Lateefah Simon

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I missed the vote on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 177. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 56.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Velazquez for this opportunity to speak. I thank Chairman Williams for working with me to introduce this bill. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this effort to prioritize small businesses in the future through funding opportunities by preventing pandemic fraudsters from accessing Federal small business funds. Like other communities around the United States, in California's 12th District, small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities. Over 29,000 small businesses in our district bolster our region. These businesses struggled throughout the pandemic. In Oakland's downtown, for instance, many of these institutions are fighting day in and day out just to stay afloat. I thank the Small Business Administration employees who work hard to support them. These wonderful Federal employees have been connecting with small businesses in our district with emergency assistance, access to capital, advice on how to keep the doors open in the darkest times, how to pay their workers, and how to be strong servicemembers in our community. I have heard from many of these Federal workers who say they have been under assault by this current administration. Just last month, I visited the Small Business Administration field office. Less than 2 hours after I left, two of those employees had received layoff notices. Mr. Speaker, firing Federal employees in this moment does not decrease the need or importance of the agency; it just makes it harder for entrepreneurs, for restaurateurs, for childcare operators, and others to keep their employees paid, to keep their doors open, and to keep our downtowns thriving. Every dollar that Congress gives to the Small Business Administration in this moment means the difference of a small business opening and employing folks or filing for bankruptcy. The Small Business Administration has provided $1.2 trillion, let me say that again, $1.2 trillion in Paycheck Protection Program loans and other emergency assistance during the pandemic. As the ranking member has told us, unfortunately, there have been serious bad actors who took advantage of these funds, and those folks defrauded not only the government, but they defrauded the mom-and-pop shops on Main Street and, in my case, on Broadway. Those dollars could have been used to create jobs, revitalize communities, and to help those businesses stay open and thrive. Instead, these fraudsters took advantage of the lax application screenings, which we believe may have resulted in them receiving at least 17 percent of the total Small Business Administration assistance.

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, the Biden administration has created new safeguards to reduce the potential for this fraud, but this legislation that is supported by our committee would build on this effort, making convicted fraudsters ineligible for Federal small business assistance. Mr. Speaker, as someone who has driven a payroll for over 30 years, I cannot express how important this legislation is at this moment. We love and support our small businesses with all that we have.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 22 brave men and women from the Oakland Fire Department. These men and women responded to the call for help and literally ran into the fire last month in southern California. While many firefighters from the Oakland Fire Department volunteered, which sums up our department's amazing commitment to service throughout our State, 22 members of our fire department came down from Oakland, California, to join other men and women from around the country to aid southern California in this horrendous and heartbreaking effort to quench the fire. As we see historic wildfires across California, the intensity will continue to remain, and our fervor and our commitment to support our first responders will be swift. As a Representative for Oakland, California, and for California's 12th District, I will continue to ensure that California's 12th Congressional District is prepared and climate resilient. I am committed to making sure that our departments in my district and throughout California have what they need to keep Californians safe.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I oppose this misleading bill that deeply will criminalize doctors who provide the most basic and emergency healthcare to women. His name was Selah Weston. At 21 weeks, his faint heartbeat clapped right next to my daughter's. He was a twin. I was given the opportunity to go home, and perhaps Selah would expel himself from my body, but all three of us became septic. I had to go back to the emergency room, and my OB/GYN sat with me and my then-husband, who is now, too, in Heaven, and gave us the opportunity to say either we go through this procedure, or you die, Lelah dies, and Selah dies. I want Congress not to be in those conversations with OB/GYNs who have to mourn with women who are facing death. Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose this bill. If we want to talk about children, let's talk about childcare. Let's talk about housing. Let's talk about healthcare. We can come together and create beloved communities for our children and parents. This ain't it.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Raskin for the time. Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to speak in this Chamber as a survivor. Folks know back home that I have been doing this work for 30 years, day in and day out. As a survivor, I almost lost my life in my early twenties. I am proud to stand with millions of women and girls who have been victims and who are moving toward survivorship in saying no to this piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I come with 30 years of experience. I started my career leading the Young Women's Freedom Center, and I stood shoulder to shoulder with young women and girls who had been trafficked and beaten. I have been in morgues. I have been in the tanks of our county jails, literally on my knees, pleading with law enforcement to let young women out who themselves were victims and who were incarcerated wrongly for standing up for themselves while they fought for their lives. I have learned through this work that justice is not a principle. It is our responsibility. Later in my career, I led the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law started by President Kennedy. We expanded access and legal representation for migrants and asylum seekers, many who came seeking peace and solidarity, in search of safety and dignity. Today, as a Representative of California's 12th District, I remain committed to advancing real solutions and making our communities safer. I, too, was a domestic violence advocate for a prosecutor. I know this work. I remain committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fix a severely broken immigration system, but moreover, I am here to stand up for victims.

Ms. SIMON. H.R. 30, and I repeat, does nothing to advance these solutions. Instead, it broadens the definition of domestic violence in ways that punishes survivors, making them inadmissible and subject to deportation, regardless of their legal status. I say to my colleagues: We must read this bill. Read it. Let me be clear: We know that Federal law already allows deportation, demands deportation for individuals convicted of domestic violence. H.R. 30 doesn't strengthen the protection of survivors--it weaponizes them. I know what it means to protect victims, Mr. Speaker. It means to fight systemic inequities in our current systems that don't work for those victims or survivors. H.R. 30 doesn't do this work. That is why I too stand with over 200 organizations, one in which I cofounded, the Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, that is 10,000 strong, who are young women and girls who are surviving rape and domestic violence and trafficking. They, too, say no.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Chu for organizing the California delegation in support of our fellow Californians who are grieving as a result of the devastating fires in southern California. Our hearts break as tens of thousands of folks have lost everything. As our hearts break, we know that in this Chamber we have to work. That is our obligation. I have spoken to fire chiefs in my district, and I am so thankful that our fire departments in Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley have traveled to southern California to support. I especially want to thank Oakland's chief, Damon Covington, and others who have stepped up to meet this moment, to go into the fire and to protect fellow Americans. The devastation of these fires is unprecedented. Just as we have come together to fight these fires, we must come together to bring real relief to families again who have lost everything. In our country's history, the Federal Government has never placed restrictions and conditions on emergency disaster aid to our people.

Ms. SIMON

Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, Congress should support an impartial international criminal justice system to promote accountability and justice around the world. Imposing mandatory sanctions and visa restrictions on foreign individuals interacting with International Criminal Court prosecutors is a broad, dangerous approach, which is why I oppose this bill. International law is effective only when it applies to actors and states regardless of who they are. Weakening and discrediting investigations into allegations of war crimes and human rights violations undermines peaceful tools of resolving and preventing conflicts. Taking a blanket approach as proposed in this bill could implicate any foreign individual who interacts with the ICC and may even punish people like cafeteria workers and janitors for simply doing their jobs. Undermining the rule of law and freedom of speech as this bill proposes will threaten international justice and accountability. For those reasons, I oppose the bill.