AFL-CIO in its history, even as he helped transform its policies to focus on organizing, support immigrant workers and much more. John Sweeney never saw himself as being above any of the workers he came to represent, and he fought for them with unquestioned integrity and an openness to innovation and change possible only with true humility. I ended up spending five years organizing with SEIU, then returning years later to help his campaign to take over the AFL-CIO, and then working 11 years under his leadership there. Throughout that time, I trusted President Sweeney completely-he gave me big assignments and the leeway to make them my own. He drew the best out of me by letting me know he had faith in me. He tolerated mistakes, but not lapsed ethics. One story that captures John well is that when I was creating Union Summer, a program to put 1,000 young people onto the front lines of union organizing and bargaining campaigns in the summer of 1996, shortly after he became AFL-CIO president, he insisted on making the `Summeristas' as we called them employees of the AFL-CIO, even though they were essentially doing a three-week summer camp. He knew it would be much more expensive and a lot more work, but he insisted on taking full responsibility for every one of them. John put the interest of other people and the labor movement above his own, every time. I loved John Sweeney in an uncomplicated way that feels hard to describe and that I hope remains possible in our troubled world. He was an honest leader, a great soul, doing his best to keep faith with his God and lift up his fellow human beings. Godspeed, John Sweeney.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, for 2 months, Donald Trump used the biggest megaphone in the world to organize a campaign of outright lies to overturn a free and fair election. On January 6, he summoned and incited a mob of domestic terrorists to fight like hell and sent them to ransack this Capitol in order to prevent us from formalizing his election loss. It was a grotesque orgy of deadly white supremacism, anti-Semitism, and strongman rule. Today, we will do our duty and vote to remove the author of this horrifying chapter and banish him from public service.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise to condemn violence against Indians who are peacefully protesting laws they believe are unjust and stand with these peaceful protesters as they exercise a right that is fundamental in any functioning democracy. Since last month, Indian farmers have protested new, hastily-passed agriculture laws that could weaken traditional markets where some agricultural goods are guaranteed a minimum price. As a longtime union organizer, I support these farmers, whose hard work has earned Punjab's moniker as ``India's bread basket.'' I have also been inspired by the solidarity demonstrated by diaspora communities from Cincinnati, to Melbourne, to Silicon Valley, to Canton Township, Michigan, just outside my district. One Michigander with family in India, Amrinder Grewal, told the Detroit News that these new laws were ``ruining their lives.'' I have also been heartened watching democracy in action in India and the popular support this movement is garnering throughout the nation and the global Indian diaspora. While I believe the Indian government should have consulted meaningfully with farmers before passing these laws, I welcome their efforts to engage with the protestors to ensure that legislation that affects these communities reflects their input and interests as well. At the same time, I'm concerned by reports that the Indian government has responded to the protestors with a heavy hand. The BBC reported this month that protesters arrived in Delhi to find that ``tens of thousands of police and paramilitary troops were deployed to halt their march'' and ``in several places, police fired tear gas shells and used water cannons to try to beat them back.'' As winter sets in, the situation has grown more dire: almost 30 protesters have died, some succumbing to the freezing cold. On behalf of my constituents who represent the vibrant Indian diaspora community and have rallied in support of these farmers, I call on the Indian government to respect the vital right to peaceful protest and to engage in good-faith talks to ensure farmers' livelihoods are preserved.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the memory of my young constituent, Taylor DeRosa. Taylor made her mark as a student activist at Royal Oak High School. She was beginning her college career at Grand Valley State University when her life was taken so tragically several days ago. I met Taylor when I was running for Congress in 2018 and she was launching a Students Demand Action chapter. Taylor immediately struck me as a huge flash of sunshine in an unjust world. Her commitment to justice was frank and undeniable. You knew the world would change at least a little because Taylor was present, fighting for sensible gun reform, fighting for everyone to see and cherish Black lives, and fighting to empower women and girls. Taylor made me feel that every minute we invest in our young people is time well-spent. I feel that now, even as we struggle to cope with her loss, because she inspired me and so many folks young and old all around her. My heart goes out to Taylor's devoted mother, Cara, and all who knew and loved her in this time of heartbreak and mourning.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank the majority leader for organizing this Special Order. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak for Senator Sarbanes' employees, and especially for my sister-in-law Nellie Freeman, who worked for Paul Sarbanes for 17 years, from December of 1989 to January of 2007. I am not going to talk about all the amazing things about Senator Sarbanes that his Maryland colleagues have eloquently mentioned. John, I am definitely not going to talk about fathers and sons because then I will start crying, but my dad, Sandy Levin, who served in this House for 36 years, and my Uncle Carl Levin, who served for 36 years in the Senate, many of them with Senator Sarbanes, both loved him very much. But let me talk about Nellie and, by extension, his broader staff. Nellie loved serving in the Senate on the staff, and she loved the Senator. That is what she called him, ``the Senator.'' And John Sarbanes saw Nellie Freeman for who she was. He saw her talent and he unleashed her to interact with the people of Maryland, of which she was a native, to organize events, to organize his participation in festivals and convenings of all kinds. And she just loved this work. He saw the value in it and understood that the connection with human beings is the essence of politics. He once said that Nellie knew more constituents and more local organizations than anyone else in Maryland. And, you know, I think she is just incredibly proud of that to this day. I know that she shared a camaraderie and an esprit de corps and a joy of working for Senator Paul Sarbanes. How you treat your staff and how you see your staff says a lot about you as a public servant. Senators have a lot more staff than we do over here in the House, and he really knew his staff and treated them great. After Senator Sarbanes retired, Nellie went on to work for another Senator, and then she retired. And when she retired, her current employer, the Senator, couldn't attend her retirement party, but Paul Sarbanes did. He showed up and he spoke about Nellie. That is the kind of person he was. So it is a great loss for Maryland and for our country. And I just want to say to all of his former staff that you all don't get enough appreciation. Our staff doesn't. Senator Sarbanes treated his staff right, and I hope we all can live up to his example.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor my retiring director of constituent services, Zeenath Hussain. It may not be common to speak on the floor of this House about a staffer, but Zee is truly an extraordinary public servant and human being. In 2004, Zee answered an ad for a staff assistant position in my dad's, Sandy Levin's, district office. Over the years, she built an incomparable network of relationships with officials in an astounding array of Federal agencies and an unmatched mastery of how to solve virtually any constituent problem. Even after 16 years of service, in a pandemic causing untold suffering and chaos, Zee listened to each constituent attentively, leveled with people when necessary, and comforted and reassured every family member. In addition to her tireless work for constituents, Zeenath took care of everyone around her, mentoring generations of congressional staff, dispensing advice about life, and cooking to-die-for Indian meals for the office and anyone who happened by. Zee, I reluctantly admit you have richly earned the right to retire from your job, but I hasten to add that there is no retiring from friendship or from love.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank Chairman Scott for his leadership and for bringing this exceptional reauthorization to the floor today. Before I begin speaking about this amendment, I would like to acknowledge the important role that labor unions have played in building the national apprenticeship system. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the AFL-CIO in support of H.R. 8294.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I wish to emphasize the importance of apprenticeship standards that safeguard apprentices' welfare with unions who have helped negotiate and protect them for many, many years. These standards are critically important to the success of the national apprenticeship system, which is why I introduced the Strengthening Training and Accessibility for New and Diverse Apprenticeships through Relevant and Dependable Standards Act, or the STANDARDS Act for short. I am pleased that the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 incorporates my bill, which protects the rights of workers who participate in apprenticeships. The language of this amendment is perfectly clear. It says that grant applicants should partner with an industry or sector partnership and a labor or joint labor-management organization to the extent practicable. Yet, interests hostile to unions are once again using scare tactics to claim, falsely, that my amendment will prevent industry organizations from securing apprenticeship grants under the legislation unless in all cases they partner with unions, even when there are no unions in the geographic area or part of an industry partnership. This is not what the amendment says. Opponents of this amendment are bending the truth for ideological reasons. They know, and a plain reading of the text makes crystal clear, that this amendment does not mandate that every applicant partner with a union to access grant funding, full stop. It is asking them to make reasonable efforts to include unions in the sectors and areas where they are carrying out an apprenticeship program, again, to the extent practicable. The National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 includes the PARTNERS Act, led by Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Drew Ferguson, Susan Davis, and Brett Guthrie. That bipartisan legislation--again, included in this act--is built around industry or sector partnerships, which include unions. Despite this, opponents are zeroing in on this amendment, saying it discriminates against apprenticeship programs that don't have union partnerships. Trade associations are arguing the term ``to the extent practicable'' is legally ambiguous or could be interpreted incorrectly by the incoming Biden administration. Let's set the record straight. The term ``practicable'' has been used in major legislation for decades. It is in the bipartisan Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, or WIOA, which was introduced by the ranking Republican on the Education and Labor subcommittee that has jurisdiction over it. It is used 10 separate times in the bill we are considering. We all know what it means. The attack on this amendment isn't about the requirements for a grant program. It is about the inclusion of the word ``labor'' in a bill to be carried out by the U.S. Department of Labor. Anyone who reads this amendment can see clearly what it does and that this fearmongering is about a problem that simply does not exist. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, this week, we learned that one of the biggest offshore wind developers in the world entered into an agreement with North America's Building Trades Unions of this country to develop apprenticeships and training programs for all the offshore wind development that they are going to undertake in the oceans off of our East Coast, creating thousands of new jobs and fantastic opportunities for our young workers to learn the latest technology and the energy production of the future. It is such a great example of how apprenticeships and partnerships between unions and companies, the biggest companies in the world with the latest technology, and the whole way the economy is moving, is an important part of our future. This amendment facilitates those efforts. This bill will help our workforce zoom into the future, earning while they learn and securing jobs that, on average, start at $70,000 or more. Mr. Speaker, with great enthusiasm, I hope everyone votes for this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I would inquire if I have time remaining or has my time expired.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act. This bipartisan measure will raise awareness in the South Asian community about alarming increases in heart disease and invest in ways to reverse this trend. South Asians in the United States are those who immigrated or whose families immigrated from countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. South Asians represent the sixth largest and fastest-growing ethnic group in our nation. Despite a traditional diet high in lentils, vegetables, grains and spices, heart disease is on the rise in these communities. A Stanford study found that South Asians' risk of having a heart attack before 50 is four times greater than the general population's. South Asians also have the highest prevalence of Type 2 diabetes. As diabetes is one of the most serious drivers of heart disease, stats underscore the urgent need for action. The tools and research this bill promotes will give us the insight needed to save lives not just in the South Asian community, but the greater public, too. I thank Congresswoman Jayapal for her vision in developing this bill and urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise with a message on the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that I shared with my beloved synagogue, Congregation T'chiyah, on Zoom during Saturday's Rosh Hashanah service just before we said the Mourner's Kaddish. We have to resist what may be our first impulse over the loss of Justice Ginsburg, the horror of it. When people die, it is hard to step back from their circumstances, the circumstances of their death, in order to imbibe the lesson of their life, isn't it? Especially in circumstances like this. Instead, let us consider this woman. A tiny person. A modest person. A young wife who helped her husband with his schoolwork, only turning to her own in the middle of the night. A woman who, nevertheless, finished at the top of her law school class. A brilliant lawyer no law firm would hire because she had ovaries, and heaven forfend, was a mother. A person then pushed into teaching and given the space for advocacy. The system, by discriminating against her, set up a mighty campaign to fell discrimination. The very architect of the assault against legal discrimination against women who, following in the footsteps of Thurgood Marshall, the lawyer, not the Justice, carefully disassembled the wall excluding women from all manner of rights, brick by carefully chosen brick. The appeals court judge who was not President Clinton's first choice to join the Supreme Court, but who blew him away with her charismatic anti-charisma, her directness, lack of artifice, and legal brilliance so plain that it shone Sun-like. For nearly three decades, a Supreme Court Justice who hammered out brave decisions and dissents that shone a light toward the future of dignity and justice for all, for which we all long, and on these High Holy Days we reaffirm faithfully is a possible and, indeed, necessary future. A teacher-Justice, who crafted these decisions in a manner not only meant to make law in the moment, but to teach future Justices, lawyers, and the general public how law and power function in the real world. In the end, the Justice-turned-icon, Notorious RBG, the most unlikely rock star, whose seeming diminutive frailty was the falsest thing about her, hiding a will of steel, that galloping mind, and a glint in her eye that told every girl: I am with you; and indeed: You are me; we are one. Why must we breathe in the full measure of this person before we turn to the tragedy of her death at this incredible low point in the history of our Nation? Why can't we just turn with anxiety and determination to the next fight, the fight over RBG's replacement? Because in pausing to appreciate Ruth Bader Ginsburg fully, we see the importance of brilliant strategy and steely determination and good humor. Reflecting on her astounding accomplishments, we realize that justice can win in the end. Amidst our tears, we realize we have no choice but to listen to her, and to John Lewis, and others we have lost in a moment of turmoil when we need them most, to study their ways, pick up their tools, and march on towards justice. You want a Rosh Hashanah that tests your faith? Try losing RBG to start things off. You want to make 5781 a year of hope and joy? Try taking immense pride in the outsize accomplishments of this tiny Jew and vowing to make her proud of us. Only then, after we immerse ourselves in prayer, reflection, and intention-setting, will we be fully ready to meet the coming moment.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2639, the Strength in Diversity Act. I thank this bill's sponsor, Congresswoman Fudge, and Chairman Scott for shepherding this bill through the Education and Labor Committee. Nearly 20 years after Brown v. Board of Education, lesser-known Supreme Court cases like Milliken v. Bradley determined that segregation was allowed, if not considered an explicit policy, of each school district. This meant schools and communities were not held responsible for desegregation. Busing policies meant to integrate city and suburban schools were abandoned and the inequality created by racist redlining and exclusionary housing policies continued, keeping Black Americans out of the suburbs and trapped in underfunded schools to this day. Today, the school system at the center of Milliken v. Bradley, Detroit's, is more segregated than it was in 1974. This bill will provide grants to improve racial and socioeconomic diversity in public schools, an essential step toward fulfilling the promise of Brown v. Board, ending the segregation that continues to plague school districts across this country, including in my own district, Michigan's Ninth. Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Court's first Black Justice, warned in his dissent in Milliken v. Bradley, ``unless our children begin to learn together, there is little hope that our people will ever learn to live together and understand each other.'' As we reckon with our Nation's past and work to dismantle racist institutions that have stood for far too long, let us not forget our children. I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding the time. I rise in support of this en bloc package, which includes three of my amendments. My first amendment prioritizes funding to support labor reforms in Mexico that will improve Mexican and U.S. workers' standards of living so the USMCA can fulfill its promise. The second prioritizes BUILD grant funding for green infrastructure projects that will decarbonize and electrify U.S. ground transportation. My final amendment prohibits Secretary DeVos from funneling public school money to private schools through so-called Education Freedom Scholarships. These amendments protect workers, promote investments in green infrastructure, and safeguard public education. Madam Speaker, I thank the chair for considering them and I urge my colleagues to support this package.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the public schools in Macomb and Oakland Counties. In between votes earlier this week, I hosted a Zoom call with the superintendents in my district. I was struck by how much they figured out in such a short time about operating a school during a pandemic. Educators are nimble and creative. They are used to doing a lot with a little. The PPE, the cleaning, the social distancing, the technology needs, and the social and emotional health, they are up for figuring it all out on top of already having one of the hardest jobs there is. The problem is, they don't have a fraction of the resources they need to put their plans into place. While they have spent their summer days and probably fitful nights determining how to keep their students, educators, and other school professionals safe, this administration has offered no plan other than: Reopen or else. As a father of four, as a lifetime advocate for and product of public schools, as a union organizer with worker safety top of mind, and as a human being with compassion and common sense, I am calling on the Senate to offer a real plan in this next relief package, one that acknowledges that we must contain this pandemic and provide schools with the resources they need to reopen safely. It has been nearly 10 weeks since the House passed the HEROES Act to put us on a path required to reengage our schools and the economy as a whole safely. Mr. Speaker, 59,679 Americans have perished from COVID-19 since May 15 when the House passed the HEROES Act, yet here we are, still trying to push public health common sense uphill in the face of denial, politicization, and the most disastrous vacuum of leadership in modern times. The HEROES Act directs more than $100 billion in emergency education funding to cover unexpected costs and $75 billion for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, including key provisions of the coronavirus containment corps legislation I wrote with Senator Elizabeth Warren. What has happened in the intervening 10 weeks with their 60,000 deaths? The need has not only grown; it has doubled. Just this week, national health organizations and child advocates, led by the American Academy of Pediatrics, wrote to House and Senate leadership, calling on Congress to pass at least $200 billion in K-12 education funding. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have met this growing need with the inaction we have come to expect: ignoring this proposal. What is even more dangerous, Trump and DeVos threaten to strip funding from public schools, a threat they have no authority to fulfill unless they put students in the classroom full-time even as daily cases are higher than they were when schools went online in the first place during the spring. Nowhere is this more dangerous than in our communities of color, where schools are disproportionately underfunded even in normal times. These are some of the same communities that have been the hardest hit by the coronavirus and may need more time to reopen safely. If we are at long last serious about racial justice, we must offer resources and flexibility, not ultimatums. Senate Republicans can choose to be redefined by the vanity projects of a President only concerned with pretending this virus is over and a Secretary of Education continuing her lifelong crusade to defund public schools and even spreading outright falsehoods, such that children are stoppers of COVID-19, or they can do their job: represent the educators, school professionals, parents, and students in their States by doing what is in the best interest of the health and safety of our citizens.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of our friend and colleague, Congressman John Lewis. With every march, every sit-in, every time we reject unjust rules and institutions designed to oppress any group, we honor the legacy of John Robert Lewis. A record number of Americans have stood up, spoken up, and laced up their marching shoes in recent weeks. Millions of them are too young to know about the man in whose footsteps they are following as they make what he so rightly called good trouble. May we all model his grace, courage, kindness, and commitment to nonviolence as a way of life and continue the good trouble he started even when--especially when--it is unpopular. I feel so much gratitude to have learned from this giant of history, this singular American genius, and to have served, however briefly, alongside him. His loss is devastating. His memory everlasting. Rest in power, my beloved brother.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the coronavirus is winning. There are 2.5 million U.S. cases and more than 126,000 Americans dead. That is more than double the number of American lives lost during the Korean war, tens of thousands more than the two- decade Vietnam war, and 10,000 more than World War I. The United States has 4.25 percent of the world's population but 25 percent of the COVID-19 deaths. Tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs or faced pay cuts. And in the coming weeks, economic lifelines passed by Congress that have cushioned the blows are going to expire. It does not have to be this way. Right now, as I speak, the Senate is sitting on the HEROES Act, a bill that Majority Leader McConnell has refused to consider for more than 45 days. What could have been done in those 45 days? Moody's Analytics said: ``If quickly passed into law, the HEROES Act would provide a substantial boost to the economy during the second half of this year, when the economy is most vulnerable to the pandemic and at most risk of sliding back into recession. The legislation would also return the economy to full employment much more quickly.'' Moody's also said: ``How well the economy does in the next several years depends critically on what lawmakers decide to do in the next few weeks.'' That was more than a week ago, yet the Senate still refuses to pass a bill that puts money in the pockets of workers with a second round of direct payments to families, a bill with new payroll protection measures to keep 60 million workers connected with their jobs, a bill that extends weekly $600 Federal unemployment benefits through next January so families can pay their bills. But HEROES isn't just a bill to provide relief from the pandemic; it is a bill to end it. HEROES contains $75 billion for more COVID-19 testing and contact tracing and $500 million to help our workforce system place new contact tracers, focusing specifically on Americans who are out of work and drawing from the communities they will work in with the diversity reflecting those unique communities and the language competencies necessary to serve them. This last part is so important and a core piece of my Coronavirus Containment Corps Act, my bill with Senator Warren that is included in the HEROES Act in substantial part. Last week, Dr. Fauci said that U.S. contact tracing isn't going well. Why? Well, Dr. Redfield, the CDC Director, says that we have 27,000 or 28,000 contact tracers when we need, in his own estimation, 100,000, and when other experts believe we may need double that. We have public health departments that are underfunded. We have communities that, after decades of discrimination, are understandably weary of trusting health authorities. The Coronavirus Containment Core Act addresses every one of those issues. We have solutions ready. No single one of the solutions is a cure-all, but, together, they can turn the tide of this pandemic. We as Members of this body are in a unique and privileged position to develop solutions that channel the resources we need to implement those solutions on a nationwide scale. To fail to do this is to accept the status quo. Let's make the HEROES Act law. There is not a minute to waste.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, my amendment alters the charging and fueling infrastructure grant program in this bill, laying the groundwork to deploy zero-emission EV charging infrastructure nationwide. This amendment strengthens plans for renewable or zero-emissions energy sources to power EV chargers. It directs DOT to study financing options for a national network of EV chargers and determine the right distance between those chargers so Americans can drive across the entire National Highway System without running out of power. It makes sure environmental justice organizations have a seat at the table as we build this beautiful green future. We must transform our transportation sector and end our reliance on fossil fuels. Today, we take an important step in that transformation. I hope we can take up this work and advance ever-bolder proposals to fight climate change and protect life on Earth as we know it. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman DeFazio for including this amendment in the en bloc package and for his great work on this bill.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Pallone for his tremendous work on this bill and all the staff of the Energy and Commerce Committee who worked on this. My amendment modifies H.R. 2's pilot program to improve lab infrastructure, ensuring grants can help labs reduce wait times for COVID-19 test results. It can take several business days to find out if you have tested positive for COVID-19. During that time, folks are told to take precautions as though they are positive. Not everyone can afford missing work to do that. Not everyone has another person who can take care of an elderly or sick parent. If we don't bring down wait times, we are asking Americans to do things that, for them, might be virtually impossible. Let's make things easier for working families. I urge support of this amendment and this tremendous bill.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this profound legislation, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a long overdue step towards ending the scourge of police brutality in America. I am deliberate when I call this a step, however important. We have so much more to do to dismantle racist systems that have infected our country since before we were a country and, indeed, were part of our foundational documents. Genocide of Native Americans. Slavery. Jim Crow. Mass incarceration. And many forms of racist injustice ongoing as I speak. Mr. Speaker, this month I marched with 6,000 of my constituents in Macomb County crying out for major, structural change in what may have been the biggest antiracism rally that county has ever seen. If we pass this bill and pat ourselves on the back for having done something, we will have failed the people. Instead, let's pass this bill today and continue to work to end systemic racism tomorrow.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor my dear friend and former colleague, Dave Snapp on the occasion of his retirement. I met Dave Snapp in the late summer of 1983 when I had just turned 23 years old and we were trying to learn how to help nursing home workers organize for a better life with the Service Employees International Union. Thirty-seven years later, Dave is still at it, helping workers organize for dignity, voice and power in an America that suddenly deems them essential even while asking them to toil in poverty, in unsafe conditions, even under threat of deportation. After I left SEIU in 1988, Dave kept right on organizing. And he never stopped working for the labor movement. He played many roles for the union over the years. He has often been in the middle of the activities that have made SEIU so innovative. Dave has often served as a facilitator and organizer for the executive leadership of the union. He has been a scriptor and choreographer of conventions. He has organized strategic planning. He has conceived and undertaken special projects. He has helped drive long-term thinking to an extent and scope remarkable in the labor movement and, indeed, in other parts of the American political economy. Through it all, Dave has displayed a remarkable mix of traits that are rarely found rolled up in one person. Flat-out smarts. Intellectual curiosity. Practicality--a groundedness in how things might actually work in the real world. Maybe that's the health and safety guy in him. Humility. A willingness to speak truth to power and not to tell leaders what they want to hear, somehow without alienating them and indeed engendering their loyalty. A wry sense of humor, sometimes bleeding into bad jokes. Compassion and caring for his fellow travelers along the road to justice, person to person. How lucky I have been to have acquired Dave as an adopted-without- permission big brother so many years ago and, I might add, to have acquired a big sister in his life partner, Carol Regan. That's the best two-for-one deal I ever got, all by signing up to help nursing home workers find a little power over their own work lives. Now Dave says he is laying down his tools. If we're honest, we often have mixed feelings about friends retiring as a reflection of our own mortality. But I have to admit, I can't think of anyone who has earned a bit of rest from relentless labor more richly than Dave Snapp. He always looked at work organically, as how best to organize something that needed to be accomplished, and thus seemed to own what he was doing so completely. Thank goodness he chose to labor on behalf of America's workers. Madam Speaker, happily, there is no retiring from adopted big brotherhood. I will continue to seek Dave's advice and counsel on life's journey. And to take inspiration from his example of doing things well for all the right reasons.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the anniversary of the birth of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, recognized as the ``Founding Father'' of the nation of Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, called ``Mujib,'' is also known as ``Bangha Bandu,'' a title that means ``Friend of the Bengal.'' In recognition of the 100th year since the birth of Sheikh Mujib, the government of Bangladesh is celebrating March 17, 2020 through March 17, 2021 as ``Mujib Borsho,'' or the ``Mujib Year.'' Sheikh Mujib was born on March 17, 1920, in the province of Bengal, in what was then British India. Just over half a century later, on March 7, 1971, he would call for East Pakistan to become the independent nation of Bangladesh. He was subsequently arrested, but his vision for Bengalis would soon become a reality. Following a brutal war for independence, during which an estimated 300,000 to 3,000,000 people lost their lives, the nation of Bangladesh was born on December 16, 1971. Sheikh Mujib was released from prison and became the first President of Bangladesh, serving in that office from April 17, 1971 to January 12, 1972. In January of 1972, he was elected Prime Minister of the first Parliament of Bangladesh. In 1975, Sheikh Mujib and most of his family were assassinated. Just two of his daughters, current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, were spared, as they were living in what was West Germany at the time. The centennial of the birth of the ``Founding Father'' of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujib, is deeply meaningful to the people of Bangladesh and to those throughout the world with personal connections to the country. Events are being organized in the United States and around the world to commemorate this historical event. I encourage my colleagues to join me in recognizing those working to honor Bangladesh's history and commemorate this event, including Dr. MD. Rabbi Alam, Convener of Bangabandhu Parishad USA and a resident of my home state of Michigan. I urge my colleagues to join me in standing with the people of Bangladesh, and those in the Bangladeshi American community, as they celebrate the centennial of the birth of Sheikh Mujib.

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise, as the representative of a large and vibrant community of Armenian-Americans in southeast Michigan, in remembrance of the Baku pogroms. During these tragic events 30 years ago, Armenians faced unthinkable horrors. Press reports describe Armenians tossed out of their homes, their possessions thrown into bonfires. Others were killed by mobs. As we condemn this violence and remember those who were lost, we must also look forward and reaffirm our commitment to the Armenian people. Last year, I was proud to be an original cosponsor of and to cast my vote for the resolution that finally recognized the Armenian Genocide. Our vote affirms that there is no question about what happened to the Armenian people, and that we will never forget it. I was also proud to support funding for aid to Artsakh, including support for critical demining projects. I am committed to continuing that support and working to secure the safety and wellbeing of the Armenian people. I stand with the Armenian-American community of Michigan's 9th District and across the nation, as they honor those lost during the Baku pogroms. Armenian-Americans have champions and friends in the U.S. House of Representatives.