Emily Randall

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Joel Kawahara, a 70- year-old commercial fisherman who represented the very best of our maritime community. In August, Joel was lost at sea while doing what he loved the most, which was fishing for salmon in the Pacific. Joel wasn't just a fisherman. He was the 2009 National Fisherman's Highliner of the Year, known up and down the West Coast for the exceptional quality of his catch. What truly set Joel apart was his unwavering commitment to conservation. For over 30 years, he served on the Save Our Wild Salmon coalition. He would cut his own fishing trips short to attend policy meetings. The last time I saw him, while walking through the boatyard in Port Townsend, he stopped working on the Karolee to talk to me about NOAA and how important it was to protect. Friends remember his infectious laugh at beach parties and his generous spirit. He put his family's 80-acre property in a conservation easement. He understood that caring for the land means caring for the fish and caring for the fish means caring for future generations of fishermen. Mr. Speaker, Joel showed us that a well-lived life is one spent fighting for what we believe in while lifting up our community along the way. We honor Joel's memory and his legacy of service to our waters and our way of life.

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Chair, I was going to say some nice things about rising in support of a bipartisan NDAA that supports housing, healthcare, and childcare, but I have sat here appalled at the language that we have heard on the House floor from the other side of the aisle. I stand in strong opposition to the person from North Carolina's amendment. I have sat listening to her violent, dangerous, and dehumanizing vendetta against parents, children, and trans people trying to live their lives and trying to defend our country. This is a pattern of the unhinged political war on trans people that this person from North Carolina, the Republican Party, and the President are waging. Denying the ability of out trans folks to serve in our military isn't enough for these people. The person from North Carolina is trying to erase the existence of trans people from forms, from hallways, from our military, and choosing violence.

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Madam Chair, I rise today to urge support of three amendments to the NDAA that the House will be considering today. The first amendment directs the Department of Defense to identify and address barriers to Tribal participation in the Defense Community Infrastructure Program, also known as DCIP. In Washington's Sixth, that means working with Tribes like the Jamestown S'Klallam, Lower Elwha Klallam, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Skokomish, and Suquamish, whose communities are near naval installations. By including Tribal voices and needs in this critical program, we can ensure that Tribal infrastructure priorities, such as clean water, transportation, and broadband support both our installations and the quality of life of our servicemembers. My second amendment directs the DOD to implement GAO's October 2024 recommendations on military housing. In Washington's Sixth, we know housing shortages and rising costs force long commutes for sailors, their families, and the local Federal civilian workforce. Safe, affordable housing is not a perk. It is a prerequisite for military readiness, retention, and strong communities across Kitsap and the Olympic Peninsulas. Finally, my third amendment adds language supporting robust funding for DCIP. The program is oversubscribed every year, leaving worthy projects in Bremerton and across the Olympic Peninsula and the rest of the country unfunded. Robust investment will allow us to deliver shovel-ready projects that improve quality of life, readiness, family stability, and resilience. Together, these amendments strengthen fairness, housing, and infrastructure for servicemembers, their families, and defense communities in Washington's Sixth Congressional District. I urge my colleagues to support these amendments and to not include any poison pill amendments that would jeopardize these bipartisan priorities.

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered to be the first sponsor of H.R. 1522, a bill originally introduced by Representative Connolly of Virginia, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the amendment at the desk that protects against any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, due to family related matters, I was unable to vote on S. 331, H.R. 4, and H.R. 2056. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 166, YEA on Roll Call No. 167, NAY on Roll Call No. 168, AYE on Roll Call No. 169, YEA on Roll Call No. 170, and NAY on Roll Call No. 171. personal explanation

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, due to family matters, I was unable to vote today on H. Res. 499. Had I been present, I would have voted NO on Roll Call No. 164 and NO on Roll Call No. 165. personal explanation

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, due to family related matters, I was unable to vote today on H.R. 2096 and H.R. 884. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 162 and NAY on Roll Call No. 163. personal explanation Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, today I was necessarily absent and missed the following votes on the House Floor. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 160, Motion on Ordering the Previous Question (H. Res. 489); NAY on Roll Call No. 161, H. Res. 489--Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 2096--Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act; H.R. 884--To prohibit individuals who are not citizens of the United States from voting in elections in the District of Columbia and to repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022; H.R. 2056--District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act of 2025; and S. 331--HALT Fentanyl Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 162, H.R. 2096--Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act; and NAY on Roll Call No. 163, H.R. 884--To prohibit individuals who are not citizens of the United States from voting in elections in the District of Columbia and to repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022. personal explanation

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, for months, Members of Congress and the American people have been told by our Republican colleagues that we are being alarmist about this budget proposal. We aren't being alarmist. House Republicans' cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other essential programs are alarming. These are real people who are depending on us to make sure they still have healthcare and are able to feed their families. These are real people who come to my townhalls, who write to us, and who call my office. They are real people like Aneliese, a single mother, who called our office urging us through tears to protect SNAP, saying: I will have no way to feed my child. I am extremely stressed out, and if they cut food stamps, I don't know what I will do. They are real people like Christy, whose daughter has autism and epilepsy. She said: Losing Medicaid would be absolutely devastating to my family. I won't be able to keep my daughter healthy or get her the medications she needs. They are real people like Veronica, whose grandmother's last few days in long-term care were only possible because of Medicaid. Taking healthcare and food away from people isn't bringing down prices for families. It is telling people that your health and your lives aren't worth as much as billionaires' bank accounts.

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for leading us in this Special Order hour today. Mr. Speaker, fear, anger, terror, sadness, these are the emotions that just scratch the surface of what my community and our immigrant neighbors are feeling. Why should we expect anything less? This is exactly what this administration wants: to force immigrants into the shadows, to break their spirit, and to disrupt our communities. When you come for immigrants, you come for small businesses. When you come for immigrants, you come for our farmworkers and for our fish processors. When you come for immigrants, you come for nurses, doctors, and caregivers. When you come for immigrants, you come for the very identity of what makes this country America. Last week, I met with immigrants' rights advocates and toured the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. The detainee population has doubled in the last few months. The average time detained has extended. Discretionary releases are now uncommon, even for detainees without violent criminal records. Folks are being detained and disappeared for nothing more than political speech. Mr. Speaker, what this visit reaffirmed for me is that any immigration policy rooted in hate and fueled by chaos doesn't make our immigration system more efficient or safe; it overwhelms the system. We don't fix a broken system by breaking people. Most of our origin stories, even as Members of the House in this body, begin as immigration stories. It is past time that all of us remember that.

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, due to flight delays I was unable to vote on H.R. 856. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 54.

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, Mr. Carbajal, for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I come before you today to tell a very personal family story that motivated my interest to serve my community here in Congress and that continues to motivate me to think about the impacts on families all across my district and all across the country. When I was 7 years old, my sister, Olivia, was born with microcephaly. What that means is that her brain was small, and the doctors didn't know why. They didn't know if she would live, how long she would live, and what her life would look like. I grew up in a family of public servants, a bipartisan family, a biracial family, and my dad, who was a civilian employee for the Department of Defense, had pretty good government employee insurance, but that insurance wouldn't have covered all of the surgeries, specialists, and the equipment that Olivia needed to thrive. However, gratefully for our family, the Washington State legislature in 1993 voted to expand Medicaid. Washington was one of the first States in the country to lead that charge. For us that meant that we didn't have to worry about losing our house or what other bills that we could pay so that Olivia could survive and thrive. It meant that she could get multiple wheelchairs and use equipment like inflatable vests that kept her from getting pneumonia more than five times a year. She was able to go to public school and live for 19 years with our family. For me, I learned that government could be a safety net for families like mine. So for the last 6 years in the Washington State legislature I worked hard to expand healthcare access for folks all across the State and all across my big rural district where hospitals are already struggling because Medicaid reimbursement rates are low, where small clinics and independent providers are shuttering their doors because they cannot afford to stay open. So, Mr. Speaker, if you have a family with a disabled kid like my sister and you live in Neah Bay in the farthest northwest corner of the lower 48 States, then you have to drive hours and sometimes wait for a ferry that could be 2 hours delayed in order to get to a specialist in Seattle to get your kid lifesaving care. What will happen if this budget resolution becomes reality and if $1 trillion is cut from Medicare programs is that we will see potentially per-capita caps. What that means is that we will decide how much the lives of children like my sister are worth. How much will we be willing to pay for the equipment and the specialists and the surgery to keep medically fragile kids alive? It will mean that folks without disabilities, seniors and low-income children, and folks with private insurance will struggle to afford healthcare in communities like mine and communities across the country. We are facing a real crisis in our healthcare sector already. We should not be adding to it by cutting $1 trillion from poor people and people with disabilities, from children, and from seniors who are often dual eligible for Medicare and Medicaid who are able to live in dignity until the end of their days because of this important program. It will keep long-term care programs open if we are able to maintain Medicaid funding. I am scared. I am scared for my constituents. I am scared for my neighbors. I am scared for the healthcare providers who are just trying to do their jobs. I am also scared for the impact that we will see for years into the future if this budget resolution becomes law, if we deliver trillions of dollars of cuts for families who depend on Medicaid.

Ms. RANDALL

Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a queer woman, once the only girl on my peewee football team, and a graduate from a women's college in strong opposition to H.R. 28. This bill makes schools less safe for women and girls. It gives every teacher, coach, and parent an opportunity to police who looks feminine enough to play. It will put all girls at risk of intrusive questions and physical genital examinations, dissuading girls' participation in sports. As LGBTQ+ youth continue to face attacks and targeting from extremist lawmakers in legislative chambers across the country and higher rates of depression and suicide, this bill is doubly dangerous. In my community, I meet young people and parents over and over who have fled States like Idaho, Texas, and Florida because they want to live in safe, welcoming communities where they know they have a future. While there are real problems impacting women's sports, including sexual violence, lack of equal resources, and pay inequality, this bill does nothing to address them. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to focus on addressing the pressing issues facing everyday Americans and to reject this hateful legislation.