Stacey Plaskett

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleague from Wisconsin will not leave at this time, as he has talked about Black Lives Matter. How dare you--how dare you say that Black Lives Matter, Black people, do not understand old-fashioned families. Despite some of the issues, some of the things that you have put forward that I have heard out of your mouth in the Committee on Oversight and Reform, in your own district, we have been able to keep our families alive for over 400 years in the assault on our families to not have Black lives or not even have Black families. How dare you say that we are not interested in families in the Black community. That is outrageous. That should be stricken down. Mr. Speaker, I was going to talk about the American Rescue Plan. We know that this is going to provide relief to not only Black lives, Black Americans, but all Americans, that we are interested in children and in their welfare. Forty-nine days ago President Biden took office and promised the American people that help is on the way. Today we take our final step forward on delivering on that promise. Millions of Americans will be supportive who have been economically crippled by a year-long pandemic. Most of this money goes directly to the American people. And, we have one of the most generous expansions of tax relief to working people in modern history in this plan. The child tax credit provisions on their own is a policy revolution in the making. More than 93 percent of our children-- 69 million children--would receive benefits under this rescue plan. Minority farmers will finally get the relief from indebtedness they deserve. This version of the bill sent back from the Senate is not perfect. It is the result of compromise. Nonetheless, we have before us one of the most significant pieces of legislation to benefit working Americans in our recent history.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, the COVID pandemic and economic crisis are destroying the lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of Americans across the country. And our most vulnerable communities are bearing the brunt. Thankfully, help is on the way. The American Rescue Plan will save lives and livelihoods by putting vaccines in arms, putting children safely back in school, putting money in people's pockets, and finally putting people back in jobs. I am proud to note the inclusion of provisions in this bill for the Virgin Islands and other territories that we all in this House have been fighting for. This plan creates equality in the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit, including an advancement of the child tax credit in 2021. The child tax credit provision in the bill will be transformational in the lives of hundreds and millions of children, lifting them out of poverty. This is generational change. This will reduce poverty and improve the economic standing of Americans throughout our country. We are grateful for this bill.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. And for my colleagues on the other side who have to give divisive platitudes and nonsupport, you are welcome.

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, the time for bold and decisive action is now. This American Rescue Plan Act will crush the virus, return children safely to school, support vaccinations, put dollars in families' pockets, and put people back to work. The plan will mount a national vaccination program that sets up community vaccination sites nationwide. In the Virgin Islands, the loss of cruise ships, along with air travel tourists, have cut the heart of our economy, causing loss of jobs, closure of businesses, and lost revenues for government operations. Additionally, we have yet to understand the long-term impact the pandemic will have on our children. In the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, our children are already overwhelmed and severely compromised due to facilities and the school year loss that they had from the 2017 hurricanes. Lastly, I am proud to note provisions in this bill for the U.S. territories that I have been fighting for. This plan creates equality in the child tax credit and earned income tax credit. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to please support this bill.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of the requested waiver of the Secretary of Defense nominee, retired four-star General Lloyd S. Austin, III. President Biden recognizes the need to have the most qualified individuals in his Cabinet to right the ship from day one. The issues of instability of our Department of Defense, morale, and a desire to engage more vigorously with the world require that a nominee be one who has the type of career that General Austin does. General Austin's distinguished career and experience as a commander of the U.S. Central Command and Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army have prepared him to be ideal for the task at hand. We agree that the separation of Active Duty military and civilian is important. Moreover, I have full confidence, however, that the Secretary-designate shares these values, in that he came to the House, reaching out to this body in a way that shows reverence for the continued promotion and defense of civilian control of the military. Lastly, having an African-American Secretary of Defense is highly important at this time, as the military must address the growing evidence of sympathy towards dangerous conspiracies and White supremacist causes amongst servicemembers--evidence made exponentially troubling due to the fact that a large percentage of servicemembers are people of color. General Lloyd Austin is the right person for the job at the time at hand, and Congress must allow him to get through and get the job done. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for the waiver for General Austin.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, as we begin the 117th Congress, I am truly grateful to the Democratic Caucus for bringing the six representatives of the territories of the United States and the District of Columbia--duly elected by 4 million Americans, collectively--to where we are today. That was done in the 116th Congress when the rules package strengthened our democratic representation by returning floor voting rights to Delegates and the Resident Commissioners in the Committee of the Whole. The principle that every American deserves to be represented by a vote on the floor of this House is important, and we have somewhat of a voice now. Moving forward, I think it is high time that we continue to expand that. The Constitution gives the fate, the rights, of all the territories solely to this body, to the Congress. That being said, it is important that we respect those votes, and I believe that our system for remote voting should apply with respect to votes cast in the Committee of the Whole in the same manner as it applies with respect to votes cast on the floor. That being said, I commend the further strides we are making in this rules package. As a former prosecutor and counsel on the House Ethics Committee, I applaud the tightening of the whistleblower laws.

Ms. PLASKETT. As a former counsel on the House Ethics Committee, I am pleased with the tightening of the whistleblower laws, and I commend the creation of the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth to recommend policies to address economic disparities and make the economy work for everyone. I expect this to be a positive development, and I urge my colleagues to adopt this package.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues, and while I am happy to support measures to improve resiliency in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, a committee on which I serve, I am disappointed that this bill is not inclusive of U.S. territories other than Puerto Rico in the normal operation of this new resiliency program. Under the Stafford Act, the Virgin Islands and all other U.S. territories and the District of Columbia are defined and treated as States. This legislative amendment to the Stafford Act should be no different. That is why the House version of this bill was amended in committee, so that this new program is equally inclusive of all jurisdictions that are already treated as States by the Stafford Act. That was not what was approved by the committee but passed by this House in H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act. Madam Speaker, the Virgin Islands and the other smaller territories have been devastated by unprecedented natural disasters in recent years. All of these American jurisdictions have tremendous need for hazard mitigation projects that reduce risks for homeowners, businesses, nonprofits, the cost of insurance claims, and Federal relief payments from extreme weather-related disasters. I believe it is unfair to have a program that first makes grants to Indian Tribes, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia to improve resiliency, and then tells the four remaining smaller jurisdictions, defined as States already, that they get to have what amounts to pennies maybe left over from the 2 percent set aside of funding that first is going to be spent on administrative costs and technical assistance to give the resiliency program to everyone else. Madam Speaker, as a practical matter, of course, that will amount to nothing left for the people of my district, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas, and the smaller territories. Madam Speaker, I understand and have been told that the committee is willing to work and try to find a technical fix to this both in the House and the Senate. I urge that that occurs. While I support this measure, once again, you cannot continue to forget the smaller territories.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, I extend my congratulations to the committee leaders for successfully reaching an agreement with the Senate on a final Water Resources Development Act for 2020. This is a wonderful bill. We have $10 billion in new water infrastructure authorizations in this bill. It authorizes all of the pending Chief's reports. That includes two very important flood risk management projects in my district, which has been severely harmed by persistent flooding in recent years, as evidenced by the damage from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. I would like to take this opportunity to remind the Army Corps that it may fund the construction of these projects out of remaining funds provided in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 and that construction of such projects in the Virgin Islands, as well as in Puerto Rico, with funds provided under that act shall be conducted at full Federal expense. This bill also contains a long-sought reauthorization of projects for navigation in the harbors of St. Thomas and Christiansted, St. Croix. The reauthorization of these projects for navigation will provide the harbors access to Federal resources for maintenance dredging and improvements to navigational systems, which will allow them to accommodate more and larger cruise ships over the long term, thereby better competing in a competitive Caribbean market. This is a very strong bill for the ports and harbors of the United States. Lastly, this bill is probably the most progressive bill in a generation in terms of directing the Army Corps toward greater resiliency of future water resources development projects. It includes several provisions to modernize how the Corps develops future projects to make sure that it is better able to deal with issues of climate change and extreme wet weather events. All in all, this is a significant investment in water resources infrastructure, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague representing the great people of New York, but also who hails from the Caribbean and understands the importance of legislation like this. As the representative of a Caribbean island, an English-speaking Caribbean island, I am grateful to be yielded the opportunity to talk about this important Caribbean Basin Security Initiative. Traffickers frequently transport cocaine and other contraband from South America through the Caribbean Sea. Building the law enforcement and interdiction capabilities of our Caribbean partners helps them stop illicit flows, making our Caribbean nations safer. By developing these capabilities, partner countries also can hold perpetrators accountable and deter further criminal activity that might harm their citizens, threaten their economies, and endanger U.S. citizens at home and as tourists in the Caribbean. The United States has committed over $556 million for CBSI for fiscal years 2010 to 2018. Congress has appropriated $58 million for fiscal year 2020. Bravo. To enhance maritime domain awareness and interdiction, we have improved radar coverage and sharing capacity, enhanced port security, and provided boats, equipment, and training to partner nations. In the Dominican Republic, the largest Caribbean transit point for cocaine, CBSI programs have yielded a 250 percent increase in cocaine interdictions. USAID programming targets the drivers of youth crime and violence to reduce the risk of youth involvement in transnational organized crime. USAID uses risk assessment tools to identify at-risk youth in countries like St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Guyana. USAID then partners with those host countries, delivering support to families and youth. Across those three countries, 75 percent of the youth targeted have reduced risk levels. To augment law enforcement, CBSI supports efforts to professionalize and reform law enforcement institutions and enables partner governments to better prevent, investigate, and prosecute crime. These are tremendous tools. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are transshipment points for illicit drugs that have been smuggled from source countries into the U.S. mainland, as well as destination points for drugs distributed within the two territories. This bill is very essential to us. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are situated between the U.S. mainland and drug-source countries such as Colombia and Peru, making them ideal gateways for movement of illicit drugs onward to the U.S. mainland. The Caribbean sits as a transshipment area for so many goods: first, people, sugar, and, in many instances, drug trafficking now. Drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups use commercial and private maritime vessels, commercial private aircraft, and package delivery services to smuggle illicit drugs into and through Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Large drug shipments are often offloaded in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, repackaged, and stored in secluded areas until they are distributed locally or transported to the U.S. mainland. What is the outcome of this? Wreaking havoc in our communities. There were 52 murders this year on the Virgin Islands, 49.2 per 100,000 people; in 2018, a whopping 52 individuals in a community of 100,000 people. Many of those deaths--most of those deaths--related to drug trafficking, drugs that we do not even use on the islands. This bill is vital to combating drug trafficking, promoting good governance, independent justice sectors, and empowering civil society in the Caribbean. Too often, the Caribbean is ignored. We must correct this by deepening our partnerships and cooperation with some of our closest allies. Working together, we can help increase citizen security, build resilience to natural disasters caused by climate change, and improve strategies to reduce illegal narcotics trafficking.

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I won't need all of that minute, but I want to thank the gentleman for the time. This bill is so vital, not only to stopping drug trafficking, but supporting our communities, helping youth within the Caribbean to reach their potential. I want to thank the authors of this bill. I am grateful this is a bipartisan effort to not forget the Caribbean. I thank my colleague, Mr. Espaillat, and the members of the committee.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, as a Member of Congress representing the Virgin Islands, I came to Congress determined to increase long-term Federal investment in infrastructure, among other things. I congratulate the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman, Mr. DeFazio; Highways and Transit Subcommittee chair, Ms. Norton; and other committees for H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act. In the midst of so much uncertainty in the economy during the current public health crisis, the American people need the certainty of H.R. 2 to count on stable and strong investment in infrastructure to sustain and create jobs, and enhance the mobility and safety of American motorists, passengers, and throughput systems. The Moving Forward Act makes a real investment in America, especially in underserved districts like my own. While all of the States have received small and steady increases in funding over the recent decade, severe cuts have disproportionately and negatively affected Americans in U.S. territories. In the meantime, substandard highways, roads, and stormwater infrastructure have further affected harsh weather patterns. In my district, we still feel the aftermath of major category 5 hurricanes every day. It has been our new normal for some time before the current COVID normal. We know firsthand that there are areas throughout this country that are in desperate need of revitalizing infrastructure. The American people and businesses are rightly concerned with the infrastructure. In the 117th Congress, we must show our constituents that the next Congress is determined to build America back better.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, today we have been asked to wear white to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She represents the tremendous struggle and fight for women's equality. In the Virgin Islands, today, October 1, is formally known as Contract Day. It honors and celebrates four women, our four queens, that led the St. Croix Labor Rebellion of 1878, also known to us as Fireburn. After slaves in the Danish West Indies organized, fought, and took their freedom from chattel slavery in 1848, a new type of slavery was formed in a labor bill in the following year to regulate the conditions of the now free workers. The law stipulated a day wage, and confined workers to one plantation each year that could only change on Contract Day, October 1. Former slaves worked on the same plantations as before, with little to no improvement in their living conditions, healthcare, education, income, and their movement was restricted. I am sure many of my African-American brothers and sisters recall this happening in the United States after the Civil War. The newly freed workers found that the low wages and new restrictions made living impossible. It was freedom in name only. These conditions, along with the inability to vote, to participate in any aspect of the Danish Government at the time, created an incredibly untenable life. Before October 1 of 1878, rumors circulated that the law was going to improve. When the workers realized on October 1 that those rumors were false, the frustration and anger from the past 30 years of unfair treatment and harsh labor practices after obtaining freedom ignited a protest that led to a rebellion in Frederiksted on the Island of St. Croix. That rebellion, that uprising, was led by four women, our Virgin Island Queens: Mary Thomas, Mathilda Macbean, Susanna ``Bottom Belly'' Abrahamson, and Axeline ``Queen Agnes'' Salomon demanded all plantations improve workers' wages and repeal the Labor Act of 1849 that kept workers in serf-like conditions. More than half of the city of Frederiksted burned, along with the estates, the plantations across the western and northern part of the island. The Danish Crown jailed about 400 and executed more than 100 people. Women were burned at the stake after molasses was poured on them, but their heroic and sacrificial acts, like those who earned our freedom 30 years prior, inspired change. My ancestors, men and women, were willing not only to fight, but to die for the cause of equality and the dignity of a living wage and fair working conditions. That fight, of course, continues today, not just for Virgin Islanders, but for indigenous people throughout our Nation and territories. October is part of Indigenous Peoples Day, honoring the centuries- long struggle of people against the horrors of genocide, colonialism, imperialism, and the present conditions of unfair labor laws, discrimination, and unequal voting rights. From Carib Indians fighting off Columbus on the island of Ay Ay--what is now the island of St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, the first place of armed resistance to Columbus in the New World--to the four queens, as I mentioned, of Fireburn; D. Hamilton Jackson, honored in November, fighting the Danish Crown for freedom of speech, people on my island and all over the world continue to demand and fight for freedom, equality, and fairness. Much like the atmosphere of the Danish West Indies, our Nation is in a tumultuous but necessary time of change. Let us heed that change. Let us do it peacefully, organized, with leaders. The attention drawn to practices of systemic racism and police brutality against people of color has sparked a collective worldwide cry for justice, not just in this country, but governments around the world. Protests, removal of statues of oppressors of people of color are taking place in this Nation and throughout the world. What will this body do? What will this Congress do? How long will this Congress, this body, be part of the inequality of 4 million people living in the territories? Telling us, as I hear often from my colleagues, ``It is so unfair. I wish it were different.'' But not doing anything to change those laws, the systemic laws that were written over 100 years ago that makes it so continually without end for us. I pray that the spirit of those queens charge me with renewed conviction to keep pushing. I pray that there is no Fireburn here, but what comes must come.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, while Senator McConnell works fervently to confirm a Supreme Court Justice, he continues to block the relief that Americans need, holding a failed vote on a bill that refuses to crush the virus, abandons our heroes in State and local government, ignores families facing hunger and homelessness, and contains poison pills that Democrats cannot support. As families suffer, Republicans continue to refuse to acknowledge the funding levels that experts, scientists, and the American people know is needed. They reject robust support for State, local, Tribal and territorial governments. They want to bully many schools into reopening before it is safe to do so, endangering children, educators, and creating new vectors for the virus to spread. Republicans are ignoring the crisis of food insecurity, providing zero funds for nutrition assistance, and insufficient funds to our farmers. Originally, our side, the Democrats, were willing to compromise and cut a trillion from the HEROES Act if the White House would add a trillion to the failed and anemic Senate bill. We wanted to negotiate and meet in the middle at $2.2 trillion. Yet, Senate Republicans and the White House continue to reject a compromise, and instead, the Senate GOP continues to move further away from what is needed. While Republicans fail to take the catastrophe facing families seriously, our health and economy are crumbling. Republicans are supporting the investor class while Democrats are fighting for the working class.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, first, I thank the Postal workers across this Nation who work so tirelessly to ensure we receive our mail in a timely fashion and are now doing it under tremendous difficulty. Almost every business, from the largest corporation to the smallest hometown operation, relies on the Postal Service. But for those businesses, those families--medicine, food, and goods are in jeopardy, not from a foreign adversary and not from war, but from attack within our borders, from those in charge, from the Postmaster General. Why? What is the primary purpose? It is to subvert an election. Today and Monday we will combat that attack. We will give the funding and the procedures necessary to restore and support the U.S. Post Office. We have also responded to the unanimous request of the Trump- appointed Postal Board of Governors for $25 billion in much-needed emergency operational relief. For over 200 years, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night has stayed these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. Let it not be on our watch that this legacy ends.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, today we vote on a bill that would block an attack on the U.S. Postal Service. By doing so we are blocking an attack on an American institution, on our American way of life, and on democracy. By responding to the unanimous requests of the Trump- appointed Board of Governors of the Postal Service for a funding of $25 billion and restoring operations to January 1 levels, we will literally be saving lives. The necessity of this vote and the necessity of this legislation shows the peril to our democracy that this administration has placed us all in, our elders, our veterans, our businesses, and our vote. We will go further than just voting, and we will have that hearing on Monday on the Oversight and Reform Committee led by Chairwoman Maloney to speak with the Postmaster General to examine some of his, shall we say, creative decisions. We want to examine the operational and organizational changes at the Postal Service that have resulted in delivery delays across the country, including the delays of goods and services for small businesses and families, as well as critical medicines. In my district of the Virgin Islands we are hostage to the U.S. Postal Service. We cannot drive to big-box stores, never mind medicines for our elders or our veterans. We will review the impact of these changes on the rights of eligible Americans to cast their vote through the mail in the November elections, but we will also have a few closing questions for Mr. DeJoy. Is Mr. DeJoy thinking about that senior who won't receive their medicine on time due to his policies? Has he thought about the veteran who served our Nation and can't get their prescriptions to heal? Has he considered rural Americans who have to drive 20 miles to the nearest post office? Has he thought about any of these people? Or is he, like the President, only concerned about his own self- interest?

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, like many Members of Congress, I came determined to increase long-term Federal investment in infrastructure. Supporting the movement of people, goods, energy, and information through our infrastructure is crucial to driving investment in our communities and maintaining America's economic competitiveness. Modernizing our infrastructure is important to Americans in every part of the country. We know that infrastructure projects are consistently evaluated as the best return on government investment. As a member of the New Democratic Coalition, we believe any new proposal must include new revenue, new financing, new funding, and regulatory streamlining and encourage lifecycle funding in innovative infrastructure projects that are built to last. As chair of the New Democrat Coalition Infrastructure Task Force and a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I believe that there should be four pillars for infrastructure deals. Those include revenue funding. I support securing dedicated, sustainable revenue to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent well into the future and increasing Federal investment that is not looted for other purposes. We need a variety of funding options, including mileage-based user fees; raising or indexing the gas tax; user fees on electric vehicles or batteries to create parity with gasoline-powered vehicles; slightly increasing the corporate tax rate and dedicating the incremental revenue gains toward infrastructure, both expanded and new bond programs. We must think strategically and use lifecycle cost analysis to account for the operating and maintenance needs of an asset across its entire lifecycle. Thus, we will help guard against deferred maintenance. I support investing seed capital to capitalize an infrastructure bank that would leverage its funds for everything from roads, to water, to broadband projects. The bank would be accessible to States, localities, and regional groups and would be able to loan them money with favorable terms as well as offer bond insurance. I and the task force support grant programs that would specifically target areas in desperate need of revitalizing their infrastructure, including those recovering from natural disasters, communities with higher rates of unemployment and poverty, and rural areas. That means new avenues to fund infrastructure projects in communities that have been left behind and in areas that traditionally struggle to attract infrastructure funding for projects that have holistic community support. The task force recognizes the importance of continued regulatory streamlining in a way that balances expedited construction with appropriate environmental and safety safeguards. The administration must work to implement the numerous streamlining provisions already passed into law by Congress in the FAST Act transportation bill. In addition, I support encouraging the use of regional partnerships and public-private partnerships. We must also think about broadband and realize that this is the new transportation of the 21st century, making sustainable and innovative public and private investments across the U.S. to repair and upgrade existing assets and build vital new projects. We must seek to support projects that help communities become more energy efficient, resilient, and better prepared to deal with the impact of climate change and environmental cleanup. Finally, we must seek to give communities ownership of local development and encourage innovation, regulatory streamlining, and more comprehensive multiproject long-term planning.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, as a Member representing the territories, I would rather pay taxes than have the treatment that this body gives to those that live in the territories. I believe it is the greatest scam and an okey-doke that you have allowed us not to pay taxes and hold that against us to ask for our equal treatment. So keep paying those taxes and you will get your Statehood one day. Mr. Speaker, the United States territories that I represent are also not on equal footing with the rest of the Nation. There is no representation in the U.S. Senate. No equal voting representation in the House of Representatives. Unlike D.C., we cannot vote for President. We know what it is like to be part of the greatest country in the world but not a full participant, and it feels incomplete. As Americans, we strive to be productive citizens and an asset to the Nation. Statehood for D.C. is a matter of fairness that has been slow in coming. This city, built by African Americans with the use of forced labor, contributes more in Federal taxes on a per person basis than many States. It is a punishment to Americans living in the capital, including those working in policy or public service for the good of the Nation, to be disenfranchised when they establish a home in the District. This body changed the boundaries in the 1800s to ensure that slave owners could keep their slaves. We have changed the boundaries in the committee to allow for the Federal city to still exist and the residents of D.C. to become a State. It has been done by this body before. Don't make it seem like it is something that can't happen again. At this very moment, citizens across this Nation are clamoring for change, equality, and justice. With one vote, we can deliver that for the people of D.C. Mr. Speaker, it is time to do what is right and allow the people of this city to feel whole, to feel complete, to feel like they matter. Support H.R. 51.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, who has led us in this fight here on this floor as we make a historic movement toward justice. I am so upset that my colleague, my classmate, left before I could help him understand. I wanted to give him books that he could read. He could read ``Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People,'' ``White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism,'' ``The New Jim Crow.'' And if he didn't want to read a book, he could look at a documentary. How about ``13th?'' But if he doesn't want to do that, if he wants to support this bill, I will give him a good cop story about why to do it. I will ask my colleagues to support this, if not for George Floyd and the countless others killed at the hand of police, or for those of us Black Americans who live in fear of police brutality, I ask you to support it for a good cop. I ask you to support it for my father, who called me up and told me this is a good bill; a cop who, for 30 years, was on the New York City police force and said the biggest threat to every good cop is a bad cop; who says that the biggest threat to every good cop is a brutal police officer and that this present system will put down a good policeman trying to do the right thing, to speak up for what is right, and will surely keep down a good Black cop. Or for my four sons who received the talk from that veteran police officer who warned what can happen to you on the street, in a squad car, or in the basement of a police precinct, where often the system is rigged so that good police can't always help you. Support it for those sons who, despite the best education and decorum, fear a siren or a police light, the police brutality that we all have. As we advance this critical work, support this for all Americans. Speak the truth that Black lives matter.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding the time. Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues in support of this rule. It will continue urgent support for our small businesses, hospitals, and healthcare providers on the front line. Madam Speaker, I want to commend the House leadership for ensuring that this agreement, which includes the agreement that we will pass later on today, includes $120 million more in small business relief that the Senate initially wanted to provide. I am pleased to see that we will include SBA disaster loan programs and other provisions for extra support for small businesses. The dynamic work of the members of the House leadership have been hard fought for those forgotten, and I have a great concern that without the select committee, the implementation of the incredible work will not be done. Reporting requirements holding this administration to task are important for those that have been forgotten, for people like those in the Virgin Islands and for those who have been disproportionately affected by this law. Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of the rule.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, our Nation faces the worst pandemic in most of our lifetimes. We are, indeed, in an unprecedented time. Like the rest of the Nation and countries around the world, the Virgin Islands' life has significantly been altered. Americans need the urgent action of this body, the Congress, to address this threat to the lives and livelihood of the American people. We do so with passage of this bill. It is not a perfect bill, but this short-term action will go a long way to save lives, help the economy, and pave a path to recovery. Aside from support to healthcare and the economy, one of the most important measures in this bill, in the CARES Act, is the support and investment we make in our children. The $30 billion in educational funds, as well as the $14 billion allocated to higher education, will do that. The foresight and fortitude of the Speaker and Democratic leadership to ensure that small businesses, local government, and American workers and families--often forgotten--are included in this bill will go a long way.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, as we approach April, you will begin to hear more and more about the Census. The Census is the most important count of people in our country, responsible for allocating nearly $800 billion in Federal funding, and it takes place only once every decade. By standing up and being counted in the 2020 Census, Madam Speaker, you are ensuring that your State or territory has access to the funding it needs for police and fire departments, healthcare, roads, and many other vital programs. Madam Speaker, you don't need to be an inventor, a doctor, or even a Member of Congress to shape the future of your community. By being in the 2020 Census, you will help inform funding for local school programs and roads in our community. We all count and we all get to shape our future by participating in the 2020 Census. You can make a difference in our community this year and respond to the 2020 Census, whether online, by mail, or by phone. Be counted this April.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, this is Women's History Month. I rise to recognize Nella Larsen, who was born in Chicago in 1891. Her mother was a Danish immigrant and her father an immigrant from the Danish West Indies, what is now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands. Larsen attended school in all-White environments in Chicago until she moved to Nashville to attend high school. She later practiced nursing, served as a librarian in the New York Public Library, and, after resigning from that position, she began a literary career. Her first novel, ``Quicksand,'' won her a Harmon Foundation bronze medal. After the publication of her second novel, ``Passing,'' in 1929, Larsen was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, a first for an African American woman, establishing her as a premier novelist of the Harlem Renaissance. She died in New York in 1964. Her work explored the complex issues of racial identity and identification in her fiction. Though critics remain conflicted about her novels, ``Quicksand'' and ``Passing,'' there can be no question that they are significant, groundbreaking American literary texts. She received a number of awards for her writing. Along with her contemporary, novelist Zora Neale Hurston, Larsen is considered to be one of the most important female voices in the Harlem Renaissance. We remember her voice now.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, in 2017, due to natural disaster and lack of electricity, 200 dialysis patients were forced to evacuate the Virgin Islands. Some never returned; some are still hoping to; and some who did may once again have to leave. Patients on St. Croix are still receiving treatment in a mobile unit that faces an uncertain future. FEMA has slow-walked the release of funding and guidelines that will allow our hospital to build a permanent and comfortable facility on the island for lifesaving dialysis treatment. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, CMS, has refused to recertify the temporary mobile unit, instead giving the unit month-to- month extensions, citing that, by now, there should have been a more permanent structure. Stuck between FEMA's slow-walk and CMS' decision are people, people who need stability and empathy. If these Americans are forced to make the hard decision as to whether to leave home again, these Federal agencies would have failed them. At least 15 of the dialysis patients who were forced to leave the first time are no longer with us. They passed away before they were able to come home. This National Kidney Month, let's work to ensure that this doesn't happen again.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, the opioid crisis has had a devastating impact on communities throughout our country. In my conversations with members of law enforcement, public safety officials, and public health experts, it has become clear that serious reforms are necessary to ensure our criminal justice system effectively contributes to efforts to combat the substance abuse epidemic. The 2018 National Institute on Drug Abuse data shows that every day, 128 people in the United States die from an overdose of opioids. The misuse of and addiction to opioids, including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl is a severe national crisis that affects public health, as well as social and economic welfare. Next month, I am going to hold a roundtable discussion on this issue in my district to learn best practices and ensure that our stakeholders stem the tide before it becomes a crisis in our community. I am going to use the measures that my Democratic colleagues instituted to bring that to our community to make sure that it does not happen in the Virgin Islands.