Richard Neal

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I spoke with a group of working mothers. One told me that she fears we are at risk of losing a generation of working parents. Others emphasized how terrifying their situations are and how they lacked choices that will allow them to continue their careers and protect their children. Parents all across the country have been doing the hard work of holding their families together while the White House ignores the plight and exacerbates the public health crisis. We owe it to these parents to show that we in Congress hear them and that we are going to do something about it. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, in the spirit of bipartisanship, the Record should note that the second to the gentleman's request came from the Democratic side. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis), chairman of the Worker and Family Support Subcommittee, and original cosponsor of this legislation.

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez), who is an original cosponsor of this legislation.

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans).

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), another esteemed member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), our friend, who asked me on the floor last week, will the committee be paying a tribute to John Lewis.

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I have asked the members of the Ways and Means family to assemble on the floor tonight so that we might offer appropriate praise to the life of one of the iconic figures of not just the civil rights movement, but of the Ways and Means Committee. I sat next to John Lewis for 25 years on the Ways and Means Committee, and I must tell you, Madam Speaker, he was the bravest and most gentle person I ever met. He nearly lost his life in pursuit of justice and confronted some of the darkest facets of our society at the Edmund Pettus Bridge as a very young man, but he never lost faith in what America could become. During those many conversations--and he offered a tutorial to me about the life and the legend that he had offered to America--his unyielding optimism and hope lifted the spirits of his fellow Members of Congress and the American people in our Nation's most trying moments. With quiet strength, grace, and love, he shouldered unthinkable burdens and changed this world for the better. Through it all, he was unfailingly humble, selfless, and kind. I must say--and I was commenting a moment ago to some colleagues on the committee--if he was in the room, Madam Speaker, you would have to get him to come to the microphone. That was that reluctance that he had. And we all had known about the great achievements that he had offered to this Nation, but it was never, ``Let me get to the microphone.'' It was always a much more humble arrangement. He came to my constituency in 2015. He was invited by the Sisters of St. Joseph, who staffed a small Catholic college in Chicopee, Massachusetts. They invited him to commemorate the fact that on Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge they were the only ones, with members of the Edmundite priesthood, who would care for them when others closed their doors. When John greeted Sister Maxyne Schneider upon introduction for the commencement address, the two of them broke out in tears, and 5,000 people in the Springfield Civic Center broke out in tears with them. He remembered that moment, and they remembered him--another great story in the legacy of John Lewis. It is rare that a person has an opportunity in this institution to work alongside a real hero. We had that here, and we sometimes forget that in the din of incendiary debate. But for three decades, I, along with other members of the Ways and Means Committee, had that honor. To be in his presence, his wisdom, and his joyful spirit day in and day out was a blessing beyond words. John served in this Congress until his last day, in part because his work was not done. Despite all the advancements he achieved, glaring inequities remain in our Nation that demand reform. But lucky for us, John Lewis inspired generations of young people to follow in his steps, to stand up to injustice, and to fight for what is right. Now he can clearly rest, and our prayers are with him as we carry on his vital and unfinished business. It is up to all of us to pick up where John left off and to be part of his legacy in action. For those of us who will join his funeral service tomorrow in Atlanta, what a great journey this has been to have served with him in this Congress. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis), a very close friend of John Lewis.

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlemen from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brendan F. Boyle).

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments. Madam Speaker, the Nation had a chance tonight to hear about the affection and regard that we held for a very important member of the Ways and Means family, John Lewis. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Kelly for yielding me the time. He did urge at a moment last week: I hope that we will be able to do a bipartisan tribute to John. I said we planned one, and we want to make sure both sides are involved. I just want to close on this note, as we travel to Atlanta tomorrow to say good-bye to John. At a Committee on Ways and Means Democratic retreat in New York about 2 years ago, with a very distinguished alumnus of the Democratic Party as well, Charlie Rangel came over to the dinner. John, myself, and former Chairman Rangel, we were sitting and just talking at the end of the night. After the conversation, when John got up and left, Charlie Rangel said to me: You know, Rich, there were many of us who did the right thing along the way. Many of us participated fully in the civil rights movement. But John Lewis would have died for the cause. Pretty remarkable: John Lewis would have died for the cause. Tonight, Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Members of the House, both political parties, and the Ways and Means family for a nice tribute to our friend, John Lewis.