Seth Moulton

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge passage of my amendment to increase funding for the Passenger Rail Improvement, Modernization, and Expansion program. The coalition that supports the PRIME program spans ideology and geography. We are united in this belief: America can still do big things. Ten of our colleagues joined me by cosponsoring this amendment and, today, 80 Representatives and Senators joined Representatives Costa, Ocasio-Cortez, and me, calling for investments in high-speed rail. In our country today, transportation is the leading driver of carbon emissions. Americans have fewer options for inner-city travel than citizens of China and France. And families are unable to afford homes where they work, and they can't go to where they work from where they can afford homes. On top of that, trains are slower in America today than they were in the 1930s, a century ago. The PRIME program is a great first step to fixing these problems. Regions like the Pacific Northwest can create an economic mega-region and see a 10:1 return by investing in the Cascadia High-Speed Rail Corridor, at less than half the cost of another lane of highway in either direction. Americans across the Midwest would have access to new jobs and housing opportunities. You could live in Chattanooga and get to work in Atlanta in a little more than a half hour. We can build a system that is faster than driving and more convenient than flying, and we can power it on low-power emissions. Mr. Speaker, there is no reason we shouldn't adopt this.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who worked diligently to pass the advanced child tax credit, which will cut child poverty in half in just one year. We have a responsibility to make this money accessible to every child. While our elder daughter, Emmy, is accounted for, our pandemic baby, Caroline, is not. In my district, the IRS estimates that more than 6,000 children are unaccounted for. My team has worked tirelessly to get relief to our constituents. I encourage our constituents to visit the IRS website to check their eligibility. There is even a tool for nonfilers. The IRS is underfunded, and we need to fix that, but they have done a phenomenal job getting this set up. While our caseworkers are always happy to help, our constituents shouldn't leave money on the table. So, check your eligibility and find out what makes sense for your family. America Needs to Do the Right Thing

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, our Afghan allies and friends risked their lives, not just for their country, but for ours. They put their lives on the line, not just for Afghanistan, but for America. And they are not just Afghan heroes, but American heroes, too. They risked their lives because we made a solemn promise to them: We have your backs. Because we said that we have their backs, they now have a target on theirs. Today, the Biden administration has heard the call of veterans across America who have said: Save our allies. Do the right thing by the promise that we made. They have heeded our calls to pursue an evacuation because there simply is not enough time for special immigrant visas to be processed. It is 80 days until our withdrawal. The average time to process an SIV is 800 days. Today is, therefore, a bright chapter in the long story of the advocacy of veterans all over this country, Democrat and Republican, who have called on the administration to execute a plan for evacuation. But the story is far from over. We need to see a detailed operational plan, including a way to collect our allies from across this war-torn country, a way to ensure that their family members are saved as well, and a clear plan to get them COVID vaccines so they can travel safely to other countries, or to Guam, and not carry a risk of carrying the disease. We also need to see an operational commander named to lead this effort, and we need a guarantee that this evacuation mission will continue until it is complete. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Milley, said yesterday that we have a moral obligation to fulfill this promise. I would add that that moral obligation is not just to our Afghan friends and allies. It is to every future young American on the ground in some conflict overseas who needs a friend, who needs an interpreter, who needs an ally and makes that promise once again: Come work with us. Come risk your life for us because we have your back.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I remove my name as a cosponsor of H.R. 1127.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, there are more troops right now in Washington, D.C., than in Afghanistan. They are here to defend us against the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States, and his mob. I would ask my colleagues to look at the faces of those young Americans defending democracy, defending us, and find an ounce of their courage to do the right thing, as several Republicans have, and take a tough vote for the future of democracy, for the future of our country.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), my friend, for yielding. In 2014, Pete Frates told ESPN: ``At the end of the day, I want to be the cliche game-changer. I want to be the guy who shifts everyone's thinking and shifts where the funds are going. Selfishly, I want to give myself a chance, but also give a lot of other people opportunities as well.'' Today, we consider ourselves incredibly lucky because we got to know Pete Frates. Pete, you accomplished this mission long ago, but today's vote is further proof that you will live forever. We are here because you were brave enough to stand up and show the world your strength. We are here because of your family, who continued the fight: Julie, Lucy, John, Nancy, Jennifer, and Andrew, and the Frate-train. I am so proud of all of you. We are here because of the hard work of the ALS Association, I AM ALS, and because thousands of ALS patients and their families and caregivers followed your lead. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to pass the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act, and let's keep fighting until we have a cure for this devastating disease.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, in response to September 11, President Bush and this Congress sent soldiers and Marines, like me, across the ocean to fight against extremism. The terrorists that we fought against used violence to advance their political agendas and viewed lawmakers here as their enemies. QAnon, the proud boys, the boogaloo boys, and other extremist groups think and operate in similar ways. But in this case, Americans do not have the luxury of looking across the ocean at this threat and just hoping and praying that it doesn't come home. Members of these groups are American. Politicians have unforgivably embraced them. Social media platforms legitimize them to an unwitting public. Well, I have had enough. QAnon followers like to say, in their vague, ominous ramblings, that no one can stop what is coming. That is wrong. We can, and we will. Do not let the unforgivable mainstream support for these groups raise doubts about our Nation's resolve in this fight against extremism, that we will stop what is coming, and then we will build a safer, stronger America.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained from the floor on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 and missed one vote. Had I been present to vote, I would have voted in the following manner: YEA on roll call No. 213.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, school segregation is inseparable from housing and the persistence of segregated communities, communities segregated by race largely due to decades of purposeful law and policy that supported White homeownership while denying people of color the same subsidies, things like the ways that Black World War II veterans were denied the use of GI Bill-guaranteed mortgages in suburban neighborhoods; purposeful policies and restrictive covenants allowing open and rampant discrimination in lending and homeownership; and policies like redlining that robbed Black and Brown Americans of access to public resources to grow wealth and opportunity--all of these things embodied, I think most clearly, by the underfunding of neighborhood schools serving communities of color that were on the wrong side of the red line. These purposeful policies, housing policies, created tremendous inequities in education. Now, some of my colleagues across the aisle claim that the underlying bill ignores the opportunity, the issue, of school choice. Well, my amendment brings these two things together. This amendment makes it clear that, where school choice supports diversity, it should be encouraged. And, indeed, there are great examples of this across the country. Public school choice is the most effective means of achieving racial and socioeconomic integration in K-12 education in diverse schools across the country today, supporting parents to enroll their children beyond their neighborhood schools. Public school choice did not exist in 1954. It did not exist in 1968. It did not exist at scale in the 1990s, but it does today. The problem is just that, all too often, school choice policies ignore the pressing issue of segregation by housing. When school choice is not intentional, it can serve to exacerbate inequity instead of remedying it. This has been confirmed by decades of research here in the U.S. and across the world. Many school choice systems are overly complex, parents aren't supported, and, too often, only the wealthy and well-connected take advantage of open enrollment policies. My amendment would support school districts in using public school choice to improve school diversity and, in turn, equity of opportunity. This commonsense amendment would ensure that districts receiving grants can use the funds to design or improve public school choice systems, while prioritizing diversity in school assignment, and make them easier for parents to navigate. These all should be bipartisan priorities. We have more public school choice now than we ever had before, yet our schools are more segregated by race and class than at any time since the 1960s. But it doesn't have to be this way. My amendment, a relatively small change, would make a big difference because it would say that the use of public school choice policies, like open enrollment across and between districts, that match parent choice with purposeful diversity planning can be used successfully to accomplish all of these goals. It is time we support school districts in using responsible public school choice as a tool to achieve equity of opportunity, a fundamental right in our Constitution. When public school choice controls for diversity in school assignment, we see not only improved diversity of the student body, but also resource equity among schools, higher parent and teacher satisfaction, and increased achievement for all students. I urge my colleagues to stand with me in supporting the use of public school choice to decrease racial and socioeconomic school segregation, and I urge a bipartisan ``yes'' vote on my amendment. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for her support and for understanding that, yes, this is not perhaps the sweeping change that we would all like to see to fix these truly historic inequities in our education system, but it is an important step in the right direction. And there are great examples across the county of school systems that have been able to use public school choice in positive ways to improve educational opportunities for all. It is simple common sense that access to these programs should be simple, it should be easy to navigate, and these programs should not effectively discriminate against certain families that do not have access to all the information or wealth or other opportunities to navigate them successfully. Mr. Speaker, I thank my Republican colleagues for their support on this amendment, and I particularly want to thank the leaders of this committee, Chairman Scott and Representative Fudge, for continuing to push to recognize the fundamental values of our country and our education system. That opportunity should be equal for all, that education should be the great equalizer because, if we can do that, we will live up to our Founders' ideals. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate the life and service of an American patriot and decorated Army veteran, Deacon William Francis Xavier Kane. Kane was an Army intelligence officer during the Vietnam War, serving in small communities alongside a South Vietnamese battalion. Kane was seriously injured in the line of duty, leaving him hospitalized. Due to Kane's valor during the war, he was presented with a Bronze Star and Soldier's Medal for Heroism. In the years following his brave service in the Army, Kane went on to have a long career as a special agent in the FBI. Kane's service to our country did not stop with his astounding career in the military and FBI. After four years studying at St. John's Seminary located in Brighton, Massachusetts, Kane was ordained a Permanent Deacon for the Archdiocese of Boston. After devoting himself to a life of spirituality, he then found his true vocation. Serving as the director of prison ministry for the Archdiocese of Boston, Kane provided spiritual support and comfort to those in need during their incarceration. Kane also took up Spanish to have better communication with the many Spanish-speaking inmates he assisted. Kane was once asked what led him to this type of work, and he responded with a quote by Irish poet Bobby Sands: ``There is no place more lonely than the prison cell.'' In 2001, Kane founded the Holy Family Parish Mission after a trip to the Dominican Republic. Kane believed that mission work could help individuals empathize with those who are impoverished, and in turn, deepen their capacity for compassion and love. In 2016, Kane received the John C. DeDeyn Jr. Achievement Award from his alma mater, Niagara University, in recognition of his service to others. Madam Speaker, Deacon William Kane lived a life of service for the United States government and its citizens. The Coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 150,000 Americans. Deacon Kane is one of the 2,083 veterans counted among that total. Kane was a dementia patient under the care of the VA at the time of the Coronavirus breakout. He passed away May 10th. The vision of the VA is ``to provide veterans the world-class benefits and services they have earned--and to do so by adhering to the highest standards of compassion, commitment, excellence, professionalism, integrity, accountability, and stewardship.'' I believe it is evident that they have fallen short in their duties. In a VA where all but one of the patients in a specific unit have contracted this generation's most contagious virus, it is clear that adequate protections were not provided to Deacon Kane as well as the other patients in the unit. As a member of the Armed Services Committee and an advocate for veteran's rights, I call upon the House to investigate this occurrence further and remain committed to using all of the powers this office affords me to protect veterans, and all Americans, from this virus and the leaders in this country who have failed to accept the responsibility to fight it.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate Deacon William Francis Xavier Kane. Deacon Kane served as an Army intelligence officer in Vietnam. He received a Bronze Star and the Soldier's Medal for Heroism in the war. When he came home, he became an FBI special agent; and after a long career, he went to seminary school and became a deacon for the Archdiocese of Boston. He ministered to inmates and learned Spanish to reach more people. Later in life, he organized mission trips abroad. Deacon William Kane served us, but we failed him. On May 10, he died from the coronavirus while under the care of the Veterans Administration. He is among the 2,083 veterans in the VA's care that this virus has killed. It is on us to use the powers of this body to protect veterans, and everyone, from this virus. We must get to the bottom of the mistakes at the VA that allowed the virus to spread. It is the least we can do for the memory of Deacon William Francis Xavier Kane.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. When I was younger, we seemed to have a lot of American heroes around, from the Greatest Generation that won World War II to the civil rights leaders of the 1950s, to the men who walked on the Moon. To call one of them a colleague was one of the greatest honors of my life, and it hit me every day I saw John Lewis on the House floor. ``Good morning, sir,'' was may usual greeting. Not because of my Marine background or his age--most people in Congress are older than me--but simply because there is nobody in Congress who had more respect. Nobody. But he was much more than just a towering figure. He was a loving, caring, indefatigably optimistic friend and mentor, especially to young people like me. John and I took bets on the 2017 Super Bowl, with the winner committing to visiting the loser's district. After the Patriots had the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, we started talking dates for his trip to Massachusetts. But with a few conflicts and his getting older, I proposed an alternative: a visit to some of the civil rights sites in his hometown. Through all the turmoil of the last few years, there are only two times I have cried in Congress: visiting the prison in Hanoi with John McCain and visiting Atlanta with John Lewis. If you ever doubt what a hero John and his fellow American patriots were, spend some time in Atlanta or Birmingham or Selma, where he came within an inch of his life fighting to uphold a nation's ideals even when the nation said they don't apply to you or your family. I found myself wondering if I would have had the courage to join in those protests to be a freedom fighter, to change a nation. That is what John Lewis did. He changed America, and in so doing, he changed the world. And he never lost faith in either as he did it. During the impeachment trial, I asked him if he had ever seen it this bad. And while he told me never, not even during the civil rights movement, because he said there was more hope, more movement, he nonetheless maintained his characteristic optimism and looked at me confidently like a preacher to his Sunday school student and said: But, don't worry. We will get through it. Keep the faith, brother. Keep the faith. We miss you, John.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I share the same goals as Mr. Crow and my colleagues. And I have tremendous respect for Representative Omar, who has brought this amendment forward for debate. I don't think there is anyone who wants to bring the troops home more than someone like Mr. Crow, who has served on the ground in Afghanistan in combat. But there is an objective for this war. There is a reason why he went and put his life on the line for this country, and that is to prevent another terrorist attack here at home. It is our solemn duty to protect the people of the United States and maintain our national security. We didn't end World War II by saying to the Germans: ``We are going to withdraw by a certain deadline.'' We came home when the job was done. We can have a very wise and important debate about whether we are doing the job well in Afghanistan and as quickly as possible. We can't forget why we have gone. We can't forget what it takes to come home.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Brandon Caserta. Brandon was a 21-year-old United States Navy petty officer. He couldn't get mental health help when he needed it, and as a result, he died from suicide on the flightline of his squadron in Norfolk, Virginia. Last week, on the second anniversary of the day that Brandon's parents, Patrick and Teri, lost their son, I was proud to introduce the Brandon Act. I am also proud to have successfully added this bill to the NDAA today in the House Armed Services Committee in honor of Brandon. With the Brandon Act, servicemembers can seek mental health help whenever they need it, even outside the chain of command, which is important in cases of hazing, bullying, or anything else our heroes want to handle privately by self-referral. We won't get Brandon back, but his legacy will be the servicemembers' lives he saves when this bill becomes law. Let's pass the Brandon Act for Brandon, Teri, and Patrick Caserta, and for every servicemember who wants mental health help but can't get it. We owe it to them.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate the service of an American patriot and decorated Marine, Sergeant Major Ralph Sargent. Sargent took part in some of the most intense fighting of the Vietnam War, including the Battle of Khe Sanh, when the hilltop outpost of 6,000 Marines was surrounded by 34,000 North Vietnamese troops. Despite heavy artillery bombardment and the constant threat of being overrun, the Marines, of course, held their ground. Later while on patrol, his company got into an extended firefight that would claim the lives of 35 Marines, but it would have been far worse if not for Sergeant Major Sargent's actions that earned him the Bronze Star with a ``Combat V'' for extraordinary heroism, in addition to his Navy Commendation Medal. But one of the greatest stories of his service was when he saved the life of another Marine decades after Vietnam. That Marine is his grandson, whom I was privileged to serve with in Iraq. The salty Marine sergeant major recognized what was wrong with his grandson when this great Marine returned from the war and, like so many of us, had trouble finding meaning in life back home. So one day the sergeant major asked his grandson to drive him to the VA for an appointment, but when they arrived, he told his grandson that the appointment was actually for him. His grandson, my friend, followed the sergeant major's orders and started going regularly to the VA. I'm not sure he would be alive today if he hadn't. And months later, after Sergeant Major Sargent saw what a difference the VA had made in his grandson's life, he decided, for the first time, to go himself. Madam Speaker, Sergeant Major Sargent lived a life of service. Many Marines made it through Vietnam thanks to their sergeant major, and one of my great Marine friends is alive today because of his grandfather. What an American hero.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, we are here today to fundamentally do our jobs. That is something that we ask of our troops every single day across the world on the front lines in places like Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and throughout Africa. There is bipartisan concern, bipartisan recognition that Iran has ill will towards the United States, that Iran is an enemy of the United States, that Iran wants nothing more than to see our country and our democracy die. The most solemn responsibility that we have in ensuring that that doesn't happen is upholding the fundamental principles of our country and of our democracy, of showing that we have the courage here in Congress to uphold that oath, that same oath that we ask our troops to uphold in far more difficult circumstances every single day. Iran is threatened by us because of the values that we represent and the power that those values carry in the world. It is when we abandon those values, when we undermine those principles, when we forget that oath to our Constitution that our enemies start to win. I have fought Iranians on the ground in Iraq. I have seen Iranians kill Americans. I remember how much more accurate the Iranian mortars were than the Iraqi ones we were used to facing. I get this, but I also never forget that oath that we took, and this resolution, passing this resolution is about upholding that oath to our Constitution.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, 2 years ago, I was standing at a rally where the father of a gunshot victim, a father who lost his son to gun violence, spoke of all the things that he and others are doing to stop this senseless scourge, things that they are already doing. But then he turned to the crowd, and he said, ``But what is Congress doing?'' And tens of thousands of people, as if they had rehearsed it a hundred times, all said, together, ``Nothing.'' ``But what is Congress doing?'' ``Nothing.'' Madam Speaker, for too long, Congress has done nothing. We have passed bills here in the House that take the right steps, but this alone is not enough. The Senate needs to do their job, and we need to make them law. Thoughts and prayers won't cut it, only action saves lives.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. When I led marines in Iraq, they asked me a lot of questions. Some were simple, like: How do I send a letter home to my parents? Some were more difficult, like: What kind of rocket do I need to use against this building? But the single hardest question I got was: Sir, why are we here? It came from marines of all backgrounds, all political stripes. And it was rooted in the fact that we got to Iraq care of a President who used false intelligence and a Congress that failed to do its job. Too many Americans died in Iraq because we did not fulfill our constitutional responsibility. Now, nothing in this amendment takes away the Commander in Chief's ability to defend ourselves; in fact, it cites the War Powers Resolution. But it does make it very clear that Congress has not authorized the President to go to war with Iran. That is a message that we need to send today.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, the system of checks and balances is broken. Last week's airstrike proves it. After the strike, the administration produced a vague document that attempts justifying America's push to the brink of war. Mr. Speaker, I fought in a war started by a President with false and trumped-up intelligence. We cannot let this President do the same. Americans deserve to read the declassified report so they can judge for themselves whether the strike was worth the risk. They will find an administration shooting from the hip with no strategy to deal with Iran. It is time for Congress to lead and exercise the authority the Founders gave us in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. It is time to tell the President he cannot send our troops to war with Iran without a strategy and without the consent of their representatives.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Pete Frates. I am reminded of something my minister at Harvard, Peter Gomes, used to say often: ``The radical news of the Gospel is not that heaven is a destination of the faithful. The radical news is that God wants us to flourish in our present lives, our earthly existence, and to do so more in the future than in the past.'' Mr. Speaker, Pete Frates flourished, and even in his darkest days, he looked to the future. He was the epitome of strength, leadership, and courage, both as an athlete and as an advocate. I have met a lot of inspiring people in this job, but none more so than Pete. Because of Pete, we will cure ALS. Mr. Speaker, to Julie, Lucy, John, Nancy, Jennifer, and Andrew, thank you for sharing him with us.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, due to personal reasons, I was not able to vote on Thursday, November 21, 2019. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 637; YEA on Roll Call No. 638; YEA on Roll Call No. 639; YEA on Roll Call No. 640; YEA on Roll Call No. 641; YEA on Roll Call No. 642; YEA on Roll Call No. 643; and YEA on Roll Call No. 644.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained from the floor on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 and missed three votes. Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 587, YEA on Roll Call No. 588, and YEA on Roll Call No. 589.

Mr. MOULTON

Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained from the floor on Monday, November 18, 2019 and missed three votes. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 625, YEA on Roll Call No. 626, and YEA on Roll Call No. 627.