Rashida Tlaib

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in memory of Tracie Alexander Golden, a mother, wife, tireless community advocate, healthcare provider, and fearless SEIU Union leader from Michigan's 12th District Strong as our community mourns her recent passing. Tracie was a respiratory therapist who dedicated her life to helping people with severe health issues. As she spent countless hours at the hospital, working long shifts and saving lives, Tracie never once complained about the toll it took on her own health. She truly believed that her calling was to serve others, and she did so with a heart full of love and empathy. She was a selfless and compassionate woman who always put the needs of her patients and her family before her own. Tracie's advocacy, impact and care for others was profound not only amongst her family and loved ones but also towards her patients and community. Tracie's acts of service were boundless, and she never shied away from showing up for others. Her passionate and caring spirit will no doubt live on through her family and those that she served and those that she cared for at Sinai Grace Hospital. Tracie's sudden and tragic passing is truly a loss to our district and community. Her memory will forever be preserved in the work she led for others and the commitment she showed in service. Please join me in honoring the life of Ms. Tracie Alexander Golden and extending our deepest condolences to the Golden family on her tragic loss. The 12th Congressional District honors her life and legacy.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, today, I want to recognize Reverend Dr. Richard White of Detroit's Dexter Avenue Baptist Church on the occasion of his installation as president of the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity. Reverend Dr. White was inspired by the call to the ministry at a young age. At the age of 17, he was licensed to preach at Beth Eden Missionary Baptist Church under the late Pastor Ocie Tabb, Jr. At the age of 20, he became an associate minister at Midway Baptist Church under the leadership of his father. Soon after Pastor White was called to pastor Greater Marion Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, where he remained in leadership until 2015 when he accepted the role of senior pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Since becoming spiritual leader, Pastor White has worked hard to strengthen Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, ministering to the spiritual needs of his flock and the surrounding community. A lifelong Detroiter, Pastor White's strong connection to the community has driven his tireless work to set a vision for the future and make strides to bring it to fruition. He has undertaken projects to beautify the area and devoted himself to growing his ministry through community outreach. Pastor White has been elected as one of the youngest presidents of the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit & Vicinity. He also serves as the 3rd vice moderator for the Metropolitan Missionary Baptist District Association. Previously, Pastor White has served in multiple organizational capacities, including president of the Fellowship District Congress of Christian Education, second vice president of the Metropolitan District Congress of Christian Education, general secretary for the Baptist, Missionary and Educational State Convention of Michigan, treasurer and financial secretary for the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity, and the financial secretary for Kingdom Building Pastors and People International. Please join me in recognizing Reverend Dr. Richard White's numerous contributions as we celebrate his new role at the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, in the State of Michigan, there have been over 16,000 COVID-19 cases just this month. Nearly 200 people have died. Death and illness and viruses should not be politicized. In both Wayne and Oakland Counties, we are still seeing nearly 3,000 cases per week, so the pandemic is far from over. We have residents being hospitalized and families having to say good-bye to their loved ones because of this deadly virus. This pandemic is not over. The pandemic is still preventing people from going to work and school, disrupting everyday lives. By ending resources and policies that have surely saved lives, we are leaving our residents and communities to fend for themselves. They cannot do this alone. We must continue to provide resources to combat COVID-19 and the impacts of long COVID, from testing to treatment and care. We can continue to save lives together. Continuing to provide resources is not only the right and sensible thing to do, but it is the moral thing to do. Please, again, we must vote ``no'' on H.R. 382.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize Henry Lykes, a resident of Inkster in Michigan's 12th District Strong, for his hard work on behalf of retirees across southeast Michigan. For more than 30 years, Mr. Lykes was an employee of Wayne County, from which he retired in 2001. Moved to action by attacks on retiree benefits, Mr. Lykes kept busy in retirement. Henry founded and acted as President of AFSCME Wayne County Retirees Sub-Chapter #38 in October of 2004. He was formative in making Sub-Chapter #38 one of the largest and most active AFSCME Retirees sub-chapters. He led that group until October of 2017. He was part of a legal action that resulted in healthcare retirees receiving a deserved monthly stipend. In 2017, Mr. Lykes was elected as the founding President of AFSCME Retirees Michigan Chapter 255. He served in that capacity through November of 2022. He also served as the Executive Vice President of the Michigan Alliance for Retired Americans. Mr. Lykes fought for worker and retiree benefits to ensure a good quality of life for families across Michigan. In each of these organizations he was active as a delegate on the County, State and International levels. As a founding officer in these organizations he worked on bylaws, rules and regulations. He was an integral part of each organization and helped to build their memberships. Mr. Lykes is proud of his service as a precinct delegate in Inkster. He has attended many state conventions as a delegate and has been a Michigan delegate to the Presidential conventions. Mr. Lykes enjoys spending time with his family, including Barbara, his wife of more than 40 years, their children, 8 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren. Please join me in recognizing the numerous and remarkable contributions of Mr. Henry Lykes to southeast Michigan, and Michigan's 12th Congressional District.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, so let's get this straight. When developing H.R. 21's gross drill baby drill plans, the Secretary of Energy is required to consult with the Secretaries of Agriculture, Interior, and Defense, but not with the Administrator of the EPA or the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality. These plans are rigged against frontline communities that I represent and, really, around our Nation. The message is clear: When making plans to destroy our environment, don't consult the environmental regulators because those plans can't be justified. So my amendment is a commonsense fix amendment. Include the EPA and CEQ in the process in regard to the impacts on our environment. I urge my colleagues to, again, please support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, this is a simple amendment that requires the Secretary of the Interior to complete a standard environmental review of each individual oil and gas lease before it can be issued. Environmental reviews are standard practices that protect every single one of our communities. It is transparency. Frankly, these types of reviews don't even go far enough to protect the health of our resident but at the very least, we must ensure environmental reviews are conducted to the highest level. I urge all my colleagues to stand up for these critical environmental reviews and support this amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time. Point of Order

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, I do respectfully disagree with the gentleman. I do feel like this is very much germane, but I will respect the decision by the Parliamentarian or the Chair.

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer Tlaib Amendment No. 11 to H.R. 21

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, our residents elect each of us to represent them in this body, not special interest groups or well-funded lobbies. Yet, each year, the oil and gas lobby spends millions of dollars buying meetings with Members, influencing and writing bills, and defeating even the smallest efforts to help address our reliance on oil. I believe the American people deserve to know just how much their Member is receiving from the oil and gas lobby to support their favorite policies, and that is what this amendment would do. Transparency, Mr. Chair, is paramount to building public trust, and this amendment would go a long way in restoring the public's faith in this body. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time. Point of Order

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, although I respectfully disagree with the gentleman, I also acknowledge the importance of the Parliamentarian ruling, and whatever rule or decision by the Parliamentarian is made, I will respect that decision. Again, I respectfully disagree and believe very much that this is applicable to this bill.

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, Big Oil is sitting on 9,000 approved, unused drilling permits on Federal lands. Folks are lying to you when they say we need more permits and more drilling. My amendment is simple. It lowers the permissible increase in Federal lands available for drilling from 10 percent to 0.1 percent. What we really need, Mr. Chair, are windfall profit taxes on Big Oil so that they stop price gouging our constituents at the pump. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to please support me on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer Tlaib Amendment No. 10 to H.R. 21.

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk, No. 13.

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer my amendment No. 14.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of Mother Willa Cash, a resident of Detroit and community mother in Michigan's 12th Congressional District, as we mourn her recent passing. She was lovingly called Willie by those who knew her well. Ms. Cash's work touched the lives of so many. She worked for the State of Michigan's Department of Unemployment Services and later the Michigan Department of Human Services before retiring in 1999 after 26 years of service. Ms. Cash was a caring, compassionate leader in our community. She volunteered her time and energy to the Unity Temple Church of Detroit and Greenwich Park Association block club. She was a proud, lifelong, engaged voter and a member-retiree of the United Auto Workers Region 1- A. Ms. Cash's love and compassion for her family were extraordinary. Willie and her late husband, James, were married 53 years at the time of his passing, and they were parents of two beautiful twins. Please join me in recognizing Mother Willa Cash and her contribution to our community as we honor her memory. Detroit's Water Shutoff Moratorium

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, just over 3 weeks ago, the city of Detroit's water shutoff moratorium ended, terminating vital protection for Detroit's most vulnerable residents. We only got the lifesaving moratorium in the first place thanks to years of determined organizing and advocacy from our community's water warriors. Many are the mothers of our neighborhoods. In response to that organizing and advocacy, the city has now created an affordability plan, but many of the mothers in our community and advocates continue to highlight shortcomings and a lack of awareness amongst struggling Detroiters of the resources available, which leaves thousands still in jeopardy of shutoffs. For many Americans, water shutoffs are only the beginning. Even after they pay off outstanding debt or arrange for payment plans, reconnection fees further penalize them. We need to move beyond treating missed payments as a moral failing and acknowledge the reality of families struggling as they try to make ends meet. The cost of water in our country has gone up 400 percent. In the wealthiest Nation on Earth, there should not be a single family without water. We have had enough of punishing people for being poor. It is time to take our public health seriously and guarantee water as a human right. We all know water is life. It is time we start treating it as such. In Solidarity with Iranian Protesters

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise today in solidarity with the protesters in Iran. In the streets, they are demanding human rights and women's equality. The courageous protesters are risking their lives to stop the massive policing and security operations hurting women. No one protesting for human rights in Iran or anywhere in the United States or anywhere in the world should be met with government violence. No one should be persecuted or executed for fighting for freedom for their sisters, their daughters, or their mothers from oppressive and harmful actions. Mahsa Amini should be alive today. Countless protesters should be alive today. I stand, and I know we all do, with all the brave and courageous Iranians, especially the young women at the forefront of this movement, who are fighting for liberation and bodily autonomy.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Tracie Alexander Golden, who tragically died in the neighborhood that I live in. Tracie was somebody that was incredibly loved by her community and by her SEIU family. She was a respiratory therapist at Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit. Tracie's mother was known to all of us. She was the chief of staff to Senator Carl Levin for over 30 years. Tracie cared deeply about the community and wanted justice for those who were disadvantaged and impacted by systemic racism. Her daughter, Bianca Alexander, said: I am the daughter of Tracie, the victim of a senseless murder just a few days before the new year of 2023. My mother was a loving, hardworking woman who did everything in her power to provide for our family, and in no way, shape, or form deserved a death like this one. On behalf of the 12th Congressional District, I will take a moment to acknowledge and mourn the loss of Mrs. Tracie Alexander Golden.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 36. Personal Explanation Ms. BONAMICI. Madam Speaker, I regret to inform you that I was unable to attend today's legislative session. Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 34, YEA on Roll Call No. 35, and YEA on Roll Call No. 36.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Ms. Edith ``Mima'' Morisseau, a long-time resident of Detroit, as we mourn her passing. Whether you knew her as Edith, Edie, or Mima, her warm-hearted nature shined through in all that she did. She was an active member of Detroit's Haitian Network Group, where she served as treasurer. She was an awe-inspiring woman and an advocate for the immigrant community. Edith emigrated to the U.S. in 1951 and to Detroit in 1956 from Port- au-Prince, Haiti. She and her husband, the Reverend E. Dumont Morisseau, came to Detroit with their 3 young children so that the Reverend could perform his work at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church. Alongside her husband, she was deeply committed to the church and the community, but she also had career goals of her own. Edith enrolled in classes at Mercy College and earned her bachelor's degree in nursing, and much later went on to earn a master's from Wayne State University in psychiatry. Edith was employed by the State of Michigan for numerous years as Head of Psychiatric Nursing, retiring in 1984. She then transitioned to work as a marriage therapist for several years. Always one to remember those who are less fortunate, she served for more than 20 years as a volunteer with Haiti Outreach Mission, assisting the people of Haiti with various medical needs. She served as warden at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church and has provided counseling and nursing to numerous residents of Detroit. Please join me in recognizing Ms. Edith Morisseau's outstanding contributions to the communities of southeast Michigan as we honor her memory.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in recognition of Willa ``Willie'' Cash, a long-time resident and community mother of Detroit in Michigan's 12th District Strong as we mourn her recent passing. Ms. Cash was born to the late Reed Barbee and Daisy Lilly Glass Barbee in Ripley, Tennessee on August 21, 1937. She graduated from Osceola High School in Osceola Arkansas and graduated from Wilson Junior College in Chicago, Illinois with an associate degree in business. Willa was introduced to her late husband, James E. Cash, by a mutual friend and they married in 1962. They later gave birth to fraternal twins, La'Tanya and La'Trece, James and Willa were married 53 years at the time of his passing in 2015. Willa worked at Realco Company and James at Sears, Roebuck & Co. in Chicago, Illinois and in 1979 the family moved to Detroit. Ms. Cash's work touched the lives of many when she transitioned to working for the State of Michigan Department of Unemployment Services, and later the Michigan Department of Human Services, where she served as a Family Independence Specialist before retiring in 1999 after 26 years of service. Ms. Cash was a caring and concerned community member. She volunteered her time and energy with Unity Temple Apostolic Church of Detroit, the Greenwich Park Association Block Club, and she was a proud, lifelong registered voter, and a member-retiree of the UAW Region 1-A. Her hobbies included talking to her sister LaDora and friends daily, listening to her favorite gospel singer Lee Williams and the Spiritual QCs, and watching her favorite television programs. Above all, Ms. Cash's love, concern, and compassion for her family were extraordinary. Nothing compared to the special bond for her only grandchild A'uston who was the light of her world. She and her husband James gave A'uston all their energy and resources to assist him in graduating college and becoming a successful overseas professional basketball player. They were extremely proud of him. She kept his college team poster in her trunk to show it off on occasion. Please join me in recognizing Ms. Willa Cash's numerous contributions to our community as we honor her memory.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the only Palestinian American serving in the United States Congress. I feel a strong responsibility, Mr. Speaker, to humanize the Palestinian people who are living under increasingly oppressive and racist apartheid policies. 2022 was one of the deadliest in memory for Palestinians. Dozens of children were killed by the Government of Israel, and many were targeted. Groups like DCI-Palestine that monitor these killings were targeted. We cannot look away, Mr. Speaker, and gaslight the oppressive and violent policies toward the Palestinian people, who are experiencing, right now, literally, the taking away of their human dignity and their right to be able to freely live and raise their children without this type of targeting. We can't keep handing over billions each year to an apartheid state violating human rights. We are dealing with a far-right government there now promising to make things worse. They are not even hiding it, Mr. Speaker. They are intentionally saying exactly what they are going to continue to do, which is the status quo, again, making it very dangerous for Palestinians to live and thrive. No person--not one, Palestinian, Israeli, anyone--deserves to suffer or die for who they are, what they believe, or where they were born. The sooner we end unconditional support for Israel's apartheid government, the sooner we can begin making good on that belief. Today, I am thinking of my Sity, my grandmother, who deserves to have human dignity. She should not be denied of who she is solely because she was born Palestinian, to be able to feel safe and to be able to have human rights. I am also thinking today, Mr. Speaker, of the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and the countless Palestinians who deserved to live but whose lives were cut short. I thank the Speaker for at least trying to listen and hear from someone who, again, is connected to so many folks on the ground there who deserve to be seen and heard in this Chamber.

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the extreme anti-abortion agenda that my colleagues on the other side are advancing, despite clear opposition across our country. In November, Mr. Speaker, access to abortion care was on the ballot, and the American people rejected the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe and refused to allow far-right extremists to take away their right to bodily autonomy. Voters in Vermont, in the Speaker's home State of California, and in my home State of Michigan codified abortion rights in their State constitutions. Voters in Montana, as well as Kentucky, Senator Mitch McConnell's home State, rejected attempts to restrict their access to reproductive freedom. Still, they are advancing a policy agenda to criminalize abortion nationwide with no exceptions for rape or incest. Let me be clear: Abortion bans impact and endanger the lives of many of our residents, including those who live with disabilities. We will have many fights ahead of us, Mr. Speaker, and I will continue to hold the line to push back against the policy violence by those who want to continue to inflict on the American people the extreme right agenda. We will continue, my colleagues and I, to mobilize and organize a movement to secure reproductive justice across our Nation, and I will continue to fight like hell until abortion rights are restored as the law of the land. Palestinian Human Rights

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, today I want to recognize Houston Pritchett, a veteran of World War II and long-time resident of Detroit in Michigan's 13th District Strong, as his accomplishments are recognized by the Veterans Administration. In 1944, Mr. Pritchett served in the Philippines and was assigned to be a motor mechanic, ``I was supposed to be a motor mechanic, and I couldn't even drive,'' he said. By the time the war was over, Houston could drive. He came home to Detroit and went to work for Ford. When Pritchett was about 80, he went to a seniors' gathering. Please join me in recognizing Houston Pritchett's outstanding contributions to the communities of Detroit and Michigan's 13th District Strong.