Kweisi Mfume

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by thanking the gentlewoman from Texas for her opening remarks of this Special Order hour dedicated to make sure that we underscore the sense of tragedy, the sense of loss, and the sense of damage that has occurred as a result of the bridge collapse in Baltimore. I thank her again for sitting in and standing in. Your remarks were very well received. We appreciate it. Mr. Speaker, I rise today shortly to welcome other Members again who will be coming over to be a part of this Special Order. I want to call everyone's attention to the fact that somewhere around 1:30 a.m. on March 26, the Dali, a large 985-foot cargo ship weighing 95,000 tons when empty, collided, as we all know now, tragically with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The Dali's collision with the Key Bridge caused its fatal collapse into the Patapsco River and has forced the Port of Baltimore to suspend vessel traffic until further notice. All of the shipping lanes, with the exception of the ones that the Coast Guard was just recently able to open, have been closed, and we don't expect that to change until sometime around the end of May, if we are fortunate. Aside from that, I think it is always important to recognize that it was not the collapse of the bridge alone that troubled us, but it is also the loss of human life. Our hearts continue to go out to the families who lost their loved ones on that bridge on that fateful evening. This unimaginable disaster claimed the lives, as we know now, of six men: Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, Miguel Luna, Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, Jose Mynor Lopez, and Carlos Hernandez. Those stories and those lives have yet to be fully understood or told, but those men, most of whom had been in this country 16 or 17 years, working in most instances two jobs, married with children and raising families, paying taxes, and doing what a lot of people would not want to do at 1:30 in the morning that high up on a bridge, filling potholes. We, in the State of Maryland, continue to mourn them, as do people all over the country, and we know that they were, indeed, as I said, husbands, somebody's father, somebody's brother. Their passing serves as a solemn reminder to cherish our own lives and the lives of those that we really deeply care about. These men gave their heart, they gave their sweat, and ultimately gave their souls. They leave behind six grieving families and loved ones that will never see them again. So those families can never get enough of our condolences and our prayers and our sympathies. I thank the largest Latino and immigrant organization in the Mid-Atlantic, CASA de Maryland, its Executive Director Gustavo Torres, and all of those who worked so hard to support those grieving families the day of the collapse and every day since then, both financially and emotionally. I ask that we continue to lift them in prayer in a time of great tragedy that all Americans, regardless of where they are, to some extent feel, understand, and grieve for. I would be remiss if I did not thank President Joe Biden, who called the Governor and myself and other members of the delegation that morning to express his profound regret and his unflinching and unwavering support, to find a way to make things whole again, to rebuild that bridge, and to allow those shipping lanes of commerce to be open. President Biden, since the beginning of this, has not wavered in his support of replacing that bridge, and not just for the sake of replacing a bridge, and to open, as I said before, the channels of commerce, but to also find a way to give hope to all of the many people who are affected, the thousands of longshoremen, thousands of dock workers that do odd jobs, all of those in the communities of Turner Station and Dundalk, Maryland, who are right at the mouth of the bridge, as well as all those small businesses and businessowners, the truck drivers and others--everyone affected when all commerce came to a halt. I thank President Biden. We have appreciated the simple eloquence of his example in this tragedy. We pledge to work with him and with the appropriate members of the Appropriations Committee here in the Congress. In addition to the President, I thank Secretary Buttigieg, who also reached out early that morning as the sun rose and who was one of the first boots on the ground by noon. Secretary Buttigieg was initially responsible in making sure that the cleanup funds, the initial dollars, got appropriated and let right away. They were sent and are being used now in cleanup of the massive amount of debris, which I am going to talk about, which is almost unthinkable when you consider a bridge of that size. Administrator Guzman and the SBA, we thank you and we thank all those SBA officials who came over and who started working with small businesses who are severely impacted by this, as was the case with Acting Secretary Su of the Department of Labor. Now, one of the things that we believe is very important, and I think it is important to mention right now, is that the United States Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers immediately stood up a command team on the scene, immediately began working with Governor Wes Moore of Maryland, who, by the way, has done an excellent job in marshaling all of the State's resources. That command team, made up of the Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, the State police, the FBI, and so many others that were involved from the start of this, really has made a difference in terms of the progress that has been made thus far. The Maryland Department of the Environment and the Transportation Authority also were very much a part of what took place. Mr. Speaker, this unified command, as I indicated, were some of the first boots on the ground, and they have responded to these crises day in and day out with diligence and with precision. Their work around the clock, 24/7, does not go unnoticed by our city, our State, or our Nation. We owe much dedication to those servicemen and servicewomen who, even at this hour as I speak, are still very much involved, as they had been in trying to find a way to open those channels. There are 51 divers in the water right now, going through the wreckage and trying to assess the danger in very dangerous, dark, and murky circumstances. We still have three individuals who have not yet been recovered, and so the work of those divers is particularly important so that these families might be able to bring closure to all that is going on. I mentioned Governor Wes Moore. I want to speak more about him and his team and the members of the Maryland delegation who have worked in lockstep with one another to get us to this point. My thanks to both Senators in the other body, Senators Cardin and Van Hollen; the entire House delegation, Congressman Hoyer, Congressman Ruppersberger Congressman Raskin, who you will hear from in just a minute, Congressman Sarbanes, Congressman Andy Harris, Congressman Trone, Congressman Glenn Ivey, and myself. I would like, if I might, before I talk more about the State's effort and what we are really dealing with when we think about this collapse, it is more than just concrete and bricks and steel falling into the ocean. It has disrupted supply chains across this Nation that we hope to reopen and reestablish. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin), my fellow Marylander, and the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, my thanks to Chairman Williams and to the ranking member, Ms. Velazquez of New York for their leadership. She and I were having a conversation reminding ourselves that 84 percent of all of the loosening of the guardrails that created the problems occurred while the previous administration was in office. It is important for the facts to be noted in that regard. It is not in an effort to cast aspersions, but it is in an effort to make sure we tell the truth. Mr. Speaker, I rise today like the gentleman from Texas and the gentlewoman from New York in support of H.R. 5427 which prohibits, as you have heard, individuals convicted of defrauding small business pandemic relief programs from receiving future non-disaster financial aid assistance from the administration. It sounds like it is common sense to me. If you put your hand in the cookie jar and you steal the cookies, why should you be rewarded later for that? To this day, our Nation has to reckon with the fact that the consequences of that decision in 2020 to fast-track the allocation of the pandemic relief funds by weakening and removing the internal controls really caused the problems. It was a recipe for disaster. Are we even astonished that something like this would happen? This is why so many of us argued against this in 2020. While many of these antifraud controls are being reinstituted by the Small Business Administration, fraud in these programs has run rampant. We let the horse out of the barn and are wasting time looking at it instead of trying to find a way to get it back in. So that is what this measure does in many respects. As the ranking member of the Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations, I have been, like many of my colleagues on the committee, incredibly concerned by the misuse and the abuse of pandemic relief funds. Why? It is a very simple answer: These funds could have been used to protect jobs. They could have been used to lift small businesses out of financial distress as they should have, and they could have created a circular flow of income in so many communities, urban and rural, throughout this country. Instead, they lined the pockets of thieves and fraudsters. So that is why I am pleased to be the Democratic co-lead on this along with Mr. Williams. This bill amends section 16 of the SBA Act to prohibit, as we said before, anyone convicted of crimes related to financial misconduct or making false statements with respect to small business pandemic relief moneys from not being able to receive nondisaster financial assistance in the future. It is kind of common sense. It really is. So this bill ensures that those who knowingly and willfully stole Federal funds are not given a similar opportunity in the future. Mr. Speaker, I, again, thank the ranking member, Ms. Velazquez of New York; the chair, Mr. Williams of Texas; Mr. Bean of Florida; and others on both sides of the aisle for working to make sure that this bill has the support it needs. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues later today to be able to stand up and to vote for it.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) and the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams), as well as the cosponsor of this bill, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bean) for their work on this measure. I rise today in full support, obviously, of this bill, which requires the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration to submit a quarterly report on the fraud that has occurred and is being uncovered in the small business pandemic relief programs. We do want our money back, and this is about the first step in doing that. On June 27 of this year, the SBA's Office of the Inspector General issued a white paper that the Small Business Administration disbursed more than $200 billion in potentially fraudulent pandemic relief aid in the form of loans and in the form of grants. It was all done through the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and the Paycheck Protection Program. The Small Business Administration also issued another report. It was titled: ``Protecting the Integrity of the Pandemic Relief Programs.'' In that report, they estimated that $36 billion of the $1.2 trillion in small business pandemic relief money was obtained fraudulently. The criminals and the fraudsters had a payday on the American public. That level of fraud, highly significant in these programs, is absolutely astonishing. It also absolutely reflects the years-long repercussion of the 2020 decision that the ranking member spoke about earlier to loosen the antifraud protections in an effort to fast-track pandemic relief. Well, I hope we are learning from our mistakes. It is clear that we have to do all that we can to return all of the money stolen from the Federal Government and bring the fraudsters and the criminals to justice. This bill, which I am proud to co-lead with my colleague from Florida (Mr. Bean), ensures consistent reporting, regular reporting on progress toward the goal by requiring the Inspector General of the SBA, who has come before our committee on a number of occasions, to issue a report to Congress every 3 months, every 90 days, which includes the total dollar amount of small business pandemic relief funds that were made and the number and the type of fraud in both the new fraud cases and the suspected fraud cases, as well as the number of fraud cases that have been resolved to date at the conclusion of that 90-day period. We wanted to make sure we were regular in finding the money and reporting the money. Again, I thank Ranking Member Velazquez, Chair Williams, and my colleague, Mr. Bean, for their work on this measure. We do want our money back, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, on September 12, 2023, I did not arrive in Washington in time for the vote on H.R. 1567--ACRES Act, as amended, and H.R. 3324--To extend the authority to collect Shasta-Trinity Marina fees through fiscal year 2029. I missed both votes because I was in attendance and speaking at the funeral for Lawrence Lacks, Sr., the last living child of the late Henrietta Lacks, the mother of the medically famous HeLa cell, and a former neighbor of mine in my youth. Had I been in D.C., my vote would have been YEA on H.R. 1567, Roll Call No. 386, and YEA on H.R. 3324, Roll Call No. 387.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I say to the ladies and gentlemen all over the country: Welcome to the United States Congress. Only today, while we are facing a debt crisis, all of the Republicans have left to go out of town. They have gotten into their cars and their limos, and they are catching planes to go home while we are teetering on the brink of disaster. What kind of leadership is that, Kevin McCarthy? We have heard the list. We know what the cuts are going to affect. They are going to affect law enforcement, veterans' affairs, food assistance, education, 401(k) retirement plans, pension plans, and cuts to Social Security payments. How can you leave town and not be here to deal with this? All we need are five Republicans to sign this discharge petition, and it goes away. It is over with. Everybody else has left. So what you see here today are Members of the Democratic Party making an American argument that we have a responsibility to pay our debts. They are gone. ``Beam me up, Scotty.'' There is no intelligent life on that side of the aisle.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a native of Baltimore City who has committed himself to exceptional military service, which has led him to be the 21st Black Submarine Commanding Officer in the history of the United States Navy. Commander Vance Scott will take on the distinguished task of leading the USS Nebraska through war and peace. His story of dedicated service is rooted in Maryland's 7th Congressional District and emphasizes, as Commander Scott puts it, ``that your present circumstances do not dictate your future potential.'' Commander Scott's journey began in Baltimore, where he was raised by his grandparents, William and Delores Swinton, who taught him the critical lessons of respecting authority and treating everyone with respect. As a product of the Baltimore City Public School System, he attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute where he was a member of the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program. Here he discovered military service as a way to give back to the community and contribute to something larger than himself. After graduating from high school, Commander Scott attended the Naval Academy, upon nomination from my dear friend, the late Congressman Elijah Cummings. Commander Scott recalls that this was a particularly demanding time for him, but it was the support and guidance of his Naval Academy sponsor parents, Colonel Warren and Harriet Kiilehua, who helped to sustain him through this phase of his maturation. Commander Scott graduated from the Naval Academy in 2004, but his academic journey did not stop there as he eventually went on to receive master's degrees from the University of Maryland, U.S. Naval War College, and Old Dominion University. Additionally, he has had several supplementary educational experiences that have prepared him for his next assignment, including studying naval nuclear power, participating in submarine officer basic and advanced courses, and joining the Naval Academy's Leadership Education and Development Program. After his time at the Naval Academy, his first major assignment was in the Naval Academy's Electrical Engineering Department. He was subsequently assigned to the Naval Academy as an adjunct professor and company officer, leaving him responsible for leading and mentoring over one hundred midshipmen through student development. These experiences pushed him out of his comfort zone and prepared him to lead projects and sailors in various settings. Commander Scott has had several sea tours and duty assignments that have further prepared him to command USS Nebraska. His sea tours have included serving on USS Albany, USS West Virginia, and USS Henry M. Jackson. His shore duties include serving as Force Strategic Weapons Officers and Force Strategic Operations Officers. Additionally, he has served on the Commander Submarine Force Pacific staff as a tactical and strategic department head, where he had the opportunity to work with and learn from senior-level officers. Included in the list of officer mentors to Commander Scott are the first seven Black Commanding Officers within the first one hundred years of the submarine force, known as the ``Centennial Seven.'' Finally, he completed a tour on the Hill in the Navy Office of Legislative Affairs and manager of the undersea and strategic programs portfolio, In July 2020, Commander Scott was selected as a Submarine Commanding Officer. He was humbled by the honor and found it overwhelming at times. He soon will be leading our finest; it is not lost on him the special place in Navy history he is taking on as only the 21st Black Commanding Officer of a U.S. submarine. Mr. Speaker, Commander Scott's life is a testament to overcoming the odds and using all of life's experiences as opportunities to grow, serve, and give back to the communities that have given to you. He is an inspiration to us all, and I wish him the very best as he continues to represent Baltimore well aboard the USS Nebraska.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, based on 56,000 respondents to its survey, 88 percent of the Department of Defense respondents found telework accommodations increased their overall productivity. This is not my imagination. This is how thousands and thousands of them responded in the survey. A similar 2021 survey conducted by the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 700,000 Federal employees all across the country, found that 62 percent of them surveyed thought significantly that their productivity had been increased while teleworking based on what their previous levels were. So Federal workers are performing for the American people and have been under the most difficult circumstances even before we got to COVID. I know that because I, like many of you, had a chance to speak to so many of them. As the chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, this particular issue is welcomed before the subcommittee. I will convene hearings next week so that we can figure out where we are in a bipartisan way and move forward. Mr. Speaker, I would make one point. Federal workers are not here in Washington, D.C., alone. That is the misnomer. Federal workers are in everybody's district in this entire Congress. They are looking to us to try to find a way to help them, not to punish them in 30 days. We are not going to save money on gas. We are not going to save money on energy. We are just going to go back to where we are. Mr. Speaker, I would strongly urge that this measure be defeated.

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, Mr. Raskin, for yielding this time. A couple quick things. H.R. 139 is an overly broad proposal that stretches across the entirety of the Federal Government workplace to say that each and every telework policy, practice, and procedure implemented in response to the global health crisis must end immediately in 30 days because a majority of the House of Representatives says so. Well, let's remember that in the word ``telework,'' the last four letters are w-o-r-k. People who telework are working. They are working day in and day out. And they have been working through the crisis, working to get us back to where we need to be. The bill says that the rest of America must then take time to study the majority of our edict today to see if it made sense in the first place. Now, if that is not a classic case of putting the cart before the horse or the tail wagging the dog, I don't know. I do know that this is not how a deliberative body, particularly this Chamber, should operate. We should at least have a hearing on this, bring in the proper agencies, review this in a real sort of way, and then figure out what we do. To act this way creates a real problem. The solution, I think, is looking for a problem, and this is not the place it ought to be. We have not talked with OPM. We have not talked with Federal agencies. We have really not talked with the IRS. We just condemn them. You have to remember, the 5,000 IRS agents we were trying to put in place on this side of the aisle were to augment what they were doing. The IRS has been slow in terms of responding. This was an effort to speed that up. Mr. Speaker, the distinguished gentleman from Kentucky's First District, Mr. Comer, and I, I think, want to get to one thing, and that is the idea of greater productivity, but I would ask that we think about another way to try to do this. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a Department of Defense Inspector General report dated March 30, 2021. The full report can be found at: https://www.dodig.mil/reports.html/Article/2557812/ evaluation-of-access-to-department-of-defense-information-technology- and-commun/. [March 30, 2021] Results in Brief--Evaluation of Access to Department of Defense Information Technology and Communications During the Coronavirus Disease-2019 Pandemic Objective The objective of this evaluation was to determine the extent to which DoD Components provided access to DoD information technology and communications during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic. Background In May 2006, the President issued the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan that requires Federal agencies to develop plans to maintain information technology and communications systems to continue operations during a pandemic. In response, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security (ASD[HD&GS]) issued the DoD Implementation Plan for Pandemic Influenza (DoD Implementation Plan) in August 2006 to ensure the continuity of essential functions in the event of a pandemic. The DoD Implementation Plan states that during a pandemic, special consideration must be given to social distancing in the workplace through teleworking. DoD Components' pandemic plans should include the use of laptops, high-speed telecommunications links, and other systems that enable personnel to perform essential functions while teleworking. The plans should also include the requirement to test telework procedures, the impact of Government-wide mandated telework on internal networks, and backup plans for communications infrastructure. Apart from DoD pandemic planning, the DoD Telework Policy states that telework will be actively promoted and implemented throughout the DoD in support of emergency preparedness. The policy recognizes that during a pandemic, essential and non-essential personnel and Service members may be asked to telework; therefore, periodic telework exercises are required to ensure its effectiveness in continuing operations and an efficient transition to telework in the event of a pandemic. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, DoD Components began transitioning to maximum telework in mid-March 2020. On March 18, 2020, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum stating that DoD Components could execute their pandemic plans, or portions of their plans, at any time to ensure the ability to perform their essential functions. To determine the extent to which DoD Components provided access to DoD information technology and communications during maximum telework in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we administered a 43-question survey to a sample of DoD military and civilian personnel. In August 2020, we invited 269,282 DoD military and civilian personnel to respond to our survey to share their teleworking experiences from March 15 through August 26, 2020. We received a total of 56,057 responses, comprising 7,323 military and 48,734 civilian personnel, for a 20.8 percent overall response rate. We also conducted interviews with officials from the DoD Office of the Chief Information Officer, the DoD COVID-19 Telework Readiness Task Force, and the Offices of the Chief Information Officer for 10 DoD Components to obtain their perspectives on the infrastructure established to support the increased number of teleworking personnel. Finding According to the 54,665 respondents who reported their telework status, the DoD transitioned 88.2 percent of respondents to full- or part-time telework from March 15, 2020 through August 26, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 11.8 percent of respondents who continued to work on site, the most common reasons provided by survey respondents for not teleworking were that their work could not be performed while teleworking, or they were not eligible to telework. Of those who teleworked, survey respondents reported problems accessing DoD Component networks, voice and video teleconference applications, and identified shortfalls in Government-furnished equipment available to DoD personnel when their Components first transitioned to maximum telework in mid-March 2020. However, the problems cited in survey responses lessened over time as the DoD increased its network availability and capacity, added voice and video conferencing applications, and purchased and distributed computer and communications equipment. Based on the results of the survey and interviews with DoD officials, the DoD's initial challenges occurred because some DoD Components had not fully tested whether their information systems could support Government-wide mandated telework and had not conducted telework exercises with their personnel before March 2020 as required by the DoD Implementation Plan and the DoD Telework Policy. Therefore, some DoD Components were unprepared for the network and communications limitations, as well as equipment and application shortfalls, uncovered by the transition to maximum telework. While the Marine Corps, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) were able to immediately transition to maximum telework, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS), and Defense Health Agency (DHA) faced challenges during the transition. The ability of DoD personnel to perform essential and non- essential tasks while on maximum telework depends on DoD Components' ability to provide enough network capacity, communication tools, and equipment to enable the DoD's essential and non-essential personnel to stay mission-ready and productive while in a telework status. Some teleworking personnel reported that they found their own alternative solutions including the use of unauthorized video conferencing applications and personal laptops, printers, and cell phones to complete their work because some DoD Components were unprepared for maximum telework. However, using unauthorized applications or sharing DoD information over improperly secured devices, even temporarily, increases the risk of exposing sensitive departmental information that could impact national security and DoD missions. Overall, DoD Components and the majority of survey respondents expressed positive maximum telework experiences. Specifically, 88.1 percent of survey respondents stated that their productivity level remained the same or increased during maximum telework, regardless of their Component's initial telework challenges. Many survey respondents reported a desire to telework regularly in the future (37,146 responses) and expressed appreciation for commuting less often (27,711 responses), better work-life balance (25,508 responses), and more flexible work hours (22,461 responses). recommendations We recommend that the ASD(HD&GS) revise the DoD Implementation Plan for Pandemic Influenza to update planning assumptions with the use of telework for essential and non- essential personnel, align the DoD Implementation Plan with the DoD Telework Policy, and require DoD Components to update their plans to include revised assumptions regarding telework for personnel and the resources required to support the teleworking workforce. We recommend that the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD[P]), in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, establish management oversight procedures to verify that DoD Components have performed the testing, training, and exercise requirements of the DoD Implementation Plan and the DoD Telework Policy. The oversight procedures should assess the ability of DoD Components to support Government-wide mandated telework, including the results of tests of network and communications systems and telework exercises with personnel. management comments and our response The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (DUSD[P]), responding for the USD(P) and the ASD(HD&GS) did not respond to the recommendation to require DoD Components to update their Pandemic Plans to include revised assumptions regarding telework for personnel and the resources required to support the teleworking workforce. Therefore, the recommendation is unresolved. We request that the ASD(HD&GS) provide comments on the final report. The DUSD(P) did not agree or disagree with the other two recommendations in the report. However, the DUSD(P) stated that the ASD(HD&GS) would work with the Joint Staff and the U.S. Northern Command to include the use of telework for essential and non-essential personnel in the Functional Campaign Plan--Pandemics and Infectious Diseases, which will replace the DoD Implementation Plan for Pandemic Influenza, and align the plan with the DoD Telework Policy. In addition, the DUSD(P) stated that the ASD(HD&GS) would also work with the Joint Staff to include the use of telework for essential and non-essential personnel in the Global Integration Framework--Pandemics and Infectious Diseases. Furthermore, the DUSD(P) stated that her office would support and advocate for oversight procedures to verify that DoD Components performed the testing, training, and exercise requirements of the Global Integration Framework--Pandemics and Infectious Diseases, the Functional Campaign Plan-- Pandemics and Infectious Diseases, the DoD Telework Policy, and the Pandemic Plans. Therefore, the recommendations are resolved, but will remain open until the ASD(HD&GS) updates the Functional Campaign Plan--Pandemics and Infectious Diseases and the Global Integration Framework--Pandemics and Infectious Diseases to include the use of telework for essential and non-essential personnel and USD(P) provides oversight procedures for verifying that DoD Components performed the required testing, training, and exercises.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I stand here in full support of the passage of S. 1942, the National Heritage Area Act, which includes provisions from my bill, the Baltimore National Heritage Area Act, and creates a full reauthorization of the Baltimore National Heritage Area. The Baltimore National Heritage Area stretches over a majority of Maryland's 7th Congressional District, and includes important sites such as the Basilica of the Assumption, Mt. Clare Station and Roundhouse, and Edgar Allen Poe House. By reauthorizing this National Heritage Area through 2037 and updating the Area's map, this bill will secure federal support for Baltimore's most precious sites. I grew up in Baltimore, amongst many of these historical sites, and I am thrilled to have provided this federal support to help preserve and celebrate the place I call home. With reauthorization, federal support will continue to go towards local agencies and nonprofits who preserve and promote Baltimore's pivotal role in our nation's story and make strategic investments in cultural heritage tourism projects. The annual economic impact of the Baltimore National Heritage Area is more than $750 million, 6,400 jobs and $61 million in state and tax revenue. The Heritage Area has served more than 15,000 youth from underserved communities and provides continuous operation and program support to 35 historic museums, cultural attractions, and historic neighborhoods through a competitive grant program. I would like to thank Mr. Sarbanes and Mr. Ruppersberger of the Baltimore delegation for helping me advocate for this reauthorization, and thank Senator Cardin for introducing an identical reauthorization bill in the Senate. I urge full passage of this bill.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize an extraordinary artist who has mastered the talent and skill of expression. Ms. Greta Chapin McGill translates her emotions and experiences as an African American woman flawlessly to canvas, and all who have had the pleasure to view her work are left in awe of its beauty. Ms. Chapin McGill grew up in Washington, DC, and associates her time riding the bus around the city with blossoming a feeling of independence within herself that has run parallel during her brave journey as an artist. During this time, Greta's father took her to Constitution Hall, where he asked her to close her eyes, and ''see'' the music. The ability for art to pull us out of reality, and encapsulate us in harmony with emotion and surrealness, is what surrounded Greta as she ``saw'' the music herself. Greta's own art is a reflection of this experience, unlocking every emotion and story she can elicit from canvas and color. Inspired by her father's encouragement that anything is possible if you believe in it, Greta began to fully pursue art. She studied painting and art history at Howard University and The Corcoran School of Fine Art, and her exceptional ability has since taken her across the globe to exhibits in Italy, France, and Switzerland. Greta has allowed her craft to take the lead in her life, as she believes one's own art is a living, breathing canvas that evolves over time through one's experiences and perspectives gained.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, this is really about people over politics today, and I am glad that people all over the country are watching and listening to this debate. It is not about the wealthy, the well-connected, and the well-off. It is about people who believe, like many of us, that we have gone too far without lowering the cost of medicine for everyday people by reducing and capping costs where they are--the $35 cap on insulin--and finding a way to close the real gap that exists in terms of affordable care and extension of the subsidies and making sure that we are really tackling the climate crisis by providing the things that will allow consumers and homeowners to do what they need to find a way to take advantage of the tax subsidies. Most of all, it says to everyone else that this is completely paid for. This is not a tax bill. It is paid for. It is paid for by making sure that the wealthiest and corporations that really get out of paying taxes don't get out of paying taxes anymore. It is not about the wealthy, the well-connected, and the well-off. It is about people all over this country, in Baltimore and elsewhere, who want and need this legislation.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I rise today to explain how I would have voted on Roll Call Number 289, which was up for consideration on June 22, 2022. During the time I was on and off the floor last night, I discussed many bills and letters with my colleagues. In the midst of these discussions, I missed the opportunity to vote on H.R. 6538, a bill under the suspension of the rules. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call Number 289.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, from a very young age, this person for whom I stand today was into all kinds of athletic games. Not just one kind of sport but every sport and every kind of athlete. So, talking about it came naturally. He asked, why should I not make this a career? In Baltimore there is a gritty loyalty to its sports teams and its heroes. Over the span of four decades, one man has talked about and reported on two Super Bowl champion teams, the most decorated Olympian of all time and various stars in the athletic firmament from the greater Baltimore region with a gusto unmatched or unequaled by anyone. He has made everyday people feel like they were a part of the story, and so I am pleased today to enter into the Record my recognition for distinguished sportscaster and storyteller, Mr. Bruce Cunningham, who has recently retired from WBFF Fox 45 TV news in Baltimore. Many Ravens fans know only one voice as the straightforward announcer and analyst of the NFL team's home games. Michael Phelps' exploits were told true and writ large over the TV screens of viewers young and old, proud of their hometown hero bringing gold medal after gold medal home for swimming. Whether it was the Orioles after a come-from-behind win or a heartbreaking loss, or Navy football celebrating a win over Army, Bruce was sure to tell the story with imagination, spirit, and Baltimore braggadocio. I was Sports Unlimited, on Sunday nights, that was Bruce's hallmark. Since 1991, at its inception with Fox 45 in Baltimore, Bruce has been sharing his takes on everything from MLB to the Baltimore Blast soccer team to Maryland and Johns Hopkins lacrosse. He was there for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship the University of Maryland brought home. He saluted Coach Brenda Frese's Lady Terrapins NCAA Championship in basketball. He also talked golf, tennis and other sports like boxing and horseracing, and he was there at Pimlico for eventual Triple Crown winner, American Pharaoh in 2015. There is something intangible about sports which unites a city, and Bruce Cunningham made that part of his many broadcasts. Ranging from the intensity of Baltimore in the Ravens' Ray Lewis and the Orioles' Cal Ripken, Jr. to the lesser-known stories in Maryland like Tamir Goldman of the Talmudical Academy in Baltimore, dubbed the ``Jewish Jordan'' for his basketball abilities, or Helen Maroulis, the two-time bronze medal-winner in women's wrestling at the Olympics from Rockville, Bruce has covered it all with the spirit and grit of Baltimore and a love for our state of Maryland not many could match. Now that he has decided to lead a ``normal life'' and ``get home before midnight on Sundays'' as he puts it, our city will not have that voice which closed off our weekends with highlights, insights, and the sports stories which not only gave us the score but let us in on so much more: a look at the athletes and a look at ourselves. I thank Bruce Cunningham for all the memories, as our grateful city and state will miss him dearly.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, music is not just a passion, but a life's calling for some. Mr. Melvin Miles, Jr. is without question a man who has walked this life listening to and answering the call of the art of music. From his matriculation at Morgan State University in the early 1970s, Melvin Miles, Jr. was fascinated by all kinds of music and musicians. Over the span of the better part of five decades, Mr. Miles has been recognized by many as an exceptional cornetist, trumpeter, and band leader. Since 1973, Melvin has honed his unmatched musical admiration and talent to serve as a faculty member at Morgan State University where he has taught and mentored students and marching bands alike. In this chapter of his life, he has committed himself to the mission of leading young people on the path to higher learning and mastering an instrument with purpose. Madame Speaker, I am pleased today to enter into the Record my recognition for a musician, friend, and teacher extraordinaire, Melvin Miles, Jr., who is retiring from Morgan State University in Baltimore. Melvin first attended Frederick Douglass High School before entering Morgan State University and receiving Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees in Music Education. He then furthered his art by attending The Catholic University of America for doctoral studies, again in Music Education. While these institutions and college experiences fine-tuned his technique and craft, they also taught him that nothing compared to music in terms of uniting a university. Upon starting with Morgan State's faculty, Mr. Miles made sure to make music a part of every student's college experience. The Symphonic Winds, Jazz Ensemble, and the Concert Band brought endless hours of joy to students, alumni, and attendees of all walks of life. As a teacher, Melvin has been known to demand excellence from those he mentored. Still, he maintained a sense of humor that made it nearly impossible to not smile when you were around him. Melvin Miles' blend of serious and lighthearted mentorship was a winning formula that carried his marching bands to the highest of heights. This included him guiding his 2019 marching band through the immense pressure of performing in the renowned Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. Even with the many eyes and ears that have been fixed on his bands over the span of his career, Melvin has never diverged from the down-to- earth man he is. Ultimately, it is his purely genuine persona paired with his accolades that has caused Melvin's unmistakable popularity to endure. Melvin's love for music, Morgan State, and Maryland is truly unmatched. I thank Melvin for his friendship and leadership over all these many years and thank him as well for all the memories he has given to the university, the Historically Black College or University community, and the thousands of alumni who will miss him dearly. I have been lucky enough to personally call Melvin a friend for the past forty-two years. On behalf of all who know him or have heard his sound, we are all grateful that Melvin has given the world his song.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I particularly thank the chair for yielding this time but also for her very important leadership on the Committee on Small Business and for the excellence of her example--getting all of us to the point of where we are today. At a time when, as has been said, small businesses are at risk of being pushed out of the Federal procurement space due to forces outside of their control, it is imperative that we unite across the aisle, as has been stated, to stand up for small business concerns and to help grow their presence in the Federal contracting space where possible. I am very pleased to work with Representative Stauber, the distinguished gentleman from Minnesota, who, on committee and at this time, jointly share an interest in this legislation because of what it does. I look forward to working with Mr. Stauber in the future on other joint endeavors. I also thank the staff of the Committee on Small Business for working very hard to pull together this commonsense bill that protects small businesses by incentivizing large prime contractors to adhere to their contracting plans. Now, some might say, well, why do you have to do that? Unfortunately, if we don't do it, they will continue as they have done, to not adhere to those plans, and it hurts the overall small business community. Currently, prime contractors have very little economic incentive to do the right things, to abide by their subcontracting plans, and these are the plans that they, themselves have negotiated. So when prime contractors disregard these pre-negotiated terms, the only recourse that we have is to make sure that we find a way to involve ourselves before they are left with their only alternative, which is to file a lawsuit. Given the nature of the courts, any small business relief that may come to them could prove to be too little, too late. Madam Speaker, again, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota. This bill creates an economic incentive for prime contractors to follow their subcontracting plans by requiring any agency of the government to assess those plans and to offer advice and an opinion on whether or not they have complied. The SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, by amending the language of the Small Business Act, by expanding its scope, this legislation will give contractors that treat small businesses the right and the fair way, a greater chance at winning Federal contractors. And it will hopefully incentivize those contractors that are not, to finally do the right thing. Madam Speaker, I respectfully ask that my colleagues vote in support of H.R. 7694, the Strengthening Subcontracting for Small Businesses Act of 2022.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor an icon in the civil rights movement, business world, and political landscape, Mr. Earl G. Graves, who passed away on April 6, 2020. Mr. Graves founded Black Enterprise magazine in 1970, a publishing company dedicated to lifting up and recognizing Black entrepreneurship. Over the next 50 years, Mr. Graves took Black Enterprise from a single- magazine publishing company to a diversified multi-media business that spread the message of financial empowerment to more than 6 million African Americans through print, digital, broadcast, and live-event platforms. He wrote a New York Times bestselling book in 1997, titled ``How to Succeed in Business Without Being White,'' that discussed the strategies he used to achieve such success, and was selected as a finalist for the 1997 Financial Times/Booz-Allen & Hamilton Global Business Book Award. As a champion for Black excellence, Mr. Graves received numerous awards. Two years after launching Black Enterprise, he received the National Award of Excellence and was named one of the 10 most outstanding minority businessmen in the country by President Richard Nixon. He was named by Time magazine as one of 200 future leaders of the country in 1974 and became part of the National Black College Hall of Fame in 1987. Mr. Graves has lectured at Yale University as a Poynter Fellow and received honorary degrees from more than 65 colleges and universities, including his alma mater, Morgan State University. In recognition of Mr. Graves's staunch advocacy for higher education and equal opportunity, Morgan State renamed its school of business and management the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management in 1995. In 2002, Fortune magazine named Mr. Graves one of the 50 most powerful and influential African Americans in corporate America. Mr. Graves threw himself into causes and projects that supported and empowered his communities in New York and the Black community at large. He held a seat on the board of selectors of the American Institute for Public Service, the Advisory Council of the Character Education Partnership, the board of the Steadman-Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation, the board of The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the national advisory board of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. He was also a trustee of Howard University, the Committee for Economic Development, the Special Contributions Fund of the NAACP, and the New York Economic Club. He was appointed to serve on the presidential commission for the National Museum of African American History and Culture by the George W. Bush Administration and was a vice president on the national executive board and a member of the marketing committee for the national office of the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Graves's wife of 51 years, Mrs. Barbara Graves, was his closest companion. You didn't see one without the other. She lived for him, he lived for her, and they both lived for their three children. All three sons, Earl ``Butch'' Jr., Johnny, and Michael, worked at Black Enterprise throughout their lives, developing their business acumen under the watchful eye of Mrs. Graves, who served as a mentor and guide to several generations of employees. Butch took over as CEO of Black Enterprise in 2006, after spending decades growing the company together with his father. Earl G. Graves was raised in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of New York, where he learned hard work and perseverance from his parents, Earl Godwin and Winifred Sealy Graves. After receiving a B.A. in economics from Morgan State University, he served two years in the Army, followed by a three-year stint as Senator Robert F. Kennedy's administrative assistant. After Kennedy's assassination, Graves entered the business arena, where he realized his unprecedented success as a public servant, intellectual, and businessman. It is my honor to stand today, Madam Speaker, in recognition of Earl G. Graves, a successful entrepreneur, caring father, dedicated philanthropist, and friend.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Scott for yielding, and for also working so closely with Representative Adams to get us to this point. Mr. Speaker, I don't know how we got here, except that I know that we can't, as a Nation, stay at this point. There is no reason that Black colleges and universities, and the students that attend them, ought to be threatened in this sort of way with this sort of almost impunity by racists who think that they can do that and that there will not be a response. I happen to be chair of the Board of Regents at Morgan State University, a historically Black college, founding itself 4 years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and has turned out, over that period of time, thousands of bright young people who have come out all over the country and are serving in different capacities. In my State of Maryland, whether it was Morgan State University, or Coppin State University, or Bowie State, you cannot imagine the sense of uncertainty that students had, knowing that they were under threat and that at any minute something could, in fact, happen.

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, for them who are the extensions of a race of people who have suffered, endured, and survived two centuries of slavery, oppression, deprivation, degradation, denial, and disprivilege, none of them should have to matriculate in this country at an institution of higher education under those conditions simply because they are Black. I strongly urge this condemnation to be approved by this body.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the legacy of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, known as the ``Six Triple Eight.'' I also rise to support S. 321, the legislation to award a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the Battalion's patriotism, valor, and achievements. Since its first mission in 1945, the Six Triple Eight was comprised of 855 Black women including 824 enlisted personnel and 31 officers. Groundbreaking for the time, the Six Triple Eight was the only African American women's unit of its size to serve overseas during World War II. Most of the 6888th worked as postal clerks, but others were cooks, mechanics, and held support positions so that the 6888th was a self- sufficient unit. The Six Triple Eight was led by Major Charity Edna Adams and trained for their overseas mission at Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia. In practice, the Battalion's assignment entailed more than ensuring the swift delivery of mail. Rather, the Battalion was also trained to identify enemies by air and sea, meet the physical demands of military service, and evacuate targeted ships. Amid war, the tenacity of these brave women never wavered. Rain or shine, day in and day out, the Six Triple Eight worked around the clock, operating under their motto, ``no mail, low morale.'' These women sacrificed despite knowing their return home would be to an America that still denied their basic rights and liberties. I am proud to support this measure that honors such a courageously driven Battalion of women and bestows them the highest expression of national appreciation Congress can grant. I urge swift passage of S. 321, the ``Six Triple Eight'' Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding a little bit of time here at the conclusion of this discussion. I want to thank particularly the gentlewoman from Wisconsin for coming up with this bill on the House side and obviously those on the Senate side that support it. I can't say enough about the need here to do the right thing in awarding this Congressional Gold Medal to the members of the Women's Army Corps who were assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. It was a total of 855 Black women. It was 1944 and 1945. They went to serve their country with distinction and to make sure that that war would somehow guarantee rights to all Americans, many of the rights that they did not have themselves. They were the largest contingent of Black women to be deployed overseas, and they worked 7 days a week. As was stated earlier, 7 days a week was not even enough for many of those who witnessed what they were doing. The Army, by its own admission, figured that the work that would be before them would take months and months and months. We all know now, as a result of history, that was not the case. They worked tirelessly to support the mail that was going both ways at a time when we didn't have internet and we didn't have all of the ways to communicate today. So I congratulate them as a sterling group. There are just a few that are still alive, well into their nineties today. I urge passage of this very, very important piece of legislation.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Kaptur for her overly gracious remarks. I appreciate them. I also appreciate the opportunity to join her and the others in our discussion about Ukraine. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.

Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I am really happy to join with Congresswoman Kaptur, who has served for some time now as chair of the Ukrainian Caucus, who has driven us and gotten us to this point, but who has also kept together a bipartisan group of legislators. So, to her and to Ranking Member Fitzpatrick, my thanks to both of them. We are all here, obviously, because of the situation in Ukraine. This comes at us from different ways. I initially got involved when I came back to Congress because of a gentleman by the name of Roman Goy in my district who has watched these situations with Ukraine going back to 2014 and beyond and who felt sort of helpless. On behalf of Mr. Goy in Catonsville and all the other ones that I have heard from--and I am particularly heartened to also hear, as we did earlier, from the gentlewoman, Mrs. Spartz, who is the only native Ukrainian to serve here in the United States Congress. Her comments are compelling, and her witness is one that we should always keep in front of us as something to be reminded of. Mr. Speaker, I go back a long, long way in terms of the aggression that we now see in Ukraine. I go so far back as to remember the Cold War days that a lot of us grew up under, the days of a very, very aggressive Soviet Union hellbent on domination, spanning 13 time zones, with a growing nuclear arsenal in those days and with the twisted belief that they somehow or another could, in fact, be a part of this hemisphere and pose an issue to us. It was a different Soviet Union. It is Russia now, but that same sort of thinking pervades. Back then, I am talking about the missile crisis in Cuba, where Soviet President Khrushchev, Nikita Khrushchev, was putting missiles 90 miles off our coast, believing that he and the Soviet Union had a right to that sort of expansionism, that sort of aggression. Thank God that President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, having reached a very tight ultimatum with the reality, decided that the United States would not accept that. We were on the brink of war then, but the Soviet Union blinked. They removed their missiles from Cuba, and we have sort of coexisted in a sort of Cold War for some time now. Then, with the fall of Berlin and the ending of the Soviet Union as we knew it, and now the singular emergence of Russia, all of us concerned here are concerned about what is happening in Ukraine. When you look at the troop movements that are taking place, when you look at the propaganda being spun by the Kremlin, it is all so familiar to what happened in 1914 when the Soviet Union went off in its own direction and when it began to build up its war machine. In 2014, the Russian Government, following the same script, has decided--or did decide then--to have similar troop movements, similar weapons buildup, and a similar effort to invade. Even though the talk then was ``we are not invading,'' we know what happened then. They invaded Ukraine. They took and annexed Crimea. People in Kiev and elsewhere have been watching the situation with great trepidation, and now we are at a point with a massive Russian buildup all along the Ukrainian border, well over 100,000 troops, all sorts of armaments, and the ability to have airpower to strike and to take, if they want to, that country. So, the fact that President Biden and others have stood up--we want to also thank all of our European allies for banding together. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed just to be able to prevent things such as this. Although Ukraine is not a signatory under Article 5, its sovereignty and its independence is so very, very important. I want to join with Congresswoman Kaptur, Ranking Member Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Spartz with her testimony, and all the others who have continued to raise this issue. In the old, old days, we never knew when the then-Soviet Union was going to strike. We don't know now. I remember air drills at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. In schools, we were so close to the end of the last war, kids had to stop what they were doing and practice drills, hiding under their desks. In every school, there was a bomb shelter. We have come a long way since then, but that threat is still there. A lot of people say: Well, why is this important? It is important because history can repeat itself. It is important because history often does repeat itself. It is important because it is a lesson that we have learned and must never get away from. Terrorism anywhere is a threat to democracies everywhere. I join and am happy in this bipartisan effort, Mr. Speaker, to lend my voice.

Mr. MFUME

Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, it has often been said ``Education is the Key'' that unlocks the future for people seeking a better life. The person I rise for today could really be considered the ``Locksmith'' for Baltimore's kids. From teaching at public schools to educating juvenile detainees, his compassion for others motivated him to give freely the keys to set minds free for higher endeavors. A life-long educator and philanthropist of modest means, he gave of himself to the Baltimore Community, its schools as well as to Coppin State University. He was the epitome of the humble hometown hero. I am honored to stand today for the recently departed James Leroy ``Winky'' Camphor, age 94. After teaching for 43 years in the Baltimore City Schools, in his love for youth and the underserved, he assumed the role as Superintendent at the Cheltenham School for Boys. He was ever devoted to unlocking doors for at risk children and those within the juvenile justice system. In all his unselfish endeavors, he never sought accolades. As one whose salaries were always modest, his charitable gift of $200,000 to his beloved alma mater, Coppin State, was an incredible gift. Imagine the number of students who have been helped and will be helped with books, meals, and transit costs. He was a man of noble stature, a man of an unquenchable thirst to empower others, and a man who gave unselfishly of his talents, his finances, his inspiration, and never sought recognition nor praise. This from a family man of modest means who according to the Baltimore Evening Sun ``scrimped and saved'' over his whole career in education. He loved Coppin State so much he married the former Florine ``Peaches'' Harrison, a city public school educator who graduated from Coppin in 1958, whom he met at a meeting of Coppin's alumni association. And together they grew their philanthropy. Additionally, he holds the record for scoring 50 points in a basketball game at Coppin State, a record, which has never been broken. As a champion for children and all the causes he held near and dear to his heart, he received numerous awards. The prestigious listing includes organizations and affiliations such as: the National Association for Equal Opportunity in High Education Distinguished Alumni Award, State of Maryland Faithful Citizen Award, Children's Cancer Center Volunteer Award, Heart of Love Award, the Harlow Fullwood Award, the National Association for Sickle Cell Outstanding Member Award, Maryland Department of Mental Health and Hygiene Service Award, City of Baltimore Citizen's Award, National Federation of the Blind Service Award and the list goes on. James Leroy Camphor, son of James Camphor and Emma Camphor, was born in Baltimore and grew up near Hollins Market in Southwest Baltimore. Raised by a single mother, he reflected the value of hard honest work in his childhood job of shining shoes. The beginnings may have been humble, but they did not define nor stymie him. He rose to become a champion for children and the underserved and a philanthropist for Coppin State University. He gave freely of that which were his. It is my honor to stand today, Madam Speaker, in recognition of James Leroy ``Winky'' Camphor and the memory of a man who shared the keys of education, charity, compassion, humility and strong moral values--a true Baltimore hometown hero.