Ayanna Pressley

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, in closing, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I commend Congresswoman Dean for her excellent work on H.R. 1491 to help ensure our servicemembers are not threatened or harassed by unscrupulous debt collectors. Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support our servicemembers by voting ``yes'' on H.R. 1491, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 1395, the Housing Financial Literacy Act, a bipartisan bill authored by Representative Beatty who is the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion. The bill is also cosponsored by Representative Stivers. This bill would incentivize prospective home buyers to undergo housing counseling by offering a discount on FHA-backed mortgages for doing so. Research has consistently demonstrated that loans made to borrowers who have received pre-purchase counseling perform better than loans made to comparable borrowers who did not receive pre-purchase counseling on their mortgage. When borrowers are able to stay current on their mortgage payments, lenders save money too. A 2013 study by Freddie Mac found that when 90- day delinquencies were lowered by 29 percent, lenders saved an average of $1,000 per loan. So this bill would not only benefit consumers during an environment of historically low mortgage rates, it would also help further improve the financial health of the FHA. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Beatty for her leadership on this commonsense, data-driven bill. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1395, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my time. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio for pushing this bill forward. This bill incentivizes financial literacy that will help avoid delinquencies and lower the upfront cost of homeownership for so many. Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1565, the Senior Security Act of 2021, which would help protect America's senior investors who can be disproportionately vulnerable to investment-related frauds. In 2017 alone, State securities regulators conducted nearly 4,709 investigations, leading to more than 2,100 enforcement actions, including 255 criminal prosecutions. These actions have resulted in approximately $486 million in restitution for harmed investors, nearly $79 million in fines and/or penalties, and 1,985 years in incarceration or probation being ordered. The National Council on Aging estimated that elder financial abuse and fraud costs older Americans from $2.9 billion to $36.5 billion annually. Moreover, in a February bulletin, the FINRA, the NASAA, and the SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy noted that COVID- 19's unprecedented quarantines and social isolation may leave senior investors even more susceptible to financial fraud than ever before. This bill would establish a Senior Investor Task Force within the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In coordination and consultation with State securities administrators, self-regulatory organizations, Federal law enforcement agencies, and others, the task force would be charged with identifying issues related to investors who are older than 65 years of age. The bill would also require biennial task force reports and require the GAO to complete a study on senior financial exploitation. I strongly support the safety of America's senior investors and their right to enjoy the retirement funds that they have worked so hard to earn. I also support regulators and law enforcement in holding fraudsters who prey upon the elderly accountable. It is for all these reasons I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Senior Security Act of 2021. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer), who is a sponsor of this legislation.

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Vicente Gonzalez).

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1565 will help our financial regulators better protect our Nation's seniors and the retirement funds they spent their entire lives building. I urge all of my colleagues to stand up for senior investors and vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1865. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Nadler for yielding. Madam Speaker, the tragic events of this week underscore both our responsibility and the urgency we must move to legislate our values and to stand on the side of justice. I represent Massachusetts Seventh, a district which is 40 percent immigrants. I rise today in solidarity with them. H.R. 6 is a critical step towards citizenship for Dreamers, TPS, and DED holders. However, the criminal bar provisions added to this bill further entangles our racist criminal legal system in the citizenship process. I thank Congressman Garcia and partners for leading the fight to eliminate this language. There is more work to be done, but this bill moves us in the right direction of a more just America, one which values the lives of immigrants and not just their labor.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to reintroduce the People's Justice Guarantee, a bold, progressive vision to transform our criminal legal system from what it currently is to what it ought to be. For far too long, Congress has enacted policies that failed millions of men, women, and children by expanding our carceral system and divesting from Black and Latinx communities. Growing up with an incarcerated parent, these failures are personal to me. I worked with folks in communities that have been marginalized and ignored, like the incarcerated brothers of the AACC in the Massachusetts Seventh, to craft a resolution that confronts the systemic injustices that destabilized families and traumatized generations. We should provide care for those in crisis, not confine them in solitary. We should house our immigrant neighbors, not deport them from their communities. We should counsel our kids, not lock them up in prison. The People's Justice Guarantee offers these solutions and many others in a robust framework for a humane, equitable, and just legal system. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to reintroduce the People's Justice Guarantee so America can finally fulfill its promise of justice for all.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my amendment to H.R. 1, the For the People Act. H.R. 1 is bold, transformative legislation, which fights voter suppression, promotes access to the ballot, cracks down on money in politics, and provides transparency to the American people. Passing this bill has never been more urgent. We must act to protect and preserve our democracy. My amendment gets to the heart of H.R. 1 and recognizes the contributions that young people continue to make to our democracy. By lowering the Federal voting age from 18 to 16 years of age, my amendment would enfranchise young Americans to help shape and form the policies that will set the course for our future. From police violence, to immigration reform, to climate change, to the future of work and the minimum wage, our young people are organizing, mobilizing, and calling us to action. They are at the forefront of social movements and have more than earned inclusion in our democracy. Mr. Speaker, 16- and 17-year-old constituents of mine are supporting their families. They are working, not for enrichment or to build a resume, but because they have no choice. They are attending school full-time and taking care of loved ones in the midst of the COVID crisis. Young people are contributing both to the labor force and their local economies by paying taxes, and yet they are deprived of the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. Some have questioned the maturity of our youth. I don't. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds today possess wisdom and maturity defined by today's challenges, hardships, and opportunities. They deserve and demand a government that is accountable to them, a government that values their voices, and understands the depth and breadth of their lived experience. They are not a monolith. But they are nation-builders, living through a global pandemic, confronting racial injustice, and rebuilding our democracy. Now is the time for us to meet the moment and enfranchise 16- and 17- year-olds. I would like to thank my colleagues and dear friends, Representatives Meng and Schakowsky, for their leadership on this issue and for cosponsoring my amendment. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jones).

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, we must do right by the young organizers and activists who have fought for our democracy. They have a stake in our democracy, and they deserve to have a stake at the ballot box. Civil rights heroes like the late John Lewis taught us through example that no one is too young to fight for access to the ballot. In fact, he supported this very amendment last Congress. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully request my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people who are struggling and feel abandoned by their government during this crisis. I rise in solidarity with every parent who has struggled to buy diapers and formula, every family behind on rent or crushed by the grief of an empty chair at the kitchen table. Our people are crying out, sick, tired, hungry, and broken. The people we have taken an oath to serve and protect need direct cash to survive the winter. We must send them survival checks immediately. Some of my colleagues are patting themselves on the back for sending corporations payouts--corporations, by the way, that have profited off of people during this pandemic--and shaming families on the edge. Shame on them for their theatrics and their callousness. 450 pennies a day for the last 9 months, that is what our government has sent the American people to weather this crisis, and nothing for the immigrant families who drive our essential workforce. It didn't have to be this way. Our families deserve direct cash, real survival checks. Madam Speaker, $600 is hardly sufficient. It is an insult. We must act to save lives now. The pandemic has not discriminated in its hardship, but it would seem compassion and empathy have.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the CROWN Act, which will move us one step closer to ending the centuries of discrimination against Black hair, discrimination that has rejected the dignity and beauty of my people. From personnel handbooks to school dress code policies, Afros, locs, and twists have been codified as proxies for our Black skin and manifestations of anti-Black racism. Many, especially Black women, grow up hearing that our natural coils and kinks are distracting, ghetto, ugly, and unprofessional. From as early as grade school, Black girls are pushed out of school for wearing their hair naturally. As we grow up, we are taught to straighten our hair if we want to get a job or simply live our lives in peace. When I first joined Congress, I proudly chose to wear my hair in Senegalese twists because I sought to intentionally create space for all of us to show up in the world as our authentic selves. Today, I navigate the world a little differently. My beautiful twists were taken from me due to the autoimmune disease known as alopecia universalis. But today, I stand in honor of those who don crowns of all types. May they continue to shine.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solidarity with my fellow Americans with alopecia in recognition of September as Alopecia Areata Awareness Month. Today, like nearly 7 million Americans, I live with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that attacks the hair follicles. This common condition is highly unpredictable and cyclical. Hair can grow back in or fall out again at any time, and the course is different for each person. Alopecia areata disproportionately affects children and Black Americans, and particularly Black women. Some people may say that it is just hair, but for me and for many people living with alopecia, hair is intrinsically linked to our identity and our cultural expression. We all have our own unique stories with our alopecia diagnosis. Mine began nearly a year ago as my braider noticed a small patch of baldness. Very soon after, I was waking up to sinks full of hair. What started as a few small patches quickly spread. I remember the moment vividly. I was alone in my D.C. apartment, separated from my family, on the same day that would have been my mother's 72nd birthday and on the eve of an impeachment vote. I was standing in the bathroom, staring at my reflection in the mirror, and for the first time I was completely bald. For months, I had dreaded the moment when it would be all gone; but looking at myself in the mirror that night, I felt relief, peace, and acceptance. It was a moment of grace, and I thank God for that. In a matter of weeks, I would lose my eyelashes, eyebrows, and the rest of my hair and be diagnosed with alopecia universalis, one of three forms of alopecia. I am still coming to terms with my new alopecia reality and the impact of my traumatic hair loss. Every day, thanks to the support of my family, my staff, the broader alopecia community, and others who have experienced hair loss, I am making progress. I am making progress despite the hateful comments, the cruel and constant online harassment about my baldness, the intrusive and ignorant questions on the elevators, the unsolicited advice, and the stares, lots of stares. No doubt about it, a bald woman entering a room or entering the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives makes people uncomfortable. Visually, it challenges every antiquated cultural norm about what is professional, what is pretty, what is feminine. But in the loss, the hurt, and the ache of it all, I have never lost sight of the following: I am Sandy and Martin's daughter; I am Conan's wife; I am Cora's stepmom; and I am the Congresswoman for the Massachusetts Seventh Congressional District. Mr. Speaker, I am now bald, but I am in good health and in incredible company. I have received an outpouring of love from people across the globe who are living with alopecia. Early on, I received a note from an elementary school-aged girl with alopecia. She wanted to give me some tips in navigating this new normal. She told me about the first time she walked into school after her diagnosis, ``Just walk right up to your friends and tell them, `I'm still me,' '' she wrote. Who couldn't use a reminder like that as they navigate the world? Those little acts of kindness and solidarity have defined this experience, too. I am proud to be in the good company of those fighting for people living with alopecia. There is an entire community that has been working tirelessly to share their stories and to educate the public on the impact of alopecia areata. For three decades, the National Alopecia Areata Foundation has been working to garner congressional support for research and treatment development. My longtime friend and partner in good, Congressman McGovern, introduced legislation to allow medical wigs to be covered under the Medicare program so that every senior living with alopecia can afford wigs and other head coverings. This year, the House passed my amendment to provide an additional $5 million in next year's funding for the National Institutes of Health, which will fund research to increase our understanding of the causes, impacts, and possible treatments of alopecia areata. I know that our work is far from over, and I will continue to fight. I will take my seat at the table. I will take up space, and I will create it, too; and with this space, we will make change. Every single person deserves to show up in the world exactly as they are without fear or discrimination. To my fellow alopecians wherever you may be, today I bring our story to the floor of the people's House to say that we belong, our stories deserve to be heard, and we are absolutely beautiful and worthy.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to say: Enough. In a blatant attempt to suppress the vote, the occupant has continued to attack the legitimacy of our elections, denouncing the very method of voting he and his family have repeatedly used: mail-in ballots. Hypocrisy: It should look familiar to my colleagues across the aisle. How dare you refer to this as a sham bill. The only sham here is the patriotism that you allege to espouse while you stand idly by and are complicit in the dismantling of the United States Postal Service, which is impacting the lives of all of our constituents, disrupting services. Patriotism: They hire more veterans than anyone else. Veterans rely on them to receive lifesaving medication. The only sham here is the patriotism which you espouse. Enough of the criminal and corrupt mismanagement of the Postmaster General. The changes he has brought to our Postal Service during this pandemic are brazen acts of sabotage intended to slow down operations and to delay mail delivery. This is a hell of a way to repay 600,000 dedicated letter carriers and postal workers who have put themselves in harm's way in the midst of this pandemic, who find dignity in their work and are worried about the impact on services and fear for their very livelihoods and retribution for the calls that they have made to all of our offices. How dare you. While the Trump administration and its allies continue to gaslight the American people, we actually listen to our constituents and their lived experiences and how this has disrupted their lives, what you are referring to as fakes news, constituents like Cassandra, a freelancer from Somerville who waited for 2 weeks for a check from a client to arrive. ``Freelancing is already unstable,'' she told me, ``and post office delays mean I have even less assurance that the money I have worked for will reach me in a timely fashion.'' Or Brendan in Charlestown, who requested an absentee ballot more than 3 weeks ago so he and his pregnant wife could vote without risking their health but has yet to receive it because, in the Massachusetts Seventh Congressional District, nine mail sorting machines have been removed. There must be accountability. It is time to pass the Delivering for America Act.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise on behalf of every Black man and Black boy who has been dehumanized, surveilled, and targeted by the policies drafted and debated within the walls of this very institution and institutions of power throughout our Nation. I rise today to offer my unwavering support and to thank Congresswoman Wilson for laboring in love to see the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act become a reality. It is long- overdue legislation that will push our Nation one step closer to grappling with the systemic racism and structural barriers that have robbed us of the lives of our Black husbands, our Black brothers, and our Black sons. Passage of this bill today is a testament to the longstanding calls and efforts in communities, including in my own Boston. When I was on the Boston City Council in 2014, we attempted to establish a commission like this, and that effort was vetoed. So it feels so good to see this happening on the Federal level. The passage of this bill today is a testament to the longstanding calls and efforts throughout our Nation to examine and combat the systemic inequities and disparities impacting Black boys and men from education and employment to health and to housing and to incarceration. With this bill's passage today, we declare on the floor of the House of Representatives, the people's House, that we are our brother's keeper, that Black lives matter, that Black men matter, and that our Black boys matter.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to condemn in the strongest form the vulgar language and blatant disrespect a colleague directed at Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. As the Congresswoman stated, we are not on the House floor today because of just one callous incident. Unfortunately, what brings us to this moment are the structural and cultural conditions, and, yes, the very men that have normalized the marginalization of women and, specifically, women of color, since this Nation's very inception. Madam Speaker, patriarchy, is a tool of oppression that is very much at home in the halls of this powerful institution; not unlike the hostile working environments and harassment experienced by countless women across the Nation who dare to speak truth to power. Today, we rise for every woman that has dealt with these dynamics as a conflated part of their walk in life; every woman that has repressed the painful rhetoric inflicted on our bodies and our lives. So, suffice it to say that these tired tactics to debase and marginalize are familiar. And, yet, still, we rise. Our foremothers, the trailblazing women elected to Congress before us, equipped us to take on a world that was built on contradictions and injustice. Because of them, we have learned how to walk with our heads held high; our legacy defined by the laws we write and the good we do on behalf of those we serve. I first set foot in this institution at the age of 19. My mother poured into me a sense of reverence for this institution, of the awesome power that it held. I walked through hallways, and still do, flanked by the statues of men that enslaved my ancestors, in a building built by my enslaved ancestors. Madam Speaker, while there may still be some specters in this hallway set on upholding oppression and misogyny, I know that when my 12-year old daughter walks through these hallways today, she sees my name embossed on a plaque outside the door and lit up on the voting board above this House floor. And she sees Tlaib, and Omar, and Chu, and Jayapal, and Escobar, and Trahan, and Underwood. Our very existence is proof that progress has been made. And yet, although in some instances we are better than we used to be, we are still not who we can be. And so, with my eyes fixed clear on the challenges of the moment, but clearer still on the promise of the future, I speak to our daughters, for they are watching and carefully taking note of how we respond in this moment. So, in this moment, I say to my Cora, and all our daughters, you are powerful. You are limitless. Your contributions to this world are brilliant, needed, and uniquely yours. Your ideas are substantive. Your lived experiences, your kind heart, and your critical eye belong at every single table where decisions are being made. You deserve a life free from fear and filled with dignity and love. You are not defined by your productivity or your chosen work. We affirm these truths to be self-evident that women are the backbone of every family, of our communities, and we are nation builders. We believe in you fully, without reservation. You have a right to show up in the world exactly as you are. And who you are is always enough. Cora, you belong everywhere. And I will close with the words of Reverend William Barber who aptly points out that we find ourselves, as a Nation, in a moment of reckoning, a reckoning which calls for reconstruction. Old fights, but this is a new day. Let's build the world that Cora and all girls and women deserve and let us begin with this very institution.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer an amendment to H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, and thank my colleagues for their work on this legislation. Our Nation's transportation and infrastructure policies play a critical role in building healthy and safe communities, but for far too long, they have perpetuated many of our most entrenched inequities. My amendment would require us to examine how our Nation's transportation policies have impacted and targeted our most vulnerable. It is critical that we understand how transportation policies are criminalizing Black and Brown communities. Specifically, we have seen violent enforcement of fare evasion policies and the discriminatory placement of speed cameras and other surveillance technology in our lowest income communities. Mr. Speaker, this is a moment of reckoning. There is a multiracial, multigenerational movement that, for the last month, has been affirming that Black lives matter, demanding an end to racist systems and policies that disproportionately criminalize our Black and Brown neighbors. We have a mandate to center justice in all of our policymaking. Our transportation policies are no exception. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a statement in support of my amendment. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer an amendment to H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act and thank my colleagues for their work on this legislation. Our nation's transportation and infrastructure policies play a critical role in building healthy and safe communities. But, for too long they have perpetuated many of our most entrenched inequities. My amendment would require us to examine how our nation's transportation policies have impacted and targeted our most vulnerable. It is critical that we understand how transportation policies are criminalizing Black and brown communities. Specifically, we have seen violent enforcement of fare evasion policies and the discriminatory placement of speed cameras and other surveillance technology in our lowest income communities. Mr. Speaker, this is a moment of reckoning. The people have organized and peacefully protested for more than a month to affirm that Black Lives Matter and demand the end of racist systems and policies that disproportionately criminalize our Black and Brown neighbors. We have a mandate to center justice in all of our policymaking. Our transportation policies are no exception. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Thank you. I yield.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Madam Chair for her leadership at such a time as this. Two months ago, I stood before my colleagues in this Chamber sounding the alarms that, without immediate relief, millions in our communities would face housing instability and eviction. Today I rise once more to remind us all that, in only 2 days, the rent is due. In my district, Massachusetts Seventh, 30 percent of families have missed a rent payment during the pandemic--30 percent. Our families, in particular Black families, are on the edge of an eviction tsunami just as the renter protections put in place through the CARES Act are due to expire next month. A report released yesterday by City Life/Vida Urbana found that 78 percent of all evictions filed in Boston before evictions were banned statewide were in census tracts where the majority of residents are people of color. This is an issue of racial, economic, and health justice. Housing is a critical determinant of public health, as evidenced by the disproportionately high infection rate amongst our neighbors experiencing homelessness. I am proud that this bill includes my Public Health Emergency Shelter Act and will provide more than $11 billion in funding for rapid rehousing and efforts to improve the health and safety of those experiencing homelessness. We must support this critical legislation and affirm our commitment to housing as a human right and housing as a form of justice.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this critical resolution reversing a rule tainted by conflicts of interest and callous disregard for the communities most affected. As hundreds of thousands take to the streets, as the cries for a reckoning with this Nation's past and present grow louder, this administration believes that the future is further deregulation. Today, we reject the administration's position that it is banks that are deserving of our time and sympathy as further relief funding is denied to millions of struggling families. There is no separating the history of banking from the history of racism in this country. Wall Street, our Nation's financial capital, is named after a structure erected by enslaved people and then served as a site where they were bought and sold. Today, we have predatory lenders set up in Black communities, where systems of oppression ensure a steady stream of customers, communities that banks have decided are simply not worth their time or their business. The Community Reinvestment Act reflects, and is a direct response to this history, and aims to reverse course. I urge all of my colleagues to acknowledge the decades of divestment from our communities and to support this crucial civil rights legislation.

Ms. PRESSLEY

Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of every Black family that has been robbed of a child, on behalf of every family member that has been forced to see their loved one lynched on national television. Driving while Black, jogging while Black, sleeping while Black, we have been criminalized for the very way we show up in the world. Under the harsh gaze of far too many, my black body is seen as a threat, always considered armed. Centuries of institutionalized oppression will not be undone overnight, for racism in America is as structural as the marble pillars of this very institution. With the power of the pen, we must legislate accountability, dismantle these systems, and move in the direction of justice and healing. The Justice in Policing Act is a critical step forward, and I applaud the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus. But our work is unfinished. There is a rallying cry in communities across the Nation. Black Lives Matter is a mandate from the people. It is time. Pay us what you owe us. Our black skin is not a crime. It is the beautiful robe of nation builders.