Ilhan Omar

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in recognizing the need for the United States to take clear, decisive leadership in a genuinely global collaboration to confront the threat COVID-19. The threat of COVID-19 is truly global--the virus does not understand borders or nationalities. Until and unless the virus is contained everywhere on Earth, it is not truly contained anywhere. The United States leads whether through action or inaction. We have a responsibility both morally and to our own national security to coordinate an international response to COVID-19 that meets the enormous challenge it presents. It is a sad state of affairs that this White House has preferred transparently political international squabbles to the type of American leadership the world is counting on. In Congress, we have been understandably focused on our districts and our constituents, who are facing job losses, evictions, and the closing of their small businesses. We have needed to ensure that our health care professionals have access to the equipment that they need, and that our constituents abroad could be safely returned home. And as we know today that there is still much to do on the homefront, the threat of COVID-19 in the rest of the world is incredibly grave. The Central African Republic has three ventilators in the entire country. In Somalia, there are 15 ICU beds total. Millions of refugees who have already fled unspeakable brutality and violence now live in camps where social distancing is impossible, and there isn't clean water to wash their hands every time they've touched a potentially contaminated surface. In Yemen, where conflict has already decimated infrastructure and public health, the confirmed cases of COVID-19 cast yet another long shadow on a long-suffering population. From Gaza to Guatemala, and from Lagos to Lahore, the toll of this disease could reach levels still unthinkable. It is also important that we remember that it is women who are on the front lines, making up 70% of global health workers. The United States must stand in solidarity with these women and other healthcare workers and be a global leader in ensuring there is funding so that they have supplies and infrastructure to do their jobs and the long-term support to address mental and physical health issues as a result of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only are women impacted as health workers by health systems being overwhelmed by the pandemic, but women and girls are also facing new and exacerbated barriers in access to services, particularly sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence prevention and response services, services that are essential. Pre-existing barriers to essential health services are exacerbated as overwhelmed health systems shift their attention solely to COVID-19 response. Experience has shown us that access to sexual and reproductive health care is critical in a pandemic. During the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone, reduced access to reproductive healthcare is estimated to have caused at least as many deaths as Ebola itself. We must not turn our back on the world. We must put aside our grievances and work toward the common good, to find a common solution. This pandemic is clear, tragic evidence that the outlook that favors international cooperation over isolationism, institutions over improvisation, is not just more moral but safer. Just as the ravages of this terrible disease know no borders, neither must the cure. Our national interest and our moral duty are one and the same. Now is the time. It is clearer now than ever that our destinies are linked, and that we are all in this together.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, people in my State of Minnesota are hurting, and I am sure everyone represents a State that is hurting. It is indefensible for us not to support to replenish the PPP, but it is also indefensible for us not to focus on replenishing the coffers of Americans and focus on making sure they are able to support paying their rent, making sure that our cities and States are not going bankrupt, and making sure American families are not dying of hunger.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, not because it is perfect or even sufficient, but because the lives and the livelihoods of Americans are at risk. This bill provides immediate cash assistance. It allows for unemployment benefits. It puts direct money in the hands of small businesses who are struggling in my district. It creates $100 billion in assistance to hospitals, something Minnesota hospitals are desperately in need of, and it creates $150 billion in funding, necessary funding, for State and local governments.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Mr. Speaker, as we respond to the Coronavirus pandemic, it's crucial that we don't forget the 22 million children who rely on free or reduced-priced school lunches. For many kids, it is the only meal they get each day. It is our responsibility to ensure that kids continue to get the meals they need. I'm proud that the package the House is passing today includes my legislation--the Maintaining Essential Access to Lunch for Students Act. My bill gives schools that are forced to close during a public health emergency the flexibility to implement alternate options--like home delivery of meals--in order to ensure their students are fed. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this bill and ensure that no child goes hungry due to school closures in times of crisis.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, it is gratifying to see that Congress is becoming serious about restoring our authority over matters of war and peace. Our oversight responsibilities don't end when the news cycle changes. I hope that the outcome of this vote today will be another bipartisan rejection of war with Iran. But let's be honest. We know that the eventual outcome will be a Presidential veto. We have been through this already with the Yemen War Powers Resolution when we passed it last year. But despite the inevitable veto, it is critically important that we are here today voting to insist on our constitutional power. Our Founders understood that these decisions are too important to rest in the hands of one person. The decision to assassinate General Soleimani was a reckless and badly considered decision that made Americans less safe, and it opened the door to a series of escalating retaliations that makes the world less safe. But my vote today is not just about this particular strike or preventing a particular war. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle were eager to claim these authorities when there was a Democratic President in the Oval Office. Had I been in office then, I would have joined them in demanding congressional authorization for wars in Libya and Syria. It should not depend on what political power is in the White House. We should be consistent in our principles. In my view, this means maintaining the momentum of this vote and our previous vote to repeal the 2002 AUMF. It means finally taking up Barbara Lee's bill to repeal the 2001 AUMF as well. Madam Speaker, I support this resolution.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Ana Pottratz Acosta, a tireless attorney, advocate, and organizer, as she receives the International Institute of Minnesota's Olga Zoltai Award. I cannot imagine a better person to be recognized with this award. Ms. Pottratz Acosta wears many hats in the Twin Cities--a clinical instructor at Mitchell-Hamline School of Law, vice chair of the regional American Immigration Lawyers Association chapter, a pro-bono mentor at the Advocates for Human rights, and more. She's also at the forefront of community response to major immigration policy changes, such as the Central American Minors refugee program and the recent Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act. Connecting these threads is a deep passion for immigration justice--a commitment that our openness and acceptance of immigrants and refugees is a non-negotiable principle of our country. Ms. Pottratz Acosta has approached this work not as a savior--but rather a partner in our common fight for liberation. To me, Ms. Pottratz Acosta represents the best parts of America: someone who is using all the tools at her disposal to fight for a world that is more filled with love, more connected, and more beautiful. When I see Ms. Pottratz Acosta, I also see in her face the faces of all the immigrants she has helped start a better life in our community. Because of her, I know that our future is brighter. I thank Ms. Pottratz Acosta for her service to our community. It is an honor to get to work alongside her for justice for all of our neighbors.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 79, and YEA on Roll Call No. 80.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the role that organized labor has played in improving the lives of countless working men and women across this country. Labor unions have been the driving force for all positive change for workers in modern history. As a former union member myself, I can attest to the power that workers wield when they exercise their right to organize. And I have seen the incredible work that unions in Minnesota have accomplished when they came together to fight for working rights. On average, a worker covered by a union contract, earns over 13 percent more in wages than someone with similar education, occupation, and experience in nonunionized workplaces. And unions are about so much more than wages. They create solidarity between workers across gender, race, ethnicity, and religion. That is why we need the PRO Act, and why we must pass it this week, and pressure the Senate to do the same. It will address the challenges and attacks that labor unions have been facing for decades that have led to the erosion of wages, a spike in workplace discrimination and a dangerous growth in inequality in our society at every turn. The PRO Act puts power back in the hands of workers where it belongs. I do not want to envision what workplaces would look like for my children and their grandchildren one day if we do not pass the PRO Act. It is a crucial step to strengthening labor rights so that we can help shepherd through a new generation of victories for working unions and members. Madam Speaker, I am delighted for our chairman and vice chairman on the Committee on Education and Labor for their work in championing labor rights on behalf of American workers.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to mourn the passing of a prominent Civil Rights activist, leader and advocate Ronald Edwards. He truly loved Minneapolis and is deeply appreciated and treasured by the people of Minneapolis. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, during the Jim Crow segregation era, Mr. Edwards had early experiences of racial inequality growing up in the south. Mr. Edwards moved to the Twin Cities with his father, who worked on the railroad. Mr. Edwards always fought against racial inequality and injustices not only for the Black community but for everyone. During his lifetime, Mr. Edwards was the longest-serving chair of the Minneapolis Urban League, was prominent leader for the Minneapolis NAACP, led the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission, and also sat on numerous civic boards and panels. For the past ten years, Mr. Edwards co-hosted a radio program where he used his platform to hold people in power and in the community accountable. Mr. Edwards was deeply dedicated to his family, friends, and community. He fought passionately for the Minneapolis community and used his tight connections within our neighborhoods to help those in need. I ask that we remember the spirit and passion for equality and justice that Ronald Edwards helped shape in the city of Minneapolis.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the implementation of the harmful DeVos/Trump borrower defense regulation. Instead of working on behalf of students, Secretary DeVos is enriching predatory for-profit colleges that leave students with crushing debt. Instead of creating a streamlined process to help defrauded borrowers access relief and move forward with their lives, this administration has given dishonest schools new tools they can use to keep taking advantage of students. In my district in 2016, the courts found that the Minnesota School of Business and Globe University engaged in consumer fraud and purposely deceived more than 1,000 Minnesota students who were systematically misled to believe that they would obtain a degree and credits that were essentially meaningless, losing not only $33.8 million, but also their time and countless opportunities. It is the government's duty to look out for those victimized students and to make sure they don't continue to suffer at the hands of the greedy institutions that took advantage of them. Secretary DeVos should be ashamed of herself for failing to uphold that duty and for once again putting profit over people. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, this administration says starving the Iranian economy is in defense of human rights, when it is an abuse of them; and that their withdrawal from the nuclear deal was a demonstration of American leadership, when it was an abandonment of it. Escalation is deescalation, and war is peace. In fact, they are asking us to deny reality. The reality is that families of American soldiers and diplomats are being kept awake at night worrying. The Iraqi people who suffered decades of unjust war are now unjustly suffering as their country becomes a battleground in a proxy war. The Iranian people have suffered because of maximum pressure and will suffer because of this escalation. John Quincy Adams said: America goes not abroad in search of monsters. America's glory is not dominion, but liberty. This administration has gone abroad in search of monsters to destroy. May God show us the way to freedom, independence, and peace.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 692 and NAY on Roll Call No. 691.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, on March 7, 1788, six months after the Constitution was signed at Independence Hall, Alexander Hamilton laid out in detail the standards for impeachment in the Federalist papers. Impeachment should, quote `proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust,' Hamilton wrote. Donald Trump has without question met these standards. These words from our framers--they don't only serve as guidance for people in this country. They serve as guidance for people around the world wishing to build a sound system of government. And they have allowed us in the United States of America, to stand for democracy and the rule of law around the world. So as the world watches, captivated and bewildered by the lawlessness of our president, I hope they are also able to see the full functioning of our democracy as we hold him accountable. With this impeachment vote, the world is able to see the fruits of our democracy and the glory of the checks and balances preserved in our Constitution. Unlike the dictatorship that my family fled from, in a democracy, we don't just vote. We get to impeach a lawless president.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remind our constituents of the work that we have been doing on their behalf. The House of Representatives has passed nearly 400 bills this Congress for the people. For our Dreamers and TPS recipients, we passed an immigration reform bill, the American Dream and Promise Act. For our workers, we passed the Raise the Minimum Wage Act, to increase the Federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the Butch Lewis Act, to protect the pensions of more than 1 million workers and retirees. For the personal and financial security of America's women, we passed a strong reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. For our elections, we passed H.R. 1, which restores transparency and accountability to our elections, which included my own legislation to restrict foreign lobbying. To strengthen our defenses against foreign attacks, we also passed the SAFE Act and the SHIELD Act. And for our LGBTQ community, we passed the Equality Act. All of these bills have been ignored. Mitch McConnell brags about being the grim reaper, and that is exactly what he has been for the hopes and the dreams of the American people. I would like to call for us to remind every single American of the work that we have been doing.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the basic and dire human right that so many of us take for granted, the right to a safe and stable home. Last week, families across this country gathered around in their dining rooms to give thanks and break bread, but many families in my home district were not sitting around for a holiday dinner. Instead, they were facing an indescribable tragedy. The day before Thanksgiving, a fire broke out in a 25-story public housing building in the Cedar- Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis where I grew up. Five people lost their lives. And more than a week later residents are still in the hospital recovering from their injuries. After the brave men and women of the local fire department cleared the scene and controlled the blaze, we discovered an almost unbelievable reality. These homes were not equipped with sprinklers. You see, these buildings are so old that it is exempt from laws that require such lifesaving equipment. And that isn't the only egregious safety issue that our public housing residents are forced to endure. There has been a ban on building new public housing since the 1990s. In fact, the Cedar-Riverside building that sustained the fire was built in the 1960s. And the Federal Government has been underfunding the repair and maintenance needs of the homes for years. In Minnesota, the backlog of repair needs totals over $300 million. So not only are these homes half a century old, they are practically being held together with little more than hope and masking tape. Make no mistake, we, as lawmakers, bear responsibility for the deplorable conditions of our public housing and for the deplorable and unsafe conditions that millions of Americans are living in today. This is our fault. The Federal Government has all but abandoned public housing. We cannot continue to pretend that we can't see the crumbling buildings in our districts. We can't continue to ignore the hundreds of thousands who experience homelessness because of waiting lists for housing assistance. And it goes beyond the homeless population. Millions of Americans are living every single day in fear of eviction. Twelve million Americans are paying more than half of their income in rent, and about 6,300 people are evicted every single day. How can we in Congress call ourselves leaders if we continue to ignore this crisis? I, for one, refuse to continue down that path. It is time for a bold and progressive solution. I will be introducing legislation that ensures every public housing unit in this country is equipped with sprinklers, so that we never see another devastating tragedy like the one that befell the residents of my district. And we will be demanding accountability from HUD, requiring the agency to report on exactly how many units are not fitted with sprinklers and how much money the agency needs to fix this glaring hazard. But that is not enough. Last month I introduced Homes for All Act, which would make an historic investment of $1 trillion in public housing and low-income housing and build a record 12 million new homes over the next 10 years. My bill would also ensure that public housing residents are guaranteed access to important wraparound services like employment assistance, child care, and financial literacy courses. And just as important, my bill would make sure that public housing funding is a mandatory part of our Federal budget, meaning that the government wouldn't be able to abandon these new homes or neglect their upkeep. Public housing would now be treated like any other important guaranteed source of assistance, like Social Security and Medicare. While my legislation is bold, it is also absolutely necessary. Every human being has a right to a safe and affordable home. And without an historic investment in our public housing stock and greater accountability for the safety of our residents, we will continue to face tragedies like the ones that claimed the lives of five people in Cedar-Riverside last week. We cannot let that happen, and I will not let that happen. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib for allowing this conversation to take place today.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, I want to first thank Congressmen Rush and Davis for allowing us to be here to honor the legacy of Fred Hampton. Fifty years ago today, a 21-year-old American revolutionary was murdered in his own home by 14 Chicago police officers who were found to be colluding with the FBI as part of the COINTELPRO initiative. Scholars now widely believe that the Hampton death was under the FBI's initiative. This initiative was a series of covert and often illegal projects aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, and disrupting civil rights organizations, feminist organizations, peace activists, the environmentalist movement, and native groups. Common tactics used by COINTELPRO were perjury, witness intimidation, and withholding evidence to falsely imprison and assassinate leaders of the Panther Party. Among those on the list was the young Fred Hampton. Fred actively fought against the corruption and injustice Black and Brown people were being subjected to on a daily basis. He sought to build a multicultural movement, the Rainbow Coalition, seeking to end the violence among street gangs. Let us teach our children and the new generation of his legacy and fight against racial inequalities, police violence, and mass incarceration. Yes, the same problems Black and Brown men and women face today still continue as they did back then. Today, our criminal justice system and the failed war on drugs continue to disproportionately impact communities of color, and it is time we join together to fight continuously for a more just society.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 556; YEA on Roll Call No. 558; YEA on Roll Call No. 559; YEA on Roll Call No. 560; YEA on Roll Call No. 573; YEA on Roll Call No. 585; YEA on Roll Call No. 615; YEA on Roll Call No. 616; YEA on Roll Call No. 617; NAY on Roll Call No. 618; YEA on Roll Call No. 619; NAY on Roll Call No. 620; YEA on Roll Call No. 621; YEA on Roll Call No. 622; NAY on Roll Call No. 623; and NAY on Roll Call No. 624.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 556.

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. OMAR. Madam Chairwoman, my amendment mandates reporting on the foreign governments with whom we share access to the Terrorist Screening Database. The database is shared with more than 60 foreign governments, including countries with appalling human rights records, such as Saudi Arabia and China. An FBI official has acknowledged in sworn testimony that it has never stopped sharing watch-list information with a foreign government because of that government's human rights abuses. Many of the people who are included in the database have never been charged with a crime, and, yet, we share sensitive information about them with the same government that murdered Jamal Khashoggi. I have also received credible reports that there have been Uighurs added to the database at the request of the Chinese Government. I ask the Chair to think about that. There is universal outrage in Washington about the treatment of the Uighur population in China. What are we talking about? Let's be clear. These are the precursors to genocide. And while it is happening, while Members of both sides of the aisle and the Secretary of State are condemning what is happening, we are allowing the Chinese Government to add Uighurs to the Terrorist Screening Database. We are allowing them to track Uighurs in the United States. This is probably the most appalling aspect of our sharing this information with governments that violate human rights, but it is not the only appalling aspect. One thing we know for sure in almost two decades that we have been fighting the war on terror, is that dictators have been more than happy to call whoever opposes them a terrorist. The Saudis, whose family has direct, proven, and clear financial links to al-Qaida, are given access to this database. The Saudis, who have rounded up human rights activists, tortured them, mass executed them, and claiming they are terrorists, get to add people on this list. It is entirely possible that they get to add American citizens to this list. This isn't compatible with a free society. It isn't compatible with our essential concepts of civil liberties. It is important to note that the evidentiary standard for being placed in the database is very low. The government only needs reasonable suspicion that someone is involved in terrorism, which is not even enough to charge someone with a crime. It is also significant that individuals added to this database are not informed of their placements and have suffered preventable harms as a result. So my amendment asks some basic questions, questions that we as Members of Congress have not only a right to, but a responsibility to ask. I ask my colleagues to support this amendment. If they are concerned about civil liberties, they should be concerned about this. If they are concerned about human rights abroad, they should be concerned about this. And no matter how they feel about the database itself, this amendment asks that we need answers in order to make informed decisions about our national security policy. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), the chairman.

Ms. OMAR. Madam Chair, I am thankful to the chairman and ranking member for their support, and with that, I yield back the balance of my time

Ms. OMAR

Ms. OMAR. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. OMAR. Madam Chair, my amendment mandates reporting on the financial costs and national security benefits of the Department of Defense's operations overseas. This includes the cost of operating, improving, and maintaining military infrastructures both on our permanent bases and installations and at short-term contingency locations. In order for Congress to properly conduct its oversight and appropriation rules, we need to have a transparent explanation of how much each of these operations cost. We also need a transparent justification for how each of these operations contribute to keeping Americans safe. We hear a constant drumbeat from the other side of the aisle on the need for fiscal responsibility when it comes to our domestic spending, but when it comes time to fund the Pentagon, no amount is too much, and no project is too expensive, even though we spend more on the military than the next 10 countries combined. When we talk about fiscal responsibility and wasteful spending, the Pentagon must not be above reproach. We have to ask what is actually necessary for our national security and what is part of an outrageously bloated budget that lines the pockets of defense contractors. So this amendment is an important step in accountability for the Pentagon spending. It is necessary for the department that cannot pass an audit. The American people deserve to know what their tax dollars are being spent on and not take it on blind faith that every dollar that is given to the Pentagon is a dollar that is protecting their safety. It is especially true for our overseas operations. We send our men and women in uniform abroad and they are separated from their families not just to win in wars but to man the bases we maintain in places like Germany, Japan, and Honduras. We need to be asking them to do that for a reason. This is why my amendment requires the Pentagon to justify national security benefits of overseas operations. So I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this amendment and making sure that we have an accountability in how we spend our taxpayer dollars. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. OMAR. Madam Chair, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Ms. OMAR. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Smith), the distinguished chair.