Lateefah Simon

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Chair, for the folks who are watching, for the transgender community, you are loved and respected for your resilience and for your breadth. Keep pushing. Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to this amendment that would prohibit the Department of Defense from collecting data on gender identity. Data is not just numbers. Data is a story and reflection of those lived realities of real people, and this amendment is to stop data collection. It is clear that it is an attempt to erase the existence of transgender servicemembers at the Department of Defense. Without data collection, the Department of Defense cannot adequately address the challenges that lesbian, bisexual, and transgender servicemembers may face. Transgender employees will have a difficult time filing equal employment opportunity complaints without accurate data. Employees will also have inconsistent records and incorrect gender markers in Department of Defense systems, making it harder to access health services.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the House and oppose the defunding of Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide. The Republicans' cruel budget bill, which all Democrats opposed, included a provision to block Federal Planned Parenthood clinics from receiving Medicaid funds. This was a devastating choice that Republicans have made which will undoubtedly impact families across the Nation. Planned Parenthood does not just provide birth control. Clinics provide basic healthcare exams, cancer screenings, and vaccinations. Women across this country today will walk into Planned Parenthood clinics across counties and States to receive both diagnostic and care for cervical cancer, hypertension, and basic medical care. Earlier this year, the largest Planned Parenthood health center in the country opened in my district, named after my predecessor and champion of reproductive health and access, Congresswoman and now Mayor Barbara Lee. The Barbara Lee Oakland Health Center has over 19 exam rooms and is transit accessible, but the Republican budget bill will put Planned Parenthood centers like ours across the country at risk. Mr. Speaker, 200 of the 600 Planned Parenthood clinics across the country may close and women will die. Planned Parenthood closures will disproportionately impact Black and Brown mothers, who already have a maternal mortality rate more than three times their White counterparts. These cuts will disproportionately impact poor folks' access to reproductive care, since 40 percent of all births in this country are covered by the very Medicaid services that are now being gutted. These are matters, as I said before, of life and death for us in our district and for women across the country. I was a young mother living in public housing in San Francisco when I had my first daughter at 19, but I was able to get by. I was able to go to school and raise a wonderful daughter and put her through college and law school because I had access to care and institutions that cared about my life. If we want people to be healthy in this country and to participate in their communities and work, we need to open up choices, and we need to provide more opportunities instead of less. That is why I offered an amendment to the Republican budget reconciliation bill that would have protected the vital services of Planned Parenthood. Republicans killed that amendment, but this will not stop our collective work, my work, to ensure that people in my district and around the country in rural and urban communities have the access that they so deserve. Their lives are depending on it. Just this week, the district courts put a temporary pause on parts of the Republican bill that would defund Planned Parenthood. We will continue to fight back. Planned Parenthood is vital. It is vital to communities' health, and I will not stand by while it is defunded and while our health is devalued. I was that young mother. We and our families, our children, deserve better.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 672 would require the United States Postal Service to designate unique ZIP Codes for a number of communities across the country. This bill aims to address certain issues related to economic development and public safety regulations and mail delivery. For example, Eastvale is a town in southern California that is home to 69,000 residents. It currently shares two ZIP Codes with neighboring jurisdictions. Without a unique ZIP Code, Eastvale residents have reported mail delivery issues for delivery of legal notices, code enforcement activities, public outreach, and election mail. Eastvale residents have also reported higher insurance rates because of errors related to another jurisdiction, disrupting their ability to obtain affordable wildfire insurance. I appreciate the diligence of Congressman Diaz-Balart, the chair, and the committee staff, and the other Members in ensuring that each town being marked up in today's amendment version of this bill satisfies all the committee's requirements for consideration. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time, and I am prepared to close.

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3095 would require the United States Postal Service to designate unique ZIP Codes for a number of communities across the country. This bill aims to address specific community concerns about disrupted mail delivery and undeliverable mail. While I commend Representative Boebert for her tireless work on this issue, I am unable to support this legislation at this time. After numerous conversations between the chair and former ranking member, the late Mr. Connolly, the committee agreed on a bipartisan basis that ZIP Code designation bills would only be considered if they met the following criteria: One, the designated locality must submit a letter from local leadership stating the reasons for the ZIP Code change; two, the community must also attest that they had petitioned the Postal Service for the unique ZIP Code designation and was unsuccessful; and, lastly, number three, that the legislation must be cosponsored by all of the impacted Members. Unfortunately, the bill has not satisfied the committee's requirement for consideration. In fact, only one-quarter of the 68 designated communities meet the Committee's requirements, and we have heard from at least one affected Member who is, unfortunately, opposed. Therefore, until the majority follows the procedures set forth by this ZIP Code designation bill, the ranking member will oppose the bill today in its current form. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SIMON. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Sykes) for such time as she may consume.

Ms. SIMON. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SIMON. Madam Speaker, the ranking member opposes this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SIMON. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in defense of every child in this Nation who deserves to enter into a classroom and be treated with dignity, care, and respect. In writing these remarks, I thought of my kindergarten teacher, Ms. Jasko at Claire Lilienthal Elementary School in San Francisco. On my first day of kindergarten--I remember it very, very clearly--my last name starts with an s, so I sat at the back of the classroom and kept my head down. I was not verbacious then. Within about 5 minutes of the class starting--and there was a lot of chatter of little children--Ms. Jasko noticed that my head was bowed. She brought me up to the classroom board, and she saw clearly that I was a child with an acute visual impairment. She kissed me on my forehead and asked me to sit by her desk where I sat for the rest of the year. She understood me. I did not have to fight for the right to learn in that class. I sat next to the board. This week, the Supreme Court handed the President of the United States the power to gut the Department of Education without congressional approval. Nearly 1,400 Federal staff at the Department of Education may be fired, including those tasked with protecting the civil rights and the human dignity of students. The Court's decision sets a dangerous precedent as it tells the executive branch that it can effectively dismantle the very agencies that Congress has created without any oversight. Let us remember why the Department of Education exists in the first place. The Department of Education was not a bureaucratic creation. It wasn't an organization developed just to create more staff salaries. The Department of Education was a victory secured through the long and hard march of civil rights in this country. It was built to ensure that children in every part of this country could have a real chance. It was not to standardize curriculum but to standardize the worth of children. It was to guarantee that, no matter your background, your race, your ability, your identity, where you lived, or who you prayed to, the Federal Government would have the backs of every student in this country. If this decision stands, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights will be shattered and gutted, which means that, within this office, which was created and implemented to investigate when students in this country were not treated respectfully or with dignity, that schools would potentially not be required to provide accommodations for students with disabilities. Mr. Speaker, for every mother fighting for their child with autism, for every parent fighting for their child with a visual or intellectual disability, and for every child who rolls in with their wheelchair every single day, mighty with pride and glory that they, too, can learn and be integrated, there may not be any Federal protections to make sure that they are respected. Rapes and sexual assaults on college campuses may no longer be investigated. When the cities don't investigate those sexual assaults, the Federal Government--particularly the Office for Civil Rights under the Department of Education--took on that role. Shame on us. National standards for protecting LGBTQ students, because they are students and are children, will go away. Native students, Black students, Latino students, students navigating poverty, and students who have disabilities may no longer have the Federal support that they so deserve. This is a betrayal. It is cruel, and it is a deep attack on our children. How will the United States of America compete academically, economically, or morally if the Federal Government walks away from its most sacred responsibility to guarantee basic fairness in education? We cannot meet the demands of the future by returning to a past-- returning to a past--where only the privileged are protected. The work of the Department of Education was never about charity. It has always been about justice. As bell hooks taught us in ``Teaching to Transgress,'' teaching is about liberation. Education is about more than information. It is a practice of freedom.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the late Congressman John Robert Lewis on the fifth anniversary of his passing. Congressman Lewis said, in a beautiful quote: ``Children holding hands, walking with the wind. That is America to me . . . the endless struggle to respond with decency, dignity, and a sense of brotherhood.'' We are so thankful for the long-living, forever legacy of Congressman Lewis. Before he took the oath here in this room, many of us studied his legacy as a young activist and organizer. It shows depth with peace and clarity. He held hands with others and walked across the bridge in Selma to meet what we know then was a violent mob, who they themselves swore to decency. They beat those young people that day, young people who rose up and decided that they, too, belonged to a democracy that they were born into but never saw. Their mothers never saw it. Their fathers never saw it. These young people took the mantle of peace and shone a mirror, a mirror of hatred, of segregation, of degradation, and they walked away harmed but with more clarity. Mr. Lewis was one of the leaders that day. Those who studied the theology of freedom that is so deeply embedded in all of our faith traditions know that the actions of Mr. Lewis on that bridge, on the streets, and on this floor will forever live. Before I end, I want to go back to that quote: ``Children holding hands, walking with the wind.'' Those children, America's children, need us now more than ever. Children will go back to school in 6 weeks, and because of what has been done on this Hill recently, they will not have school lunches. We will diminish the Department of Education. The Office of Civil Rights within the Department of Education, which is responsible for making sure that those children, disabled children, children who had been pushed to the side, had national standards so that they, too, could be centered in the classroom with dignity and support. We are tearing those winds apart. As children go hungry, as they are pushed to the side in their classrooms, as we continue to pay teachers less than what they are worth, I ask folks to do what we have learned from our dear mentor, John Lewis: Shine the light with peace and dignity upon those who put forth evil, who strike down the widow, who take food from the poor, who take the word of our God out of context, and who feed the wealthy while starving the homeless. We will forever walk in Mr. Lewis' path for justice, for liberty, and for the sake of our children who need and deserve the winds at their back.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. 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. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, as Black Music Month comes to a close, I rise in the House today for 1 minute to honor my dear friend, D'Wayne Wiggans. D'Wayne Wiggans passed away on March 7, 2025, and my community of Oakland, California, and the world continues to grieve. We are mourning not only his significant contributions to the Black music community, but we knew D'Wayne as a legendary musician who gave as much of his voice as he gave to community. D'Wayne made and produced music that uplifted so many. Moreover, we know him as a monumental soul of good. He mentored countless artists and young people, including Destiny's Child and Beyonce, helped to start the career of Alicia Keys, and was on the Grammy stage every year for decades. D'Wayne opened up many spaces for young people in my community in California's District 12 to thrive. He was incredibly generous. Moreover, we know that there is no dying when it comes to D'Wayne's voice. You cannot kill culture. Our community loves him and his family, and I am so thankful for what he has given our community. His voice will never cease.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for yielding time. As the Representative of California's 12th Congressional District, representing the East Bay, I rise today in opposition to H. Res. 516. This resolution is a partisan, disproportionate response to the ICE protest in Los Angeles. Republicans are intentionally misleading the public on the scale of the violence in an attempt to justify the blatant overreach of Federal power. I want to be clear. There was no doubt there was violence. I am from California. I was present at some of the protests. The scale was unworthy of Federal condemnation and certainly the scale was unworthy of Presidential overreach. It was the President who overstepped his authority and escalated and instigated chaos, sending the National Guard and our Marines against the will of my Governor, the mayor of Los Angeles, and the people of California. The Trump administration has made it clear that they do not believe in the right of Los Angeles to exist, as it has done since its founding, as a multicultural, vibrant, and working-class city. The violence was in less than three to five blocks. Mr. Speaker, I think the resolution is an attempt to rewrite history in real time and to prescribe extreme violence onto the people of Los Angeles, California, who were exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. This resolution is in no way sufficient. It is a way to roll back free speech. Let's be clear. We do not have a democracy if we erode the right to free speech. We will not have a democracy if the President of the United States continues to abuse his power and push authoritarian measures.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, as a new Member of Congress, I was under the understanding that our job here is to lift up the voices of those in this country that hold our Nation together with their own hands: The working parents who will absolutely go hungry and will come home to empty refrigerators when their SNAP benefits are cut under the majority's big, cruel bill. Then there are those who cannot sleep at night because their child has a rare form of cancer and are worried about Medicaid not covering their care. The Republicans say it won't affect her. Today, if you go to the children's hospital here in Washington, D.C., and sit with the mother who is praying over her dying child, who had to quit her job and who now qualifies for Medicaid expansion, under their bill she will be cut. Tell her you will not harm her. Unfortunately, this is the America that the majority wants to create. The majority has sent a bill to the Senate that, Mr. Speaker, is not a piece of legislation. It is a piece of forgetting. It is forgetting who we are, and it is forgetting who we owe. The big, cruel bill breaks the basic covenant of government that the people who suffer the most should be seen first.

Ms. SIMON. It is without apology that when you write legislation that cuts into the flesh of the working poor, you cannot call it policy. When you cut into the flesh of working-class Americans, you don't call it policy. You call it what it is: cruelty. When you kick 16 million people off of healthcare, you don't call it policy. You call it heartless. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues today to vote ``no'' on the previous question.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose the administration's cuts to critical gun violence prevention programs, and I rise today in deep solidarity with the innovators of CeaseFire, violence interrupters, and community organizations around this country that spend every day, hour after hour, working on the ground and in our communities to stop gun violence. I thank them for their work. It is so critical and needed at a time when the Trump administration has announced cuts of $500 million to community violence intervention organizations and funding opportunities directly from the Department of Justice and over $1 billion in gun violence prevention funding for schools from the Department of Education. Make it make sense. Now, organizations like Youth Alive in Oakland, California, will not have the funding that they need that is so critical in this moment to do the work of violence interruption on our streets in conjunction with law enforcement and community members who have lost loved ones to violence. June is Gun Violence Prevention Month, Mr. Speaker, and we cannot stop this work in decreasing gun violence on our streets and in our communities.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman McGarvey for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Stauber, and I am excited to work with him so closely during my time in Congress to advance the opportunities for folks with disabilities in this country. It is just a deep honor for the two of us to continue on our path of representing Americans with disabilities. As the first congenitally blind person to serve in the United States Congress, I am honored to rise today in support of this bipartisan bill with Representative Stauber, the ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act. As a community organizer and leader for over 20 years, I focused on finding jobs and opportunities for low-income folks in the bay area in California, and I came to Congress to bring those communities with me, particularly the disability community, a community that I belong to. The disability community is too often left out of policy conversations, and today, Democrats and Republicans are bringing our brothers and sisters to the table. Right now, the unemployment rate for people with intellectual, physical, and developmental disabilities remains alarmingly high in this country. Ashamedly, it is at 80 percent. Yes, 80 percent. This, we know, is unacceptable. We can close the disability employment gap, not only to advance independence, dignity, and freedom for Americans with disabilities, but to drive economic growth. This bill, my bill, our bill, creates an essential partnership between the Small Business Administration and the National Council on Disability to help individuals with disabilities pursue self- employment, dignity, launch small businesses, and thrive in the workforce. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill and build an economy that works for all of us. Mr. Speaker, I am so honored to say we can move this forward today. Mr. Speaker, I again thank Representative Stauber for advocating for his son and the millions of folks with disabilities in this country to have their just due and to support me in this legislation moving forward. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I thank Chair Williams and Ranking Member Velazquez for their efforts in moving this bill forward.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose our administration's attacks on our Nation's nonprofit sector. Since January, our President has launched an all-out assault on our Nation's nonprofits, threatening to pull funding and proposing executive orders that target our groups serving the good people of the United States. With Republicans pushing a reconciliation bill that would kick millions off from their medical care, the administration has also created an unprecedented attack with power to revoke nonprofit status. The reconciliation bill would allow the executive branch to revoke status from nonprofits that they believe are terrorist-supporting organizations without requiring evidence, meaning no due process. This vague provision is Trump's way of targeting organizations that he opposes or that just don't align with his agenda. Those are organizations that are doing right in our communities, and we have to say no.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the House to highlight my support of Head Start. I most recently visited an organization in my district called the Unity Council that serves families, parents, seniors, and children, providing them with affordable housing, career opportunities, community engagement and, yes, Head Start programs. I learned from the Unity Council that President Trump and the administration has stopped funding for the Oakland Head Start program. This means that over 600 children will not have daycare, mental health services, dental care, and basic health screenings all provided by this incredible program. The President promised, recently said he would not touch the Head Start program. Yet here we are. Nationally, over 800,000 children receive daycare support from Head Start. Cutting Head Start funding and stopping early childhood development is not efficiency. It is not trimming the fat. Cutting programs like Head Start is breaking, literally, the bones of our Nation and of our future.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Madam Speaker, today I rise to address the House to celebrate my constituent, W. Kamau Bell, who won ``Celebrity Jeopardy!'' It is a pretty cool thing. Not only did he win ``Celebrity Jeopardy!'' but as a constituent who has lived in my district in Oakland, California, since the 1990s, he has consistently given back philanthropically to young people and underserved communities, again for almost 30 years. After winning ``Celebrity Jeopardy!'' just recently, he gave a million dollars--the full winnings--back to the community, specifically to the school district in Oakland, California. His donation has supported over 200 projects in Oakland schools, including Castlemont High School. Just recently, I visited Castlemont High School and met with these amazing students, who are full of potential. These students are not only the future, they are the now. Many teachers across our school districts, in my district and throughout the country, are going in their own pockets to buy support services for students and their own supplies. Kamau's philanthropic spirit will reduce that reality for our teachers. I am so proud to call him not only my constituent but a leading voice in the United States. I thank Kamau so much.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Madam Speaker, I missed the vote on agreeing to the resolution, H. Res. 294. Had I been present, I would have voted NO on Roll Call No. 92.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr Speaker, I will vote for H.J. Res. 25, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Internal Revenue Service relating to ``Gross Proceeds Reporting by Brokers that Regularly Provide Services Effectuating Digital Asset Sales.'' My constituents in the East Bay are among the many adopters of digital assets and cryptocurrencies. And while I have consistently opposed any Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolutions advanced by the House Majority--and am concerned about the loss in critical tax revenue as a result of this CRA--I believe the digital asset space offers new pathways for economic opportunity, especially for historically marginalized communities; and I strongly believe we must craft an inclusive regulatory framework that protects consumers, holds bad actors accountable, and supports financial inclusion for those who utilize these services. I welcome the opportunity to work with my colleagues to thoughtfully legislate oversight of and implement necessary guardrails around digital assets so that we protect consumers--especially Black and Brown entrepreneurs, small investors, and working people--and promote innovation.