Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Madam Chair, I rise today to offer this critical bipartisan amendment that will allow United States researchers to study and examine the extraordinary promise shown by several schedule I drugs that have been shown in treating critical diseases, such as MDMA's success in veteran PTSD, psilocybin's promise in treatment-resistant depression, or ibogaine's effectiveness in opioid and other drug addiction. Additionally, this will allow research into marijuana's impact in cancer relief, seizure treatment, and more. This amendment strikes a war-on-drugs provision that prohibits any activity ``promoting the legalization of any drug included in schedule I of the Controlled Substance Act.'' The problem with this provision is that it is so vague and broadly interpreted that it prevents scientists from researching, examining, and exploring avenues of treatment that could alleviate an enormous amount of suffering from medical conditions. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to gentleman from California (Mr. Correa).

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Madam Chair, my colleague across the aisle said we need to research this more, and I agree, and that is why this amendment is being introduced. The note was brought up that there is a rider provision saying that there is an exception for those drugs that have shown medical promise, but we cannot prove that medical promise unless we fund the research to actually have it in the first place. So we have a catch-22, and we have to get rid of it. There are war-on-drugs provisions in so many Federal statutes beyond just the one schedule, the one scheduling of these drugs. I am a strong believer in evidence-based policymaking, and wherever there is evidence of good, we have a moral obligation to pursue and explore the parameters of that good, even if it means challenging our past assumptions or admitting past wrongs. Thirty percent of all military veterans have considered suicide--30 percent. So if a substance shows promise in treating PTSD, we have an obligation to study it. One of the leading causes of death in America today is suicide. So if a schedule I drug shows clinical promise in treating and in treatment- resistant depression, perhaps it is not the drug we should say is morally wrong, but perhaps it is the law, the schedule, the statute. Moreover, I am proud to say that this is a bipartisan amendment. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle often bemoan the role of government and promote ideas of choice. Here, in that spirit, I am happy to agree, to say we should get government and political opinion out of scientific research that we have seen and has shown promise in any way that can help people and their medical needs. Lastly, I understand that the politics of this bill may make it difficult for some to support right now. But I propose this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it, because politics isn't always about winning today. It is about fighting for what is right in the future and for future generations. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, today is a profoundly important day. It is the day that we passed the American Dream and Promise Act. So many have fought for so long to reform America's immigration system, and I commend the activists and grassroots organizers who made this happen, the families and young people who shared their stories to press this moment into fruition. I also want to highlight the tactics that are used to ensure that we do not pursue immigration reform. Labeling communities as gang members, criminals, drug dealers, and bad parents, we have seen this playbook before. It was the playbook that was used to pass the 1994 crime bill, mass incarceration, the War on Drugs, to target a community, to make sure to dehumanize them into increased enforcement. We have to make sure that we recognize immigrants as among the greatest potential of innovation and profound sources of potential in our country.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on this bill. First, I would like us to clarify exactly some of the things that we are able to deliver in this bill: One is low-income taxpayer exception to the Private Debt Collection program. The second is that it codifies the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program that helps low-income taxpayers prepare their tax returns. The third is that the bill allows the IRS to refer taxpayers needing assistance to low-income taxpayer clinics. The bill also creates a single point of contact within the IRS to identify identity theft victims. And, lastly, the bill allows all taxpayers, over the next 5 years, to request an identity protection personal identification number to use to prevent identity theft. So, I would like to commend all of those positive concessions delivered to the American people in this bill. However, I would also like to lodge some of my concerns perhaps for us to address in the future. Dylan Matthews at Vox recently published an article that said: ``It is a huge scandal that Congress has not yet instructed the IRS to automatically prepare taxes for the vast majority of Americans. The IRS has all the information required to do that for all but a few taxpayers,'' and the main reason it doesn't may have to do with the role of money in politics. So, with this bill, I would like to again commend the advancements that we have made for working-class people, but, long term, we should be looking at a solution where everyday people do not necessarily have to spend hours every year preparing tax returns when the majority of Americans have relatively simple and straightforward returns. I would like to just rise and commend those positive contributions and also point the way forward in the future.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Madam Speaker, today I rise to tell the story of one of my constituents, Yahey Obeid. Mr. Obeid was born in Yemen and came to the United States when he was 8 years old. His childhood dream was to become a pilot, and he knew and felt that in the United States, all things are possible and his dream could come true. Mr. Obeid's dream did come true. He has been a Federal employee for 14 years, has two children, and a mortgage for his home in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx. He studied hard, got his pilot's license, and is now an air traffic controller supervisor at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. I spoke with Mr. Obeid today over the phone. He and air traffic controllers like him across the country missed their first paycheck this past week. He was telling me about how stressful his job is. Every single day, air traffic controllers have thousands of people's lives in their hands. With weather changes, flight delays, staffing complexities, and a myriad of other issues, their days almost never go exactly to plan. His job is to find solutions, analyze and adapt in real time to keep people safe in one of the busiest airspaces in the United States and the world. It is terrifying to think that almost every single air traffic controller in the United States is currently distracted at work because they don't know when their next paycheck is coming. Federal workers' jobs are stressful enough. The rise in New York City's cost of living is stressful enough. The fact that Mr. Obeid's family cannot be reunified due to fears over the Muslim ban is stressful enough. His several-thousand-dollar-a-month Bronx mortgage is stressful enough. The anti-immigrant sentiment of this administration is stressful enough. The truth of this shutdown is that it is actually not about a wall, it is not about the border, and it is certainly not about the well- being of everyday Americans. The truth is this shutdown is about the erosion of American democracy and the subversion of our most basic governmental norms. It is not normal to hold 800,000 workers' paychecks hostage. It is not normal to shut down the government when we don't get what we want. It is not normal for public servants to run away and hide from the public that they serve. And it is certainly not normal to starve the people we serve for a proposal that is wildly unpopular among the American people. Each and every Member of this body has a responsibility to this Nation and to everyone in the United States of America, whether they voted for us or not. This President shares in that responsibility as well, which means he has a responsibility to my constituent, Mr. Obeid. President Trump has a responsibility to all air traffic controllers, FDA inspectors, TSA workers, and he has a responsibility to maintain the basic functioning of the United States Government.