Jan Schakowsky

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Headlines such as a $55 million contract to a bankrupt company, who is a baker, in order to make N95 masks. ``Hedge Fund Managers Claiming Bailouts As Small Businesses.'' ``Over 43,000 U.S. Millionaires Will Get `stimulus' Averaging $1.6 Million Each.'' Yes, we need an oversight committee, and we need it now.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be here as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and I rise, as we all know, during one of the most challenging moments in the history of our country and, I would say, the world. Americans are hurting, and families are suffering. The calls that are coming to my office, and I am sure to yours, too, are just heartbreaking. But today, we will pass a bill that will provide critical relief to begin the healing in our communities. Despite, I have to say, the failure of leadership from our President, Congress has, in fact, stepped up. Thanks to the unity of House and Senate Democrats, we pushed the initial Republican proposal from corporate-first to families-and- workers-first. We fought for and won a $100 billion investment in hospitals and healthcare systems for our doctors and nurses on the front line fighting the coronavirus, often without the equipment that they need. I am imploring the President to fully invoke the Defense Production Act so that our frontline workers will have the protective gear that they need and right now are not getting. The CARES Act will also provide double the unemployment insurance benefits that Republicans initially proposed. This will help countless restaurant workers and small business employees who call my office and say: ``We need help.'' Thanks to Democrats, the small business owners in my district will now be able to make payroll, with their mortgages and utility costs eligible for Small Business Administration loan forgiveness. Sadly, this bill isn't all that it could be. I am deeply disturbed that my Republican colleagues are trying to exclude local Planned Parenthood clinics from this small business financing, especially since they are helping people every single day to be able to get the healthcare they need. I am also really disappointed that they took this opportunity to irrelevantly add to this the Hyde amendment. I especially want to take the time to thank the people who are working today, and I am glad to be here among you doing just that. But we are seeing people who are outside here, the Capitol Police, the people who are helping to clean our environment, the people who are now working at jobs like the people in my grocery store, the Jewel Food Store in my neighborhood, the people who are bagging my groceries, who are loading my shelves, who are taking my money in order to buy the food that all the people in my community need. They are risking their lives, too, and deserve the thanks. I want to thank my Governor, Governor J. B. Pritzker, who has actually created a response fund that will put money into community organizations and not-for-profits that can help people who aren't covered here, who need to be covered in the next bill. I am talking about immigrants and undocumented people.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise to remind my colleagues of what is at stake at the Supreme Court in the coming weeks. Yesterday, the Court began to hear arguments in a major abortion rights case, June Medical Services v. Russo. If the Louisiana law in question goes into effect, only one clinic remains in the entire state. Only one physician would continue to provide abortions to the 10,000 women in Louisiana who sought them every year. That outcome would deny thousands of women in Louisiana their constitutional protection, the protected rights to access abortion care. ln 2016, the Court already decided that an identical case was unconstitutional. But since President Trump has added two conservative justices to the Supreme Court, it's more important than ever for us to speak out about what is at stake. I'm proud to do that today.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to remind my colleagues of what is at stake at the Supreme Court in coming weeks. Yesterday, the Court began to hear arguments in a major abortion rights case, June Medical Services v. Russo. If the Louisiana law in question goes into effect, only one clinic remains in the entire State. Only one physician would continue to provide abortion services to the 10,000 women who seek them every year. That outcome would deny thousands of women in Louisiana their constitutional protection: the protected right to access abortion care. In 2016, the Court already decided that an identical case was unconstitutional. But since President Trump has added two conservative Justices to the Supreme Court, it is more important than ever for us to speak out about what is at stake, and I am proud to do that today. The Court should not uphold the Louisiana law and should overturn it.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Michael and Susie Lorge, who are being honored by Keshet at its annual gala on March 15, 2020 for their community leadership. Susie has been an early childhood educator for 30 years and anchors the kindergarten staff at Chicago Jewish Day School. In addition to teaching, Susie leads Kabbalat Shabbat for the lower grades, tells stories and works on special projects. Susie also performs with her music group, Kol Sasson, which delivers an Israeli and American folk sound and performs throughout the United States. Michael is Corporation Counsel for the Village of Skokie, where he works on municipal law, public policy and community engagement. Michael's career began as a prosecutor and continued at the firm Laser Pokorney. He was also an Administrative Law Judge and a Special Assistant to the Illinois Attorney General. Michael and Susie share a passion for teaching and the arts. They are the founders of the wonderful Greater Chicago Jewish Festival, the largest cultural event in the Chicago Jewish community and the longest running festival in the country. They are true partners and together they support important institutions in the community, including their local synagogue, Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute summer camp, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Skokie Arts Board, and the board of Hebrew Union College. As they are being recognized for their years of work on behalf of the community at the annual Keshet Gala, I congratulate Michael and Susie Lorge for their untiring commitment to serving others, fostering community, and working toward a society that reflects values towards which we all aspire: diversity, inclusion, generosity, kindness, and justice.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding. This certainly is an issue of consumer protection. I rise in support of this bill so that we can take action to end the youth tobacco epidemic before it claims any more lives. Prohibiting flavors that attract youngsters across the board, we need to eliminate these flavors that are really the thing that attracts them the most. We can take that step to ensure that more youth do not get addicted to nicotine and tobacco. In addition to fruity flavors, menthol plays a significant role in attracting kids to cigarettes. By cooling and numbing the throat, menthol makes it easier to hook kids on smoking. Over half of all youth who smoke cigarettes smoke menthol cigarettes, compared to less than one-third of adult smokers. The NAACP, the National Medical Association, the Black Women's Health Imperative, and many other organizations are supporting this legislation and voicing their approval of the legislation. There is no public health justification for removing menthol tobacco products from the flavor prohibition in this bill. Big Tobacco is trying to divert our attention from that by raising questions of criminal justice that we have gone above and beyond to protect against in this bill. We don't want to create a whole new generation of people addicted to nicotine; that is the intention of the tobacco industry. Let's keep our focus and pass this legislation for our kids.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 862: 2020 Public Schools Week. I was disgusted when President Trump referred to ``failing government schools,'' during his State of the Union Address. President Trump is wrong. First of all, we call them public schools. Today there are more than 50 million kids educated in public schools. Ensuring that our nation's kids are receiving the education they deserve no matter their ability, race, wealth, language, country or origin or needs. As a former public school teacher, I know firsthand public schools play for students futures and the future of our country. Yet, this administration continues to put public schools under threat. And now the President plans to divert $5 million away from public schools to private school voucher programs, as well as turn funding for Every Student Succeeds Act into a block grant program. We must continue to support our public schools and those that attend them this week and every week.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the 100th birthday of the League of Women Voters. For the past century, this non-partisan, women-led civic organization has worked diligently to promote citizens' active participation in our democracy by educating and informing the public about their government. I am proud to recount that on February 14, 1920, shortly before the ratification of the 19th Amendment granted women their long sought- after right to vote, the National League of Women Voters was organized at the national convention held in Chicago, Illinois. The League merged the National Council of Women Voters and the National American Woman Suffrage Association, establishing one umbrella organization to encourage and assist women to exercise their newly-established right to vote. The organization considers Carrie Chapman Catt its founder, and Maud Wood Park served as the League's first President. While the League's mission was initially focused upon engaging with and promoting the participation of women in our republic, the organization's scope has dramatically expanded over the years. Today, the League is hard at work expanding civic participation and promoting good government. The organization is heavily involved in voter registration efforts and sponsors candidate debates and forums across the country each election cycle, providing communities the opportunity to hear from candidates before they head to the ballot box. While the League is non-partisan, the organization is not apolitical. The League of Women Voters has a long history of taking a stand on important issues. The League supported the creation of the United Nations, the passage of the National Voter Registration Act, and regularly stands up for what is fair and just. The organization supports efforts addressing climate change, counteracting gun violence in our communities, establishing humane immigration policies, and ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable health care, among other important issues. In 1973 the League modified its charter and allowed men into its ranks. Today, men and women alike make up its over 500,000 members and supporters at over 700 state and local leagues. The organization is represented in all 50 states as well as Washington, DC, the Virgin Islands, and Hong Kong. On behalf of the residents of the 9th Congressional District of Illinois, I wish a happy 100th birthday to the League of Women Voters. We are grateful for their service to the nation, and I hope the League will continue its efforts for the next century and beyond as they work to educate and promote civic participation.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, every single constitution in the whole world written since 1959, including Afghanistan, for example, has the equivalent of the equal rights amendment, but the United States of America does not. Though my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and President Trump's Department of Justice may tell you otherwise, we need the equal rights amendment, and we need it now. The requisite number of States have now voted to ratify the equal rights amendment. Last year my home State of Illinois was the 37th State to ratify, and this year Virginia brought us to that number of 38. Today I will proudly vote ``yes'' to show my grandchildren--my granddaughters and my grandsons--that women are not only strong, powerful, and resilient, but also equal citizens under the law. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand with us.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the Baku Pogroms against Christian Armenians that took place from 1988 to 1990. In February 1988, the Armenian population in Soviet-controlled Azerbaijan became the victim of racially motived, violent pogroms that started after peaceful protests took place against Moscow's arbitrary separation of Armenia and decades of repression and discrimination. The violence began with the Sumgait pogroms in February of 1988, and continued in Kirovabad (November 1988), and Baku (January 1990). Following this, the Armenian community suffered through a failed war of aggression by Baku to subjugate the people of Artsakh. During this time, hundreds of Armenian civilians were killed, raped, beaten, maimed, and expelled from their homes for no reason other than their ethnicity. These hateful acts were fueled by anti-Armenian rhetoric from Azerbaijani officials and citizens. These pogroms were part of a systemic effort to ethnically cleanse Azerbaijan of Armenians and to send a message to Armenians to stop challenging Soviet Azerbaijani authorities. For over 30 years, Azerbaijan has attempted to cover up these crimes against humanity and has propped up the perpetrators of the Baku and Sumgait Pogroms as national heroes. It is critical that the United States government recognize and denounce this ethnically motivated violence and attacks on innocent children, women, and men in Armenian communities. We must all be aware of the history of violence targeting the Armenian people. I am grateful that the State of Illinois emphasizes Armenian genocide education and I will work with my colleagues to promote legislation to help facilitate more states doing the same. We must ensure that the victims of the Sumgait and Baku pogroms are never forgotten and that such hateful acts of violence never happen again. We must remain committed to achieving a lasting peace in the Caucasus, and ensure that the people of Artsakh are able to live free from Azerbaijani abuse and aggression.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to condemn the Trump administration's cuts to Medicaid as yet another broken promise from this President. On May 7, 2015, then-candidate Trump tweeted: ``I was the first and only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.'' He even said that these programs were a part of what makes America great. The President was right. Medicaid is a pillar of our society. Mr. Speaker, 3.26 million people in my home State of Illinois receive their healthcare through Medicaid. Since Illinois expanded Medicaid in 2013, our uninsured rate has been cut nearly in half. One study found that expanded Medicaid coverage reduced mortality in Illinois by 6 percent. Mr. Speaker, 40 percent of kids in my State can see a doctor when they are sick and get vaccinations and screenings that they need only because of Medicaid, and over 275,000 Illinois seniors and almost 400,000 people with disabilities rely on Medicaid. In fact, Medicaid pays for over half of all long-term services and supports across the United States. Despite all this, the administration is gutting Medicaid funding and allowing States to cut benefits. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voicing our opposition to the Trump administration by voting ``yes'' on this resolution. Medicaid matters, and we will protect your care.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to condemn the Trump Administration's cuts to Medicaid as yet another broken promise from this President. On May 7, 2015, then-Candidate Trump tweeted: ``I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid.'' He even said that these programs were a part of what makes America great. Well, Mr. President--you were right: Medicaid is a pillar of our society. 3.26 million people in my home state of Illinois receive their health care through Medicaid. Since Illinois expanded Medicaid in 2013, our uninsured rate has been nearly cut in half. One study found that expanding Medicaid coverage reduced mortality by 6 percent. 40 percent of kids in my state can see a doctor when they are sick and get the vaccinations and screenings they need to stay healthy only because of Medicaid. Over 275,000 of Illinois' seniors and almost 400,000 people with disabilities rely on Medicaid to live independently, including nursing home care and services that help them live at home. In fact, Medicaid pays for over half of all longterm services and supports a cross the United States. Despite all this, the Administration is gutting Medicaid funding and allowing states to cut benefits that people need to survive. Why? Maybe because they need to pay for the GOP Tax Scam, which created a $1.5 trillion deficit in tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. And because they want to continue their legacy of punishing low- income people and the most vulnerable among us. Medicaid is critical to the health and financial security of people across the United States. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting YES on this resolution so that we can send a clear message: Medicaid matters, and we will Protect Your Care.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in favor of the amendment and also the underlying bill. As a proud union member myself of Workers United, SEIU, I see the importance of sticking with my union. Even though I am no longer active on the job, I want to pay my dues. Unions have brought us the middle class; they brought us the weekend; they brought us the benefits that ordinary people have in order to have a living wage and a successful life. I also want to say that the amendment clarifies that the ABC test included in the PRO Act does not preempt any State law governing the wages, worker hours, et cetera, and so it is a very good amendment. But I want to say, for three decades, we have seen corporations trying to undermine workers' rights to gather together for their own benefit. Finally, today, we are going to pass a bill that gives workers those rights.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act's reauthorization. As has been mentioned before, I think, the Great Lakes represent 21 percent of the world's surface freshwater. I am glad to see so many of my colleagues from the Great Lakes region here, but, really, all of us and the rest of the world have a stake in this. The Great Lakes provide drinking water for 45 million Americans. The lakes support one of the world's largest regional economies through agriculture, industry, fishing, and recreation. For thousands of plants and animal species and millions of Americans, the Great Lakes are vital for life, and are our national treasure. I wanted to say, this is really personal for me. The eastern border of my district, running from Chicago to the northern suburbs, is Lake Michigan. I live just a few blocks from the lake myself and have spent every summer of my childhood on the beach in Indiana enjoying the lake. But we are threatened right now by climate change and pollution. Last year, the Midwest saw record flooding, worsening storms, harmful runoff, and toxic algae blooms that threaten drinking water and infrastructure. Actually, we saw thousands of Americans who couldn't drink the water because of that algae bloom. And in my hometown of Evanston, beaches are closing or actually disappearing entirely because the levels of the lake are at record highs right now. Just last month, these record water levels destroyed lakefront paths, and I was getting calls from condominium owners who were worried about their buildings getting--not demolished--but certainly damaged because of the high lake waters. New estimates from the Army Corps of Engineers state that the lake levels could get even higher next year, and we are watching for that with great distress. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is absolutely essential to restoring the health and unpolluting the lake and protecting the grandeur of our lakes. This is a bipartisan piece of legislation. People on both sides of the aisle are down here speaking eloquently about the meaning of the Great Lakes to them, and it is really refreshing, I think, for all of us to be able to join hands together asking for the reauthorization of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2382, the USPS Fairness Act. The United States Postal Service is an essential part of American life. It was established more than 231 years ago and has delivered on its promise every one of those years. Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General in the United States. And they have--while I understand it is not an official slogan, I think we have all heard this: ``Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed mission.'' So we know that with more than 100 billion pieces of mail delivered each year, and a 90 percent approval rating, that we must do all that we can to support them. Today, Members of Congress are taking the important step to help support over seven million U.S. postal workers across the country. Since 2006, U.S. postal employees have been forced to prefund retiree health benefits 75 years in advance, making them the only government agency that must prefund future employees that have not been born yet. This ridiculous law has caused the U.S. Postal Service to lose billions of dollars each year and has caused postal employees' uncertainty in their work. This cannot continue. So I agree with over 300 of my colleagues that we must reverse this absurd policy. The United States Postal Service Fairness Act will repeal the prefunding that is mandated and allow the United States Postal Service to return to its pay-as-you-go system as used before.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I want to definitely thank my colleague from Michigan and also my colleague from Massachusetts for being here to support workers. I believe that it is the labor movement that brought us the middle class. The height was really after World War II, where we saw that wages were going up for everyone--the wealthiest, the middle class, poor people could get jobs that would get them out of poverty--and the labor movement, the right of workers to organize, made the difference, to fight together, work together for better wages and working conditions. So, today, I rise in enthusiastic support before the House of Representatives for H.R. 2474, the Protect the Right to Organize Act, for a vote that is going to take place tomorrow in the House of Representatives. The right to form a union, which has been eroded over the last several decades, and the right to take collective action in the workplace and the right to exercise one's First Amendment rights in the form of secondary boycotts are fundamental, and it is past time that we as Americans promote their values. For too long, employers have been able to violate the National Labor Relations Act with impunity, routinely denying workers their basic right to join with coworkers for fairness on the job. As a result, the collective strength of workers to negotiate for better pay and for better benefits has eroded, and income inequality in the United States of America has reached levels that predate the Great Depression. What is worse is that this is a rather predictable outcome. It is not surprising if workers don't have the right to organize that their wages are not going to go up. But I want to share a story. It is a story of a woman named Yiran Zhang. She is a graduate worker at Loyola College in my district, in Chicago, Loyola Chicago. Yiran Zhang's parents raised their child to be a believer that education was the path to a better life. They moved to the United States from China when she was almost 2 years old. So she has grown up here. Her parents moved to the United States to earn their Ph.D.'s and work as graduate workers. Years later, Yiran decided to follow in her parents' footsteps by pursuing a Ph.D. The philosophy major quickly learned that a lot has changed in the world since her parents were graduate workers like she is now. We're struggling to make a living. The expectations are the same, but the conditions in higher education are so different. The expectations of the job, she means, are the same. She says: As a graduate worker, I've had to miss paying bills, to skip doctor's appointments, and even work two or three additional jobs to cover living expenses. I'm fighting for a union because I know it is only by standing together with my colleagues that we can change any of this. So Yiran and other Loyola graduate workers came together to form a union to make improvements in the school's administration. They found that the administration actually dismissed them and used the legal system to fight their efforts. Yiran sees unions as the only way for graduate workers to be heard. I actually stood with them at a demonstration, and she said: I've seen that the only way that we've been able to get our administration to listen is by doing sit-ins and walkouts and taking action together. Teachers across the country and people who work at things like Stop & Shop have had the same experience. In addition to having a seat at the table, Loyola graduate workers are fighting for a higher stipend and the establishment of summer funding, which will give them the ability to do important research and writing over the summer instead of having to take on multiple part-time jobs just to make ends meet. They also want more professional support, including clear grievance procedures and accountability. So, for young women like Yiran, the ability to join and unionize would mean that she would be able to truly build on the foundations started by her parents. She says: I am fighting for a living wage, respect for my labor, and a better life. I shouldn't have to seek outside work up to 30 hours a week on top of my graduate worker hours just to make ends meet at the cost of finishing my program on time or being the best scholar and educator that I can be. Academia shouldn't be just for the privileged. Negotiating a fair contract with graduate workers is the first step toward addressing these harmful systemic issues. I am going to quit. I have taken more than my time, I think. But I wanted to give you a true-life example of a woman who is trying to do her best in her job as a student worker, as a graduate worker, and because she can't organize, she can't get the benefits and the wages that she deserves. This is typical of what is going on in our country and is creating the income inequality that we see right now.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me. I rise to agree with my colleagues that we are facing a crisis. The number of overdoses and deaths related to fentanyl has skyrocketed over the last few years; however, the emergency scheduling of fentanyl and its analogues or any other substance as a schedule I drug has serious criminal justice implications. We should not forget our history and what happened to communities of color during the failed war on drugs. We can't forget that classifying a substance as a schedule I drug comes with harsh mandatory minimum sentences that even the lowest quantity can trigger. We cannot forget that over 60 percent of people federally charged for drug possession and over 95 percent of people charged with drug trafficking receive a prison sentence. We should not forget that over 78 percent of people charged with a fentanyl trafficking offense are people of color. We must work together to prioritize a public health solution, not just a criminal justice one, to the fentanyl epidemic. We must remember that a criminal justice approach disproportionately impacts people of color and does not necessarily reduce the crime. I look forward to working with my colleagues to address the problems that this bill possibly could create.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the work and dedication of Mr. Habeeb Quadri, an educator and Superintendent of the Muslim Community Center Academy (MCCA) in Morton Grove and Skokie, Illinois. Mr. Quadri was one of five private educators in the country to receive the National Distinguished Principal award from the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Habeeb Quadri is recognized for his important work in growing the size and status of the MCCA and helping the community be welcoming and inclusive through education. He is also recognized for his work to make MCCA one of the first Islamic parochial schools to receive national accreditation. Mr. Quadri is always engaged in the classroom and with students. He leads a lighthearted weekly all-school assembly to recognize students for their good deeds and encourage acts of compassion. Mr. Quadri sits with students in the lunchroom, participates in classroom activities, and adds a unique character to the MCCA. In addition to his role as Superintendent of the MCCA, Mr. Quadri has had a career committed to education and inclusivity. He has served as an educator for both the Chicago Public Schools and Detroit Public Schools systems. Mr. Quadri has also been a committed advocate for the Muslim community, dedicating himself to challenging work in order to provide opportunities for Muslim students to learn about their identity and engage with their community. I am proud to have the Muslim Community Center Academy in my district and to honor its important role in educating both its students and the community. Habeeb Quadri is a caring, talented, creative educator and leader, and I deeply admire his dedicated effort to provide a home and a safe place for Muslim students. His commitment to education, inclusivity, and encouraging compassion is honorable. On behalf of the constituents of the 9th Congressional District, I thank Habeeb for his service and congratulate him on his award.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the work and dedication of Ms. Maria Papanastassiou, a librarian and Kids' World assistant manager at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. Ms. Papanastassiou was one of 10 librarians in the country to receive the national ``I Love My Librarian Award'' for 2019-2020 from the American Library Association. Maria Papanastassiou was nominated by her colleagues who felt that through her work, families with diverse needs have found a home and a welcoming, inclusive place at the library. Ms. Papanastassiou works hard to help families connect with one another and receive crucial support. Ms. Papanastassiou leads play groups for children with Down Syndrome, Cerebal Palsy, sensory processing disorders and language delays. She organizes creative learning opportunities such as story boards with felt characters to help with language development, crafts for fine motor development, instant snow powder for sensory exploration, a circus tent for children who require low-sensory environments, stepping stones for gross motor skills, and activities to facilitate imaginative play. And she instituted ``Early Open for Families'' so that children of diverse needs can experience library exhibits in a quiet setting before the library opens the door to the public. In addition to her service to children with special needs, Ms. Papanastassiou created meetups for parents, caregivers, and developmental therapists to get together in an informal setting. She also leads the Arlington Heights Memorial Library's partnership with C.I.T.Y. of Support, a nonprofit that aids families with children in therapy. My office has worked closely with the Arlington Heights Memorial Library to ensure that our shared constituents receive effective and efficient assistance. My district staff holds regular neighborhood office hours in the library. Maria Papanastassiou is a dedicated, compassionate and creative librarian and I deeply admire her conscientious work to provide a safe place and learning environment for families with diverse needs. On behalf of the constituents of the 9th Congressional District, I thank Maria for her service and congratulate her on this award.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Scott for yielding to me, and I rise in strong support of H.R. 1230, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act. This month, House Democrats are taking historic action to fight for our older Americans across the country. As cofounder and co-chair of the Democratic Caucus Task Force on Aging and Families, I am proud to announce that our Older Americans Bill of Rights, which we will introduce in the coming weeks, already has over 100 cosponsors. That resolution reflects a covenant with senior citizens and urges the Congress to uphold the dignity of older Americans and their families. Through that resolution, House Democrats are affirming that seniors have the right to live with dignity and with independence, including the right to high-quality healthcare, the right to age in place, and the right to financial security, including protecting against age discrimination in the workplace. The bill that we are voting on today signals that we are taking those rights so seriously that we are not just making statements about it, but we are taking bold action. The bill before us ensures that senior citizens who have been victims of age discrimination can have their claims adjudicated fairly without having to jump through all kinds of arbitrary hoops created by a misguided court decision. Protecting older workers is about more than just adjudicating claims of discrimination. It is about ensuring older workers have the dignity that they deserve. Mr. Chair, I urge all of my colleagues to support this measure.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Tlaib for leading this conversation today. I am seeing some of my colleagues on the floor today who remember the story that I want to tell. This was the fall of 2002, and there was a vigorous debate going on whether or not we should be sending our troops to declare war on Iraq and take out Saddam Hussein. The story went that there were weapons of mass destruction. Yes, we had briefings. They were in the north. They were in the south, the west, and the east. They were there all right, we were told. A vote was going to come up on the Authorization for Use of Military Force, AUMF, in Iraq. There was one voice in particular that stood out and still stands out to me, a woman who was the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. Her name was Nancy Pelosi. She stood up at our meetings and said, no, there is no intelligence to justify that we go to war in Iraq. A group of us got together. I see Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the only Member who, because we were already in Afghanistan, voted against that war, who put together a group called the Out of Iraq Caucus. We went door-to-door, literally, and asked our Democratic friends in the House to say no to this war because it was not necessary. At the end of the day, even though the press story had already been written that somehow it was almost a unanimous vote, 60 percent of the Democrats in the House of Representatives voted against that war in Iraq. That was over 17 years ago. We still have troops in Iraq. We spent trillions, literally trillions of dollars, and the loss of life on all sides, including our precious American soldiers that we sent--most Americans today agree that that war was a disaster and that we shouldn't have done it. We learned a lesson. When it came time to talk about the threat that we knew was there, the nuclear weapons program in Iran, we worked with President Barack Obama in a diplomatic way to pass the Iran agreement that actually stopped Iran from developing nuclear weapons that would threaten not only the United States and the region but the rest of the world. And it was working. There were inspectors that would report to us. Every month, we got a report that said it was working. Along comes Donald Trump, who had said even in the campaign that this is a really bad idea, that this is a terrible agreement. Lo and behold, just a few weeks ago, he decided--it seems like a long time. Not long ago, he decides, all of a sudden, that it is a really important thing for us to go after Iran while Soleimani, the general, who is part of the government, is in Iraq. No one is crying over the death of Soleimani. The question is: Is the United States safer now than it was? The answer is a resounding no. That is why I am in strong support of the legislation by Barbara Lee that says we will sunset that 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq and the legislation by Ro Khanna that will prohibit the use of Federal funds for military action in or against Iran unless Congress specifically authorizes it or declares war or such actions are undertaken consistent with the War Powers Resolution of 1973. In other words, come to Congress. That is who we are. That is our job. We are the ones who are supposed to say war or peace. The most important thing we could do is decide whether we send our young men and women into harm's way to sacrifice their lives. We have to exert our authority. We have to exert our authority right now. I stand in support of that legislation. We don't need, and the American people don't want, another endless war in Iran or anywhere in the Middle East. It is time to say no, to say that Congress is going to make those decisions, and to do it now.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 535, the PFAS Action Act, sponsored by Congresswoman Dingell and Congressman Upton. The EPA has acknowledged that PFAS chemical exposure can lead to adverse health effects for human beings, but it has been very slow to do anything about it. PFAS chemicals present a clear and present danger to communities all over the United States. They are linked to cancer, can cause birth defects, disrupt thyroid hormones, and affect the immune system. Beyond the military, where it is all over our bases, the chemicals can be found in food packaging, commercial household products, our workplaces, and our drinking water; and certain PFAS chemicals are so dangerous that they are no longer manufactured in the United States. Mr. Chair, we need to pass this bill, as we have done once before.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is past time for Congress to exert our authority over the questions of war and peace; and I am proud to vote for this concurrent resolution to invoke the War Powers Act in order to restrain this reckless President. This vote would halt military operations and force the President to come to Congress to authorize any further acts of war. The President, remarkably, said: ``All is well.'' Well, Mr. President, it is not well. Iran announced that it would withdraw from the nuclear agreement and will begin to resume its nuclear weapons plan. The United States has been forced to stop its actions against ISIS. Iraq is likely to expel the United States from its country, fulfilling what has been a dream, actually, of Soleimani. Our European allies are angry because they were not alerted, and our actions have united the people of Iraq against us, and the people of Iran are together now. Mr. President, America is not safer because of what you have done. And we must pass this resolution.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the U.S.-Mexico- Canada trade agreement, the first trade agreement I have ever voted for in my more than 20 years in Congress. I am proud to be on the working group that helped negotiate this agreement, and I thank the chairman of that group, Richie Neal. It is far better than the original NAFTA, and it is far better than the deeply flawed trade agreement that President Trump handed to us. For example, he tried to tuck into it a huge gift to Big Pharma that would have raised the cost of medicine throughout our hemisphere. But from day one, I insisted that that provision be removed. Today, it is gone. Without the work of the working group, without the help of the Speaker of the House, without Rich Trumka, the president of the AFL- CIO, we would not be voting on this today. Is it a perfect thing? No, it is not. For example, there is a big gift to Big Tech provided in this called section 230, which gives a liability shield for all the companies and the platforms, for all the content that they have on those platforms. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter to Ambassador Lighthizer. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC, August 6, 2019. Hon. Robert E. Lighthizer, U.S. Trade Representative, Washington, DC. Dear Ambassador Lighthizer: We write to express our concern regarding the inclusion of Article 19.17 in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). In many respects, the language of Article 19.17 mirrors that of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 shields online platforms from some of the liability associated with third-party content posted on those platforms. As you may know, the effects of Section 230 and the appropriate role of such a liability shield have become the subject of much debate in recent years. While we take no view on that debate in this letter, we find it inappropriate for the United States to export language mirroring Section 230 while such serious policy discussions are ongoing. For that reason, we do not believe any provision regarding intermediary liability protections of the type created by Article 19.17 are ripe for inclusion in any trade deal going forward. Given that our Committee closely oversees Section 230 and all portions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, we also hope in the future the Office of the United States Trade Representative will consult our committee in advance of negotiating on these issues. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Sincerely, Frank Pallone, Chairman. Greg Walden, Ranking Member.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I urge everyone to vote for the trade agreement.