Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 868 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach), my good friend, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, today the Committee on Rules met and reported a rule, House Resolution 868, providing for consideration of the Senate amendment to H.R. 5746. The rule makes in order a motion offered by the chair of the Committee on House Administration or her designee that the House concur in the Senate amendment with an amendment consisting of the text of the Freedom to Vote, John R. Lewis Act. The rule provides 1 hour of debate on the motion equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on House Administration or their designees. Madam Speaker, this is about more than a bill, and it is about more than a process. This is a rescue mission to save American democracy. Because right now, we are in the midst of the most significant period of voter suppression in recent history. All across the country, in service to a lie started by the former President and spread by some in this very body, State legislatures are moving to make it harder for people to cast their ballot. Polling places are being closed so the nearest location is now miles and miles away. Early voting times are being slashed during this global pandemic, so it is now too unsafe for some people to vote. Purges of voting rolls, including faulty voter purges, are becoming more likely and more common. And strict voter ID laws are being used to disenfranchise more and more people from casting their ballots. Madam Speaker, in one State, it has even become illegal to provide voters waiting in line with food and water. That is why we are here today, because some believe that the only way for them to win is to rig an election. This is voter nullification pure and simple. Now, many on the other side want us to turn a blind eye to all of this, just like they turned a blind eye to the insurrection and the creeping authoritarianism. Well, I am not willing to look away. People fought and died for the freedom to vote in this country. We served with someone who nearly gave his life for the right to vote--Congressman John Lewis. He was beaten by mobs using baseball bats and chains, attacked by racist members of the KKK, and even thrown in jail. But still, still he fought for the freedom to vote. If he was willing to withstand all that to do what is right, then certainly we can cast a vote to defend our democracy. John once said, ``Change often takes time. It rarely happens all at once. In the movement, we didn't know how history would play itself out. When we were getting arrested or waiting in jail or standing in unmovable lines on the courthouse steps, we didn't know what would happen, but we knew it had to happen.'' Madam Speaker, I don't know what will happen in the Senate, but I know that this vote has to happen, because the freedom to vote is under assault. We have a system today that undermines the civil rights of the young, the poor, and those who don't look like me. It is a system that has allowed Presidents to win elections despite losing the popular vote. It is a system that has allowed politicians to gerrymander their way into office. And it is a system that gives the 26 least popular States, representing just 17 percent of the country, the chance to derail legislation that the vast majority of Americans support. Madam Speaker, that is the reality of the Senate filibuster. And make no mistake, despite the claims by some, the filibuster is not sacrosanct. It has been changed over 161 times in the last five decades. And nowhere--nowhere--does it appear in the Constitution of the United States. Just recently, a bipartisan group of Senators came together to advance a filibuster carveout to raise the debt ceiling. Now, I am glad that they did. That was the right thing to do. A default would have been catastrophic for our economy. Certainly, allowing a carveout for voting rights is also the right thing to do. We need to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act to ensure that every American has the ability to make their voice and vote heard in our democracy. And I wish we could get a majority of Republicans to support voting rights. You know, they used to. The Voting Rights Act was reauthorized four times with overwhelming bipartisan support, including in 2006 under the Presidency of Republican George W. Bush. But something has changed. This isn't your grandfather's Republican Party anymore. It is a party defined by the big lie, wild conspiracy theories, and winning elections by trying to suppress the vote. To set a standard that we must act on this bill or that the Senate should act on filibuster reform only if Republicans come along is a fool's errand. Madam Speaker, on what planet are the people causing the problem going to help solve it? Now, I would rather be on the side of John Lewis than cast my lot with the big lie. I would rather go it alone to defend our democracy than do nothing together. And yes, I would rather lose an election than win by rigging the outcome. This fight may not be new but it has never been more urgent. Madam Speaker, history is watching. And this moment is bigger than any of us. With the future of our democracy in the balance, I pray that my colleagues join me in saying the same and supporting this rule and the underlying measure. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I am not going to be lectured about respect for this institution by anybody who after a violent attack against this Capitol, the people who work here, this democracy--after a violent attack, them then coming to this House floor and voting to overturn, to nullify the will of the American people with no basis of fact at all to do that. I will not be lectured by anybody who would do such a thing. Quite frankly, I think it is unconscionable. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker of the House.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me just remind my colleagues that voter suppression takes many forms. Sometimes it is Republican State legislatures making it more difficult for people to vote. Sometimes it is members of bodies like this that, on one hand, brag about the record turnout in the last election but have been working overtime to try to nullify and to try to disqualify the votes of the people of this country. It is stunning. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a July 2, 2021, U.S. News and World Report article titled ``Report: Republican-Led State Legislatures Pass Dozens of Restrictive Voting Laws in 2021.'' [From U.S. News, July 2, 2021] Report: Republican-Led State Legislatures Pass Dozens of Restrictive Voting Laws in 2021 (By Horus Alas) States with Republican legislatures have passed waves of new laws making it harder for constituents to vote in response to the 2020 election, experts say The Supreme Court issued a new ruling on Thursday that upheld two Arizona laws restricting organizations' ability to collect mail-in ballots as well as invalidating ballots cast in the wrong precinct. Critics say the court's decision further erodes landmark voting protections codified by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The court's ruling follows a report finding that as of mid- June, 17 states had passed 28 laws making it harder for constituents to vote in 2021, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law. The report notes that the last year a similar number of laws passed restricting access to the ballot was 2011--when 14 states had enacted 19 such measures by October. Eliza Sweren-Becker, a voting rights and elections counsel at the Brennan Center, called the new wave of voting laws ``an unprecedented assault on voting rights'' as well as ``a voter suppression effort we haven't seen since the likes of Jim Crow.'' The nation's high court previously gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, when Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a majority opinion arguing that jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting should no longer be subject to oversight from the Department of Justice before effecting changes to their voting laws. The Brennan Center report attributes this year's batch of restrictive voting laws to ``racist voter fraud allegations behind the Big Lie (a reference to former President Donald Trump's repeated false claims of a rigged election) and a desire to prevent future elections from achieving the historic turnout seen in 2020.'' Commenting on the former president's claims of mass voter fraud, Sweren-Becker says, ``We know that's false, but we have officials at the state level passing these laws making it harder for people to vote.'' Some of the specific provisions in these laws that can have a negative impact on voter turnout according to the Brennan Center include restrictions on voting by mail--some 63.9 million ballots had been sent as of Election Day 2020, data from the U.S. Elections Project indicated--challenges to in- person voting, and limitations on the number of mail ballot drop boxes in precincts. According to Sweren-Becker, Republican lawmakers in state legislatures across the country are capitalizing on Trump's repeated claims of voter fraud to pass these measures. ``What is very clear is that we had a very successful election last year with historic turnout that was certified as one of the safest, most secure elections,'' she says. ``And we are hearing (about claims of voter fraud) as pretextual motives .... These laws are being enacted in Republican-controlled legislatures, in many cases on purely party-line votes.'' States differ in their structuring of these laws as well. The report specifically calls out Florida, Georgia and Iowa for passing comprehensive omnibus bills that ``undertake a full-fledged assault on voting.'' In contrast, certain states including Arkansas and Montana have passed piecemeal voting restrictions through four separate bills each. Sweren-Becker says advocates are considering two primary avenues to challenge some of these new voting laws: court litigation and federal voting reform legislation. ``Litigation is happening already, in states like Georgia, Iowa, Florida. But that is a piecemeal state-by-state approach,'' she says. ``And that's why a federal policy like the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act are so necessary because they will be applicable to people across the country.'' As of mid-June, Senate Democrats were still wrangling the necessary votes to pass either of these voting rights measures in the face of expected unified Republican opposition. But even as some states face litigation for measures they've passed, others still have active legislative sessions where observers worry that more voting restriction measures may follow. Sweren-Becker says voting rights advocates should focus on pressuring state lawmakers in Pennsylvania--a state with a Republican-controlled legislature that adjourns in December-- and Texas, where a special session will begin July 8, after Democrats walked out on a vote for a bill that would increase vote by mail restrictions and limit early voting hours at the end of the regular session. Despite outcry from Democrats, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has struck a defiant tone on his state's omnibus voting measure, SB7. In response to a tweet from the Texas Attorney General detailing the booking of a suspect charged with voter fraud, Abbott wrote: ``Voter fraud is real and Texas will prosecute it whenever and wherever it happens. We will continue to make it easy to vote but hard to cheat.'' Sweren-Becker says the frenetic pace of this year's restrictive voting bills--the Brennan Center's report noted 61 bills with restrictive provisions continuing to move through 18 state legislatures as of June 21--makes it ``essential to pass federal democracy reform that ensures that people can freely and safely cast their ballots.'' And while these bills' language tends to omit race, Sweren- Becker says that several of their provisions do end up targeting access to the ballot for voters of color. She notes ``the policy in the Texas bill that banned early voting hours during the Sunday before Election Day, which very clearly targets souls to the polls efforts that are clearly organized by Black churches,'' as well as increased challenges to voting by mail, ``after a wave of increased mail voting last year, and particularly by voters of color and young voters.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, one voting rights expert said in this piece that we are in the midst of ``a voter suppression effort we haven't seen since the likes of Jim Crow.'' To suggest that this isn't happening is to ignore reality. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a December 24, 2021 Guardian Article entitled ``Report Shows the Extent of Republican Efforts to Sabotage Democracy.'' [From The Guardian, Dec, 24, 2021] Report Shows the Extent of Republican Efforts To Sabotage Democracy The Republican assault on free and fair elections instigated by Donald Trump is gathering pace, with efforts to sabotage the normal workings of American democracy sweeping state legislatures across the US. A year that began with the violent insurrection at the US Capitol is ending with an unprecedented push to politicize, criminalize or in other ways subvert the nonpartisan administration of elections. A year-end report from pro- democracy groups identifies no fewer than 262 bills introduced in 41 states that hijack the election process. Of those, 32 bills have become law in 17 states. The largest number of bills is concentrated in precisely those states that became the focus of Trump's Stop the Steal campaign to block the peaceful transfer of power after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. Arizona, where Trump supporters insisted on an ``audit'' to challenge Biden's victory in the state, has introduced 20 subversion bills, and Georgia where Trump attempted to browbeat the top election official to find extra votes for him has introduced 15 bills. Texas, whose ultra-right Republican group has made the state the ground zero of voter suppression and election interference, has introduced as many as 59 bills. ``We're seeing an effort to hijack elections in this country, and ultimately, to take power away from the American people. If we don't want politicians deciding our elections, we all need to start paying attention,'' said Joanna Lydgate, CEO of the States United Democracy Center which is one of the three groups behind the report. Protect Democracy and Law Forward also participated. One of the key ways that Trump-inspired state lawmakers have tried to sabotage future elections is by changing the rules to give legislatures control over vote counts. In Pennsylvania, a bill passed in the wake of Trump's defeat that sought to rewrite the state's election law was vetoed by Democratic governor Tom Wolf. Now hard-right lawmakers are trying to bypass Wolf's veto power by proposing a constitutional amendment that would give the legislature the power to overrule the state's chief elections officer and create a permanent audit of election counts subject to its own will. In several states, nonpartisan election officials who for years have administered ballots impartially are being replaced by hyper-partisan conspiracy theorists and advocates of Trump's false claims that the election was rigged. In Michigan, county Republican groups in eight of the 11 largest counties have systematically replaced professional administration officials with ``stop the steal'' extremists. Several secretaries of state, the top election officials responsible for presidential election counts, are being challenged by extreme Republicans who participated in trying to overturn the 2020 result. Trump has endorsed for the role Mark Finchem in Arizona, Jody Hice in Georgia and Kristina Karamo in Michigan who have all claimed falsely that Trump won and should now be in his second term in the White House. Jess Marsden, Counsel at Protect Democracy, said that the nationwide trend of state legislatures attempting to interfere with the work of nonpartisan election officials was gaining momentum. `It's leading us down an antidemocratic path toward an election crisis,'' she said.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, more than 260 bills were introduced in 41 States last year to hijack the election process. If this isn't a national emergency, I don't know what the hell is. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me remind everybody: If you vote ``no'' on the previous question like my Republican colleagues would like you to do, you get to pass a meaningless, nonbinding resolution. Wow, what a courageous thing my friends are doing today. Let me just say to my colleague from Minnesota, Mrs. Fischbach, whom I have a lot of respect for, yes, some of us raised objections in 2016 because we were concerned about Russian interference in our election. I think the Mueller report actually proved that we were right on that. But let me ask her: How many votes did we have? None. Of all the people that objected, how much time did it take? Less than 8 minutes. How many Capitol Police, Mrs. Fischbach, were wounded that day? None. How much violence occurred in this Capitol that day? There was none. How much property was destroyed that day? None. Compare that to what happened here, when many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, after a violent insurrection, after an attack on this democracy, came here, with absolutely no basis of fact or evidence, and voted to nullify the results of a free and fair election in the United States of America. So when people in this country express concern--not just Democrats, but Independents and Republicans--when people express concern about the future of our democracy, that is what they are talking about. Voting rights are under attack in State after State after State. We see what State legislatures are doing. But the right to vote is also being attacked when we have Members of this Chamber who actively try to subvert the will of the American people. So you may think it is no big deal. Maybe you think that is what you have to do to try to maintain power. But the bottom line is, as John Lewis said, the right to vote is precious; it is almost sacred. We all have to come together, Democrats and Republicans, and we have to stand up and we have to protect it. That is what this is about. So talk about whatever you want to talk about, but the bottom line is, we need to do this. This is the right thing to do. And by proceeding in this way, we will at least ensure that there is a debate in the United States Senate, and hopefully there will be a vote to actually make this into the law of the land. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Just a few quick things. One is, you know, I got a little whiplash here because, on the one hand, I am hearing my friends say they don't want Federal interference in local elections, yet that is what they are proposing here. Except I guess they are not because this is nonbinding and doesn't mean anything. I just point that out for the record. Secondly, I know my colleague from Minnesota. I may have misheard her when she said that I voted to nullify the election in 2016. There were no votes on any of the State electoral college results. I am a stickler for accuracy on things like that. Thirdly, let me remind people why we are here today. We are here to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, which would expand automatic voter registration and same-day registration. It would expand early voting. It would enhance protections for individuals with disabilities. It would make election day a national holiday. It would improve election security. It would protect elections from foreign interference. It will do things that, quite frankly, I think most reasonable people--I don't care what their politics may be--would think is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, what is reasonable amongst the American people is not always reasonable here in the Congress. I think the effort that my Republican colleagues are engaged in really is about nullifying results that they don't like. Well, do you know what? We all want to win elections, but sometimes we lose. It is not pleasant. But if that is what the people want, then the people should get what they want. Madam Speaker, I again urge my colleagues to support what we are doing here today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Minnesota for her service in this Congress and her service on the Rules Committee. She said that she hasn't heard any compelling arguments why we should pass these bills. Maybe she wasn't listening to me because I think I made a lot of compelling arguments here today about why these bills are incredibly important. Something is badly, badly broken, and we must have the courage to fix it, even if that means fixing it alone. That is what it means to do the right thing, politics be damned. This is about more than petty partisanship. This is about whether we defend democracy or we sit back and watch its demise. I could never live with myself if I did nothing, and I think I speak for a lot of my colleagues on this side of the aisle. I wish there were more colleagues on the other side of the aisle who felt that way. Working with my colleagues, I am going to try to do everything possible to stem the insidious tide of voter suppression in this country and the attempts to nullify the will of the American people because there is no guarantee that America will forever be a democracy. It isn't planted in our soil. It isn't floating through our air. It is us. We are the only ones who can guarantee democracy prevails, and this vote is about nothing less. I strongly urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and the underlying measure.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Meeks for yielding me the time and for his leadership on this important issue. Mr. Speaker, I am glad that we are able to move this compromised Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act so quickly after the House passed my bill, H.R. 1155, last week. And I want to thank my partner in this effort in the Senate, Senator Marco Rubio, for working quickly and diligently with us to negotiate this agreement. I wanted to especially thank Speaker Pelosi for her strong moral leadership in getting this done. No one in this body--and I mean no one--has had a more consistent and principled position in standing up for the human rights of the people of China and Tibet. She has been a critical part of nearly every single piece of China human rights legislation focused on China that Congress has passed in recent years, and her steadfast commitment to getting this bill across the finish line is why we are here today. Forced labor is a serious human rights abuse. It is illegal under United States law to import goods made with forced labor. But we are compelled to move this legislation by the genocide and crimes against humanity being committed by the Chinese Government against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, of which forced labor is a key factor. We must pass this legislation to give Americans the peace of mind that the clothes they wear, the food they eat, and the technology that they use are not tainted by forced labor perpetrated by the Chinese Government. This bill combines my legislation, which passed the House by a vote of 428-1 last week, and Senator Rubio's bill, which passed by voice vote, into a version that both Chambers can support. This is a strong, bipartisan, bicameral consensus bill. This bill shortens the time the forced labor import ban goes into effect to 180 days, from the Senate's 300 days. It requires a strong, clear and convincing evidence standard for exceptions to the rebuttable presumption. It empowers the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to devise and oversee the strategy to prohibit the import of forced labor goods from Xinjiang. In short, this is a good bill. It is a tougher bill than what passed the Senate, and I want to thank my House colleagues for this report. I want to thank Chairman Meeks again. I want to thank Ranking Member McCaul, Chairman Neal, and Chairwoman Waters for their work. I want to thank Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey for all of his support. On the Senate side, I want to thank Senators Rubio and Merkley for their leadership. And, again, I want to thank Speaker Pelosi for her strong and steadfast commitment to getting this done. So let's stand up for human rights. Let's stand against genocide and against crimes against humanity. And let's get the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to the President's desk as soon as possible.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. James W. Hunt, Jr., a leader in community health and health care reform who has spent his 41-year career advocating for underserved communities and fighting for equitable and affordable healthcare for the people of Massachusetts. As president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, Dr. Hunt helped build a network of over 50 community health centers across the state. Born out of the civil rights movement, community health centers have been instrumental in health care reform. and have served over 1 million underserved patients in Massachusetts. During his career, Dr. Hunt has worked hard to expand access to medical care for low-income Massachusetts residents. He has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds to build up the state's primary care network and to support the growing health care workforce of the Commonwealth. Madam Speaker, Dr. Hunt's commitment to reforming our broken health care system cannot be understated and is exemplified by his tireless efforts to expand quality medical care for those who often have the hardest time accessing it. Under his leadership, health centers have administered about 650,000 doses of the vaccines that protect against COVID-19 to residents of Massachusetts--about 65 percent of whom are people of color. Dr. Hunt began his tenure in public health as a volunteer at the Neponset Health Center in Dorchester, MA. Leaving behind a career as a civil engineer, he joined the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers in 1980 and soon after became a leading force in community health and state health reform. Dr. Hunt's advocacy has pushed health centers to the forefront of the fight for universal health care coverage in Massachusetts. Dr. Hunt stepped down as president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers in December of 2020 and held an emeritus position through June of 2021. While he has stepped down from his role at the organization, this was not the end of Dr. Hunt's work. Dr. Hunt is forward-thinking, human-oriented, and has been and will continue to be an integral part of transforming health care in Massachusetts to positively impact the lives of the state's most marginalized communities. Madam Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress and all the people in whose lives Dr. Hunt has made a positive difference, it is my great privilege and honor to thank and recognize Dr. James W. Hunt, Jr. for his tireless efforts to create a more just and equitable world.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Carolyn Shores Ness, the Greenfield Recorder's 2021 Citizen of the Year. Carolyn is a proud resident of the Second District of Massachusetts and has served her community of Deerfield, and beyond, for many years. In her 18 years as a member of the Deerfield Selectboard, Carolyn has served on various committees through which she has made a great impact. She has worked to secure grant funding for Deerfield and to support the programs that most benefit the town. Since 2014, she has been leading the charge to revitalize downtown Deerfield and transform it into a booming destination. Carolyn wants to make her town a safe and walkable place where businesses can thrive. Her aspirations are clear--Carolyn Shores Ness wants to create community. And Madam Speaker, Carolyn is unique in that she does the work to realize her vision. In addition to her tenure on the Selectboard, Carolyn has served as the Chair of the Deerfield Board of Health and the Co-Chair of the Mohawk Area Public Health Coalition. Through her actions and advocacy, Carolyn has worked to keep the people in our community healthy and safe, especially as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. She has been a member of many councils and commissions, including the Western Massachusetts Homeland Security Council, the Regional Emergency Planning Council, and the Deerfield Green Infrastructure Committee. Carolyn has been a staunch advocate for sustainable and efficient improvements to local infrastructure. Her advocacy exemplifies her unwavering commitment to both service and community. Madam Speaker, Carolyn has consistently worked to improve our community and bring people together. She is respectful and engaged and values hearing different points of view in order to best advocate for what our community truly needs. She has an incredible gift for collaborating with others to produce creative and effective solutions. Carolyn embodies what it means to be a public servant and Massachusetts is all the better for it. Madam Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress and the people of Massachusetts, I would like to thank Carolyn Shores Ness for her longstanding service and congratulate her on being named the Greenfield Recorder's 2021 Citizen of the Year.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 849 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler), my good friend, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, today, the Committee on Rules met and reported a rule which would provide for the consideration of H.R. 5665, the Combating International Islamophobia Act, under a closed rule. It provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. It self-executes a manager's amendment from Chairman Meeks and provides for one motion to recommit. Mr. Speaker, we are here today at a time when anti-Muslim hatred has risen to epidemic proportions. That is not my opinion; that is according to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedom and Belief. Epidemic proportions, we see it all around the world: in China, as the government there commits atrocities against the Uyghurs; in Sri Lanka, where its President silences dissenting voices; in India, as government-led crackdowns leave entire neighborhoods virtually empty; in Hungary, where anti-Muslim sentiment continues to build. Unfortunately, I could go on, all around the globe. Mr. Speaker, this isn't about the actions or misguided beliefs of a few. The U.N. Human Rights Council has found that an average of 37 percent of the population in Europe held unfavorable views of Muslims. We are talking about millions of people and a rising tide of hostility, violence, and discrimination that we, the Government of the United States, must call out and condemn. To stand firmly and loudly for human rights demands nothing less. Mr. Speaker, I am also proud to announce today that we have reached a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act that will allow us to move quickly to get this bill through Congress and to the President because this isn't a partisan issue. It is a human rights issue, and America must lead. Mr. Speaker, just as we hold other nations to account, we must hold ourselves to account as well because the United States is not immune to these trends. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has documented over 500 complaints of anti-Muslim bias nationwide in just the first half of this year. That includes things like hate crimes, harassment, school bullying, and antimosque violence. Sadly, this uptick is part of a larger trend. A poll conducted by the AP and released this year ahead of the anniversary of 9/11 found that 53 percent of Americans have unfavorable views toward Islam. This is the reality of what is happening in America today. Mr. Speaker, to be honest, we have even heard disturbing rhetoric from some right here in this institution. A Member of this House has told a completely fabricated story again and again that implies a Muslim colleague is a terrorist just because they are Muslim. It may have rolled off her tongue like some kind of laugh line, but this is a deadly serious matter because it led to our colleague, Representative Omar, who has already been the victim of years of anti- Muslim bias, receiving even more heinous voice mails and even death threats. One man went so far as to tell her: ``There's plenty that will love the opportunity to take you off the face of this'' blanking Earth. Mr. Speaker, I hesitated to even quote that here on the floor, but we all must understand the gravity of what we are dealing with. To hear a Member of this Congress say those things, is there no bottom anymore? Have things sunk that low? Two decades ago, it was a Republican President, George W. Bush, who told the world: ``America treasures the relationship we have with our many Muslim friends, and we respect the vibrant faith of Islam, which inspires countless individuals to lead lives of honesty, integrity, and morality.'' Today, it is a Republican Congressperson who made headlines for comments that disrespect not only Congresswoman Omar and fellow Muslim Members but is a stain on this entire institution. And virtually the entire Republican Conference has said nothing. Mr. Speaker, what on Earth has the Republican Party become? I think this House is better than the worst actions of a few here, and I think the Government of the United States can still stand for human rights here and around the globe. This rule and the underlying resolution is our chance to show it. Let's pass this measure so we can bring the full weight of our Nation in encouraging other nations to also confront and condemn the growing stain of Islamophobia. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for my friend from Pennsylvania, but I want to provide a little bit of a history lesson on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. We actually passed that bill a year ago in the last Congress, and the Republican Senate and President Trump killed it. I didn't hear a peep out of any of my Republican colleagues urging that the Senate take the bill up then. Last week, the House passed by an overwhelming vote--only one Republican voted ``no''--my bill on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. By the way, it is a stronger bill than the one that was passed in the Senate. Senator Rubio and I have come to an agreement on reconciling the differences. That bill will be voted on, perhaps even as early as today, and be sent over to the Senate, where I think they will take quick action on it and send it to the President's desk for signature. That is real. That is the strongest bill to deal with the horrific treatment by the Chinese Government of the Uyghurs that has ever gone to any President's desk. I am proud of the bipartisan support for the bill in the House and the Senate. Let's not politicize an issue that I think we have come together on. My hope is it will be done today. The bill that is before us is very similar to the bill that was passed in a previous Congress to create a post to deal with anti- Semitism in this country. Mr. Speaker, I would urge my Republican friends, who I hope share our view, that anti-Semitism is intolerable wherever it may exist, and we need to do more to combat it. Please call your friends in the Republican Senate to stop holding up President Biden's nominee for special envoy. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a CNN story, ``Senate Democrats Say Republicans Are Holding Up Nomination For Anti-Semitism Post.'' [From CNN, Dec. 8, 2021] Senate Democrats Say Republicans Are Holding Up Nomination for Anti- Semitism Post (By Jessica Dean) (CNN) Democrats in Congress told CNN that GOP senators are continuing to hold up the nomination of the woman President Joe Biden tapped to become the next US Envoy to Combat and Monitor Antisemitism, five months after she was nominated. Biden nominated Deborah Lipstadt, an Emory professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies, on July 30. Lipstadt has thus far not even been offered a hearing by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Lipstadt has previously worked with both Democratic and Republican administrations and enjoys strong support from a wide range of Jewish groups. ``Our Republican colleagues have refused to give her a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations committee,'' Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, told CNN. Typically both Democratic and Republican members of the committee agree to have a hearing for a nominee. Menendez said they're approaching a time when he may go against tradition to bypass the committee and move to discharge Lipstadt's nomination straight to the Senate floor where Democrats hold the majority. Republicans denied that they were stalling the confirmation process. ``I wouldn't say we're holding it up,'' said Republican Sen. Jim Risch, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, adding they are waiting on additional materials from Lipstadt. An aide said they had spoken with Lipstadt on Tuesday. When asked if he thinks they will ultimately give Lipstadt a hearing, Risch replied, ``I think so'' but offered no timeline. What's the hold up? Risch said there has been some concern from members over Lipstadt's previous tweets. In one tweet from March 14, Lipstadt reacted to comments from Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, writing, ``This is white supremacy/nationalism. Pure and simple.'' Lipstadt was referring to Johnson's comments that he might have been concerned for his well-being during the January 6 attack had the protestors been affiliated with Black Lives Matter instead of being a largely white, pro-Trump crowd. When asked about Lipstadt's nomination and the tweet, Johnson said, ``I feel like we have so many nominations floating around right now, I really can't comment at this point.'' Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who is also a member of the committee, said he was not familiar with Lipstadt's nomination. ``I am not sure I have reviewed that nomination yet. To be frank, it doesn't ring a bell,'' Rubio told CNN. ``I want to make sure that whoever is there is someone we can count on to be heard around the world and whatever they have said in the past won't undermine their ability to do their job,'' Rubio said. ``But I just don't want to comment on a nomination that I haven't fully reviewed yet.'' Menendez said there was nothing in her background that should be a problem. ``If calling out anti-Semitism in the past is somehow an obstacle to this nomination, and that would be an amazing set of circumstances, because that's what we want this person to do,'' he said. Strong support from the Jewish community In a rare joint statement, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Federations of North America, and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America sent a letter to Senate Foreign Relations Committee on November 4 urging its members to act. ``There is no question that Prof. Lipstadt has the credentials to deserve a proper hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations--and that hearing is now overdue,'' the letter read. The unified support of Jewish groups is important to note. ``To find this level of agreement about someone on such a contentious issue as anti-Semitism is rare,'' Yair Rosenberg, a writer who covers anti-Semitism for The Atlantic, told CNN in an interview. ``And it's very rare to see that and it's rare to see people then say, 'Well, we don't care what all these Jewish groups think,''' Rosenberg said. In an attempt to move the nomination along, a number of House Democrats who sit on the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism--led by Reps. Kathy Manning of North Carolina and Ted Deutch of Florida--wrote a letter to Menendez and Risch pressing them for a hearing for Lipstadt. ``In recent months, we have witnessed growing threats against Jewish communities in our own country and worldwide,'' the group wrote. ``We believe it is vital to have a Special Envoy in place to confront these threats and ensure that the United States continues to lead the world in the fight against antisemitism.'' Rosenberg told CNN the stalled nomination is ``a much broader effort to stall Biden's nominees and prevent their confirmations.'' ``It's typical partisan warfare, but this time, it's not a victimless crime, right? There's the nominees themselves, and then in this case, there's Jewish communities abroad that are protected by the antiSemitism envoy position. And right now that office is short-stringed because the Republicans will not move forward on this confirmation.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Texas an additional 1 minute.