Burgess Owens

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, on December 2, 1982, the medical team from the University of Utah successfully implanted the first permanent artificial heart in the world. Forty years later, Utah remains a trailblazer in healthcare innovation. Over the past 2 years, I had the pleasure of visiting many Utah businesses at the forefront of the healthcare industry. Ortho Development Corporation, Xenter, Canyon Labs, and Ultradent are among the leading biotech firms that call Utah home. BioHive, a collaboration of 1,100 companies representing Utah's life science and healthcare innovative ecosystem is the driving force behind the Beehive State's success. Additionally, the bioscience industry in Utah supports 130,000 local jobs, accounts for 8 percent of GDP, and produces hundreds of patents for lifesaving medical devices. Behind these extraordinary accomplishments are the pioneering spirit, grit, and kindness of Utahns. I am proud to represent my State and know that we will continue to lead the Nation.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Madam Speaker, on December 2, 1982, the medical team from the University of Utah successfully implanted the first permanent artificial heart in the world. Forty years later, Utah remains a trailblazer in healthcare innovation. Over the past two years, I had the pleasure of visiting many Utah businesses at the forefront of the healthcare industry. I would like to highlight the impressive work a few of our homegrown companies are accomplishing in the healthcare space. The team at Ortho Development Corporation works to restore mobility by perfecting the design, manufacturing, and distribution of surgical instruments used for total knee and hip replacements. Xenter specializes in developing new wireless medical device technologies and digital health tools to address the latest challenges in medicine while helping Utahns manage their health information. Canyon Labs is an accredited laboratory providing testing, scientific and technical consulting, and clinical research services for medical devices, pharmaceuticals, over the counter drugs, and biologics. Ultradent is a global dental manufacturing company improving oral health throughout the world and ranked No. 9 best workplace by Fortune magazine. My state's pro-innovation regulatory environment, advanced medical infrastructure, and highly skilled workforce work in tandem to cement Utah's invaluable role in the life sciences community. Biohive, a collaboration of more than 1,100 companies representing Utah's life science and healthcare innovation ecosystem, is the driving force behind the beehive state's success. The collective effort of local government, the private sector, and other stakeholders facilitated by the Biohive initiative has delivered remarkable results. Utah is ranked No. 6 in the Nation for medical device development, and No. 5 for diagnostics development. Utah also serves as the epicenter for lifesaving catheter technologies and is a rising force in bio-pharma. Additionally, the Bioscience industry in Utah supports 130,000 local jobs, accounts for 8 percent of GDP, and produces hundreds of patents for lifesaving medical devices. Behind these extraordinary accomplishments are the pioneering spirit, grit, and kindness of Utahns. I am proud to represent the beautiful state of Utah, and I hope Utah's success story serves as the blueprint for other states to emulate.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, summer is the hungriest time of year for over 11 million children currently facing food insecurity. That is 11 million children who rely on school meals as their only meal of the day. The Federal waivers that provide free or reduced-price meals-- especially during the prolonged school closures--are set to expire at the end of the month, leaving far too many students without a reliable food source. Local schools are facing an uphill battle: Four-decade high inflation, skyrocketing costs of food, and supply chain disruptions have made for unique challenges in my district and across the country. The Keep Kids Fed Act will transition schools--and the families served--back to paid school meal programs without increasing costs to taxpayers. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a cosponsor to the Keep Kids Fed Act, and I urge Congress to do its part and pass this important legislation.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 7910. The violence that occurred in Uvalde, Texas, was horrific. As we consider the pain these families are experiencing, we can do more now. Let us focus today like a laser beam on protecting our precious children. My friends on the other side of the aisle want us to vote on a hasty, partisan, and overreaching package of bills they developed in the middle of the night without any Republican input. The legislation we are considering today is clearly designed to strip law-abiding Americans of their constitutional rights. In a town hall meeting last summer, President Biden himself said he would like to ban the sale of handguns and rifles, full stop. It is no wonder law-abiding Americans see this legislation as central Federal overreach. History has taught us some great lessons. One is that, ``Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.'' I grew up in the Deep South where, for a time, Black Americans were unable to defend themselves. After the Civil War, Democrat Black Codes and Jim Crow laws prohibited people of color from owning firearms. Most people have heard the phrase, ``40 acres and a mule,'' the order issued in 1865 that allowed 40,000 former slaves to live on hundreds of thousands of acres. After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the Democrat President, Andrew Johnson, a Confederate sympathizer, confiscated this land, displacing thousands of Black Americans and families. This is an example of why the right to bear arms is necessary to safeguard and protect our life, liberty, and property. The Democrats' proposals are unhelpful in protecting our kids and go against all common sense. They ignore real solutions that will keep our children safe and help prevent future acts of senseless violence. Most importantly, they are not proposing anything that protects our children now. We don't need to spend another 2 years fighting over solutions. We have solutions available immediately. The Securing Our Students Act, my legislation, would empower local school districts to immediately receive unspent funds from the American Rescue Plan and implement security measures in their schools now. Of the $122 billion appropriated to the America's K-12 schools in last year's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, roughly 93 percent remains unspent. I invite my colleagues to join me in demanding these hundreds of billions of dollars be immediately used to help local schools determine and implement the safety measures that best fit their communities. We can harden our schools and protect our children at school now. We can never bring back those precious children we lost, but we can, and we must, work together to prevent future tragedies. This is a solution that will harness the full weight of American innovation and technology and keep our schools safe now to ensure that no child, educator, or family has to say goodbye to a loved one because of any kind of violence.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor National Guard members in Utah and across our Nation. Since 1636 members of the National Guard have proudly served our communities and our entire Nation. Today and every day, we are incredibly thankful for their commitment to serving others and keeping us safe. These past 2 years have been especially challenging for the airmen and soldiers of the National Guard who have stepped up when the Nation called and provided much- needed support for our communities. From Logan to St. George, they have provided direct hospital support during the height of COVID-19, helped fight wildfires across the American West, and provided a calm and collected response to recent episodes of civil unrest. They have performed under some of the most serious and difficult conditions in recent memory while also balancing their responsibilities as parents, spouses, employees, and even businessowners. I have had the privilege of meeting many of these fine men and women. From the officers and NCOs of the 19th Special Forces Group to privates assigned to the 65th Field Artillery Brigade, I have been impressed by their selfless service and commitment to duty. Utah is truly blessed to serve as the proud home of Camp Williams and over 7,000 of these remarkable airmen and soldiers. These brave men and women are always ready and always there. Utah has a one-of-a-kind spirit of service, and the members of our National Guard are no exception. Each and every day they faithfully live out their mission to provide military forces to assist our State and Federal authorities at times of emergency. They stand ready to protect Utahns and Americans from enemies both foreign and domestic and to react quickly in the face of natural disasters or emergencies. I am grateful to them for keeping Utahns and Americans safe.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to raise safety concerns that remain unaddressed in H.R. 3617, the Marijuana Reinvestment and Expungement Act--known as the MORE Act. I believe there are serious safety concerns to be addressed prior to this chamber advancing this legislation. According to recent data, the safety impacts of cannabis legalization for adult recreational use should not be ignored. A 2020 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study analyzed the impacts of legal adult recreational use of cannabis in Washington state. The AAA study concluded that the proportion of fatal-crash-involved drivers who were THC-positive approximately doubled from the level observed before the law went into effect. Moreover, a series of studies conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that crash rates increased in some of my neighboring states and others after they legalized marijuana. California, Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon, specifically, were the subjects of the IIHS evaluation. Marijuana use impacts the psycho-motor skills of the people who use it, often resulting in slowed responses. As seen by these earlier data, this impacts how we drive, overall safety on our roadways, and may have other safety impacts as we relax the laws around cannabis. I have serious safety concerns, and I would like to see these issues addressed more directly before I can consider supporting such legislation. To this end, I am developing my own legislation to look at this issue in workplaces to ensure safe, impairment free operations, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to see it enacted.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Before I get started, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx), who serves on the Education and Labor Committee. Free Speech at George Washington University

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Foxx again for her great leadership. Next, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan). Honoring the Life of Raymond G. ``Jerry'' Strawbridge

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Duncan for his comments. I appreciate that very much. Today I rise in honor of Black History Month and the everlasting resiliency of patriots in the Black community who have risen above circumstance to live the American Dream. As we get started, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney), my really good friend.

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman. I really appreciate it. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Donalds), my great friend.

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for his comments. Mr. Speaker, on that note, I would like to highlight something that I want those who are listening to be aware of. As you listen to those of the Republican Party, those who believe in these conservative values of love of God, country, family, that as we talk about our history, as we talk about things we are doing and have overcome and achieved, notice the sense of hope that we bring to the message. Notice the sense of unity. Yes, we look back on the past because we have a lot to learn from the past. But we look at the past in the way of what we have achieved and how far we have come, not where we are today. And I want Americans to think through the last couple of years. Are we tired of being afraid? Are we tired of being angry? Are we tired of fear? Listen to the messages of our great history and you will see that this country is a country of second chances. This country is a place where you come here no matter what language you speak, how poor you are, you have the opportunity to live your own American Dream. It was the Marxist, Karl Marx, who said it very simply. ``The first battlefield is to rewrite history.'' Why would the Marxists--why would the hard left want to steal our history, change our history? Because within our great American history we have pride in our past, appreciation for our present, and a vision for our future. We are American people and it is within our DNA that we are hopeful. And only through the nuances of changing history which, by the way, has been done since the 1940s by the Progressive, ``father of the public school system,'' John Dewey, that this change has been happening. We have talked about the success of Tulsa, a remarkable success. Just a few decades after the Civil War ended, you have this environment of success where people could live the American Dream, a little town where 600 businesses were established with over 50 millionaires, and six of them had their own private planes. It was started back in the early 1900s. In 1921, that little community was destroyed within 12 hours, not by the American people, but by Southern Democratic KKK members. That is the nuance. We have been fighting against evil for a long time, and we will continue to. But let's just make sure that we, the American people, know who the fight is against. It is not against those of us who believe in God, country, and family, a free market, the belief in looking at each other from the inside out versus the outside in. We are friends, no matter what side of the aisle we sit on, those of us who believe in our American way, those of us who see our future as coming closer together, not dividing us. We are on the same team, my friends. Let's remember that. I am going to read the introduction that I have from one of the books I wrote earlier: For those who grew up in the Deep South, in the days of the KKK and Jim Crow segregation, pride in community was not founded on the embellishment of opportunities lost due to racism. Instead, it was built on the highlighting of the great accomplishments achieved, in spite of the obstacles. The can-do outlook that prevailed in the past generations cleared the pathway to prosperity and celebrated creative, courageous, and self- respecting community determined not to be held back. That community succeeded in their quest. That community was my dad's generation and the ones before that who believed in this great country, who went to war to fight for this great country. I am going to talk about a couple of my heroes. I have had a chance, thank goodness, growing up in the Deep South in the days of KKK, Jim Crow, and segregation, in Tallahassee, Florida, to be raised by a community who was proud of who they were, a community whose parents and teachers collaborated, talked, and respected each other, because the goal at the end of the day was their children would go out and give their community a good name, give their family a good name, and represent the race that could achieve anything by overcoming obstacles. My hero is not an NFL player, a basketball player, or some person on TV, who I had no idea who they were, what their character was. My hero was someone who I saw the mistakes that he made. He was not a perfect person, but he was a great father. That is my dad, Clarence Burgess Owens, Sr. Dad represented that generation very, very well. By the way, for those who don't know, which I am sure most don't because of the history that has been changed, my race has never been a race of hopeless, hapless people waiting for White people to show up and give us freedom. We got freedom through the fight in which we participated in, the Civil War. There was no race that appreciated that freedom more than my race. For generations from that point on, we have had within our DNA a desire for freedom, the conservative values of home, family, free market, and faith. I grew up in a home that taught that. It was a good experience. My dad was raised by parents who did not finish high school. Well, my grandmother did finish high school when she was 50 years old. My grandfather dropped out when he was in the third grade. They were businessowners. But let me tell you how it works out in America, because every generation looks to help the next generation stand on their shoulders. In my community, that was the goal. In my family, that is exactly what happened. From those humble beginnings, those parents of four children that did not have an education, a formal education, that next generation were kids that had nothing but good education. My dad got his Ph.D. at Ohio State in agronomy. My uncle got his Ph.D. in economics at Ohio State in 1950 to 1951, the days of the KKK, Jim Crow, and segregation. I had an uncle who was an engineer. He was part time and decided he wanted to fly planes. In the early 1960s, this was something that no one ever did, and that is he purchased his own private plane, a single prop. He would take mail from Wichita Falls, Texas, to Chicago. Who did that in 1960-61? Well, as a 12-year-old, I had a chance to experience and understand the opportunity to dream past my limitations or perceived limitations. One time, he flew out to Tallahassee, where I had a chance to fly, for the first time, in this private plane. I learned something through that process. That is what that generation did. They wanted to make sure that every generation was getting more educated, more critical thinking skills. We went up. For those who don't understand what a stall is, it is important to know what a stall is before you stall. He took us up and stalled the airplane. He saw that I was panicking. He grabbed the control and explained airplane lift. To this day, I can explain to you exactly what airplane lift looks like and how it feels. That was a generation that overcame. Now, my dad grew up in Texas and went to war. He was in the Philippines, and this is in Japan, where he finished up. Again, he received some documentation because he ended up coming back from war to Texas. In those days, in Texas, because of Jim Crow laws, he could not get his postgraduate degree. I ran across a box of letters after dad passed away, something he never talked about, a box of rejection letters from colleges across our country, particularly the Northeast, that had rejected his application to get his postgraduate degree. I knew it was because of race. I could see it in the applications, in the amount of letters I saw in this particular box. What is interesting about that generation, about dad, is he never complained about it. He never pulled it out. He never said: ``Well, this is what they did to me.'' That was a generation that took rejection and took obstacles as motivation. That was a generation that said: If you don't believe me, sit back and watch. I am going to run harder, study harder, work harder. I will prove that I will command your respect because I do believe in meritocracy--which they did. He continued that process and got into Ohio State. Five years after graduating from Ohio State with his Ph.D., we were living in Liberia, Africa. He was doing research there. Dad went on to teach for 40 years at Florida A&M. He was a researcher. He was a farmer for 35 of those years. He was a remarkable mentor, and he believed that our race, if given the opportunity of education, could achieve and move forward. Because he understood his past, because he was taught at that time the greatness of people like Booker T. Washington and the many people I am going to talk about in the next few minutes, he appreciated the progress that he had made and his family had made at that point, and he saw such a great future for those that were coming behind him. I have a granddad who was a third grade dropout, a dad who was a college professor, and his son, who now stands before you in Congress. This country, there is nothing like it. It is time for us to understand: If you want a second chance, if you want to dream big, if you want to overcome, this is the place. And guess what? You will have help from every corner of this United States. Every culture, every religion, every color, it does not matter. Because in this country, we teach ourselves to look at each other from the inside out, not the outside in. I refuse, as long as I stand in Congress, to allow the left to demean my race's past. I refuse to allow the left to narrate that my race was one that was hopeless, hapless, could not achieve, and sit back and look at nothing but the negative that happened. By the way, negative happens to every race, every culture, every person. It is life. It is what you do with it that makes us Americans. Americans never give up on our dream. We believe in something called meritocracy. We do not believe we should give this power over to any government power. We believe we should live our lives and move forward. If you think about the person who would appreciate, more than anyone else in this room, a full glass of water, that person would be the one who has not had a drop in days. That first drop would be like heaven. That was the Black community when freedom was given to us, a race that for generations never thought freedom was a possibility, a race that sent their sons to war, that volunteered because they understood the power of freedom. They understood the power of having their faith, that they could worship without someone beating them up or hanging them, one that believed in family because there was no guarantee in those days that a family would ever stay united. They believed in an idea called ownership of property, free market, to be creative, to get paid for your own work, your own effort, your own risk, and the benefit of education. There was no race in our country that understood and believed and appreciated this more than mine did. There is a reason why, in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, it was the Black community that led our country in the growth of the middle class. Many graduated from college. Many committed to marriage. Many became entrepreneurs. There is a reason why, growing up in Tallahassee, I could look around in that community, not seeing a Black America, not associating with White America until I was 16 years old, and seeing nothing but business ownership everywhere, whether it be Baker's Pharmacy, Perkins Service Station, Speed's Grocery Store, FAMU Hospital with Black nurses and Black doctors. There were engineers, lawyers, and teachers. And the message was very simple: You live in America, young man. You can achieve anything you want to if you commit to those tenets that make our country great: faith, family, the free market, and education. We have had our representation of brave warriors throughout history, as we do today, frontline warriors who serve in the military, that go out every single day, that thin blue line to protect us from evil. Why is their contribution so important? They believe in something very simple, and it is something from Booker T. Washington: You do not have to beg or ask for respect when you can command respect. You do not have to beg or demand somebody else's property in a free country when you can earn it yourself. How do we do that? Through meritocracy. How do we do that? By showing courage when others might feel fear. Ask the all-Black Army, the 54th Army Regiment from Massachusetts, during the Civil War, Freedmen who volunteered to go south to fight a battle to free fellow members of their race. Or ask the 1869 Buffalo Soldiers or the World War II unit that went to Germany called the Black Rattlers, who the German called the Hellfighters, because they had so much respect for the way they fought and what they did. My race has stood on the shoulders of the great men and women I am going to talk about the next few minutes. One of the greatest, I realized, after my dad had passed and after I did my homework, that that entire generation listened to and built their lives around was Booker T. Washington. He was a former slave who started Tuskegee University in 1881. By 1905, it was creating more self-made millionaires than Harvard, Yale, and Princeton combined. Why? Because he was teaching those young people coming through not just to master one trade but two. Yes, work harder than the next guy. Yes, don't complain about the work. Don't complain about what is asked of you. Don't do what is being taught to our kids today where kids say: Well, I have to work harder than the other guy because of my color. No, you have to work harder than the other guy because that is what America is about. You outrun, you outwork, you out-study. You find your greatest potential by what you put into your efforts. You don't lower your standards because somebody else has lowered theirs. We don't do that. That is not America. Black History Month is dedicated to the heroes who rose above slavery, segregation, and racism to champion life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for future generations. Because of their courage, Black Americans have made enormous strides to shape the soul of our Nation. From a childhood in the segregated South to serving in Congress, I am inspired by the tenacity of giants like Charles R. Drew, Robert Smalls, J. Mayo Williams, Bessie Coleman, Dr. Mildred Jefferson, Elizabeth Freeman, Sergeant William Carney, and so many others who fought for the founding ideals of liberty and equality. I would like to share with you a few of my heroes who have had a tremendous impact on my life and the lives of countless, countless Americans. These, by the way, are Americans who were proud to be Americans. These are Americans proud of their race. These are Americans who saw their kids living a much better dream, and the last thing they would do is tell them to stop dreaming. The last thing they would do is tell them the obstacles are too great for them. The last thing they would do is say these White people are going to keep you from achieving your dreams. No, we were taught it didn't matter who it was or what it was, that we had within us the ability to overcome all obstacles. Dr. Charles R. Drew was born in 1904 here in D.C., breaking the barriers throughout his life of a racially divided America to become the most influential scientist of the 20th century. It was during his research into banked blood at Columbia University that his ultimate destiny in serving mankind was shaped. As World War II created an important need for procedures to preserve blood, and injuries seen by physicians became more severe, the need for blood plasma intensified. As he was the leading authority in the field, Dr. Charles Drew was selected as a full-time medical director of the Blood for Britain project, where he supervised the successful collection of thousands of pints of vital plasma for the British, saving countless lives. In February 1941, Drew was appointed the director of the first American Red Cross Blood Bank and was put in charge of blood for the use of the U.S. Army and Navy. Dr. Drew returned to Freedmen's Hospital and Howard University, where he served as a surgeon and professor of medicine from 1942 until he passed away in 1950. Robert Smalls was born into slavery in Beaumont, South Carolina, and gained his freedom daringly and courageously. He commandeered a Confederate cargo ship and sailed the vessel into Union waters before being captured, freeing himself, his crew, and their families. His action that day helped persuade Lincoln to accept Black soldiers in the Union Army. He went on to serve in the Union's Navy and was eventually elected to Congress. Elijah Abel was one of the early leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a popular missionary who, as a Black man, lived the restored gospel that was intended for Black and White, bond and free. Born in Texas in 1892, Bessie Coleman, also known as Queen Bess or Brave Bessie, was the first Black female pilot. Her mother, Susan, was a maid; her father, George, was a sharecropper of Native American and African-American descent. Bessie grew up helping her mother pick cotton and wash laundry to earn extra money. By the time she was 18, she had saved money to attend the Colored Agricultural and Normal University, now Langston University, in Langston, Oklahoma. She dropped out of college after only one semester because she could not afford to attend. Bessie's brothers, who both served in the military in World War I, came home with stories of their time in France, often teasing her that French women could learn how to fly airplanes, but Bessie couldn't. Because of this, she applied to many flight schools across the country, but no school would take her because she was a Black woman. With no opportunities in America, Bessie saved and saved, and finally obtained scholarships to travel to France to flight school. She even had to take a French class at night to complete her flight school application. After finishing flight school, she toured the country, giving speeches, showing videos of her air tricks to earn money, refusing to speak anywhere that was segregated or that discriminated against Black Americans. In 1922, she performed the first public flight by an African-American woman. I want you to keep in mind these dates; these are the dates the other side of the aisle would like to tell you we were hopeless, hapless, and doing nothing. No, we were doing just like every other race in this country has, every other culture that has overcome obstacles. We had great vision, and we had great courage, and we succeeded big time. She became more popular both in the United States and Europe. She toured the country giving flight lessons, performing in-flight shows, and she encouraged women to learn how to fly, becoming famous in America and Europe as a star pilot. On April 30, 1926, Bessie passed away in a tragic plane crash. She remains an inspiration to untold millions around the world. Madam C. J. Walker was born in 1867 on a Delta, Louisiana, plantation, where her parents had been enslaved before the end of the Civil War. She and her sister grew cotton in Delta and Vicksburg, Mississippi, and survived by working in the fields. To escape abuse from her brother-in-law, she married Moses McWilliams at the age of 14. Following the death of her husband, she moved to St. Louis to join her four brothers, who had become barbers. With just $1.50 a day, she managed to save enough money to send her daughter to public school. As a talented entrepreneur with a skill for self-promotion, she often said, ``I got my start by giving myself a start.'' How about that one? ``I got my start by giving myself a start.'' She was the first self-made woman millionaire in America, earning her fortune through her business empire, a line of hair care products especially for Black women she created after experiencing hair loss. The self-made millionaire used her fortune to fund scholarships for women and donated large parts of her wealth to charity. Elizabeth Freeman, better known as Mum Bett, was born into slavery but became the first slave to be freed under the Massachusetts Constitution. Less than 1 year after the adoption of the Massachusetts State Constitution, she filed a lawsuit for freedom, marking the beginning of a group of freedom suits that would ultimately lead the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to outlaw slavery in their State. Despite not knowing how to read or write, she was clever enough, strategic enough, determined enough to secure her freedom. She sought out the help of a local lawyer after being inspired by the constitutional provision that all men were created free and equal. They won the case, implicitly ending slavery in the State of Massachusetts. After securing her freedom, she became a paid domestic worker and also made a living as a prominent healer, midwife, and nurse. After 20 years, she was able to buy her own house, where she lived with her children. She passed away December 28, 1829, at the age of 85. It is amazing, these remarkable men and women who figured out the American Dream could work for them if they never gave up on it. J. Mayo Williams was one of the first Black professional football players in the 1920s and went on to become one of the most successful record producers in the 1930s and 1940s. He was the only man to be inducted into both the National Football Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame. Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi in 1870 became the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate. As a member of the Republican Party, he challenged the social order and was an outspoken opponent against segregation, fighting for equality across racial lines. Sergeant William Carney was the first Black Medal of Honor recipient. He kept the American flag held high. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1840 to a family of enslaved people. His parents bought their freedom and moved to Massachusetts. He enlisted in March 1863, and his unit, the 54th, which included two sons of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, headed down to South Carolina. By the way, the South Carolina Confederate President had made note that any Black soldier caught would be instantly hung. This is what these men knew and understood, yet they marched south to fight for the freedom of their race and their country. Carney's unit headed down to South Carolina. Their first combat mission was leading the charge on Fort Wagner in Charleston. Carney saw his unit's flag bearer was shot and killed and ran to catch the American flag he was holding. Carney, too, was shot during the battle, but he held that flag high and crawled up the hill toward the fort. He planted the flag in the sand and kept holding on even after he was rescued. He was the first to receive the Medal of Honor. Let me tell you how acts like that of courage and knowing our history add up. As a seventh grader, I had the opportunity--I was chosen in my segregated high school, junior high school to raise the flag in the morning and to bring it down in the afternoon--an honor. I remember walking to school every morning, early in the morning, and my friend, Spencer Williams, and I, we understood the nature of that flag, what it meant. My dad had come back from war, and how he felt about the flag, we were sure never to let that flag touch the ground. That reverence for our flag allowed me to feel proud as an NFL player to hear the national anthem, to see that flag flying on the sideline, getting teary-eyed. I was living my dream in a country that allowed for the American Dream to be alive and well. To see how far we had come in the 1970s, from my upbringing in the 1960s, to see my teammates of all colors, backgrounds, and creeds, that we could care less about our background, color, or creed. We cared about the fact that we wanted to win. We looked inside for those who had the character, tenacity, discipline, courage to play hard so we could win. That is America. That is what we do. Dr. Mildred Jefferson was the first Black woman to graduate from Harvard. She dedicated her life to protecting life at all stages. In 1951, Mildred became the first Black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School. By the way, she was a pro-life advocate, just like my parents' generation was across the board. We believe in our children, believe in our history and their future, and believe they are a gift from God. My race would not stand for what has happened today as we watch my race being targeted for abortion. She also was the first woman employed as a general surgeon at the Boston University Medical Center. Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa and sold into slavery at the age of 7. Despite being enslaved, she learned to read and write. Her Massachusetts owners saw talent in her poetry skills and encouraged her. Phillis was brought by her owners to London, seeking to publish her work. She quickly rose to prominence when she published her book, ``Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.'' She became a talented poet. Her poems became popular and even drew the praise of George Washington and poet Jupiter Hammon. As I close this out, I can't say enough how proud I am to have been raised in the time I was raised, in the community I was raised in, in the race I was raised in, in a country that gave us all hope for a great future. Because we lived so close to Florida A&M and had all these college kids getting engaged with civil rights, at the age of 12, I had the opportunity and decided to join them for a demonstration in front of Florida's State Theater. I was the youngest, but I witnessed what it was for young men and women to be disciplined, to be articulate, to be dressed well, to represent our race because it wasn't just in front of Florida's State Theater that we were making an impact; it was those watching across our country. I want those who watch Martin Luther King's demonstrations again to notice something about that remarkable group of people. Notice the white shirts, the dark ties, the dress shoes. Notice the articulation of those who represented these great warriors, these leaders in freedom. Notice their discipline as they were attacked by dogs, fire hoses, people calling them names. Notice they did not retaliate. They did not go down and burn down buildings. They believed in the American people. They believed in this country, that they could command respect from around our country by being the best examples of what it was to be an American. They were Christians, and it was Martin Luther King's view that by fighting in the way Christians could fight, nonviolently, they could earn the hearts of Americans across the country, and that is exactly what they did. See, what Martin Luther King was doing in our Nation at that time was not just fighting against the Jim Crow laws that we talk about all the time, the evil that we saw in the south perpetrated on Black Americans by Democrats, by the way, at that time. It was more than just Jim Crow that we were fighting against. It was a narrative that Black Americans couldn't think, we weren't leaders, we weren't intelligent, we were unkempt, we were undisciplined, we were cowards. That was the narrative that we fought against. That was the narrative that I faced when I left Tallahassee, Florida, with the goal of being a marine biology major and hearing through the grapevine from someone, a White person who had gone to Florida State, that I couldn't do it because Blacks could not think in those days. That was the thought. Unlike today--I didn't say I'm going to give up, I am going to quit, I am going to sue. I was taught that when somebody tells you you can't, you prove them wrong. I spent the next 4 years at the University of Miami living in a library when I wasn't playing football. I wanted to prove that guy wrong. That was the generation I was raised by, thank goodness. That guy probably never knew probably that I succeeded, but I knew. My parents knew. And now I can tell you the story that that is the way our race was. We have to fight this soft bigotry of low expectations, my friends. It is the worst of all evils. For people to wrap their arms around us, tell us how much they love us, and then tell us we can't. To wake up to news reports that we have an administration that, for the sake of equity, is going to give Black people access to crack pipes. That is equity? We now have the opportunity to get free crack pipes. Equity is not lowering the standards. Equity, equality is raising the standards so high and telling every single child that can hear your voice that you can do it. That is equality. That is meritocracy. That is how we get respect. You don't beg for respect. You command respect. In closing, I often say that Black American history is so rich because of the heroes who came before us. These proud Black Americans broke countless barriers and have been lifelong inspirations for untold millions right here in America but also around the world. Black History Month is an important celebration and recognition of American history, and I am humbled to stand on the shoulders of the great men and women who came before me. I encourage all of you to read up on the true history of our Nation. The true history of our Nation is that we the people have done it. We the people with our good hearts established the Underground Railroad. I would not be here without their courage, their sacrifice, their vision. I am so thankful to have been taught to love our great Nation, to love the people before us, that are with us, and those in the future that we will fight for. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Madam Speaker, the so-called America COMPETES Act is not a genuine attempt to hold Communist China accountable for its aggressions toward American security and prosperity. If you ask the Democrats, they will say this bill takes strong action to combat the Chinese Government. But in reality, this bill includes zero measures to hold Communist China accountable for the cover-up of COVID-19, human trafficking, torture, forced sterilization, or slave labor. Yes, slavery is alive and well today in Communist China. This bill provides no resources to enforce our sanction laws or increase our military strength. It omits provisions on export controls, security assistance, to our allies, and it fails to curtail Communist China's military modernization and weapons development. If there was ever a bipartisan issue, this should be it. This $325 billion, 3,000-page do-nothing bill developed behind closed doors fails in multiple ways to protect America's interests. I call upon my colleagues to support meaningful legislation that will achieve enforceable laws and show real results. This should be called the America concedes act; no question; another spend and waste of taxpayer money.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend from Louisiana for his great leadership. Madam Speaker, over the past year, I spent time throughout Utah's Fourth District. I have heard from Utahns from all walks of life, and month after month, they have shared the same concerns: soaring inflation, skyrocketing prices, and decreasing wages. That is no surprise because gas is up 49.6 percent. Used cars are up 37.3 percent. Gas utilities are up 24.1 percent. Meat, fish, and eggs are up 12.5 percent. Electricity is up 6.3 percent. On top of this, as real wages have decreased 8 out of the last 11 months, our economy is still missing millions of prepandemic jobs, and employers are continuing to struggle with persistent labor shortages. What is this administration doing to help? You can't make this up: dismissing inflation as high-class problems and transitory; adding to the national debt with money we don't have on programs we don't need; and, just last week, advocating to nuke a filibuster the President defended for decades to push through a radical Federal takeover of all elections. Our economy should be thriving right now, but inaction, on purpose, by this administration has massively increased our national debt, which still sits at $29 trillion, by the way; stifled growth; and financially crippled American families and small businesses. We are closing out the first year of Biden's Presidency with the worst inflation of 40 years; open borders; emboldened adversaries; a botched withdrawal from Afghanistan; and a repeated push to increase the size, scope, and reach of the Federal Government. This year, I encourage President Biden to start paying attention to the real needs of real Americans. Maybe then we will start seeing real results.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2959, the Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act. This bill would allow school districts participating in the Impact Aid program to use previously reported student headcounts on their Impact Aid applications for the 2022-2023 school year. Impact Aid supplements funding for schools and students in areas that collect less in local property taxes due to the Federal Government's presence. School districts that receive Impact Aid payments include those with military bases, Indian reservations, and Federal low-income housing in or near the school district. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a big toll on school districts and communities across the country. It is especially difficult for federally impacted school districts to calculate headcounts due to fluctuations during the pandemic. Headcounts determine how much aid more than 1,000 federally impacted school districts receive. That aid helps pay for staff salaries, bussing, technology, and other educational supports and services for students. This bill ensures the Impact Aid recipients will not be affected negatively by the pandemic and temporary falling enrollment that have resulted. This frees up valuable time and resources to help students, while schools maintain a reliable source of funding as they address the academic, social, emotional, and safety needs of the students. This bill will have no impact on government spending because Impact Aid is a discretionary program, and its funding level is established through the annual appropriations process. The trade association for Impact Aid school districts, the National Association for Federally Impacted Schools, is strongly supportive of this bill. This bill is similar to the one signed into law by President Trump on December 4, 2020. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 2959, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. The Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act ensures that students and schools relying on Impact Aid will not be affected negatively by the pandemic. Specifically, the bill allows schools to use their previously reported headcounts so that services students rely on will continue. This frees up administrators to use their valuable time and resources addressing the educational needs of the students. Students in over 1,000 federally impacted districts deserve the resources they receive from the Impact Aid program. This aid helps pay for a wide range of services that students rely on from bussing and technology to educational support services. I encourage my colleagues to support S. 2959, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, late yesterday afternoon my Republican colleagues and I learned that Democrats were dropping H.R. 1 and H.R. 4 into what was supposed to be a NASA bill. The American people join me in wondering why Democrats must resort to procedural gimmicks to ram voting rights bills to the floor. The answer is simple: Democrats are out of touch with Americans, who repeatedly rejected the Biden administration's far-left agenda, including its latest attempt to destroy the power of States to run their own elections. Unfortunately, we are hearing the same message today that we have heard over and over again from the Democrats: That minority Americans are not smart enough, not educated enough, and incapable of following basic rules to vote in Federal elections. And I am personally offended by this narrative. Earlier this year, Senate Democrats held a hearing titled: ``Jim Crow 2021: The Latest Assault on the Right to Vote'' where they compared the recent voting laws in Georgia to the Jim Crow laws in the days of segregation. As I stated in that hearing, I grew up in the Deep South during the era of actual Jim Crow laws that suppressed voting. What does actual voter suppression look like? It looks like poll taxes, property tests, literacy tests, and violence and intimidation at the polls. It looks like the segregated schools I attended in Florida or the separate drinking fountains and restrooms that my race was forced to use. One section of the Georgia law that brought so much outrage from the left simply requires everyone applying for an absentee ballot to include evidence of a government-issued ID on their application. I can assure you, my friends, minorities are capable of getting a driver's license, passport, government check or any other number of acceptable IDs. Today's misnamed For the People Act won't fool Americans who have not forgotten how far we have come since 1965 and who hold sacred their constitutional right to vote. I ask my colleagues to join me in rejecting this latest attempt to remove power from the people and the States that best represent them.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. A couple months ago, as Claudia mentioned, my good friend from New York's 22nd District invited me for a tour of two of upstate New York's historic sites impacted by Harriet Tubman. Harriet has been one of my heroes since I was 12 years old in the seventh grade. This was my first visit to Peterboro. What a remarkable experience it was to see firsthand the property of my longtime hero, someone who once was the property of someone else. I encourage everyone who visits the northeast to make this stop as part of your trip. I thank my good friend for her invitation and for sharing this time as we discuss courageous Americans who understood the blessing of freedom. I rise today to honor of the extraordinary life and unmatched legacy of Harriet Tubman, one of the most notable abolitionists in American history. As many of you know, Harriet escaped the horrors of slavery and through her work during the abolitionary movement overcame unspeakable odds to secure the dreams of future generations. My great-great-grandfather Silas Burgess came to America shackled in the belly of a slave ship. He was sold on an auction block in Charleston, South Carolina, to the Burgess Plantation. In his youth, he escaped to west Texas along the southwestern route of the Underground Railroad. He later became a successful entrepreneur, starting the first Black church, the first Black elementary school in his town and purchased 102 acres of farmland that he paid off in 2 years. There are thousands upon thousands of untold stories of slavery to success all due to courageous conductors like Harriet Tubman. The true miracle of the Underground Railroad though is something that most of us miss. It was total trust in faith between conductors like Harriet and the facilitators of the Freedom Railroad. Whether it was south to north or south to west, as with my great-great grandfather, White, Christian Americans took the great risk of reprisal from the prevalent KKK in their community as they opened up their barns, cellars, and food pantries to create a safe and secret route to freedom for over 100,000 slaves prior to the Civil War. I have been inspired by the story of the American heart since I was 12 years old, growing up in my proud southern, segregated Black community. Born enslaved in Maryland in 1822, Harriet spent her childhood as a nursemaid, field hand, cook, and wood cutter. When Harriet was 12, it was reported that she refused to help an overseer punish another slave resulting in a severe injury when a 2- pound iron weight was thrown at her head. This caused her to suffer seizures and bouts of uncontrollable narcolepsy throughout her life. Harriet married John Tubman, a free Black man, in 1844. After rumors spread that Harriet was about to be sold, she fled to Philadelphia, then to Baltimore after returning to rescue her parents, sister, and two children. Over the next decade, Harriet led dozens of these trips rescuing more than 70 slaves along the Underground Railroad. As the railroad's most famous conductor, it has been said that she never lost a passenger. In 1858, Harriet bought a small farm in upstate New York where her family resided, later to be named the Harriet Tubman Home. During the Civil War, Harriet served Union forces as a scout, spy, nurse, cook, recruiter, and laundress. Under the command of Union Colonel James Montgomery, Harriet became the first woman to lead a major military operation in the United States when she and 150 African- American Union soldiers rescued about 700 slaves in the Combahee Ferry Raid. After the Civil War, Harriet opened her home to serve orphans and the elderly. She joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in their quest for women's suffrage. She believed in equal rights for everyone and lived a life of courage, serving others until around the age of 92. I often say that the Black American history is so rich because of the heroes who have come before us, heroes like Harriet Tubman, Gerrit Smith, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Lucretia Mott, and so many others who recognized injustice, strove to help their brothers and sisters, and dreamed of a world outside the chains of slavery. Each focused on building pockets of freedom that would soon spread throughout our country. It was a movement that has inspired untold millions around the world. Indeed, we all stand on the shoulders of these great people who came before us, but the Black community, particularly my proud race, holds our ancestors especially dear. They fought hate, overcame the horrors of slavery, and on their backs built a world in which we can own and build our homes and businesses, get an education, worship our faith, vote, run for office, and stand on the floor of the House of Representatives, honoring the legacy of one of the most notable abolitionists in American history. What a difference men and women pursuing their dreams in a free country can make. It is our responsibility to never forget or allow history to be erased as to what we the people have done together over our 240-year history. This as we continue to resolve to grow together as a more perfect Union. I have just a few thoughts I want to leave you with before I conclude. And that is a little bit of the highlights of the good hearts of our American people. It is our Nation's mission statement that ends with the idea that we can have not only second chances but as an imperfect Union that we can become more of a perfect Union. I start with my great-great grandfather Silas Burgess. To show what a more perfect Union looks like is the fact that he came to this country in the belly of a slave ship, lived through the evils of a plantation, and yet escaped by going west because of good Americans, German and Mexican Americans who opened up their homes and their barns and their fields to give him an opportunity to move forward and keep his hopes alive. And even though he saw the evils of being a slave, he saw the good hearts of these good Americans that led him to become a Christian, led him to be able to forgive, to build and serve instead of destroy. I see the form of a more perfect Union with my dad in the fifties who came back from World War II and could not get his postgraduate degree in Texas because of Jim Crow laws, was able to go to Ohio State because some White administrator, who I will never know who that was, said yes and gave my father an opportunity to get his Ph.D., and again, to help form a more perfect Union. I experienced this myself in the sixties when going to the University of Miami I was the fourth Black student to get a scholarship in the most southern school down south. At that time there was a commitment by the President, Henry Stanford, to end segregation and it allowed me to move forward based on my character versus the color of my skin. I saw a more perfect Union in the seventies when a Jewish owner of the Oakland Raiders, Al Davis, committed to ending the Jim Crow barriers of the NFL and put meritocracy above color, and we had the first Hispanic quarterback, the first Hispanic coach, the first Black coach, the first female CEO because meritocracy has no color. What we have seen in our country and we have to continue to remember is the power of we the people, the power of the team. We think about Harriet Tubman as a conductor, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King, all conductors. We have many conductors today throughout our country, and at the same time we have many more people who built our freedom highways and railroads. We the people roll up our sleeves and give hope to others. We need to rediscover our history, remember the havens of Peterboro, places where Americans across this country, regardless of skin color, came together to allow others to have an opportunity to see what freedom is all about. We can see those experiences in Booker T. Washington in Tuskegee in the early 1900s. We can see that experiments succeeded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the early 1900s of Black Wall Street. And we can see it today throughout our country. We see it here in this House. What we must remember is our past should give us hope for a much greater future, and we also must remember to sprint away from anyone who leaves us hopeless.

Mr. OWENS. Madam Speaker, if I can add to that, because I think the most important thing about our Nation is to remember our history, to really understand that we have within our hearts, because of our foundation, this desire to want others to succeed. We want to feel good that we have been part of something that makes a difference. And it is not just the 2000s, it is actually throughout our country's history. And to know what happened, again, from my great grandfather, throughout our history, again we can find those moments in which we have helped each other. We have all given some credence, something given back to this country, the more we know about that, the more we will feel better about who we are today and our vision for the future. So we have to make sure we keep that in mind, for sure.

Mr. OWENS. If I could just leave one message as my last final word to those who are watching. This country is a place that has thrived because people can envision themselves doing much, much better. And we do that when we, the people, get together and we really put our hearts and soul into making sure our next generation is a much better place than our time is, and we do that better than any other country. I am thankful for the opportunity to visit the home of my hero since I was 12 years old, and that was kind of exciting to hear that you were that close to the area and to have the invitation to come up and see it. So thank you so much for that.

Mr. OWENS. If I could add a little about Peterboro. This was, again, a new experience for me. And what that particular place represented for so many Americans, particularly Black Americans, was a place of hope. They knew that once they got to Peterboro, they were literally very close to Canada, which was their, really, freedom. That was it. They could then know they weren't going to be hiding and going through all the stealth and knowing they could be recaptured. So that hope is a big factor we talked about. And I hope that those that are listening to our conversation know that actually our country is built on that. What we have done so far today is talked about what our country is capable of because we have done it in the past. And the more hope we can give to our fellow Americans that this is a country, the best in the history of mankind, that we can serve each other, that we can build, not destroy, and that we can become a much better country because that is actually within our mission statement, to be a more perfect union. And we can do that, and that is what we have done, again, very successfully. I am just very excited to have this opportunity to spend this time with you. It was a great opportunity. I can't wait to get back. If I can say, for anyone who is listening, please check this place out. Harriet Tubman, as always, for many of us we know she is a hero, go to her place to see her property--a person that once was the property of someone else--her property and what she did and what she gave away to so many because she just loved the process of service. It was a great experience, and I can't wait to get back and check it out again.

Mr. OWENS. I would love to.

Mr. OWENS. Thank you so much. Exactly the same. We have a remarkable freshman team. I am so honored to be serving with you at this point. Let's keep this thing moving forward, for sure.

Mr. OWENS

Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the previous question so that we can immediately consider H.R. 6056, the Parents Bill of Rights Act. As a father of six children and a grandfather of 15, I know from experience that parents who are informed and engaged are always the best advocates for their own children. I also grew up in a home with teachers. My dad was a college professor for 40 years, and my mom was a junior high school teacher. Recent attempts to discredit the role of parents and to silence their genuine concerns should be very concerning to every American. There has never been a time more important than now to stand with and for America's parents. I have heard directly from Utah's moms and dads. They don't want Washington bureaucrats and career politicians dictating the decisions that determine the education, development, health, and well-being of their children. They want and deserve a say. Democrats' and the leftist teachers unions' efforts to nationalize education, mandate curriculum, and impose one-size-fits-all models from D.C., while ignoring the will of teachers, parents, and students, have been extremely harmful. This last year, we have seen the academic and emotional needs of young learners totally ignored. Keeping our children out of the classroom went against the science. It also went against good old- fashioned common sense. Here are some sobering facts. During the 2020 through 2021 school year, students fell behind an average of 5 months in math and 4 months in reading. Low-income and minority children fell an additional 1 to 2 months behind their White and wealthy peers. Even before the pandemic in 2017, the United States Department of Education found that 75 percent of Black boys in the State of California failed to pass standard reading and writing tests. In 2019, only 15 percent of Baltimore eighth grade students were proficient in reading, and about 10 percent were proficient in math. This is beyond politics and party lines. It is about the future of our great Nation. It is about the success of our children. There is an urgent need to raise the bar of education in our country. We cannot do this by pushing parents out of the driver's seat and ignoring academic needs for our students. Our Parents Bill of Rights will address both concerns.