Stacey Plaskett

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, this is a time of unprecedented opportunity to rebuild our highways and roads as well as harden our utilities and infrastructure. I was delighted to welcome Chairmen Peterson and DeFazio, along with members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Agriculture Committee to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Members were able to meet with FEMA officials to discuss the territory's disaster recovery progress and objectives regarding housing, power, education, and project obligations and formulation. The delegations toured the hospital, the Arthur Richards School, Alexander Henderson School, as well as the STEP home. Members of the Agriculture Committee, with local farmers, officials, and USDA representatives, discussed challenges and opportunities for agriculture in the Virgin Islands. They also visited the U.S. Virgin Islands Agriculture Fair, which is the largest in the Caribbean. They saw firsthand the diversity of agriculture in the Virgin Islands and the resourcefulness of farmers to supply the growing demand for local and regional products. Madam Speaker, I am grateful to the committee members for coming. I am looking forward to working with them. My staff and I are committed to continuing to work with Chairmen DeFazio and Peterson to ensure that the future of local farmers, highways, and infrastructure are guaranteed all the resources needed.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, yesterday was the birthday of Bob Marley. Born on February 6, 1944, in Jamaica, he became a reggae pioneer. From humble beginnings, Marley went on to sell more than 20 million records and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. His music has served as an inspiration and mantra for social movement. Let's hear some of those words now: How can you be sitting there Telling me that you care-- That you care? When every time I look around, The people suffer in the suffering In every way, in everywhere. And: Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, None but ourselves can free our minds. Have no fear for atomic energy, `Cause none of them can stop the time. How long shall they kill our prophets While we stand aside and look? Some say it's just a part of it, We've got to fulfill di book. Won't you help me sing These songs of freedom? `Cause all I ever had, Redemption songs. We need redemption. Happy birthday to Bob Marley.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for the time. I was actually going to discuss some of the issues and specifics that were in the bill, this incredible bill that is so helpful, but I think the last comments caused me to have to take pause. First of all, I don't know why we have to single out African Americans in South Carolina, as if they are in more need than anybody else for funding or for underfunding when they are more affected by disasters. But the reason that these things are happening in the territories is because of the underfunding of this body to the territories in ways that do not happen in States throughout this country. There is no cap on Medicaid in South Carolina. There is no arbitrary amount of percentage that the Federal Government is paying as opposed to a local government is paying in South Carolina like there is in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands where Congress arbitrarily said: We will only pay 55 percent. You pay 45 percent, based on a number that has nothing to do with your population or its demographics. There is no cap on highways and us being removed from Federal formulas that the rest of the States have. So when we have a disaster, yes, we need more money because we have underfunding and our infrastructure is a lot more fragile than the rest of this country because this body hasn't done its job. The gentleman talks about taxes. Why doesn't the Virgin Islands pay taxes in the same way? Because almost 100 years ago, when we asked this government to be treated in the same way as the others, this government said: You know what, we will let you keep your Federal taxes and then we won't have to give you the same amounts of money that we give the rest of the States, when, in fact, at that time, maybe 100 people met the criteria of income to pay Federal taxes. So it is a sham and it is an okeydoke what this country did to the rest of us. And then everyone wants to hold us to the same standards and make sure that we are not supposed to get money the same way. It is just ridiculous. I think this is an incredible bill. I think it is long overdue. This does not even put us on the same footing as the States in terms of what should happen, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

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

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Chair, I rise in support of my amendment. This amendment would increase the Department of Energy technical assistance for electrical grid recovery in the U.S. territories by $3 million. High energy costs have bedeviled the U.S. insular territories for many years, harming consumers, limiting development, and draining capital from our islands' economies. The average price of electricity paid by U.S. Virgin Islands residents in mid-2019 was about three times higher than the average power price in the mainland United States. These islands have suffered at least one tropical cyclone, typhoon, or hurricane in the last 3 years, storms made stronger by warming oceans. As a result of unprecedented recent disasters and the impact of enormous physical damage, the Virgin Islands are currently going through an energy crisis. Hurricanes Irma and Maria damaged approximately 80 to 90 percent of the electrical transmission and distribution systems in the territory. Rolling blackouts persist to this day. Successfully incorporating resiliency measures into the electrical system recovery effort, including by building microgrid systems, and adding renewable generation capacity to the system does require significant technical assistance from the Department of Energy. I am pleased that the House, through this bill, will be taking action to make appropriations for technical assistance with rebuilding electric systems in the insular areas. However, given the current state of the islands, including Puerto Rico, which has had the unique challenge of natural disasters reoccurring over the past several months, I am concerned that the amount of $15 million may not be enough to adequately address the urgent needs for assistance to improve grid resiliency and to lower the cost of electricity. That is why I requested this modest uptick of $3 million. It is to see that utilities in the smaller territories like my district can get the technical assistance they need to solve energy problems that are unlike any other in the United States. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), who is the majority leader.

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Chair, I urge adoption of this amendment. This is important to the territories. As you heard from my colleague from Puerto Rico, islands are very fragile, and we do not have the scale that others have, nor do we have grids that can be attached to other areas. So this is really important to us, and the technical assistance of this Nation, from the Department of Energy, would go a long way in supporting a more resilient grid. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, I urge every one of my colleagues to use Black History Month to celebrate the contributions of people who came to this hemisphere not of their own free will--in chains, in bondage, and then helped to make this country great. It is important that we not only recognize them and their contributions but their example of resilience: Philip Reid, who as an enslaved man was responsible for casting the statue which sits atop this building, and as a free man supervised the installation of the Statue of Freedom; Maggie Walker, who became the first woman to preside over a savings institution, which during the Great Depression consolidated to become the Consolidated Bank and Trust, which still exists today; Ralph Bunche, an American diplomat fundamental to the creation and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights who later went on to be the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his negotiation efforts between Egypt and Israel; and William Leidesdorff of Saint Croix, master of shipping of vessels, rancher, gold miner, and one of the founders of San Francisco. These Americans are quietly embedded in our Nation's history, but today, this month, we celebrate them, their work, and their dedication.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, the Virgin Islands is known for its queens--powerful, dynamic, passionate women who lead. We had Queen Coziah, who led the coal strikes; Queen Mary and ``Bottom Belly,'' who led the labor strikes. We lost one of our queens last week, Ann Elizabeth Christian Abramson, who was a loyal, fearless, compassionate leader, an entrepreneur, and a stateswoman. She was born in 1924, the last of 15 children. Ever industrious, even as a child, she left school for several years to help her family when they were in need and then went back. She was a businesswoman extraordinaire--taxicab business, construction company, bus company, aggregate owner, and the list goes on. She was appointed to our municipal council, where she was the only woman to serve during her time, as well as to our legislature. She gave tremendously to our community, but I know she also gave to me. When I went to this fearless leader to ask her for support, she not only gave me her support, but she gave me her time. I saw how she cared for her islands and her people. She was chair of the state Republican Party and helped the Girl Scouts, hospitals, and chamber of commerce. She did it all. Mr. Speaker, we will remember her legacy and hope she rests well.

Ms. PLASKETT

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

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. This amendment is simply a correction. It would make the United States territories eligible for additional Safe Drinking Water Act funding authorized to address emerging contaminants like PFAS. Today, we are discussing PFAS, toxic chemicals that have posed adverse public health risks and have persisted because they could not break down. Their carbon fluoride bond is the strongest bond in nature, so PFAS contamination is continuing to be found all across the country: in the water, air, and soil. It has been extraordinarily widespread. EPA has acknowledged that millions of people in this country receive drinking water with PFAS over the health advisory limit, and the United States territories have been no exception to this. It has been a serious issue for communities that have been impacted, and more and more communities will be known to be impacted. A lot of those who have detected it are taking actions, which are expensive, to remove it from the drinking water. That is why this bill, as reported out of the Energy and Commerce Committee and under the recent NDAA, provides new grant funding to assist water utilities struggling with this issue, contamination in the drinking water and others. However, as currently written, this grant funding has only been made available to States through the Drinking Water Act's State Revolving Fund program, which does include the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, as States, but not other U.S. territories, which are generally provided with a separate reservation of overall program funding annually. My amendment simply corrects this new program to permit the EPA to provide such grants to these American territories, including my district in the U.S. Virgin Islands, to assist their water utilities with PFAS treatment if it is found. These territories have some of the most severe needs for Federal assistance in the area of clean water and drinking water-related infrastructure, and these needs have historically tended to be woefully underfunded. They often have received less on a per capita basis than a number of similarly situated States. If Congress is to assist American communities with the removal of toxic PFAS from drinking water, it is only fair to include all American territories as eligible to receive this assistance. I urge approval of my amendment as simply a matter of fairness. I would also take this opportunity to gently remind my colleagues to please consider Americans in territories in developing legislation intended to assist all Americans. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Chair, in closing, I would like to just acknowledge to the Chair the support of the Energy and Commerce Committee, particularly my good friend, Mr. Tonko from New York, as well as Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, for introducing this legislation and all of the staff that has worked on this. I urge adoption of this amendment as part of fairness to all Americans who face this issue, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, as I rise today to begin discussing infrastructure, I cannot let go the remarks from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, their being completely appalled by the Speaker not bringing over one resolution in what they believe to be a timely manner, but expressing no concern for the fact that the Senate has not taken up 400 bills that have been passed by this House, 275 that were bipartisan, from their own side. But they have no concern for that. They do have concern for one bill. That is inappropriate, and I am very sad about my colleagues for this. Democrats have been working hard to fulfill a promise to the Nation. Americans in the Virgin Islands and in Puerto Rico are feeling the brunt of aging and weakening infrastructure-- demonstrated by a series of recent major disasters--which the Democrats are working hard to support. We must remain committed to rebuilding disaster-stricken communities, replacing crumbling infrastructure, and developing and deploying the infrastructure needed to connect us like never before, including through 5G. We cannot allow the Senate and this administration to impede our efforts to make American infrastructure better, safer, and more resilient.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I want to spend my 5 minutes to tell a story, a history story from the Virgin Islands. This month and for the next 6 months in the Virgin Islands, we commemorate a historic fight for freedom and autonomy. On the small, 20-square-mile island of St. John, one of the earliest and longest lasting slave rebellions began on November 23, 1733. This rebellion was preceded by uncomparable conditions that slaves were living in on the island of St. John in the Virgin Islands. Conditions were devastating. The life expectancy of slaves in the Virgin Islands never went above the age of 30 years old, and this rebellion was caused by a drought and a plague of insects that placed 1,000 enslaved people of St. John at risk of starvation. This caused an unprecedented amount of slaves to run away, what we call on the island ``marooning,'' living in the bush. This led to the vicious and inhumane Slave Code of 1733. The new rules threatened amputation, breaking on the wheel, burning alive, and other brutal punishment for those who ran away. This, then, led to 150 slaves, all of whom were part of the Akwamu tribe from Ghana, to begin an uprising. The Akwamu hoped to turn St. John into an Akwamu-controlled state. On the evening of November 23, the slaves entered the fort on Coral Bay with cane knives concealed in bundles of wood. They proceeded to kill all of the soldiers at the fort. Others across the island, many who were able to escape, escaped to the island of St. Thomas, where they took word to the governor. The governor then, under pressure, sent troops, sent soldiers to St. John, who were then also destroyed. The next 10 weeks saw guerilla-style warfare between the troops and the Akwamu rebels. Afraid that the rebellion would spread to the nearby island of Tortola, the British sent reinforcements. They were quickly dispatched and quickly rode back to Tortola. Again, John Maddox, a privateer from the island of St. Kitts, made a deal with the Danish officials to aid the quelling of St. John. He, too, was not successful. William Vessup, an owner of a plantation, who was in disrepute with the Danes, attempted to lure slaves onto a ship, the organizers of the rebellion, and told them that they would give them food and support if they would come on the ship. They did not fall for the trickery, and he also was dispatched. It wasn't until the Spanish Armada and the French came that this rebellion was able to be quelled in 1734, almost 6 months later; and with it, many were jailed. Some were sent to St. Croix to work to death, which was what they decided to give to them, and many also decided not to go back into slavery and jumped off of a cliff on the island to their death--but to freedom. These 150 Akwamu on the island of St. John were some of the first African people in the Americas to have a sense of freedom, as volatile and short-lived as it might have been. It is important to acknowledge, however, that, for the majority of enslaved people on the islands of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix, neither outcome would lead to freedom. The enslaved people on the island of St. John and the rest of the Danish West Indies would ultimately wait another 114 years for the next rebellion for their freedom to come.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, today is National Rural Health Day. More than 60 million Americans live in rural areas. Unfortunately, these individuals tend to be in poorer health than those who live in urban and suburban areas. They experience greater rates of chronic disease than the rest of the U.S. population. The U.S. Virgin Islands is one of these rural areas. Like most rural America, the VI has high rates of chronic disease, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and experience unique challenges in accessing healthcare. The Virgin Islands, however, due to geographic distance from the contiguous United States and our territorial status, face even further challenges, including inequitable Federal funding. Our health providers and families have to make difficult decisions, not based on care but on distance and funding. All Americans deserve easy accessibility to high quality healthcare. I want to take this time to recognize the healthcare providers in the Virgin Islands for their tireless work and commitment to the health and well-being of our people.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, November is Native American Heritage Month, and I would like to share with you a story, one unknown to most Americans, but one that Virgin Islanders learn at a young age. It is the Caribbean story of Europe's drive for conquest and the resistance of the Native Americans of the Virgin Islands, the Tainos and the Caribs. In 1493, Columbus and his men landed on Ayay, known now as Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. There they met a group of Taino people who had been taken captive by the Caribs. While en route back to their ship with these captives, Columbus' men encountered the fierce Carib villagers, and the first recorded violent conflict between Europeans and Native Americans of the Western Hemisphere ensued, killing one of Columbus' men. Men and women fought with bows and canoes against gunpowder on ships. It is our story of Native pride of resistance, of remembering what is yours. However, the Taino and Carib peoples have left us with so much more. When you use such words as barbecue, guava, canoe, hurricane, potato, maze, savannah, you are connecting with indigenous people who centuries ago journeyed from South America to settle in the archipelago that has given, and continues to give, much to this country and the world.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, tonight we will address mental health within the Black community, the lack of access to treatment, and the stigma of mental health within our community. The stigma of mental health and lack of access to treatment within the Black community frequently leads to Black people ignoring or dismissing those signs of illness. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty) to give remarks on this and other matters of health in our community as well as in America.

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman so much for her admonishment to us to continue working, to continue doing what is necessary for those of us who live in the Black community, for those who are affected by what is a lack of treatment in the Black community, particularly in the area of mental health. This may explain why Black adults are 20 percent more likely to be reported having serious psychological distress than White adults. They are also more likely to have feelings of sadness, helplessness, and worthlessness compared to their White counterparts. And while less likely than their White counterparts to die from suicide, Black teenagers are more likely to attempt suicide than our White teenagers. Socioeconomic determinants have been found to have significant effects on mental health. In the Black community, class and poverty are two powerful, impactful factors. Black adults living in poverty are two to three times more likely to report serious psychological distress than those living above the poverty line. Black people of all ages are more likely to be victims of serious violent crime than non-Hispanic Whites, making them more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. Mental health conditions do not discriminate based on race, color, gender, or identity. Anyone can experience the challenges of mental illness, regardless of their background. However, cultural differences, life experiences, socioeconomic conditions, and how well-informed one is can affect how an individual copes with these conditions. In the Virgin Islands, after the devastating storms of 2017, studies organized by the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands found that the trauma and lack of community caused a significant percentage of the population, both children and adults alike, to develop various mental health problems. Younger children are reverting to behaviors they had once advanced beyond, and older children are displaying cognitive impairment and aggressive tendencies. Also, about 60 percent of adults in the Virgin Islands are exhibiting symptoms of depression; the same percentage showed signs of PTSD. More than a year after the storms, 40 percent of surveyed students had symptoms of PTSD, with some admitting to having suicidal thoughts. Although anyone can develop a mental health problem, African Americans sometimes experience more severe forms of mental health conditions due to unmet needs and other barriers. According to the Health and Human Services Offices of Minority Health, African Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious psychological distress. Black Americans are also more likely to experience socioeconomic disparities, such as exclusion from health, educational, social, and economic resources, and are often not believed by medical professionals when reporting symptoms--often not believed. These disparities contribute to unfavorable mental health outcomes. Historical adversity, including slavery, sharecropping, segregation, along with other means of race-based exclusions from health, educational, and socioeconomic resources, have led us to the disparities experienced by Black Americans today. Despite progressive gains and reform in our society, racism lingers and continues to impact the Black community, including the state of mental health. One of the individuals who is fighting this--not just mental health, but all health issues, and particularly among African Americans, the Black community--is my colleague from Chicago, Congresswoman Robin Kelly. She leads the Congressional Black Caucus in health areas by leading our Braintrust on Health and has spent a significant amount of time in her district and throughout this country highlighting the issues that affect African Americans, disparities in health issues, as well as mental health. I ask her to speak to you, Mr. Speaker, about those issues that affect Black Americans, about those issues that impact our community and, therefore, impacts America, that does not let us be our best. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly).

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Illinois for what she has said, and, Mr. Speaker, I would engage the Congresswoman, through the Chair, in a discussion. I know that she has been going around the country to so many districts and talked with so many people about healthcare, about the disparities of health. Is there a connection between the lack of access to physical healthcare and how it affects communities in terms of mental care as well? I yield to the gentlewoman.

Ms. PLASKETT. I think so much about when the gentlewoman said people talk about post-traumatic stress disorder, and there are so many people in our country who are having present-day traumatic stress disorder. In the Black community, there is this stigma to just live through it, not discuss it, and begin normalizing the kind of life that we lead, the kind of fear that many people in Black communities have, whether it is fear of being shot or fear of the police. Mr. Speaker, I think, as a Black mother having four sons, I begin to think that it is normal to be concerned for my sons out at night. That is not normal, and that is going to affect your mental state after a while. So I think of all these people and the things that they are going through. Right. It should not be normal. We are, unfortunately, normalizing some things. But no, that should not be normal. Every mother worries about their child, but it shouldn't be, ``If my child is not home by a certain time, I am so worried,'' and all of these things that are going through your mind. That should not be normal for us. The other thing is, when you are stressing out about certain things, that not only affects your mental health, but it affects your physical health also. It affects your body head to toe, which is not good either. Then it gets into the high blood pressure that we face and heart disease and those kinds of things. It really does have a huge effect all over, not just on one thing or the other.

Ms. PLASKETT. I think about how, if a family has individuals with diabetes, hypertension, the other issues, and they are taking money and time to deal with that--if, in fact, they are--they are not considering going to counseling or going to some other things about depression or other things that they may be feeling and things that may be happening within their home. It is a matter of taking care of what is the immediacy. Still, the stigma is there that your mental health is not as important as your physical health. I yield to the gentlewoman.

Ms. PLASKETT. Then there is the issue of having culturally sensitive doctors as well.

Ms. PLASKETT. Because so many individuals in the African American community, if they are going to speak with a psychiatrist, a mental health professional, if that individual does not--never mind that they don't look like them, but if they are not culturally sensitive to the issues, they may not come back the second time. They may not even make the appointment if they realize that this person is not going to be able to understand the life that they lead here as a Black person in America. I yield to the gentlewoman.

Ms. PLASKETT. I was looking at a statistic here that, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, 89.3 million Americans live in federally designated mental health professional shortage areas, in contrast to only 55.3 million Americans living in similarly designated primary care shortage areas and 44.6 million living in dental health shortage areas. There is, within the greater American society, a shortage of those professionals in the mental health area. For African Americans, that number is exacerbated with African Americans that look like themselves. We are just thinking about the Speaker earlier today issuing a statement saying that the Senate is considering cutting all funding-- not supporting funding for HBCUs, historically Black colleges and universities, where we know that a preponderance of the African Americans in the mental health area have been going to school. I yield to the gentlewoman.